Vol.63/No.42 November 29, 1999
Birmingham teachers force board to halt superintendent's pay hike
BY VED DOOKHUN
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Angered by the local school board's recent decision to give School Superintendent Johnny Brown a $30,000 pay raise, teachers, custodians, school bus drivers, and lunchroom workers began a sick-out Friday, November 12. More than a quarter of the teachers stayed home that day. They turned the job action into a strike the following Monday, with 1,264 of the system's 2,100 teachers staying out along with 400 of the 2,000 school staff workers, effectively bringing the schools to a standstill. More than 30,000 students out of 38,000 stayed home.
While the school board agreed to substantial increases for Brown and other senior administrators, teachers and other school workers got raises of 1–1.5 percent.
The first pickets went up Tuesday morning, November 16. That afternoon the school board backed down and rescinded the superintendent's raise. The teachers then ended their strike.
The work stoppage, led by the Alabama Education Association, gained support from many of the parents, as was demonstrated at a public meeting called by Citizens for Better Schools held during the strike. The rally of 150 people demanded that Brown give up his pay increase and focus on improving the education system, including reducing class sizes and paying livable wages to school workers.
Cynthia Taylor, the mother of a student at Norwood elementary school, said, "You can't just let people push you around and ignore you over and over again. We have to stand up, or else we'll continue to be bullied over and over, and being mistreated."
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