Governor's Office Asks Forbes Road Career & Tech Center Teachers To Delay Strike
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The Pennsylvania Governor's Office has asked the teachers at the Forbes Road Career and Technology Center in Monroeville to delay their plan to walk off the job.
According to an official with the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA), about 30 teachers were set to start walking the picket line on Thursday at 7 a.m.
However, at the late-night request of the Pennsylvania Governor's Office, they will delay their strike for the time being.
Forbes Road EA President George Karnbauer said in a statement: "The Bureau of Mediation asked us to postpone the strike under the condition that there is a concerted effort on the Bureau's part to facilitate the bargaining process."
The union has not had a new contract for about a year and a half, and an 11th hour bargaining session on Wednesday ended with zero movement.
The union says they want a fair contract with the Technology Centers Joint Operating Committee, but each effort has ended in failure. The stumbling blocks are salary and benefits.
George Karnbauer, head of PSEA, at the Technology Center, told KDKA-TV News, "After 500 days of bargaining and presenting to them what we felt what we deserve, what we are looking for, and they disagreed with us, we felt this was our next step. We're teachers, this is not what we're about. Where we want to be tomorrow is in the classroom."
About 700 students attend classes at the school every day.
The Tribune Review reports that students from multiple school districts, including Allegheny Valley, East Allegheny, Gateway, Highlands, Penn Hills, Plum, Riverview and Woodland Hills, attend classes at the center.