MSEA Members Vote to Authorize a Strike

On Monday morning, the Matanuska-Susitna Education Association (MSEA) issued a press release to announce the official strike vote results, which were certified by the Anchorage League of Women Voters. 93 percent of employees who were eligible to vote did vote, and 85 percent of them voted to authorize a strike.

In the press release MSEA President Dianne Schibe said “This is a clear and definitive message from Mat-Su certified employees to the School Board that their most recent offer does not meet our needs.”

The authorization of a strike vote does not mean that a strike will occur, but provides MSEA the legal authority to do so if a settlement is not reached. MSEA must provide the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District with 72 hours notice prior to a strike. In an interview with KTNA last week, Schibe said that the current situation is unprecedented in the borough. “We’ve never had a strike, and of course the pandemic changes everything, so I’m not sure what the day-to-day is going to look like.”

Bargaining teams from MSEA and the School District were scheduled to meet Monday morning to continue negotiations.