The Sheridan School District‘s teachers union filed a complaint with the state labor department Monday alleging the K-12 system retaliated against employees who went on strike earlier this year.
District officials fired “several” classified employees who participated in the April walkout and reprimanded others, the Sheridan Educators Association said in a news release.
“..(O)nce the strike ended, the district continued engaging in bad faith by delaying, misleading and retaliating against educators who are simply exercising their right to organize in the workplace,” union President Kate Biester said in a statement. “The retaliatory actions by the district are shameful, illegal and wrong. All we want is to teach and support our students, but the district’s actions are making that impossible.”
The union said it filed a complaint under the Protections for Public Workers Act with the state Department of Labor and Employment.
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Sheridan officials said in a statement that they have not yet seen a copy of the union’s complaint.
“Speaking generally, the district values its educators and remains committed to a constructive, good-faith relationship with all of its staff members,” the district said. “We take our obligations under the law seriously and conduct ourselves accordingly. Should a formal complaint be presented to the district through the appropriate channels, we will review it carefully.”
Educators went on strike April 1 after district officials refused to reinstate the union’s collective bargaining agreement or to recognize classified employees in the union. The walkout, which ended later that month, became Colorado’s longest teachers strike in at least 45 years.
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