Pine-Richland teacher’s union authorizes strike days before school year starts

ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — An Allegheny County teacher’s union voted unanimously to authorize a strike.

“Of course, when we hear the word strike, alarm bells ring,” said PSEA Region Advocacy Coordinator Annie Briscoe. “The goal of the teachers is not to strike. The goal is to continue negotiating.”

A new school year for Pine-Richland students starts on Thursday. As of right now, teachers will be there, but on Monday morning, 337 members of the Pine Richland Education Association voted unanimously to authorize a strike. This is a required step in the process for teachers to exercise the right to strike if the district and the union can’t come to an agreement.

“At this time, there’s such a teacher shortage in Pennsylvania that it’s more important now than ever to make sure we’re able to negotiate fair contracts that not only recruit talented teachers to come and want to work in that school district, but we’re able to retain the teachers,” said Briscoe.

The teachers’ contract expired in June. They’ve been discussing terms since December but haven’t been able to come to an agreement on things like pay, benefits and workload that directly impact student/teacher ratios and class sizes.

“We can’t put students first if we put teachers last,” said Briscoe. “The goal is to negotiate a fair contract for the teachers that can help the success of the teachers, the students and the school district community.”

The Pine-Richland School Board had its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, Aug. 19. The contract was not on the agenda but several members of PREA attended to show support.

The next bargaining session is set to happen on Sept. 9.

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