The mayor has no role in PPS labor relations

The comments of Mayor Bill Peduto concerning the collective bargaining of Pittsburgh Public Schools deserve response (Feb. 3, “Peduto Upset That School Chief Refuses to Meet as Teacher Vote on Strike Nears”).

First, the mayor missed his classes on Pennsylvania government. School directors are elected officials. School districts and their governance are legislative creations. The directors are not “just like any other board.” They are not the vassals of the mayor. If the mayor’s vision of school governance is the “water board” and he is referring to PWSA, we’re in trouble!

The mayor doesn’t play any role in managing the school district nor its labor relations. The superintendent is a state-commissioned official, not a city employee.

Superintendent Anthony Hamlet’s response to Mr. Peduto’s proposal that they meet, along with the teachers’ union president, resulted from legal counsel he received from me and other advisers. Our advice: Keep the process professional. The issues in the contract must be resolved at the bargaining table, not in the mayor’s conference room or a press conference. I wonder about the mayor’s response if a superintendent demanded a meeting with him and city union heads after repeated school closings due to inadequate road clearing and unsafe drinking water.

My advice to Mayor Peduto: Offer the same respect for other public officials that you would expect to receive in return. Focus your attention on providing safe drinking water, clearing the streets of snow and ice, and lowering the crime rate. If you have time left over after solving all of the city’s problems, brush up on your state civics lessons. IRA WEISS

Oakland

We welcome your opinion

Thanks to the PG and letter writer Dave Rivera for his straightforward account of the harassment his family endured under the double standard that is U.S. immigration policy (Jan. 30 letters, “Deepening Divisions in the ‘Two Americas’”).

We have a chance to put fairness and consistency at the top of immigration law. Let’s not settle for more politics as usual — or worse. ELAINE WELLING

Mount Washington

The state Supreme Court has affirmed that our congressional districts are gerrymandered and will have to be corrected in time for the May primary.

But redistricting will be in the hands of our Legislature again in 2021 following the 2020 census. Allowing the Legislature to select its own voters has resulted in Pennsylvania being one of the most gerrymandered states in the country. Gerrymandering creates districts that are “safe” for either a Republican or a Democrat. Safe districts encourage representatives to take extreme positions because they never have to worry about a challenge from the other party, only from within their own during the primary. The result is the kind of extremism and partisanship that leads to spectacles like our recent government shutdown.

PA Senate Bill 22 and House Bill 722 would solve the problem permanently in Pennsylvania by taking redistricting out of the hands of the Legislature and putting in place an independent citizens’ commission to draw the new district lines starting in 2021. An independent commission would result in more competitive districts, where moderates of both parties have a better chance. That’s good for Pennsylvania and good for the country.

H.B. 722 is stuck in committee right now, despite having 101 co-sponsors, more than a third of the Legislature. House Speaker Mike Turzai and State Government Committee Chair Daryl Metcalfe have the power to bring the bill to the floor for a vote but have so far refused. If you are in Mr. Metcalfe’s 12th District or Mr. Turzai’s 28th, give them a call and ask them why they refuse to bring to the floor a bill with clear benefits in terms of fairness, nonpartisanship and good government. ALLEN BASHAAR

Baldwin Township

Isn’t it interesting to see the need to point out whenever Donald Trump is acting “presidential”? This was never the case with other presidents. It was the rule of thumb and not an aberration, as it is with this POTUS. CHRISTINE GEDID Beechview