Denver teachers back to work with pay raise deal
DENVER — Denver teachers ended a three-day walkout and returned to their classrooms Thursday, greeted by hugs and high-fives, after their union reached a tentative deal raising their pay as much as 11 percent, the latest win in a national movement by educators to raise their wages and advocate for changes in schools.
The deal was worked out in talks that lasted through the night and signed shortly before classes started. Teachers were encouraged to return to their classrooms, even though the deal awaits ratification by the union membership.
Susan McHugh said she was prepared to return to her government and politics class with a lesson plan based on her experience — a discussion about the labor movement and the power of collective bargaining.
“This is just a really good example of what can happen when people join forces together,” she said.
More than half of the district’s 4,725 teachers went on strike Monday after negotiations over pay broke down. The walkout came about a year after West Virginia teachers launched the national “Red4Ed” movement with a nine-day strike in which they won 5 percent pay raises.
There have since been walkouts in Washington state, Arizona, Kentucky and Oklahoma. Last month, Los Angeles teachers staged a six-day strike. Teachers in Oakland, Calif. recently voted to authorize a strike that could come as soon as next week if they can’t reach a deal.
In Denver, teachers would get a base pay raise of between 7 percent to 11 percent in the next school year and cost-of-living increases in the following two years. The deal also creates a pay scale based on experience and education more similar to other school districts and allows teachers to earn more by completing professional development courses, not just earning degrees. Starting pay will be $45,800.
However, the union compromised on incentive pay for teachers working in high-poverty schools, which the district sees as key to helping disadvantaged students. Teachers agreed to raise bonuses for those working in lowincome schools that the district deemed the most challenging to $3,000 a year.
The district wanted to eliminate the retention bonuses completely because it said they do not prevent teacher turnover. Both sides agreed to study what leads teachers to leave or stay in those schools and revisit the issue later.
Bonus pay was contentious because it made wages unpredictable in a rapidly growing city. Housing prices have spiked and demographic shifts changed which schools are officially considered poor even if they have a significant number of low-income students.