Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, said she'd like to talk about unions. They formed in the United States, she said, when workers in company towns "were a step above slavery but not much better .... so they banded together and worked for something better for themselves and for their families." She shared the story of her father, a union linotype operator. His union negotiated not only salaries, but working conditions, she said, including conditions around "hot type" that included extreme heat. SB 1108 would limit teacher contract negotiations to salaries and benefits only. Ringo, a retired teacher, asked how that's good for students.

Now, she said, both sides have to agree before something goes on the table for negotiation. "That's how it works, and it's appropriate," she said. She said both sides reach agreement, and they don't need to renegotiate those topics on which they've already agreed, and she disputed Nonini's earlier comments that amicable agreement rarely is reached between teachers and districts. "I really have to disagree with the gentleman's comment that that rarely happens," she said. "And how do I know? I've been there. For 38 years, I've been there."

Ringo said she saw state schools Supt. Tom Luna on TV this morning. "He said that people who don't like this plan don't like it because they don't understand it. Well, I understand it very well." She said she doesn't like it, and she urged the House to reject it.