East Allegheny Teachers Strike for Salary Concerns

East Allegheny teachers are beginning their second day of picketing over a contract dispute.

All 133 teachers in the East Allegheny Education Association are striking against the school board because of a failure to agree on a new contract. The teachers have not had contracts since 2012. Their main concern, according to the Post-Gazette, is teacher salaries.

They were unable to resolve their differences before the school year was set to begin on September 2.

“Even though we have exchanged proposals, we have not yet received a proposal from the Association that the District could afford,” the District said in a release.

The district suggests a five-year contract with pay scale stops in the 2015-2016 school year and the 2016-2017 school year. The union wants a step on the salary scale in the second half of the third work year.

A deadline could be imposed by the district’s need to offer 180 days by June 15, 2015. To do so, they will have to resolve the strike by September 23.