Tennessee teachers fight bill to end collective bargaining
NASHVILLE, Tennessee |
(Reuters) - A Tennessee teachers group is calling a Republican-backed state bill that would end collective bargaining an "attack" on teachers' rights.
"We don't view this as education reform. It's an attack on the rights of teachers to have a voice regarding their working conditions, which are also the learning conditions of students," said Alexei Smirnov, spokesman for the 52,000-member Tennessee Education Association, which represents 92 state school districts.
The Republican-dominated Tennessee Senate Education Committee voted last week to deny Tennessee teachers the right to negotiate their working conditions with boards of education across the state through collective bargaining.
Republicans hold the majorities in both the Senate and House. The Tennessee School Boards
