Arizona teachers vote for walkout
Statewide strike begins April 26
PHOENIX — Arizona teachers have voted to walk off the job to demand increased school funding, marking a key step toward a first-ever statewide strike that builds on a movement for higher pay in other Republican-dominant states.
A grassroots group and the state’s largest teacher membership group said Thursday that teachers will walkout April 26.
The vote was held following weeks of growing protests and an offer from Republican Gov. Doug Ducey to give teachers 20 percent raise by 2020. Many teachers kept up the pressure at schools and on social media, saying the plan failed to address much-needed funding for classrooms and support staff.
“The worst possible thing we could do is not take action right now,” said Noah Karvelis, an organizer for Arizona Educators United.
Around 57,000 teachers submitted ballots, and 78 percent voted in favor of the walkout, according to the Arizona Education Association.
Teachers on both sides of the walkout vote have shared concerns. It could pose child care difficulties for thousands of families and leave teachers at risk of losing their credentials. How a strike could play out in more than 200 public school districts will vary but could leave hourly workers like custodians without their paychecks.
Beth Simek, president of the influential Arizona PTA, she feels the pain of teachers who are torn. Some are concerned about the effect on support staff and what kids might do without school, she said.
Parents and communities have already been making plans for child care, with some stay-athome parents stepping up to watch children so other parents can work, she said. Local parentteacher associations are also putting together food boxes for kids who rely on free breakfast and lunch at school.
Teachers themselves could face consequences in this right-to-work state, where unions do not collectively bargain with school districts and representation is not mandatory. The Arizona Education Association has warned its 20,000 members about a 1971 Arizona attorney general opinion saying a statewide strike would be illegal under common law and participants could lose their teaching credentials.
The logistics of a walkout will vary by district. The state’s largest, Mesa Public Schools in suburban Phoenix, would close and hourly staffers would not be paid, Superintendent Michael Cowan has said.