Unity Wins Out In Lengthy Washington Strike

NEA Today, Jan 2004 by O'Neil, John

When NEA Executive Committee member Carolyn Crowder reached Marysville, Washington, October 14, teachers were on their 43rd day of a strike that would stretch to 50 days.

It didn't take long, however, for Crowder to witness the unity and self-sacrifice that members of the Marysville Education Association (MEA) exemplified throughout the walkout.

Accompanied by MEA President Elaine Hanson, Crowder was visiting one of the picket lines when the picket captain announced to several dozen strikers that he had gift cards from local groceries. Clearly, everyone could have used the help because at that point, teachers hadn't been paid for at least six weeks.

But someone noticed that Joe Klomparens, who had walked the line regularly, was missing. It turned out that Joe was at the hospital with the youngest of his five children, an infant recently diagnosed with leukemia. In an instant, one teacher after another passed up the free grocery cards, saying that Joe needed them more.

"As I was standing there I saw how teachers who really needed the help offered it to others who needed it more," says Crowder. "It really struck me that these folks were out there because they cared so much for the schools and for each other." She went on: "This is why we have a union-to work together and see beyond our own situations."

The Marysville strike-which ended after a state-record 50 days off the job-didn't result in a new contract (a judge ruled that for the time being teachers will be bound by the contract that expired last year). But it generated results just the same:

DISPLAYS OF SOLIDARITY FROM OTHER UNIONS. A Day of Commitment rally in mid-October brought together MEA supporters from locals as far away as Aberdeen and Spokane. That bolstered the striking teachers' spirits-as did a donation of $10,000 from their colleagues north of the border at the British Columbia Teachers' Federation. The Washington Education Association also made available to striking MEA members "interest-free payroll advances" of up to $1,000.

A SHOW OF SUPPORT FROM PARENTS AND STUDENTS. Parents walked the picket line with teachers and "brought us freshly baked cookies and apples," says Hanson. Students staged a sit-in on school district property. When they were ordered to move, they set up tents at a supportive parents' house and continued the sit-in overnight.

CHANGING OF THE GUARD AT THE SCHOOL BOARD. In a public show of disapproval for the local school board and superintendent, voters in November elections tossed out three school board members who had stonewalled MEA and refused to bargain in good faith. "We're looking forward to working on a new contract with a new board," Hanson says.

Crowder's been an NEA member for 25 years. But witnessing the dedication of Marysville members, and their support for one another, left an impression. "I told them, 'Walking here today with you on your 43rd day has truly been one of the proudest experiences I've had as an NEA member.'"

-JOHN O'NEIL