Labor Dispute Continues For Fifth Consecutive Year In Neshaminy School District
By Brad Segall
NESHAMINY, Pa. (CBS) -- On this Labor Day, there is still no labor peace in the Neshaminy School District in Bucks County. The four-year labor dispute rolls on as teachers head back to the classroom Tuesday, while students return to school Wednesday.
For the fifth consecutive year, the 650 member union will head back to work without a new contract. They're still working under the terms of a deal that technically expired in 2008. The two sides took what's being described as "baby steps," but Union President Louise Boyd says that's not enough. The union walked out twice last school year and Boyd says another strike is not out of the question.
"We are preparing for that possibility as we speak. The membership met...we gave them an overview of what had happened this summer, which was we met with the judge...we've had additional negotiation sessions but we've had no progress," Boyd explains.
Any walkout, she says, would not come until they see how things go during several sessions planned for September. Meanwhile, Board President Ritchie Webb says on the district's contract negotiations website that it is very close to an unsolvable impasse with what he called a "rogue union."
