Emerald City teachers overwhelmingly ratify new contract with Seattle Public

The Seattle Education Association’s representative assembly then voted to suspend their strike pending the results of an all-union vote, which allowed students to return to classes last Thursday.

With approval of the contract with Seattle Public Schools, the strike, which was suspended, now officially ends.

Striking Seattle teachers and supporters march on a picket line Tuesday, September 15, 2015, at Greenwood Elementary School in Seattle. Separate from the contract, some loose ends left from the weeklong strike are yet to be worked out, such as how the six missed school days will be made up, and how key year-end dates, such as graduations, will be affected. On Sunday, when the union votes whether to ratify that contract, the reaction likely won’t be one of overwhelming support, members say.

“I feel really torn about the tentative agreement”, said Rainier Beach High School Language Arts Teacher Natalia Scolnik. It also assured a 30-minute recesses for elementary students and more teacher input over standardized tests.

Six days of school will have to be rescheduled, which the district said could extend the school year or shorten midyear vacation breaks.

Rank-and-file teachers and support staff in the 5,000-member union, the Seattle Education Association, “overwhelmingly approved” the accord that consists of pay raises totaling 9.5 percent over the life of the contract, according to union spokesman Rich Wood.

“A lot of us (parents) are trying to take the energy from the strike and turn it toward Olympia”, he said of the state Capitol, adding that they want to pressure lawmakers to find a consistent revenue stream.

Jeff Treistman, a librarian at Denny worldwide Middle School, said he’s proud of what the bargaining team accomplished, especially for the students.

The contract will offer teachers with a 9.5 percent raise in their pay over the next three years, and it will not include state cost-of-living adjustments. School is already in session, and teachers don’t want to go on strike again, he said.

“We are eager to open schools, welcome students and begin learning”, district Superintendent Larry Nyland said in a statement. Newly-formed groups like Washington’s Paramount Duty plan to channel their energies into grassroots lobbying now that school has resumed and teachers have won a fair contract. The meeting had the largest turnout in the union’s history, Campano said.