Teachers in the Pittsburgh Public Schools -- which hasn't had a teacher walkout in 31 years -- voted overwhelmingly to give their union the right to call a strike.
"The executive board has been clear that our objective is to reach a resolution of our disagreements without any disruption," said Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers president John Tarka, who announced the results of the vote on Monday. "Nevertheless, this type of support by an organization is very important."
Teachers authorized the strike, if the federation's board and its negotiators deem it necessary, by a vote of 2,666 to 234, or 92 percent. The union represents 4,042 teachers and other school employees in the district, which has about 29,000 students.
The last teachers' strike was in 1975-76.
Teachers have been working under terms of a two-year contract that expired June 30.
"We have disagreements on compensation, and we're not in agreement on some aspects of medical insurance," Tarka said, declining to go into detail. "Both parties have raised issues related to the work day."
The average pay in the district for a teacher with a master's degree is $62,000. The average starting salary for a teacher is $37,500, and the pay for a teacher with a master's degree at the top of the scale is $73,500.
The last contract, approved last year and retroactive to July 1, 2005, froze salaries for teachers at the top of the scale in the first year and gave them a $3,000 raise in the second year.
City schools Superintendent Mark Roosevelt expressed disappointment with the teachers' vote.
In a prepared statement, he said: "The PFT's request for a strike authorization vote is unfortunate. The district has been trying very hard to resolve the contract dispute without any disruption for students, families and our staff.
"This is a very critical year for the academic progress of the district," he continued. "We remain committed to a settlement that honors the good work of our teachers without endangering the district's financial health or obligating us to raise taxes, which we adamantly oppose doing."
