Oakland teachers strike ends after 1 day
Friday, April 30, 2010
Jessie Thaler, who teaches English at Claremont Middle School, high-fives a student who is arriving for class during the one-day walkout by Oakland teachers.
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Oakland teachers have stowed their pickets signs and are headed back to class today following a one-day strike, while district officials and union leaders are prepared to return to the bargaining table.
Teachers declared Thursday's strike an unmitigated success as about 90 percent of the district's 2,700 teachers marched on picket lines and a substantial majority of the district's 38,000 students didn't show up for class. District officials brought in 300 emergency substitutes to cover classes.
"It may be disruptive for one day, but it is a day of reckoning," said Betty Olson-Jones, president of the Oakland Education Association, the teachers' union.
Union officials said they would accept nothing short of a raise when they return to the bargaining table as early as next week.
District officials, faced with an $85 million budget shortfall over the next two years, reiterated once again Thursday that they can't afford to give the teachers pay raises.
"I think we all agree our teachers need a pay increase," said Brad Stam, chief academic officer for the district. "But right now, we can't afford one. We don't want to bankrupt the district to do it and go back under state control."
Teachers declared Thursday's strike an unmitigated success as about 90 percent of the district's 2,700 teachers marched on picket lines and a substantial majority of the district's 38,000 students didn't show up for class. District officials brought in 300 emergency substitutes to cover classes.
"It may be disruptive for one day, but it is a day of reckoning," said Betty Olson-Jones, president of the Oakland Education Association, the teachers' union.
Union officials said they would accept nothing short of a raise when they return to the bargaining table as early as next week.
District officials, faced with an $85 million budget shortfall over the next two years, reiterated once again Thursday that they can't afford to give the teachers pay raises.
"I think we all agree our teachers need a pay increase," said Brad Stam, chief academic officer for the district. "But right now, we can't afford one. We don't want to bankrupt the district to do it and go back under state control."
Negotiating two years
During two years of negotiations under an expired contract, the two sides struggled to come to terms over wages, class size, case loads for school nurses and counselors, and staffing for adult education. Before talks broke down in December, teachers were pushing for a 15 percent raise over three years. Initially, the district proposed a pay cut to helpRead more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/04/30/MNV61D726D.DTL#ixzz0mb6HLZ6L