RH Jones: In support of active & retired teachers

From RH Jones, February 20, 2008

To all:

This retired teacher supports teachers' right to strike. Presently, Senate Bill 264, Sen. John Carey (GOP) would take that right away.

In the first place, honorable Ohio representatives of both political parties in our past created the Ohio Revised Code to allow strikes. Why, all of a sudden does this need to change? Some says it is for the safety of children. Do they not realize that school districts' deciding on keeping schools open with unlawfully qualified replacements is the problem, not the teachers walking the picket line? And thanks to these knowledgeable Ohio representatives and senators of the past, striking teachers were no longer suffering the indignity of being thrown in jail. How sad for children and parents to see or read about teachers being hauled off to jail. This, perhaps, is the main reason the right to strike was passed into law, in the first place. Even with the right to strike as law, very few districts ever have experienced strikes. However, teachers may need that power when the occasional unreasonable Local School Board, State Governor or U.S. President acts unreasonably.

Every reasonable person concludes that teachers' main concerns are the children. Otherwise, why would they, as college graduates, chose teaching as a profession? It certainly would not be for the high pay or underfunded health care in their retirement. Happy teachers, secure their jobs, and improved environmental situations, among other positive criteria, can be the result of striking. This is good for children, as well for their teachers and, consequently, the public. Anyway, the number of days children attend in a school year does not change; strike days are always made up. Children do come first.

In the near future, it may become necessary for Ohio to have to undergo a statewide strike due to some uninformed state politicians refusing to consider that, or to understand that, teacher health care in retirement saves school districts money. The money saving legislation of HB 315 has been proven, and mentioned as fact, by my Ohio State Teachers Retirement Systems staff and many other informed citizens, many times, since House Bill 315 was introduced. Without HB 315’s passage, teachers at the top of the salary scale will stay employed on the job longer. This results in less money to buy children’s books, newer buildings and other everyday needs such as pollution-free buses and school buildings – it has been reported lately that most children are taught in older. unsafe, unhealthy and just worn out old buildings. Of course, if teachers have the lawful power to strike for better health care in retirement, and other improvements, better teachers are attracted to teach our children here in Ohio.

High growth in business in our state will not take place unless there is a highly educated work force in place. The right for teachers to strike helps to insure the quality education of our children. Why is that so hard for some to comprehend as fact? Just having collective bargaining only, as outlined in SB 264, puts our state further into regression. And defeat of HB 315 (the employer increase for retired educator health care) does not help either. Common forward movement should not be uncommon. That is my thinking.

RHJones, retired STRS member