Schools
SV Teachers Want State Mediator to Help With Negotiations
Frustrated over the lack of progress in their ongoing contract talks with the school board, the Saucon Valley Education Association is asking for a state mediator to participate in the process.
Frustrated over the lack of progress in their ongoing contract talks with the school board, the Saucon Valley Education Association—the union which represents the 189 teachers in the district—is asking for a state mediator to participate in the process, the Morning Call reported Wednesday.
According to the article published by the newspaper, two of the issues that have become sticking points in the contract talks are a teacher retirement incentive program and the decision-making process for teachers who want to obtain a district-paid graduate degree.
The Saucon Valley teachers have been working without a contract since their previous four-year agreement expired on June 30, 2012.
The teachers struck in 2005, 2008 and 2009, but want to avoid another strike, according to SVEA chief negotiator Jim Colbert, who was interviewed by the Morning Call.
A letter by Colbert was also published in the Sept. 6 edition of the weekly Saucon Valley newspaper, The Valley Voice.
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