Teacher contract talks break down over union issue

[Sherman A1]

Collective bargaining sessions between the Columbia teachers’ union and school board ended Thursday without an agreement and no future meetings scheduled.

The Columbia Board of Education team insisted the contract include language that the contract would expire if the union isn’t certified by July 1. The team from the Columbia Missouri National Education Association team said it couldn’t ask teachers to agree to a contract with that language.

The stalemate resulted from a law approved last year requiring certification elections of public unions conducted by the State Board of Mediation and re-certification elections every three years. The Missouri National Education filed a lawsuit challenging the law and St. Louis County Circuit Judge Joseph Walsh issued a temporary injunction in March, blocking enforcement. The injunction prevents the state Board of Mediation from scheduling union elections.

Union and district negotiators disagreed sharply about whether the law should be recognized in the contract.

https://www.columbiatribune.com/news/20190412/teacher-contract-talks-break-down-over-union-issue

[Kurt V.]

1. Negotiators had to know that language would be rejected, seeing the law is under temp injunction.

sounds like they're daring the teachers to strike.