04/27/1987 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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M I NUT E S e Eugene City Council City Council Chamber April 27, 1987 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Debra Ehrman, Freeman Holmer, Emily Schue, Cynthia Wooten, Ruth Bascom, Roger Rutan. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Jeff Miller, Rob Bennett. The adjourned meeting of April 22, 1987, of the City Council of Eugene, Oregon, was called to order by His Honor Mayor Brian B. Obie. I. STRIKE OF SCHOOL DISTRICT 4J TEACHERS Mayor Obie said he had talked to City Councilors about the strike of School District 4J teachers and he would like to share his thoughts as well as the thoughts of the councilors. He said the weather seemed beautiful this morning but it is the 20th day since the Eugene teachers' strike began. e Mayor Obie said, "Neither I nor the City Council have taken sides in this issue--nor do we intend to. But today1s events reached a new threshold and caused a new level of community-wide concern. This morning's events at Churchill High School are an example of the turmoil we are in. One person was injured and there remains a potential as we move throughout the week for more violence and serious injury to others. liThe issue has grown from one of contract negot i at ions to a community-wi de concern about public safety. To attest to that, you would only have to be at the other end of my phone today at the Mayor's Office. While we do not want to intervene in the details of negotiations, we must insist that a settlement be reached. "We call on both parties to come back to the bargaining table and, within the next two days, reach a mutual settlement. Thi s stri ke shaul d and can be settled and it can and should happen before school opens Wednesday morning. "Earlier this month, I called upon both the leaders of School District 4J and the Eugene Education Association to reach a contract agreement and avoid a strike. Five negotiating sessions have occurred since that time. While I understand that some progress has been made, a settlement has not not yet been reached--and more important--not one proposal has gone to the school board or the teachers for their vote. Wednesday, if something is not done, we will reach another painful threshold when schools reopen. Again, the potential ;s great for tempers to flare and serious injury to happen. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 27, 1987 Page 1