CAPSS Position on Binding Arbitration

February 10, 2004

Prior to the revision of the Connecticut Teacher Negotiations Act (TNA), Connecticut school districts were subject to teacher strikes.  Not only were these strikes disruptive, but the long-term effects of the strikes and the jailing of teachers also took its toll on Connecticut school districts.

As a solution to this problem, the CT General Assembly revised the TNA in 1979 to include collective bargaining language that provides a final resolution procedure "last best offer binding arbitration."

As the labor relations process between school boards and unions matured, the number of school districts going to binding arbitration diminished, and the effect of the law was to bring school boards and unions closer together on their collective bargaining positions.  In reality, when binding arbitration has been employed, teacher unions have prevailed slightly more than half of the time on salary issues; boards have prevailed slightly more than half of the time on insurance benefit issues; and boards have prevailed more than half of the time on other language issues.  Over the past several years, only one in ten settlements has been decided through arbitration.

This act was also fine-tuned in the early 1990's to make sure that the arbitrators look at the wealth characteristics and ability of the municipality to afford the settlement.  Binding arbitration does work, and for the most part, labor relations between teacher unions and school boards has been pretty good.

The formal position statement adopted by the CAPSS membership at our annual legislative conference is as follows:

     "CAPSS continues to urge that binding arbitration be limited to wages and fringe benefits in
 order to preserve the rights of local boards of education and their communities."

Prepared by:

Dr. David Larson

Executive Director   

N.B.  In 2000 it was reported by the American Federation of Teachers that Connecticut had the highest average teacher salary in the United States at $50,000.  (In 2003 we slipped to #3).  In 2000 the average national teacher salary was $40,000.  At the same time a study put out by the University of Connecticut stated that the average salary for all workers in Connecticut was 25% above the national average.  If you take 125% of $40,000 (the average national teacher salary) you get exactly $50,000, which is where our average salary should have been.