Denver Teachers Vote to Strike; Jail Threatened
Teachers unhappy with their salaries and undaunted by threats of jail voted Sunday night to strike after last-ditch negotiations with the city school district failed.
Although Mayor Wellington Webb urged both sides to resume talks Sunday, none were scheduled and the strike was expected to begin this morning.
State labor director Joe Donlon, who drafted the rejected contract, warned Friday that a strike or lockout would be illegal.
Striking teachers could face $100-per-day fines and up to 60 days in jail.
The district has hired about 1,500 replacements in case of a strike and says all 107 schools will remain open to its 63,000 students.
Donlon’s $5.1-million, one-year contract proposal gave every teacher a $1,001 raise instead of the seniority-based pay hike the teachers had sought.
Last year, the school board canceled the teachers’ scheduled 3.5% raise in an attempt to cut its deficit.
About 65% of the 2,920 teachers who voted rejected the proposed contract. About 3,800 were eligible to vote. The last strike, in 1969, lasted 14 days.
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