Oil City High School - Oil Can Yearbook (Oil City, PA)

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Teachers' Strike Closes District Schools Students had an unplanned vacation this year, the result of a teachers' strike. It was the second one in almost fifteen years. Fortunately, it was much shorter than the previous one which lasted for a month. Negotiations for the new contract began in January 1985, and continued without a settlement. The teachers' old contract expired on June 30, but in a general membership meeting in August they agreed to return to school in September under an extension of their old contract. The teachers' negotiating committee headed by high school art teacher Rick Fletcher was given the power to call a strike by the district's teachers. During the meeting, it was also decided to bring in a state mediator to help with negotiations. During the last talks before the strike, it seemed neither the board nor the teachers' negotiating team would budge. The talks were at an impasse. On October 7, at a general membership meeting, the teachers were told by chief negotiator and union president, Rick Fletcher, not to report to work the next day. The strike put the district's 2,900 students out of school, and affected janitors, secretaries, maintenance and cafeteria workers. The last strike staged by Oil City teachers was in 1971. It lasted for about four weeks. There were fifteen negotiating sessions between the school board and President Palmer Montgomery and union president Ray O'Neil. Fourteen years later the Oil City school district was shut down by another strike. Terry Duespohl and the school board, with Rick Fletcher and the teachers' negotiating team worked diligently to end the strike quickly. After a marathon negotiating session late Thursday, October 10, a settlement was agreed upon. School would resume the next Monday. A memorandum was written up by both sides, translating what had been agreed upon verbally to paper. In a meeting on Sunday, October 14, the teachers overwhelmingly accepted the new contract. A compromise had been reached that seemed to satisfy both the school board and the teachers. On Monday, October 14, classes resumed after the four-day strike. Most students felt relieved that the strike was over and the school year was back on track. JWB

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Strike news headlines The Derrick. The negotiating team discusses the contract proposals in one of many meetings. Strike captains, Mr. and Mrs. Hardy, exchange ideas with Mr. Stevens. Kneeling, Mr. Rick Fletcher leads the team's discussion of the tenative settlement. 16

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War And Pizza This is WOYL and it's 73 degrees and sunny as we sit outside of Domino's Pizza awaiting the pizza ... And that was exactly the way it was while eight people from SCA and eight from Varsity Club sat and waited for their pizzas. It was a pizza eating contest with one WHOLE 12 pizza for each person. The contestants would eat until one person finished and then the pizzas would be weighed. The team with the least amount of pizza left won. It was around 12:00 noon when the pizzas started to arrive. They were put in front of the starving students who awaited the sound of the gun. BANG! The gun sounded and the students were off. As you can see, it was not a pretty sight. The technique used most by both teams was to rip the pizza into pieces and shove it ALL in their mouths. After some time had passed, it looked as if SCA was going to win by a big margin, but as the seconds ticked off. Varsity Club seemed to gain on SCA. As the gun sounded to end the contest, the students threw their ; izzas down and drank the Cokes in from of them. The referees took all t.ie pizzas and weighed them. At first glance, it looked as if SCA was going to pull it off. But as Varsity Club's pizzas were weighed, the needle tipped in their favor! Stuffing her face, Missy DeAngelis attempts to put Varsity Club ahead. The thrill of victory is experienced by the Varsity Club. Domino's then donated $75 to Varsity Club and $25 to SCA. All the students who cared enough to participate in this prestigious event should be congratulated. AKL Using the delicate hut effective form, Courtney Drapeau devoirs her 12 pizza. Onlookers cheer on their favorite team. 18