By an overwhelming YES vote from 87 percent of the entire Tacoma Education Association certificated membership, Tacoma teachers are on strike beginning at 12:01 am Tuesday, Sept. 13.
Teachers will be picketing Tuesday morning at Tacoma’s five comprehensive high schools.
Now the District should know we are serious!
It is hard for all of us to stop teaching and leave our classrooms. In the long run, it’s what’s best for our kids.
Thank you TEA bargaining team for all your hard work.
[...] a school district has decided to strike. [...]
[...] Tacoma teachers vote to [...]
Your fellow educators in Seattle support your willingness to hold fast to your negotiations and principles! WE ARE ONE!
Wow, Liz, your comments mean a LOT! Thanks for the support and you are right – WE ARE ONE!
What are you “one” of ?
Thank you Seattle but I have to ask-Why did you allow that contract language that ties test scores to teacher evaluations or is that urban myth?
I am a parent of two that attend Tacoma schools and although it is unfortunate for the children to be away from the classroom. I fully support the teachers through all this. You are underpaid and under appreciated. Stay strong!!!
Thank you so very much! You have no idea how much your support matters, and means to us. Don’t be afraid to call the school board and let them know your feelings… and any other parents who feel the same way-pass on the word!
Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart!
THANK YOU, FLIP- YOUR SUPPORT IS SO VERY IMPORTANT TO US- WE WOULD RATHER BE IN OUR CLASSROOMS TEACHING YOUR CHILDREN, ALSO. JON
We in Madison and WI say
THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE !
Solidarity from Wisconsin!! Oh, how our wish our teachers had gone on strike in March! We will sing a song for you at our Solidarity Sing Along in the capitol today (look us up on facebook).
You ROCK!
Our family supports Tacoma Teachers. In fact we are getting ready to head to the picket lines at Mount Tahoma. I have three children that have attended Tacoma School district since they were in 1 st grade. I finally pulled my baby out and put her in online school because of the rediculousness going on with the negotiations. I also pulled her out as she was a victim of being bullied and treated as the culprit. Teachers just are not given the tools they need to deal with students that are disruptive. The Tacoma Teachers are forced to provide a free babysitting service most times. Only getting about 10% of teaching done in a day. You Rock TEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you so much for those comments! They mean a lot!
Thank you so much to all you teachers for all you do. So many of you purchase out of your own pocket and work without pay in preparation for our kids. Stay strong! Its time there is a change.
TEA- Can we somehow clarify with the media what the REAL issue is? They are portraying it on the various news sights (king 5 specifically) that we don’t like the new evaluation that uses teacher performance as a way to place teachers, but rather we want to rely on the old seniority system. They need to understand it isn’t that cut and dry- it is a case of where the performance based system doesn’t utilize clear and measurable attributes. They are really making us sound bad by the news reporters explaining that we don’t want to consider teacher performance when in reality it is because there isn’t a clear objective way to measure teacher performance. I think explaining that little element and providing an example of the ambiguous criteria (# 5-10) would really help the public to understand our dilemma and how it can hurt students. Ideas? I am sure this has been done and the media simply isn’t adding it to their reports, but I still wanted to throw that out there.
Hang tough, Tacoma! My father a Milwaukee Public School Teacher(yes, CAP T/MTEA) struck twice in his 33 years. Both times BOE caved. He has now enjoyed 20 years of retirement. Keep your eyes on the prize: we can only help our students when we help ourselves first.
And FLIP checkout http://www.bulliestobuddies.com
Stay strong teachers.
It must be tough working 9 or 10 months a year but getting paid for an entire year. Oh, you have to use your own money towards your job? That’s criminal! Poor you! Welcome to the real world. Most, if not all, of us spend money on our jobs. Deal with it. You are public employees. Actually more like public welfare recipients. If you actually had a successful school district where kids scored high on tests and went to college (or how about just graduate from high school?) you might get more sympathy for your plight. Try doing a good job and THEN asking for a raise and the other “demands” you have. Oh, and you have a problem being re-assigned based on subjective criteria? Waaaahhhhh. Again, welcome to the real world. Seems like you like “measurable, objective standards” when it benefits you.
Ok! This is for all of those uneducated people out there that are to lazy to ask ateacher about there pay scale. So here it goes. We are payed on a 185 day contract not a 365 day contract. The contract is the spread out over 12 months to help teachers better manage their yearly household income. Now if this isn’t clear enough for you let me spell it out for you. We are payed for 9 months. This does not include the substantial amount of time and money that we are required to put forth in order to keep our jobs and give your children a quality and free education. The average teacher is required to attend ten or more training each summer that they aren’t being paid for or reimbursed for just to keep their certification up so that they can keep there crappy pay job. Then after doing these classes we head over to extreamly over priced teacher stores to purchase supplies and classroom decorative items for your children. All of which aren’t tax deductible past $250. If we don’t do all of this then we are marked down on our evaluations because we are not in compliance with state and district expectations. Oh yeah, one more thing. This strike isn’t just about money. The teachers are there on the line for your children. They are fighting to keep smaller class sizes so that they can give each child the individual attention that they need. Teachers are the most highly educated and under appreciated people in the US. They have their degrees from the best colleges in the world and the could at any time walk away from the profession and make three times what they make teaching. They teach because they love it and because they are educated enough to understand that there are more important things than money. One of those things are children. They are the people of our future and if you the parents wont stand up for them then we will.
I am a Texas teacher and have been for many years. We support you all for what you are doing for yourselves and your children. Keep up the good work and always remember, “Those who can’t work in the corporate world!” God bless
Haha! Just realized a few typos I made. If you noticed them as well, thank a teacher.
Solidarity!…from Madison, WI
One day longer, one day stronger…
Remember there will be armchair critics telling you to go back to work and that you should be fired. Pity for them because they refuse to educate themselves on the unreasonable challenges teachers face each day with workload, special needs children, meetings galore, and salaries that do not keep up with inflation (and haven’t for years).
As you lead us, remember that we are behind you 200%. The students will still get their 180 days of education, so they will not be shorted. In fact, your actions will help improve conditions for students and for keeping good, qualifed educators in this field.
You may also want to point out to your critics how much the superintendant makes, other white collars up at your administration center, and how they are OUT OF TOUCH with what is happening in the classroom. If they truly understood, they would be supporting you and trying in earnest to give you a fair contract.
I wonder how much the strike costs Tacoma parents? I bet it’s more than 1 percent of some of their yearly incomes.
[...] heard about it. If not, look up Tacoma Teachers Strike and you’ll find a million articles on it. What this means for us is that Rana has been home more days than she has been in school this year. [...]
Just a thought but since we the schools have purchased food for 28,000 students that are not in school,they are talking about throwing all the food away.Seems to me that i see plenty of homeless people around Tacoma on a daily basis so my question is can’t we do something better with all that food instead of simply throwing it away.Maybe somebody in a position can pass this on to the schools GOOD LUCK teacher’s.
Thank you for your support. The district has donated surplus food. Teachers are working with St. Leo Food Connection to help feed students during the strike.