Oakland teachers on strike; schools still open in a modified format

OAKLAND — Oakland teachers went on strike Thursday — and are gearing up for another day out of the classroom on Friday — after union representatives and the Oakland Unified School District failed to agree on a deal at the bargaining table.

Representatives for both the district as well as the Oakland Educators Association, which bargains on behalf of about 3,000 of the city’s teachers and school staff, pointed fingers at the other side for the failure to reach a deal by Wednesday night. Union officials said the district had promised to present a new proposal by 5 p.m. but failed to show.

District officials said they gave a proposal to the union on Wednesday night, but union leaders said the offer was not comprehensive and didn’t address many of the issues that concerned them

The walkout was announced by school officials at 9 p.m. and picketing began Thursday morning — the second work action by Oakland teachers in just over a year, after a one-day strike on April 29, 2022.

“This is the path the school board and superintendent has either chosen or been unable to avoid,” said James Barbuto, a bargaining representative who was picketing in front of Skyline High School — where he ususally teaches — on Thursday morning. “We don’t want this — we’re happiest with our kids. But the superintendent just hasn’t been good at corralling her team and getting them to bargain in good faith.”

District officials, including OUSD School Board President Mike Hutchinson, in turn blamed the union for the lack of action at the negotiating table during a news conference Thursday.

“We want to continue negotiating. We don’t want a strike,” Hutchinson said. “But (the union) left the table and they’ve broken off discussions — not us.”

As he spoke, school board members Valerie Bachelor and Jennifer Brouhard turned their backs on Hutchinson. Brouhard later said that Hutchinson “didn’t speak for her.”

“I think that this situation should have been settled. I think it’s really on the board,” said Brouhard. “If we want to solve this, the board needs to step up.”

Hutchinson said he’s eager for both sides to return to the negotiating table.

“When I see messages that claim that OUSD has not been bargaining — has not shown up at the table — that is incorrect,” Hutchinson said. “We’re in a very difficult situation though now because negotiations have been broken off.”

OUSD Superintendent Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammell called for an improved “partnership” between the district and union, saying that the hangup in negotiating was based on “common good” issues.

“We would have preferred to spend the last two days focused on how best to reach an agreement to retain our educators,” she said. “OEA’s vision of the common good is about us, the district, attempting to singularly solve complex societal realities, such as homelessness, that go far beyond the scope of what public schools can and should do alone.”

The district announced in a news release that all of its schools would remain open Thursday. Office staff were instructed to “educate and supervise” the district’s approximate 34,000 students across more than 80 schools in classrooms and principals would have access to “appropriate instructional plans,” the district said.

School-provided meals were still set to be served Thursday and all students that do not attend classes would be given an excused absence,  the district said.

“While we do not know how long the strike will last, we continue to bargain with OEA in an effort to reach an agreement,” the district said in a statement. “The end of the school year is always filled with milestone events for our students, so we want to ensure regular school resumes as soon as possible.”

Union representatives said they were also working with parents to come up with solutions for supervising children, such as using public libraries or parent houses.

The strike clearly had an impact on parents and students — with only three weeks left in the school year.

Just a few blocks a big, union-sponsored rally at Frank Ogawa Plaza downtown, several dozen parents showed up to pick up their kids from Lincoln Elementary School in Oakland’s Chinatown. DC Pompey, a former teacher himself, two kids, 6 and 8, from the school. He said he dropped off his 6- and 8-year old kids at school despite the strike, because he had some in-person meetings. He said he supports the strike and that his kids’ teachers are “really great.”

“I was where they are at not too long ago,” he said. “Teachers need to get paid more… I hope that the teachers reach an agreement and do the best that they can for OUSD students.”

Geremew Ndesta was less enthusiastic about the strike, as he picked up his two daughters, in 2nd and 4th grade.

“I am working, and mom is working, so they have to stay somewhere for at least a couple of hours,” he said. The strike “hurts the parents and the kids, because they learn nothing,”

The district’s latest proposal included a 10% retroactive raise for OEA members, a one-time bonus of $5,000 and salary bumps ranging from 13% to 22% going into next school year. With such a raise, first-year teachers would see their salaries jump from $52,905 to $63,604, while veteran teachers’ salaries would increase from $94,314 to $109,746. Counselors, psychologists and school nurses would also see their salaries bumped, with increases of nearly $10,000, $13,000 and $8,000 respectively.