2016 Yuba City Unified teachers’ strike
In 2016, teachers in the Yuba City Unified School District went on strike for eight days over salary disputes.
According to Appeal-democrat archives, the Yuba City Teachers Association was asking for a 13 percent raise and the district offered 3.5 percent.
The strike ended when an agreement for an 11.1 percent wage increase over three years was struck, according to archives.
“No one in our community has forgotten the pain of 2016 and the harm done by the teacher strike,” a letter from the Yuba City Unified School District stated. “Our district’s board is determined to avoid a repeat of that painful time. That’s why we came to the table ready to find an agreement that would work for everyone involved.”
According to the press release, the raise in 2016 required the district to borrow money from future budgets and the current budget reflects payments to cover the raise.
Dina Luetgens, president of the YCTA, said during the current negotiations that a strike is not what they want.
“That’s not where we want to go, that’s why we came in with a reasonable (proposal),” Luetgens said. “We want to negotiate … We want our employer to value their employees and invest in their employees.”
year, according to the letter. The association’s proposal would cost around $1.9 million.
“That $500,000 (difference) they talk about is less than 1 percent of their revenue,” Luetgens said.
Shemwell said because three-year projections are used the extra $500,000 would actually cost the district $1.5 million.
If the district were to entertain the teachers association’s proposal, he said, they would have to immediately plan for the 2019/2020 year and possibly make reductions to programs or positions.
Regardless of the disagreement, at this point neither the Yuba City Teachers Association or the district has declared an impasse.
“We are prepared to negotiate a fair compromise that provides competitive salaries for Yuba City teachers to attract and retain great teachers,” Luetgens wrote. “While it appeared to us yesterday that the district was no longer willing to negotiate, YCTA did not declare an impasse. YCTA is prepared to return (to) the negotiation table and negotiate in good faith.”
Shemwell said the district is not prepared to declare an impasse.
“We are proud of the work our teachers and staff perform in our community’s school everyday,” it was stated in the letter. “That’s why we pay excellent wages and benefits, and why we’re committed to finding a way to fund a reasonable raise our community can afford.”
If either party were to declare an impasse, it would have to be certified through the Public Employment Relations Board and, if certified, they would move on to mediation, Shemwell said.
Leutgens said negotiations have been ongoing since Sept. 6, 2018, and the session on Wednesday was the sixth so far.