Opinion: Union greed closed schools in Port Angeles

Liv Finne of the Washington Policy Center offers a recent example to remind others that strikes by public school employees are illegal under state law

Liv Finne
Washington Policy Center

A couple of weeks ago on Monday April 8, the WEA union called an illegal strike to close the public schools in the Port Angeles School District, denying educational access to 3,500 children. Strikes by public school employees are illegal under state law.

That law didn’t stop the union, however. The union wanted more money.

The following day, on Tuesday, the district obtained a court order from the Clallam County Superior Court requiring the union to return to work. The purpose of the order was to ensure that children are not harmed by a political dispute created by adults.

The union executives ignored the judge’s order. The public schools in Port Angeles were closed for that entire week.

As noted, the cause of this dispute is union greed. The union shut the schools to gain leverage in ongoing contract negotiations. Not surprisingly the hold-up was the union’s insistence on a large pay raise. Public records show average teacher pay in Port Angeles is $92,600 plus $30,000 in benefits. For comparison, average worker salary in Port Angeles is $46,969.

Port Angeles public school teachers work for 10 months of the year and in addition receive four weeks of paid vacation. Most other workers work 12 months and may get two or three weeks of vacation.

Public employees do not have the right to strike under Washington law: RCW 41.56.120. Strikes by public employees are illegal.

Both research and common sense prove that union strikes that close schools hurt students and disrupt the lives of working families. Such illegal closures are especially harmful to students after the extended COVID school shutdowns that significantly damaged the academic learning of Washington’s 1.06 million public school students. Large numbers of Port Angeles students were denied access to the public education they are promised. Recent test scores show Port Angeles school officials failed to teach 49 percent of students adequately in English, failed to teach 59% adequately in math, and failed to teach 54 percent adequately in science.

The WEA union regularly strikes to close local schools during contract negotiations. This illegal strategy often results in higher pay and benefits for the union. Districts find it impossible to resist the political pressure, so they often agree to extreme union pay demands to get schools open.

Calling illegal strikes reveals the union’s contempt for democracy. Our democracy depends on all citizens, even unions, following democratically enacted rules. No one should be above the laws. Now the WEA union has gone as far as defying a return-to-work order from the Clallam County Superior Court.

Clearly, any union that thinks it is above the law should be de-certified, so teachers can seek more ethical representation.

One remedy the court could have used in this instance would have been to decertify the WEA union. Monetary fines are not enough to deter the arrogant and wealthy union, where Larry Delaney, the president, makes $312,000.

As a final insult, Rebecca Winter, the president of the local union, also lied to the media:

“What we are doing is right…. “We just want to get back to our kids,” said Winters, choking up. “I just keep thinking about our kids.”

She clearly lied. If union president Winter had really wanted to “get back to our kids” she wouldn’t have called the strike in the first place. But for her, gaining access to more public money is a powerful motivator, even if she harms Port Angeles families and the rule of law in the process.

Liv Finne is the director of the Center for Education at the Washington Policy Center.