Denver teachers union members embodied the civics lessons some teach, exercising their right to vote Saturday for or against a strike after the union rejected Denver Public Schools’ late Friday night pay structure proposal.þþTeachers — some energized, some defeated — trickled into Denver’s Riverside Church on Saturday afternoon, listening to informational sessions from union representatives. Members of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, who represent about 64 percent of educators in the district, turned out to decide if walking out of their classrooms in the name of fair wages was the right way forward through years of muddled, contentious contract negotiations between themselves and the district.þþDavid Diaz, a former DPS and DTCA member and current DPS parent, accompanied his wife, a current DPS teacher, as she voted.þþDiaz’s wife, who voted in favor of a strike, did not want to be named out of fear of retaliation from her school and peers.þþDiaz left the teaching profession after his third child was born, admitting that he couldn’t raise a family on a two-teacher income and that mental exhaustion caused him to start his own business.þþ“It’s nice to see the union finally fight the Denver district’s plan, which has been happening forever in private,” Diaz said. “It’s long overdue. It’s imperative we value the teachers and what they’re asking.”þþJudy Cardenas, a University Park Elementary School teacher, walked out of the church with her “ask me why I’m ready to strike” pin on her shirt.þþ“The vote we’re taking today is basically a message that we have the power to say we care,” Cardenas said.þþSeveral teachers exited the building and declined a request for comment, saying they were too tired to think after two weeks of marathon negotiations that lasted late into Friday night and had been happening steadily over the course of 14 months.þþAnn Pipal, a DPS teacher, could muster one sentence: “Denver Public Schools needs to pay its teachers better.”þþDistrict Superintendent Susana Cordova said during a Saturday news conference that she agreed. The district’s plan kicks in $20.5 million toward teacher compensation and provides bonuses for educators in high-poverty schools — something Cordova has stressed is key in their plan.þþEarlier in negotiations, Cordova said, she was focused on reaching an agreement but told The Denver Post in an interview last week, “For the teachers who do honor the strike, I, obviously, understand why they would be in that position.”þþAfter the union rejected the district’s proposal, Cordova had a different tune in Saturday: “It’s hard for me to understand that we would have teachers who are going to go out on strike, who will attempt to close down our schools, who will interrupt the education of the children of Denver because a 10 percent increase on average is not enough.”þþTeachers also can vote Tuesday evening at the Knights of Columbus building in downtown Denver. Two-thirds of union members must vote for a strike to make it official. Results will be known late Tuesday evening or early Wednesday morning, union officials said.þþCordova has assured parents that, in the event of a strike, schools will be kept open with the help of substitute teachers and licensed school staffers who work outside the classroom, lessons will continue, special-needs children will be prioritized, and children who utilize free and reduced-price lunch will still be able to eat. The earliest teachers could strike is Jan. 28.þþThe superintendent promised that if a strike vote goes through, she will ask for state intervention immediately. In the meantime, Cordova said the district and the union can still come to an agreement before embarking on the first Denver strike in more than a decade.þþ“We continue to be ready, willing and able to keep going back and forth,” Cordova said.
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