Kalama teacher: Contract talks at impasse
Wednesday, August 20, 2003 8:27 AM PDT
By Hope Anderson
Printable version
E-mail this articleKALAMA -- The leader of the Kalama teachers union says that contract talks with the Kalama School District are at an impasse and that teachers won't return to class without an agreement.
The announcement came as news to school administrators.
In a press release released Tuesday, the Kalama Education Association announced that the district declared an impasse at the end of July, stalling contract negotiations.
Superintendent Jim Sutton, however, said in a phone interview Tuesday that no impasse has been declared. He vacationed the first two weeks of August and the recent development surprised him.
"Nobody's trying to say that we can't negotiate. ... They have made no attempt to call or contact the administration," Sutton said Tuesday. "I don't understand why they are bargaining through a newspaper."
The KEA and the Kalama Coaches Association voted Monday to not return to work when school starts Sept. 2 if an agreement is not reached by Aug. 31, according to the KEA press release.
The teachers' union president, Dave King, said in the announcement that he's still hopeful that a contract will be negotiated successfully.
"The KEA bargaining team will make every effort to reach a settlement prior to the beginning of the school year, but any agreement must be fair and reasonable," King said. "We are somewhat concerned that we haven't had a settlement before school starts."
Neither Sutton nor King would discuss details of the negotiations or what might be in dispute. They said the district has hired Seattle attorney Lester Porter Jr. to represent the district in further discussions.
"I think we have a very reasonable teaching staff, and I don't see why this can't be settled before school starts," Sutton said.
The earliest negotiations can resume is Aug. 27, he said.
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