News Releases
Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - October 21, 2003
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Gov. Gary Locke’s Statement on the Marysville Teachers’ Decision to Return to Work

Gov. Gary Locke issued the following statement regarding the Marysville teachers’ decision to honor the court order requiring them to return to work while contract negotiations continue:

“I am extremely pleased that the teachers of Marysville have decided to honor the court order to return to work.

“The court stressed the need for teachers to return to work while this dispute is settled.

“Both sides must now operate in good faith to reach an agreement.”

Last week, Locke announced his appointment of retired State Supreme Court Chief Justice Bob Utter and Denny Heck, retired president and co-founder of TVW, former legislator and former chief of staff for Gov. Booth Gardner, to serve as an independent third party to look into the dispute.

In a report issued Sunday, Utter and Heck made tough recommendations regarding the issues in dispute. Additionally they recommended binding interest arbitration if an agreement is not reached within a short period of time.

While the governor has communicated his desire that the sides settle in previous teacher strikes, his actions over the past two weeks are unprecedented in his administration. It’s the first time that he summoned both sides to Olympia, and the first time he has felt it necessary to take additional steps to urge the resolution of a teacher strike.

# # #





» Return to this month's News Releases
» View News Release Archive

Access Washington