KENT, Wash. — The Kent Education Association voted to authorize a strike that would begin on the first day of school if the district and union bargaining team don't reach an agreement on a new contract by end of bargaining on Wednesday, Aug. 24.
School is supposed to begin on Thursday, Aug. 25.
The union also passed a vote of no confidence in the Kent School Board and Superintendent Isreal Vela.
Negotiations with a mediator from the state Public Employment Relations Commission were scheduled to begin on Tuesday, Aug. 23.
The Kent Education Association said union members have been "surprised and disappointed that the district has repeatedly floated several anti-union proposals, including language on discrimination."
Educators are seeking a "modest pay increase" among other issues, which the union claims the district has enough money to fund.
Layla Jones, the vice president of Kent Education Association said contract talks have not been going well.
“We started meeting in July. We were prepared to start bargaining in May, and it was delayed, delayed, delayed,” said Jones. “Our priorities are mostly student-centered. We want caseload and class sizes manageable so we can support our student's needs.”
Jones also says Kent is behind neighboring school districts when it comes to pay.
“We want to maintain competitive salaries so that we don't continue to lose teachers to our neighboring districts,” she said.
KING 5 requested an interview with the school district, and received a message from a district spokesperson that says in part, "what we know is best for students is for school to begin on time and we are working toward this goal."
“My first reaction was, oh no not again. I thought the district had learned a lesson back in ’09,” said Lisa Brackin, the former union president.
She says teachers were picketing in 2009.
“The strike lasted 18 calendar days,” Brackin said.
Right now, Jones says she sees where the union and district are far apart.
“We are not anywhere near any of the student supports, getting those things met, and we are nowhere near getting the competitive salaries,” she said.
The school district says it plans to provide families with updates on labor negotiations on its website.