Teachers rally for a common cause

Lawrence Teachers Association members received the support of nearly 30 other teachers’ groups from school districts across the South Shore, and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, at a rally outside the Broadway campus in Lawrence on May 17.

The LTA is entering its seventh year without a new contract. The longest stalemate in the state after Buffalo teachers reached a new agreement last year. After proceeding through negotiations, contract talks are at an impasse, with several issues keeping the district and the LTA apart.

Lawrence teachers contend that the district is calling for the elimination of class-size limits that could impact the quality of the education that students receive and reduce the number of teachers the district needs.

The LTA is also charging that many of what district officials call are clubs with fewer members than a real class would have. The teachers oppose the proposed new salary schedule that, according to them, would cut their pay by up to 20 percent. The LTA says that Lawrence salaries are not competitive with other Nassau school districts.

“Other districts could be like Lawrence,” said LTA President Lori Skonberg, explaining why the rally was held. “Lawrence used to set the trend for great programs. It was the jewel of Long Island. I don’t think you could say that now.”

The teachers marched for nearly an hour in an elongated circle in front of a building that houses both Lawrence Elementary School and Lawrence Middle School on Broadway, across Broadway. They held signs that read “Support Your Teachers,” “Treat Teachers Fairly” and “Invest In Public Schools.” They sang “Solidarity Forever” a 102-year-old song by Ralph Chaplin that proclaims the strength of unions.

Weingarten, a spirited speaker, gave voice to the LTA’s issues and appeared to fire up the teachers. She spoke from the back of a pickup truck in the Rock Hall Museum driveway adjacent to the Broadway campus.

“We have the backs of the Lawrence teachers,” she said, to rousing applause. “We will shed the light here until you have a fair contract.” The American Federation of Teachers represents 1.6 million members in more than 3,000 local affiliates across the United States.

Murray Forman, the president of Lawrence’s Board of Education, was not pleased that the rally was held or that Weingarten was there. “I view [Wednesday’s] activity as disappointing,” he said. “We’ve been negotiating in earnest for five to six years. We’ve looked at ways to create a pool of money for raises.”

Forman dismissed the LTA’s claims that the educational programs are clubs and that eliminating class-size limits would harm education. He noted the state’s mandated 2 percent tax cap as a primary reason that districts do not have as much money for raises as they did in the past. He also said that mandated step raises boost teacher salaries. A salary step is an increase in pay based on experience.

“Hate is born out of ignorance,” he said. “We have scarce resources, but those resources go where they are needed. I would be the first one, if we had any problem attracting high quality teachers, to stretch the budget.”

Skonberg said she believes the rally was uplifting for her roughly 280 members, including librarians, speech therapists and social workers. “We feel supported, and they support each other,” she said of the teachers who marched. “It’s support for a common cause.”

Have an opinion about contract negotiations between the LTA and the Lawrence School District? Send your letter to the editor to jbessen@liherald.com.