Teachers union preparing for an ‘indefinite strike’
OAKLAND » Three days before a scheduled strike, the president of the Oakland Unified teachers union gave no indication educators and the district were any closer to a deal that would avoid picket lines at schools.
Keith Brown, president of the Oakland Education Association, on Monday said the union representing 3,000 members is prepared for an “indefinite strike” beginning Thursday. The union called for a strike on Saturday, after two years of failed negotiations.
“We hope this is a short strike and that the district listens to the community, to teachers and students,” Brown said before a meeting with district teachers at a West Oakland church.
Oakland Unified spokesman John Sasaki did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday, a federal holiday in which schools and the district office were closed. Sasaki earlier said the union has not responded to the district’s request to resume negotiations. In response, Brown said the union has negotiated since 2017 and is waiting for the district to send a suitable proposal to avoid a strike.
Oakland Unified officials are working to staff classrooms with “emergency temporary teachers” and considering consolidating classes, changing school schedules and bringing administrators into classrooms to teach.
“Just because they have set a date doesn’t mean we cannot prevent this,” Sasaki said earlier. “Our board of education, superintendent and district staff want to avoid a strike and we are ready to sit down and negotiate.”
In the event of a strike, the city of Oakland plans to open 15 recreation centers for students who choose not cross campus picket lines. Oakland Unified loses money for every one of its 37,000 students who does not attend class. State funding for kindergarten through 12th grade districts is tied to daily attendance.
Oakland teachers have been without a contract since July 2017. The union is demanding a new contract to include a 12 percent raise over three years, while the district has offered a 5 percent raise over the same period. In addition, the Oakland Education Association wants smaller class sizes and more counselors and nurses hired.
In a fact-finding report released Friday, arbitrator Najeeb N. Khoury recommended a 6 percent raise over two years and that the two sides reopen talks for a raise in the final year of a contract. If the district were “financially healthier,” Khoury would recommend a 9 percent raise over three years.
District and union negotiators have held 30 bargaining sessions spanning 200 hours, with no resolution, according to the factfinding report.
“It is clear that OUSD’s proposal of a 5 percent raise over three years will not keep pace with inflation,” Khoury wrote. “It is also clear that OUSD will have a very difficult time affording a 12 percent raise over three years, as it is in a structural deficit.”
Brown called the report a “neutral” take on the negotiations and said the recommendation did not go far enough to bring teacher salaries to a “livable wage.”
Last week, the Oakland school board delayed cutting $21.75 million from its budget. The board will consider the cuts again Tuesday. Oakland Unified is on pace to face a $56 million budget deficit by the 2020-21 school year, and as many as 24 schools could be closed over the next five years, officials have said.
A teacher strike in Oakland would be the first since a one-day strike in 2010. In 1996, teachers went on strike for 26 days. The union is working with a bank to provide financial assistance during the length of the strike.