Feb 1, 2016 2 min read

McMURRAY – The Peters Township Federation of Teachers and the school district will exchange arbitration proposals by Feb. 19 in an effort to resolve a labor dispute that has left the district’s 285 teachers without a labor agreement since late August.

According to the district, proposals will be available to the public at the district office on East McMurray Road. The proposals will also be available on the district website, www.ptsd.k12.pa.us, said Shelly Belcher, a district spokesperson.

Public comment will begin Feb. 22 and end March 2, she said. Hearings before an arbitration panel involving the two sides are scheduled for March 3 and 4, said Paul Homer, a staff representative of Local 3431 of American Federation of Teachers.

“We believe this is an opportunity to resolve this through nonbinding arbitration and come up with a settlement,” Homer said.

District teachers, who had been working without a contract since school started Aug. 31, walked off their jobs in late October and returned to work Nov. 27, the day after Thanksgiving.

The main issues between the two sides are salaries and health care costs. The average teacher’s salary in Peters is more than $70,000 a year, the district said.

Less than two weeks ago, Timothy Tietze, a Philadelphia area attorney and veteran arbitrator, was selected as the neutral member of the panel tasked with coming up with a new labor agreement. The other members of the panel include Homer and Gretchen Love, the district’s solicitor who participated in the contract negotiations during the strike.

“The strict timelines normally associated with this process have been waived by both sides,” said Jeannine French, Peters superintendent. “The flexibility allows us to make the process as meaningful as possible for everyone concerned.”

The nonbinding arbitration process is expected to take 60 days to complete.

If nonbinding arbitration fails to bring about a contract between the two sides, then a second strike could take place.