AP: Teachers’ Strike Closes Schools in PR
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Many teachers in Puerto Rico ignored a call to strike Friday, but public schools across the island canceled classes anyway as students stayed home.
Less than a quarter of the U.S. territory’s 500,000 students reported for classes on the second day of the island-wide strike, according to Education Secretary Rafael Aragunde, who repeated his call for parents to continue sending their children to school.
The union representing Puerto Rico’s 42,000 teachers called the strike after a breakdown in negotiations over demands for higher salaries, smaller classes and more autonomy for individual schools.
But picket lines have faltered, with some teachers accusing union leadership of ordering a walkout prematurely and others expressing fear they could be fired under a Puerto Rican law forbidding the disruption of the public education system.
About 70 percent of the island’s teachers came to work Friday, Aragunde said.
Union chief Rafael Feliciano disputed the government’s count, saying that most teachers did not report for work and that many participated in demonstrations outside school buildings.
Public school teachers have been without a contract for more than two years in Puerto Rico, where the starting yearly base salary is $19,200 — lower than in any U.S. state.
The government has vowed not to resume contract talks until the strike ends.
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