Cleveland’s public school teachers announced Tuesday they plan to strike Sept. 1, which could throw one of the country’s largest school districts into chaos while giving the city’s unengaged teachers even more time off.
The decision to strike was reached unanimously by the executive board of the Cleveland Teachers Union. Rank-and-file members already authorized a strike in May, so no further steps need to be taken. Cleveland’s school year has already started, so each day the teachers strike will be keeping about 39,000 students at home.
Cleveland teachers are seeking a new contract after their previous one expired July 30. Negotiations have bogged down over the way teachers are paid. Under the current set-up, Cleveland teacher pay is based entirely on teacher ratings, which in turn are heavily based on student test scores. Cleveland teachers are demanding changes so they can get raises if they teach in less-desirable schools or receive special leadership training.
The school district released a statement attacking teachers for resorting to a strike to get what they want.
“The District and CTU have been in negotiations since November 2015 and have spent hundreds of hours in bargaining,” the statement said. “A significant number of items have been resolved, and only a few remain. It is unfortunate, therefore, that the CTU has chosen to put its efforts toward a strike rather than working to resolve the few remaining items.”
If the strike goes on for a substantial amount of time, it could result in even more time off the job for a workforce that already routinely misses work. A recent report from the National Council on Teacher Quality found that Cleveland public school teachers missed an average of 15.6 school days per year, the highest absence rate in the country by nearly a full day. Those same teachers are paid a handsome $76,652 per year, well above the national average for teachers.
If Cleveland goes on strike, it will be the largest teacher’s strike in the U.S. since a 2015 work stoppage by Seattle’s teachers.
Send tips to blake@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.