Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
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Thursday, October 5, 2006
Dayton teacher talks: Huber all over again?
(Huber Heights teachers on strike last month)
Sorry for the late post. Been stuck without Net access all day.
Pretty big news today that Dayton teachers authorized their leaders to call for a strike if contract talks don’t make progress at the next meeting on Nov. 1 (See more on the district’s money woes here.)
Right now, it’s fair to say there’s reason to worry that there could be a teachers’ strike in Dayton. But there’s no imminent danger of a strike. At least not yet.
Could this be a Huber Heights situation, with the teachers walking off the job, raising a similar level of anger and distrust?
Here’s three reasons why the Dayton teacher contract talks, so far, are different from those earlier this year in Huber Heights, which resulted in a nasty week-long strike:
—There’s a greater level of trust. In Huber, the bad feelings go back years and much of it is school board vs. union leadership. School and union officials in Dayton have always eyed each other carefully, but I don’t think the same sort of personal clashes and raw emotions are present in these talks.
There are some interesting political dynamics here. Pat Lynch is newly installed as the union president and has a very different personal style than her predecessor, Willie Terrell. Plus, successful talks are certainly important to establishing her credibility.
On the board’s side, there is a very narrow margin of error. The board needs community goodwill for their upcoming levy try and it needs teacher confidence — not to mention the continuity of uninterrupted instruction — to keep the district’s academic momentum going.
—Talks are ongoing. If you see talks break off, it’s time to get more worried. Prior to the Huber strike, the two sides weren’t even meeting anymore. Talks in Dayton have been civil and ongoing to this point.
—Everybody knows the big issue is money. In the Huber strike, all sorts of side issues clouded the talks, but in the end the final deal was mostly about money. At least here, money is the issue from the start, which should help keep the talks focused.
What’s your prediction? Will this be a strike like in Huber Heights? Or will they work it out?
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