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August 31, 2007

Alert: Tiverton teachers back strike call -- if needed

TIVERTON -- The teachers union membership this evening authorized its negotiating committee to call a strike if it deemed it necessary next Tuesday.

Amy Mullen, the NEA-Tiverton teachers union president, said the members authorized the committee at a 4:30 p.m. meeting to "to take whatever action it deems necessary up to and including a strike on Tuesday."

She said the negotiating committee is making itself available to meet with one or more members of the School Committee over the weekend "in hopes that significant progress can be made" before Tuesday, when students would come back after the Labor Day weekend.

Mullen also said the committee will not continue to meet with the School Committee's current configuration of negotiators.

Teachers did report for the opening of school this past week as scheduled. Their contract is due to expire at midnight tonight. (An earlier report incorrectly said it had expired yesterday.)

Yesterday, the teachers’ union filed an unfair labor practice charge against the School Committee, asserting the committee has bargained in bad faith by failing to appoint a negotiator authorized to reach a tentative agreement.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer Gina Macris

And tensions have flared this week. Crowley last night released a copy of a memo Schools Supt. William J. Rearick sent to teachers Tuesday apologizing for telling them to "sit down and shut up" at a district orientation meeting in the high school auditorium earlier that day.

“My intention was to get the meeting started in a timely manner, in retrospect I should have chosen my words more carefully,” Rearick wrote.

“I want to take this opportunity to apologize to anyone I may have offended,” the superintendent added.

Rearick last night said it happened after he'd tried to call the orientation meeting to order without success.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:33 PM | Permalink

Comments

Perhaps if Ms. Mullen paid attention to the welfare of the Tiverton children ( re: ...
"I don't know what an attempted abduction has to do with negotiations.." )and not to raises, the kids would be better off.

Richard Rounds | September 3, 2007 9:10 AM link

August 31, 2007

Alert: Tiverton teachers back strike call -- if needed

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