When used in this article, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:

“Board” shall mean the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board.

“Employe” shall mean a public school employe who bargains collectively with a public school entity, but shall not include employes covered or presently subject to coverage under the act of June 1, 1937 (P.L. 1168, No. 294), known as the “Pennsylvania Labor Relations Act,”¹ or the National Labor Relations Act (61 Stat. 152, 29 U.S.C. Ch. 7 Subch. 11). The term does not include any management-level employe of any other school district.

“Employe organization” shall mean a public school employe organization of any kind, or any agency or employe representation committee or plan in which membership is limited to public school employes, and which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with public school employers concerning grievances, public school employe-public school employer disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment or conditions of work, but shall not include any organization which practices discrimination in membership because of race, color, creed, national origin or political affiliation.

“Employer” shall mean a public school entity, but shall not include employers covered or presently subject to coverage under the act of June 1, 1937 (P.L. 1168, No. 294),¹ known as the “Pennsylvania Labor Relations Act,” or the National Labor Relations Act (61 Stat. 152, 29 U.S.C. Ch. 7 Subch. 11).

“Impasse” shall mean the failure of an employer and an employe organization to reach an agreement in the course of negotiations.

“Lockout” shall mean the cessation of furnishing of work to employes or withholding work from employes for the purpose of inducing, influencing or coercing a change in the conditions or compensation or the rights, privileges or obligations of employment.

“Representative” shall mean an individual acting for employers or employes and shall include employe organizations.

“School entity” shall mean a public school district, intermediate unit or area career and technical school.

“Strike” shall mean concerted action in failing to report for duty, the wilful absence from one's position, the stoppage of work, slowdown or the abstinence, in whole or in part, from the full, faithful and proper performance of the duties of employment for the purpose of inducing, influencing or coercing a change in the conditions or compensation or the rights, privileges or obligations of employment. The employe organization having called a strike once and unilaterally returned to work may only call a lawful strike once more during the school year. A written notice of the intent to strike shall be delivered by the employe organization to the superintendent, executive director or the director no later than forty-eight (48) hours prior to the commencement of any strike, and no strike may occur sooner than forty-eight (48) hours following the last notification of intent to strike. Upon receipt of the notification of intent to strike, the superintendent, executive director or the director may cancel school for the effective date of the strike. A decision to cancel school may, however, be withdrawn by the superintendent, executive director or the director. Any subsequent change of intents to strike shall not affect the decision to cancel school on the day of the intended strike. For the purposes of this article, the decision to cancel school on the day of the intended strike shall not be considered a lockout.