Agreement Near In Teachers Strike Tentative Contract Plan May End State’s Longest School Strike

Fife teachers, participating in the state’s longest teachers strike, reached a tentative contract agreement with the school district late Monday night, both sides reported.

Teachers voted earlier in the evening to defy a court order and refuse to return to school Wednesday unless they had a contract.

Now classes could resume Wednesday if teachers ratify the new pact on Tuesday, district spokesman John Loihl told KING-TV.

Details of the agreement were not available Monday night. Teachers had voted 105-17 to stay on strike until a settlement is reached in the walkout that began Oct. 9, said John Cahill, spokesman for the Fife Education Association.

Pierce County Superior Court Judge Waldo F. Stone ruled Monday that teachers must return to their jobs. He did not specify penalties if they did not.

“We’re hopeful this vote (to stay on strike) will give us the momentum we need to get this over with,” Cahill said.

The longest previous strike was a 33-day walkout by Mukilteo teachers in 1990.

The Fife teachers had resisted a move to reduce pay for work outside the 7-1/2-hour workday. School officials say they must reduce costs because of a budget deficit.

The strike has idled about 130 teachers and 2,500 students in four schools.

Cahill said if teachers fail to ratify Monday night’s pact and are still on strike when the Wednesday deadline arrives, the district would have to ask a judge to find the pickets in contempt of court.

“The next move would be up to the school district,” Cahill said.