Teachers Vote to Authorize a Strike

Citing "unprecendented actions by the extremist majority currently in control of the ," the Brecksville Education Association has passed a strike authorization vote with a 99.5 percent in favor. 

This action allows the association to issue a strike notice if it is unable to settle on a contract with the district.

Notification of the strike authorization vote came late in the day, and Superintendent Scot Prebles and board members were not immediately available for comment. 

“Today’s vote is a call to action to the Board of Education that teachers of the district are highly invested in providing top-quality education to the children of our communities,” said association spokesperson Joe Zenir, a teacher and coach in the district. “These negotiations should be about much more than money, but unfortunately, that’s all the Board seems to care about, and they are willing to sacrifice our children’s future to advance their agenda.

“The draconian language changes the Board proposed will have an enormous negative impact on our students and we won’t allow that to happen,” Zenir added. “Our working conditions are our students’ learning conditions.”

The association says it took the vote because it believes the board plans to ultimately unilaterally implement a contract. An implemented contract would ignore the collective bargaining process altogether, the union said, and would force the teachers to strike as their only means to avoid accepting imposed working conditions.

In a press release the BEA said, "Although the board’s relentless propaganda campaign is designed to convince the public otherwise, the BEA does not want a strike. Unfortunately the radical anti-education board has privately wanted a strike from day one, and is doing everything in their power to force one to happen."

“We have always said that our only goal is to achieve a fair and equitable contract that perpetuates the heritage of our fine educational programs that people in our communities expect and deserve,” Zenir said. “As a parent, community member, teacher and coach, today is a sad day for our schools.”

The BEA and Brecksville-Broadview Heights Organization of Support Staff (BOSS) represent more 500 employees in the Brecksville-Broadview Heights City School District.

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