David Zalubowski/AP
Nearly a week before thousands of Colorado teachers are expected to descend on the state capitol to rally for better pay and protest potential retirement benefit cuts, two Republican lawmakers introduced a bill to try to stop them from striking in the future.
The bill, introduced Friday by state Sen. Bob Gardner and Rep. Paul Lundeen, would stop public school teachers and teachers’ unions from organizing strikes against employers. School districts would be barred from paying teachers who participate during the time of the strike. The districts could also seek an injunction to stop a strike from happening.
If teachers failed to comply, they could face up to $500 a day in fines and up to six months in county jail—and if found in contempt of court, they could be fired without a hearing.
The bill, which is seen as a long shot to make it through the state Legislature, came just days after hundreds of Colorado educators rallied in Denver, joining educators in West Virginia, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Arizona in protesting for better pay and funding for public…
