Juneau teachers stage mock walkout during school board meeting, reject arbitration announcement
- Jasz Garrett
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Threat by about 70 educators comes after nine months of talks fail to reach new contract agreement
By Jasz Garrett and Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
This is a developing story.
Teachers frustrated with a months-long stalemate in contract negotiations with the Juneau School District staged a mock walkout during a school board meeting Tuesday night.
"If you do not choose to respect your educators, this is what will happen," Kelley Harvey, a teacher for the last 27 years, said before she and about 70 of her colleagues walked past the school board members and superintendent.
Harvey said she knows the Juneau Board of Education has heard public testimony from her fellow educators for the last several months. Contract negotiations began on Feb. 12. The district and JEA, which represents about 275 local teachers and certified staff, have been at an impasse since July. Also still unresolved is a new contract for Juneau Education Support Staff's estimated 250 employees.
"You know that you have teachers who will not be able to remain in Juneau given the current salary insurance package," she said. "You know many of your teachers are taking home less money than they did last year. And you know that your teachers have had to make decisions between keeping health insurance for their families and being able to pay for their housing and put food on the table."
The district announced Nov. 6 that it is initiating arbitration proceedings because of the failure of mediation sessions to resolve the situation.
"It is, of course, always preferable to reach a voluntary agreement," the district's website states. "The District team remains committed to keeping communication open and remains willing to continue meeting in the hopes a successor agreement will soon be reached."
State law requires both sides to agree on an arbitrator and the sides must meet at least once before taking further action. Once 90 days have passed after selecting an arbitrator, teachers could strike, but Harvey said JEA does not plan to do so because the union disagrees with the district's stance. She said they are still open to mediation.
"This decision was made without consulting our negotiation team or anyone within the JEA," the JEA website stated on Nov. 10.
Harvey added that additional discussions occurred on Friday. She is not at the table for the collective bargaining agreement, but is co-chair of JEA's negotiations support team. The next meeting between the union and the district is scheduled for Nov. 25, according to JEA's website.
In her testimony on Tuesday, longtime teacher Amy Lloyd told the school board members dozens of their most experienced educators are waiting to see if they should stay.
"I urge you to tell your team to accept our best last offer," Lloyd said.
The school board went into executive session at about 10:15 p.m. to discuss the collective bargaining agreement, with an adjournment deadline of midnight.
• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz@juneauindependent.com or (907) 723-9356. Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
