Workers strike on first day of school

Teachers accepted the same contract offered to classified employees.
& lt;a href=mailto:slshaulis@vindy.com & gt;By SHERRI L. SHAULIS & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
SOUTHINGTON -- The president for the union representing school secretaries, bus drivers and cafeteria workers says the membership did much soul searching before heading out to the picket line at 6 a.m. today.
"Most of us have kids or grandkids in this school system," said Wendy Tietz, a secretary for the Southington Local School District, as she stood beside state Route 305, holding a strike sign.
"We look forward to seeing these kids every year to see who's grown, who's lost a tooth, who's changed. It's hard," she said.
The 15 members of Ohio Association of Public School Employees Local 673 voted Sunday night by nearly a 2-to-1 margin to strike today, months after negotiations between the union and board of education stalled.
Some drivers honked their horns as they drove past the striking union workers this morning, and several yards throughout Southington feature signs that read "We support OAPSE."
The strike's effects
While the strike forced parents to drive children to school and send them to the first day of classes with packed lunches, the length of the strike also will affect other areas of the district, Superintendent William Pfahler said.
The district of 684 pupils will not host any sporting events, though away competitions are still scheduled, he said.
A Friday night football game at Sebring is still on, but the team will not travel together, he noted.
"We will go, but parents will have to provide the transportation," Pfahler said.
There will be no busing while the strike continues, he said, but the cafeteria could open if volunteers are found.
The contract actually expired June 30, 2001, and on this past July 1, the board implemented a contract it had offered, which the support staff refused to recognize.
Tietz said no negotiating sessions have taken place since March, and the workers simply could not begin another year without an agreement.
She said the major sticking point are salary and health-care benefits.
The board has said the contract it implemented is the same that was accepted by the teachers.
The board has not been willing to give OAPSE members a raise for the past two years they've worked, she said, and union members are not happy with how the insurance carrier and plan will affect new employees.
Parents' objections
Some parents had no problems crossing the picket lines to take their children to classes, saying they would do it as long as was necessary.
Tammy Brockway, who drove her two daughters to school, said her children normally don't ride the buses simply because she does not like some of the drivers.
Though she doesn't agree with the strike because she doesn't think the classified staff should make more than the teachers, she does support the secretaries.
"They do a wonderful job," she said.
Andrea Hiniker of Warren works at the schools part time on the janitorial staff and drives her 13-year-old daughter Robbin every morning. She, too, is against the strike.
"I don't agree with that," she said, pointing her finger toward the striking workers. "How many other places offer you an insurance buyout? And that's what this is all about: insurance buyouts."
Tietz thinks residents want to see the employees back at work and have pushed board members to head back to the bargaining table.
"The community just wants it to be done," she said, noting parents have attended several board meetings in recent months and have even presented the board with a petition of more than 100 signatures asking for the two sides to meet again.
No contract talks were scheduled as of this morning.
& lt;a href=mailto:slshaulis@vindy.com & gt;slshaulis@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;