OAKLAND - Teachers at the Oakland Educators Association office said they plan to rally outside the OUSD Board meeting Wednesday, one day after the union announced the members had voted to authorize a strike if labor contract talks don't progress.þþÿMy big concern is that we'll have to go on strike next week because our district won't come to the table and bargain in good faith. They've had 6 months to settle this contract,ÿ said Carrie Anderson, an Oakland 2nd Grade teacher.þþÿ87% of our members participated in our strike election. And 88% of those voted yes to authorize a strike,ÿ said Ishmael Armendariz, interim President of the Oakland Education Association.þþThe teachers union says they want more school safety, a living wage salary beyond the district's proposed 3.5% raise over two years.þþÿCalifornia state mediators have reached out in attempts to support us in reaching an agreement,ÿ said Vilma Serrano, co-chair of the OEA Bargaining Team. OEA has accepted that support. Now it's up to OUSD.ÿþþLast Thursday, the district requested ÿinjunctive reliefÿ, asking the Public Employment Relations Board to prohibit a strike.þþThe California Teachers Association attorney Mandy Hu says that's unlikely to happen and even if it did, it would not rule out another strike vote.þþÿThat does not preclude the union from seeking to authorize another strike if the district's unfair labor practices continue,ÿ said Hu.þþOakland School Board President Mike Hutchinson says the district is still actively negotiating in good faith.þþHe says the latest offer includes a 3.5% pay raise, and teacher retention bonus incentives of $5,000-$10,000 to teachers with seniority over three years. He says it would also shorten the timeline for teachers to reach the maximum pay scale to 19 years from the current 32 years.þþÿThat offer would bring most teachers in Oakland an 18-22% raise from numbers I've seen,ÿ said Hutchinson, ÿIf this offer for compensation was accepted, it would put our teachers above median in Alameda County, which would be an historic step for us.ÿþþHutchinson says OUSD has a difficult budget balancing act.þþÿWe're trying to be able to fund all of the schools in every neighborhood and not close schools, while also giving an historic raise to our teachers, while at the same time leaving state receivership after 20 years,ÿ said Hutchinson.þþSome parents, however, even those who support teachers, say a strike would be terrible for the children.þþÿIt's very frustrating as a parent, because we've just come off pandemic, zoom classes. My kids lost so much learning from that time and they're just now starting to catch up,ÿ said Justine Nguyen, a parent with two children in the Oakland school district.þþThe union president says if they do call a strike, they will give the district and parents 48-72 hours advance notice.þ
Source: ktvu.com
