If public schoolteachers are feeling a bit under siege because of generous pay raises they are being asked to give back, their outlook likely will not improve anytime soon.

An effort is under way by two state lawmakers to take away the key weapon in the arsenal that teachers' unions use to win those generous pay hikes: the strike (or the threat of one).

Under legislation introduced by Reps. Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler) and Todd Rock (R-Franklin), teacher strikes would be outlawed and contract negotiators would be held publicly accountable for their proposed labor agreements.

Teachers who violate the proposed no-strike law would face hefty financial penalties, including the loss of two days of pay for each day of a work stoppage. Those who would incite a strike are subject to a $5,000 fine under the legislation.

Their unions, meanwhile, would forfeit dues check-off privileges for a year.

A separate bill seeks a constitutional amendment outlawing strikes. Such an amendment would require passage by two consecutive sessions of the Legislature, followed by approval by voters.

"In addition to shortchanging students by completely shortchanging the education process, teacher strikes are ultimately the hammer that drives property taxes through the roof," says Metcalfe, pointing to "union-driven salary increases and lengthy arbitrations."

Not surprisingly, the Pennsylvania State Education Association &tstr; the statewide teachers' union &tstr; opposes the legislation, saying it would be, among other things, "punitive."

"Teachers don't like strikes any more than the rest of the community. Our members would always prefer to be working than on a picket line," PSEA spokesman Wyth Keever told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. "Our locals exhaust all their other options before considering a strike."

But if that were so, why the checkered history of teachers' strikes in Pennsylvania?

With 94, Pennsylvania has led the nation in teachers' strikes in the past decade. Last year, there were three strikes, all in suburban Pittsburgh.

Currently, 37 states prohibit teacher strikes. Put another way, only 12 states, including Pennsylvania, allow teachers to strike.

The attempt to prohibit teacher strikes in Pennsylvania gained steam last month after Gov. Tom Corbett linked teachers' unions to poorly performing public schools.

"There is no more perfect illustration for what the governor cited as forcing school districts 'to focus too much on contract negotiations and too little on curriculum' than the fact that, during the 2009-10 school year, Pennsylvania once again (was) the undisputed 'Teacher Strike Capital of the United States," says Rock.

A ban on teacher strikes appeals to many taxpayers, and lawmakers should proceed to enact one with all deliberate speed.

With a Republican House, a Republican Senate and a Republican governor, there never will be a more opportune time to counter the union that has done more than any other to run up the deficits and taxes of Pennsylvanians.

The vote on this measure will be historic, every bit as important as the salary votes of a decade ago.

We urge GOP lawmakers to ban school strikes now, and we warn of the consequences to their future in office, if they do not.