Teachers strike over class size

On Sept. 14, 1,800 teachers from the working-class Kent School District in Washington state overwhelmingly ratified a new contract, ending their strong 18-day strike.

Although details of the new agreement aren’t out yet, the Kent Education Association—the teachers’ union—made it clear during their struggle that the teachers would not go back to work without a cap on classroom sizes. That was the key issue.

With a reserve fund of $21 million, the Kent School District, the fourth largest in the state with 26,000 students, could have met the teachers’ demands at any time.

On Sept. 1, the school district filed for an injunction against the teachers’ strike, which began on Aug. 27. Two days later, King County Superior Court Judge Andrea Darvas asserted that the teachers’ strike was illegal and ordered the teachers to return to their classrooms.

The teachers adamantly stood up to the school district and the courts. On Labor Day weekend, they voted overwhelmingly to defy the injunction. They kept the strike going and asserted their legal right to do so, maintaining that there is no state law barring teachers’ strikes. And they had the strong support of parents and students.

The KEA and striking teachers remained resolute, even after Judge Darvas threatened on Sept. 10 to impose huge fines on both the union and individual teachers retroactive to Sept. 8 if they did not return to work by Sept. 15.

On Sept. 14, the KEA held a rally of 2,000 people, which included members of teachers’ unions from all over the region and community representatives.

Only 30 minutes after the rally started, KEA President Lisa Brackin Johnson announced a new tentative agreement had been reached!