Reuters: Idaho teacher union may ask voters to overturn curbs

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/19/us-idaho-unions-idUSTRE72I02X20110319

SALMON, Idaho | Fri Mar 18, 2011 8:27pm EDT

SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - The Idaho state teachers union said on Friday it may ask voters to overturn a just-passed law that curtails public school teachers' collective bargaining rights.

The law ends tenure and removes issues like workload and class size from contract negotiations between school administrators and the 12,000 teachers represented by the Idaho Education Association.

The association on Friday filed petitions with the Idaho elections office in an early move to take to the 2012 ballot the question of whether the law should be repealed.

It is one of two laws, both signed Thursday by Idaho's Republican governor, affecting school teachers in public schools for kindergarten through high school. The other measure ties teacher pay raises and bonuses to factors like student performance instead of seniority.

FULL story at link.

(Reporting by Laura Zuckerman, Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Greg McCune)