Souderton strike talks break down

From the Doylestown Intelligencer. Things are getting uglier.

Souderton strike talks break down

By RICH PIETRAS
The Intelligencer

Seven hours of talks versus 15 days of picketing.

That's all you need to know about the three negotiating sessions in the Souderton Area School strike to know how it's going. And after both sides met for only an hour on Monday to no avail, it appears short sessions will be the norm until the teachers are forced back on Sept. 24. At which point the negotiations go to another level.

Gary Smith, representative of the teachers union, characterized recent negotiation sessions as holdouts until both sides are forced to go before an arbitrator. While the three sessions have been held with a state mediator, who has tried to “aid the talks,” an arbitrator's job will be aimed at forcing both sides to change their positions.

“I feel both sides are waiting to go before arbitration because they don't want to hurt themselves,” Smith said. “And I disagree that the teachers association has not negotiated in good faith. A mediator has been working hard hearing both sides, and some compromises have been made.

“However, I don't see that there is enough movement from any party to warrant changing position,” Smith said.

Once state law brings the teachers back Sept. 24, the arbitration process begins as both sides move toward a “final best offer.”

After both parties release their offers, a neutral third party arbitrator is brought in, chosen by each side or by the Labor Board if the sides can't agree. This is followed by a public scrutiny period, where the public can see both proposals.

Then, 10 days later, the arbitrator presents a proposed contract. Each party gets a chance to accept it and if they can't agree, the teachers could vote to strike again in the spring.

But Jeffrey Sultanik, school board's solicitor and main negotiator, said the board is not merely content to wait for an arbitrator.

Sultanik said that although the board made concessions on its proposal for in-service days and parent conference days, it paled in comparison to the union's insistence that the board agree to a health insurance plan that will cost the district $1.9 million more than the offer they have on the table.

And with another mediated negotiation session set for Friday, the real talks may not start until next week.

The teachers union was reportedly seeking an average annual salary increase of 8.2 percent over four years, partly in an effort to raise starting salaries that rank last in Montgomery County at just over $36,000. The school board has countered with a 2.5 percent raise in each of three years.

Souderton teachers did get some company on the strike line Monday when the Saucon Valley Education Association in Lehigh County went on strike. According to the Souderton union, the teachers there have been offered raises that range from 4.7 percent to 6.5 percent.

Keep up on the latest in the Souderton strike at www.intelligencernow.com/category/souderton-school-strike. Also, for updates on negotiations, visit www.soudertonsd.org and www.saea.info/.

“Despite what the union leadership has been communicating to the public, the union negotiator has not made a single counterproposal to the salary plan the board submitted on Sept. 1,” school board president Bernie Currie said in a statement. “Half of the month has passed since then. It is more than disheartening for us and for the families within this school district.”

Bill Lukridge, president of the teachers union said the board once again avoided the issues of salary and benefits, stating that, “The school board knows that for movement on salary we require the condition that the school board moves on medical.

“We have tied medical care with salary because the two are interrelated. They know we don't want to deal with their salary proposal until we know what they are thinking in relations to co-pays, deductibles and premium shares.”

When asked if he though both sides were “entrenched in their positions,” Lukridge answered, “Yes we are, on both sides.”