Trying Times

About the Book

TRYING TIMES is all about what happens when Raratan School District administration and Raratan school teachers can’t reach final agreement on their labor contract renewal. Both sides clam up and tell parents and public almost nothing once the teacher strike begins. In TRYING TIMES our author takes us into the negotiation room and into the caucus rooms where we see both parties and the state-appointed mediator confront and ultimately solve their disputed issues. In between meetings we are given a close look at how the strike impacts the daily lives of all the citizenry of the community, including teachers, parents, school administrators, school board members, cafeteria workers, postal and trades personnel, law enforcement personnel, judges, and the football and other sports teams.

This is a one-of-a-kind book. Don’t miss it!

About the Author

Author Jim Harty is Philadelphia born, raised and educated. LaSalle University, B.A., Wharton School, U.of Pennsylvania; M.B.A. University of Pennsylvania, L.L.B.. Now age 75+, he moved to Pittsburgh in 1961 to begin life as a labor lawyer at Reed Smith, one our nation’s largest firms. Mr. Harty has been practicing Labor Law for almost a half-century. He is a long time elected member of The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. He is also a long time listed attorney in Best Lawyers in America. Beginning with the passage of Act 195 in 1970 by the Pennsylvania legislature Mr. Harty has concentrated his legal career in the area of public school labor law and civil rights. Mr. Harty was a school teacher at the college level while he was doing his graduate studies. The 1971 letter cited in Chapter 28 of TRYING TIMES was originally addressed to him. “I always had trouble making long lasting enemies even at the bargaining table”. “To succeed in this line of work you need only to have good listening skills and to have demonstrated integrity; the rest is easy.”