Syracuse Teachers Without A Contract

Syracuse City school district teachers are working without a contract, and it could be some time before that changes. The previous one-year deal expired on June 30th. It marks the third time in five years that the Syracuse teachers have had no contract.

"It's not good for morale," Syracuse Teachers Association President Kate McKenna says. "When our working conditions are bad, it does rub off in the classroom no matter how professional you are. We've had kids ask teachers-- they've seen the newspaper and they've seen us on television-- 'how come you don't have a contract?' or 'what's a contract?.'"

New York state law makes public employees work without a contract, but that does not stop teachers from picketing school board meetings. That happened in 2003 when Syracuse teachers went 18 months before agreeing to a new contract.

"The longer the district can stall, the longer they can keep the money that should be going to us," says McKenna.

Mike Sorrell, the Director of Staff Relations for the school district, says that the teachers do not suffer without a contract. They still receive pay, and once a new agreement is reached it is made retroactive to the expiration of the old contract.

McKenna says the district is asking teachers to work longer days and longer school years, but not offering an increase pay to make up for the difference. Teacher and school district officials will meet on July 17th to continue negotiations.