Strongsville Teachers Picket Tri-C

Picketers are shown outside of the Western Campus of Tri-C March 20, where school board President David Frazee is an associate dean. The same day, the regional teachers union declared it was pulling business from the college in protest over the Strongsville teachers strike.

(Photo by ROBERT ROZBORIL/SUN NEWS)

STRONGSVILLE-

The tentacles the Strongsville teachers strike has grown in its third week have now stretched to third parties not involved in the work stoppage.

A letter from the North Eastern Ohio Education Association sent to Cuyahoga Community College March 20 said the regional union representative was pulling conferences scheduled in the school's Corporate College in the next year because Strongsville school board President David Frazee works at the college.

"The reason for this action is to protest the actions of your Associate Dean of Health Careers and Science, David Frazee, in connection with his duties as President of the Strongsville Board of Education," NEOEA President Mary Alice Conkey said in the letter.

NEOEA Executive Director Bill Lavezzi confirmed the letter, saying it was sticking up for the Strongsville Education Association.

"The fact is strikes have collateral damage all the time," he said. "We feel as an organization associated with the SEA, those associated with the board of education need to feel some of the concern. One way to do that is withhold business."

In a phone interview, Frazee said he had not heard of the organization's decision or seen the letter, but said any comment on the matter should come through the college.

"I'm trying to keep a line between my work at Tri-C and the school board," he said.

Alan Moran, vice president of marketing and communications for Tri-C, said in an emailed statement that Corporate College and the NEOEA have a "longstanding, great working relationship.

"As we look to the future, we hope the NEOEA considers how well they have been treated by Tri-C and Corporate College, as institutions, and how beneficial our partnership has been for both organizations," Moran said. "Based upon our mutually beneficial experiences, we hope they consider using CC in the future."

The letter from Conkey goes on to outline reasons it says Frazee has "gone far beyond his public responsibilities" during the negotiations and the strike, which began March 4.

Conkey said Frazee has "led the board's initial strategy which forced the strike," continued to refuse to negotiate and has "wasted public dollars on strikebreakers and security forces."

The letter also says Frazee "has adopted a tone which can only be described as deliberately antagonistic and inflammatory," and included excerpts from an email Frazee sent in response to a former Maple Heights teacher in which he claimed the Board had "100 percent community support," said he was glad to see she was "supporting her SEA comrades" and thanked her for her "propaganda."

Frazee confirmed he sent the email.

"I've had much more harsh emails directed toward me from members of the SEA," he said.

Lavezzi said the decision was made to put additional pressure on school board members because teachers strikes are unique among strikes.

"In the private sector when employees go on strike and impede the manufacturer from producing or selling products, the employer loses money," he said. "With a teachers strike, if the district is able to keep the schools open, the employer makes money."

That, he says, puts the monetary burden on strikers, not the employer.

"What we would hope is that the President of the Board of Education would understand that his actions have consequences," Lavezzi said. "If his actions cause him to lose business for his employer, he should know that his actions are causing it."

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Contact Shaffer at (216) 986-5479 or cshaffer@sunnews.com.

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