Teacher's union should argue for needs, not wants

Frontiersman editorial board

Buckle up, kids. It looks like we may be in for another bumpy ride. Last year the Mat-Su Borough School District administration and the Matanuska-Susitna Education Association, the union that represents teachers here, battled to reach a labor agreement that only managed to get them through the last school year.

It wasn't a pretty negotiation process. There was some bad blood, and it spilled over outside of closed meetings, leaving the public with fair amount of doubt about whether the two sides could heal their wounds in time to put together a more productive round of negotiations -- with a longer contract -- this year.

What we have instead is labor negotiations that have reached a stalemate, and a pending arbitration process scheduled for November. MSEA recently asked the school board to send the administration back to the table before arbitration, but the board refused. Union officials have openly discussed the possibility of a strike, but they can't legally call a stop-work action until all other options have been explored -- arbitration being the last stop on that road.

At this point, MSEA doesn't seem too intrigued by the prospect of a fruitful arbitration, and they seem to be leaning toward a strike if the administration tries to impose the arbitration recommendations upon teachers. If they do reach that moment of impasse, they'll have to give 72 hours notice before walking out. Unfortunately, if that happens in November, it will be during a critical assessment exam period, and all parties stand to lose if the students don't perform well on those exams. The union says it will consider that, but all options are still on the table as far as we know.

Of course, as is always the case, the big losers during the entire ugly process are the students. There's no doubt that educating our children is one of the most critical functions in a community. It may be important to remember, however, that as this next round of intense labor negotiations continues, that function belongs to all of us. We shouldn't lose sight of that and make rash decisions based upon the emotion and volume of arguments being made during a contract negotiation process. The rhetoric and venom of labor talks soon dies down after the storm, but the students and taxpayers will deal with the results for years to come.

We'd like to see cooler heads prevail here. We'd like to point out that the best solutions always result from compromise. While the teachers may feel their situation is not perfect as it stands, it certainly seems more than livable to those of us on the outside, looking in. Perhaps it's time for MSEA to consider two lists -- the list of things it wants, and the list of things it needs. With a district facing economic challenges, parents and taxpayers may be comforted to see needs take precedence over wants this time.