“Out Here Because I Love Teaching”: The Oakland Teachers Strike, In Photos
On day one of the strike, teachers, students and community members speak from the picket line.
THOUSANDS OF TEACHERS IN OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, WENT ON STRIKE THIS MORNING—the latest in a series of increasingly militant work stoppages by educators across the country.
In January, teachers in Los Angeles, California, won a historic strike, securing smaller class sizes, a nurse in every school, a reduction in standardized testing, a 6 percent pay raise for teachers and a plan for the School Board to vote to call on the state to cap charter school growth.
The teachers union in Denver, Colorado, won its first strike in 25 years last week, while educators in West Virginia walked out earlier this week, halting proposed legislation that would have allowed tax dollars to pay for private-school tuition.
Today, the 3,000-member Oakland Education Association (OEA) is on strike after 95 percent of its members voted on February 4 to authorize the work stoppage. The union says it has picket lines up at all 86 educational campuses in Oakland.
The Oakland teachers strike is as much about defending public education as it is about teacher pay.
United under the slogan, “Fighting for the schools our students deserve,” the union is calling for smaller class sizes, more support services for students (nurses, counselors and librarians), and an end to neighborhood school closures.
Currently, 24 Oakland public schools are slated for closure, the majority of them in poor and working-class communities of color.
The school closures are directly related to the rise in charter schools. According to a report by In the Public Interest, charter schools in Oakland are currently costing the district $57 million dollars per year.
The union is also calling for a living wage for teachers who are increasingly being priced out of Oakland. According to a recent op ed by the union’s president, Keith Brown, a starting teacher would have to spend 60 percent of their salary to afford a one-bedroom apartment in Oakland. Unsurprisingly, the district is CONTINUE READING: “Out Here Because I Love Teaching”: The Oakland Teachers Strike, In Photos
