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2 J.L. & Educ. 689 (1973)
The Limited Right to Strike Laws - Can They Work When Applied to Public Education

handle is hein.journals/jle2 and id is 699 raw text is: The Limited Right to Strike Laws-Can They Work When Applied to Public Education? A SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER'S PERSPECTIVE PHILIP DAVIDOFF* The School District of Philadelphia experienced a sixteen-day strike of its teachers in September, 1972 and another forty days of strike during the months of January and February, 1973. All of this took place in spite of a state statute, Public Employees Relations Act, July 23, 1970, P.L. 563 (Act 195), which gave only a limited right to strike to public employees. This statute provided for judicial review to determine if a strike should be al- lowed to continue when certain conditions were found to exist. As a Member of the School Board in Philadelphia and as Chairman of its Negotiating Committee, it-became my duty to follow the negotiations care- fully. In the later days of the negotiations, I took an active part on the management team. This experience raised many questions in my mind relative to the efficacy of a limited right-to-strike law and possible alterna- tives. Prior to July 23, 1970, it was the law in Pennsylvania that no public employee had the right to strike and no person exercising any authority over public employees had the power to authorize or consent to a strike by one or more public employees. This prohibition was added to the Pennsylvania Public School Code by the Act of June 30, 1947, P.L. 1183.1 Further, any public employee who violated the prohibition against strikes was subject to the penalty of losing his position and might regain the same only with limited rights of reemployment.2 If such an employee was reem- ployed, he could not receive more money than received by him prior to the strike. His compensation could not be increased until the expiration of three years from such reemployment. Such employee would be on proba- tion for five years following such reemployment during which period he would serve without tenure and at the pleasure of the appointing officer or body.3 Member Philadelphia Board of Education 1SCHOOL LAWS OF PA., §3303 (1947). 'Id. §3304. 8Id. §3305.

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