Teachers union at Sacramento City Unified announces one-day strike for April 11
The teachers union at Sacramento City Unified School District announced Tuesday its intention to strike April 11. The strike will last one day, according to union leaders, and is in response to failed mediation attempts between the district and the Sacramento City Teachers Association last Thursday.
The union met Tuesday evening, and ended with their announcement to go on strike to protest unfair labor practices, according to SCTA President David Fisher.
“We want them to honor the promises they made to students by honoring our contract, meet with us and the fiscal adviser, and obey the law,” Fisher said.
“This strike is unnecessary and will only hurt students, families and employees by putting the district on the fast track to a state takeover,” said district officials. “A state takeover will result in less money for our students and do serious harm to our city’s public schools for many years to come. Our students do not deserve to be put through the hardships that will be caused by this strike.”
The union’s decision came after Thursday’s six-hour meeting with a mediator from the State Mediation and Conciliation Service concluded with no progress, according to a statement by the teachers union.
The strike will affect more than 40,000 students in the school district.
The SCTA spent three weeks collecting votes for the strike, and said the turnout was 70 percent of its 2,500 members. Of those, according to the union, 92 percent voted to approve the strike.
This decision adds to the challenges faced by the district, which is under the threat of state takeover as it attempts to close a $35 million budget gap.
In a letter to Sacramento City Superintendent Jorge Aguilar last week, the teachers union asked the district to sign a written agreement seeking a meeting to discuss the SCTA’s budget proposal, and to abide by its current collective bargaining agreement and “use any savings from health plans to lower class sizes and improve services to students.”
In a letter sent Tuesday afternoon, Aguilar responded to the union’s terms with his own. Union officials said Tuesday evening that they had met and made their strike decision before they read the letter, but that Aguilar’s proposals would not have affected their plans.
In his letter, Aguilar proposed to meet with the union next week with the state mediator to discuss CONTINUE READING: Sac City Unified teachers union announce strike for April 11 | The Sacramento Bee
