Teachers union votes to authorize strike against Sacramento City Unified
The teachers union at Sacramento City Unified School District announced Friday that its members have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike.
The Sacramento City Teachers Association spent three weeks collecting votes, and said turnout was 70 percent. According to the union, 92 percent of its 2,500 members voted to approve the strike.
The move adds to the challenges faced by the district, which is under the threat of state takeoveras it wrestles with a $35 million budget gap.
The teachers union said it will call for a strike if Sacramento City Superintendent Jorge Aguilar, board President Jessie Ryan and the district “persist in their unlawful behavior and avoid taking measure to correct their unlawful behavior,” according to a statement.
The union accuses the district of refusing to honor their collective bargaining agreement, making unilateral changes, failing to send representatives to the bargaining table and meeting at unreasonable times and places.
The union also called the district’s recent decision to potentially lay off hundreds of employeesunlawful and in violation of California’s open-meeting law, the Brown Act. The union says many of its decisions happened in closed sessions and the Brown Act guarantees the public’s right to attend and participate in meetings of local legislative bodies.
The district in a statement to The Sacramento Bee called the grounds for the strike “unfounded.” CONTINUE READING: Teachers union votes to authorize strike against Sacramento City Unified
