Barring a late-night development that leads to a contract agreement, Penn Hills teachers were set to walk off the job today.
Regardless, classes are canceled today and, likely, Friday. The Penn Hills Education Association -- the union representing Penn Hills' 415 teachers -- on Monday announced it would strike after failing to resolve differences with the district over salaries and health care benefits.
Teachers have been working under the terms of their old contract since Aug. 31.
A state-appointed mediator called both sides to an emergency negotiating session Wednesday night, according to Bruce Campbell, the attorney representing the school district in contract talks.
"I'm always hopeful we can work something out, but we have to be realistic," he said. "We are still very far apart in reaching an agreement."
Even after a tentative agreement is reached, it could take several days to ratify it and send students back to school, said Butch Santicola, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Education Association.
The last strike in Penn Hills was in 1993 and lasted several weeks.
Jane Marra, who has three children, including a senior, attending Penn Hills schools, hopes this strike is short.
"If it goes long, it could really mess up the summer for seniors who need to work to earn money for college," she said. "A couple of days shouldn't be a problem because that would be no different than dealing with a sick child for a few days."
The district has about 4,900 students.
The union initially asked for a five-year deal with 15 percent raises each year and a cut for some teachers in their 1.2 percent contribution toward health insurance, as well as several changes in insurance designed to sweeten the level of coverage, such as covering domestic partners and insurance from the time teachers retire until they are eligible for Medicare.
Public employees in the state pay, on average, 8.3 percent of their health care costs. Workers in the private sector pay an average of 23.9 percent.
Santicola said the union's initial request was a starting point designed to draw attention to the gap between what Penn Hills teachers earn and the Allegheny County average.
He said the union would settle for 6 percent yearly raises, but "everything is on the table during negotiations."
The district's latest proposal is a five-year contract with a pay freeze the first year; starting in the second year a step, or longevity increase for eligible teachers; 1 percent raise the third year; 2 percent the fourth; and 3 percent the fifth.
Penn Hills officials said the offer, which was rejected by the union, would cost the district $11 million but not require a tax increase.
The district initially offered a two-year deal that freezes pay and requires all teachers to pay 10 percent toward health insurance.
According to the state Department of Education, public school teachers in Allegheny County earned an average $52,035 during the 2007-08 school year, the latest figure available.
Penn Hills teachers earned an average of $48,817 that year. The statewide average was $56,091.
Additional Information:Recent teachers' strikes
2009-10
• South Butler, 17 days
2008-09
• Duquesne City Schools, two days
• South Butler, 17 days
2007-08
• Seneca Valley, five weeks
• Baldwin-Whitehall, one day
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry
Following the law
State law limits teachers to two strikes a year. The union is required to give 48 hours notice and complete certain aspects of collective bargaining, such as mediation.
Christopher Manlove of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry said that, before the law passed in 1992, it was common to have several dozen strikes annually. Since 2004, there have only been 42 teachers' strikes in Pennsylvania, which is one of 13 states that still permits teachers to strike, according to the department.
After a teachers' strike begins, the state Department of Education sets a 'critical date,' which dictates when a strike must end so that the legally required 180 days of instruction can take place by June 15. When the critical date is reached, striking teachers must return to work and enter into mandatory, nonbinding arbitration. If either side rejects the arbitration panel's determination, teachers can strike a second time. Teachers are required to return to work in time to complete the 180 days of instruction by June 30.
SSource: Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry
