Plum Teachers Vote To Authorize Strike

PLUM BOROUGH, PA - A potential teachers strike looms in the Plum School District, with teachers on Tuesday voting overwhelmingly to give their negotiating team the option to call a strike. The Plum Borough Education Association and school directors have been bargaining since January and the teachers’ contract expired in June.

That does not mean a strike will occur immediately. Under state law, teachers are required to give school districts a minimum of 48 hours notice before walking off the job.

“We’ve taken an important step today to ensure that the needs of our students and their education become the board’s top priority,” education association president David Gray said in a release.

Gray criticized the district for the recent loss of 30 teaching positions, overcrowded classrooms and the loss of full-day kindergarten, all of which he said have occurred, “just to seemingly satisfy the administration’s seemingly endless wish list.”

Michael Brungo, the district’s chief negotiator, said in a letter posted on the district website that if a strike does occur, families will be updated via the website

“The Plum Borough School District’s primary goal is to exceptionally prepare our students for success,” Brungo wrote. “It is a priority to communicate with our parents, students and members of the community to keep all stakeholders informed about events that may cause a disruption that would impact that goal.”

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