Labor and management

I don't like teachers' strikes. Who does?
When I was in high school, the teachers' union went on strike, and the enmity between the teachers and the administration poisoned the rest of the year (though it was a useful real-life civics lesson for us).
And as a young reporter I had to cover a two-week-long teachers' strike in central Pennsylvania. I got some great stories out of it (yelling parents, teachers on the picket line), but it was a lot of work, and day after day my managing editor would write editorials that alienated half of my sources. I was so glad to get that 2 a.m. phone call saying that an agreement had finally been reached.
I'm not qualified to weigh in on the ongoing negotiations between the Unionville teachers' union and the school board, but I do talk to a fair cross-section of the community, and I can state that it's certainly the topic du jour around here.
The other day I had breakfast with a friend who is about as politically liberal as you can get. And to my surprise, she said that the union is being unrealistic in asking for raises when most folks are being asked to tighten their belts. And, she continued, it was a giant political mistake for the union to ask for a fact-finder's report and then to reject it.
If the union has lost her support, I think they may be in deep trouble. I'm hoping they recognize how strongly feelings are running against them in this community. Otherwise, I fear that hard-working reporters are once again going to be awaiting that strike-ending 2 a.m. phone call. Or probably text message, these days.