Teachers in Pierce County school district ratify new contract, ending strike

Teachers in Eatonville ratified a new contract with their school district on Thursday, a day after reaching a tentative agreement, ending a strike more than a week after it began.

More than 100 teachers in Eatonville voted for the contract, according to a news release sent out on behalf of their union, the Eatonville Education Association.

“We want to thank our community members and those across the state for your generous support,” Eatonville Education Association president Michael Sniezak said in a statement. “It took marching to get where we are today. I am proud of what we accomplished. Now, we are ready to get back to our students, in our classrooms.”

The new deal followed concerns raised by the union over classroom size, contract length and pay. Roughly 110 teachers and support staff represented by the bargaining group went on strike Sept. 7 after three months of negotiations with the Eatonville School District, one of the smallest in Pierce County, failed to bring the two sides together on a new contract.

As a result, the first day of school had been delayed for some 1,800 students. Sniezak said students will return from summer vacation now on Friday.

Two days before ratifying a new contract, teachers in Eatonville, which is located roughly 31 driving miles southeast of Tacoma, submitted a vote of no confidence in the school district’s superintendent, Gary Neal, requesting that the school board call for his immediate resignation due to his “inability or unwillingness to provide effective, competent, and compassionate leadership” to the district and community.

“With an agreement now, I think people are willing to give the superintendent and the board a chance to earn our confidence back,” Sniezak said in a brief phone interview.

Any school days missed as a result of the work stoppage will be made up as negotiated in the settlement.