Teachers at all four Becker schools walked out of their respective buildings en masse Thursday afternoon at 3:10 p.m. in a show of support for their negotiating committee which is engaged in protracted contract negotiations with the school district.
According to Becker Education Association President Eric Austin, the 160 plus teachers in the BEA have been working without a contract for nine months. He also said that, due to what they see as a lack of progress in contract talks, beginning April 1, Becker teachers will no longer be able to perform work beyond the scope of their current expired agreement, including volunteer activities.
The action is called “Take Back Teaching,” and it will see Becker teachers spending their contract hours completing the essential parts of their profession; teaching children, writing lesson plans and working as a staff to support students, Austin said. They will also not be volunteering to participate in committee meetings and other activities that fall outside of the contract day.
Austin also said, as of March 21, “the Becker school district’s best offer for teachers has been a zero percent salary schedule, improvements in each of the two years of the contract. Becker teachers have agreed to settlements below the state average in six of the last eight years.”
“Teachers are sending the message that this is really important to us and we are willing to do what it takes to get a fair and competitive settlement,” Austin said.
The teachers do not take this action lightly, Austin said. “This will be hard for our members. It’s difficult to say no to any idea that could possibly help students.
However, I think it is important that we as teachers take some time to examine our priorities. We need to think beyond simply doing more and more for students and think about doing better and better for students.”
