Ohio Teachers On Strike! (Updated)
The 150 members of the Harrison Hills Teachers’ Association have been on strike since Monday, October 1st at 12:01 a.m. EST. The points of contention between the two parties are proposed raises in pay and specific changes in existing contract language. The union and district have been in negotiations since the contract expired in the summer.
Shortly after the members of the HHTA began walking the picket lines, replacement workers and their security guards began to be bused in, hired by the Harrison Hills Board of Education from a private contractor in Michigan.
One of the bargaining team members was struck by a van allegedly owned and driven by the security guards from the private company hired by the Harrison Hills BOE. According to local media reports, the 5th grade teacher was “taken by ambulance to Trinity Hospital in Steubenville where she was treated and released“. In a separate incident, another teacher was reported to have been “clipped” by another van allegedly driven and owned by the same company.
The Harrison Hills Superintendent reported that school attendance was just 36% yesterday, and expected student attendance to increase throughout the week.
The Harrison Hills Teachers’ Association is an affiliate of the Ohio Education Association and the National Education Association, as is the Columbus Education Association.
UPDATE (10/12): HTTA reached a tentative agreement with their Board of Education on the evening of Thursday, October 11th. Teachers returned to their classrooms for a work day on Friday, October 12th. Classes will resume for Harrison Hills teachers on Monday, October 15th. The strike by Harrison Hills Teacher Association members lasted a total of 9 school days.