Striking teachers in Pawtucket, R.I., were reportedly close late last week to reaching an agreement with the city’s school board to end a 12-day walkout.
The proposed three-year contract, which had yet to be ratified by the union’s members, was approved by negotiators after a state judge had jailed 53 union members and levied fines of $10,000 per day against the group and $500 a day against the incarcerated teachers. Strikes by teachers and other public employees are illegal in the state.
Elsewhere, teachers remained on strike in Seattle, keeping some 43,500 students out of school for a third week.
Members of the school board and union officials agreed on Sept. 19 to resume negotiations for the first time since the strike started 13 days earlier.
In Michigan, members of the United Teachers of Flint ratified a new contract on Sept. 18, ending the last teacher walkout in the state. Teachers remained on strike in Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.--tm
