The attitude of those legislators who want to punish teachers for going on strike is one of the reasons why teachers need to strike. Our legislators should be spending their time solving the problems teachers are striking about instead of slapping teachers’ hands like they are small children. Teachers are striking because they don’t feel they are being heard. They have fought for smaller class sizes since I was a teacher in the 1960s. How else are they going to be heard by the Legislature if they don’t protest and strike?
In my opinion, teachers should stage a statewide strike longer than one day this fall if Senate Bill 6116 is passed. There is strength in numbers. The employer-employee relationship really hasn’t changed as much as some people think. Strong unions are still needed to bring working people together to have an equal voice.
If the Legislature wants to turn a protest for better working conditions and a better educational environment for children into a fight, teachers can respond. But, such a fight will distract teachers from doing their best in the classroom. Wouldn’t it be better for the Legislature to work with the teachers to address the issues at hand rather than initiate a long, drawn-out war?
Philip S. Parker
Vancouver
