SCRANTON -- Stories we have done about teachers' strikes light up the Talkback 16 line and garner a lot of comments online. If it feels like we have had a lot of teachers' strikes recently, it's because we have.
Pennsylvania has more teachers' strikes than anywhere in the country. But why? And what do they accomplish?
Teachers pacing the picket lines with signs and matching t-shirts for solidarity: it's video you've seen a lot this year, and we certainly heard your comments on Talkback 16.
- "Let these teachers work for minimum wage and pay half their health insurance, and then see what it's like."
- "So, give them a break, Give them the money they need."
- "I believe there should be a no-strike clause implemented into their contracts in the future."
In this story
According to the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA), there have been five teacher walkouts this school year statewide. All but one of them was in our area.
While the state has fewer teachers' strikes than a decade ago, it's our large piece of the national pie that may be surprising.
Only 13 of the 50 U.S. states even allow teachers to strike in the first place, and of all the strikes that have happened in the last decade, almost 60 percent have been in Pennsylvania.
"Part of it is due to the labor history in Pennsylvania," explained Jim Maria, an official with PSEA. "We have an amazing history of labor history and labor activism that starts in Pennsylvania and starts in northeastern Pennsylvania."
Maria is a former teacher who now works for the PSEA helping teachers' unions negotiate their collective bargaining rights. He points out that the numbers don't tell the whole story; you can't compare Pennsylvania to other states.
"With 500 districts, there's much more potential to have some unrest somewhere, and that's part of the issue with Pennsylvania," Maria said.
The PSEA works with the Old Forge School District in Lackawanna County which has one of the longest ongoing contract disputes in the state: six years. Teachers were out for three weeks this fall.
While Maria says the PSEA doesn't ever want strikes or negotiations to go on that long, their own studies show strikes do not hurt the students' educational experience.
"We have studies that show there is absolutely no effect academically. Now, I think that there is an effect on the community."
The community, taxpayers, businesses, and of course parents, are all affected when teachers walk out on the job, which raises the question: are they worth it?
Teachers strikes, in particular the ones in our neck of the woods, have caught the attention of lawmakers in Harrisburg. We talked to one lawmaker who is just the latest to author a bill that would ban teachers' strikes in Pennsylvania.
State Representative Will Tallman, (R)193rd District, Adams County, is from the greater Harrisburg area and he's no radical. He's one of several state officials to try to ban teachers' strikes. But Tallman says his bill also helps fix problems unions and school boards have when negotiating. They would be required to start a year before a contract expires and if they don't come to an agreement, meet once a week.
"That's going to get burdensome after a while, having been on a negotiating team myself," Rep. Tallman said.
From his perspective, lengthy strikes don't accomplish much.
Though Pennsylvania has an above average amount of strikes, teacher salaries in the state are just slightly above the national average.
"But why we cannot get this done, when our neighboring states have done it, it's beyond me," Tallman added.
So we can agree that teachers' strikes in Pennsylvania are rooted in our culture. Whether or not that culture changes depends on whose voice in Harrisburg is loudest.
"The reason that we have strikes is that they work. The reason that they're allowed is because they are necessary," said Maria.