There were gasps in the Franklin County Courthouse Friday as a judge imposed daily fines against the teachers' union in Pasco, Washington.
Friday marked the eighth day of a strike over contract negotiations that has closed schools.
The Pasco Association of Educators is going to have to pay $2,000 per day in fines and some of their top officials, including the union president Greg Olson, will be charged $250 a day. We're still waiting to see exactly when those fines are going to rack up.
The teachers in the audience were clearly shocked by the size of the fines. At an earlier hearing Judge Alex Eckstrom had said maybe $1,400 a day would be appropriate, but he ramped it up to the full $2,000.
The Pasco School District filed for an injunction to force teachers back to work. The union has said curriculum and pay are reasons for the strike.
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