A friend of ours sent this along.  The newspaper clipping below, from the Long Island Press dated September 8, 1976 tells the story of three Long Island locals who voted to authorize strikes.  One of those locals was your very own PJSTA!  In case your eyes don’t allow you to read it, the part about our local says…

Meanwhile, Comsewogue teachers (Port Jefferson Station) were to hear at dawn today whether night-long negotiations had reached a settlement, or whether they would strike.

Bill Hippner, spokesman for the teachers said their president, Robert Carr, would call the strike this morning if their was no settlement.  The 6:30 a.m. meeting was in the theatre at the Arcade shopping center.

As you enjoy your Labor Day weekend, let this article be a good reminder of the courage that our predecessors in the PJSTA showed in order to win many of the benefits that remain in our contract today.

On a side note, Bill Hippner’s work for our union continued long after he retired.  As recently as this past May he was still serving as the retirement representative on our Representative Council.  If you touch base with him at all be sure to thank him for the immeasurable amount of work he did for our union!