Oakland Teacher Strike Ends as District Grants Raise

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March 2, 2019

Oakland teachers ended their walkout after seven days, having won concessions from the school district. Under the terms of the agreement, Oakland teachers would get an 11-percent raise and a onetime 3-percent bonus.

Oakland teachers on strike

Most of the city's 3,000 teachers went to school on Feb. 21 but not to teach. They formed picket lines, along with nurses and counselors, and continued their demand for more money and smaller class sizes. Most of the district's 36,000 students stayed away from schools, which the district had kept open, staffed by skeleton crews. Many students joined their teachers in picket lines.

The teachers had been working without a contract since 2017. Nearly 600 teachers had left their position in the previous year, seeking better pay elsewhere.

Negotiations continued long into the night as the days of striking continued. In the end, it was seven days that the teachers were on strike.

The teachers union and the school district were initially far apart on money terms, with the union seeking a 12-percent raise and the district offering 7 percent. In the end, the district agreed to not only the 11-percent raise but also to hire more support staff and to reduce class sizes. Where the funding for that was going to come from wasn't immediately school. The district does have a plan to close two dozen schools, but the union won a five-month halt in that planning.

The seven-day strike exceeded the length of the strike in Los Angeles earlier this year.

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Social Studies for Kids
copyright 2002–2023
David White

Social Studies for Kids
copyright 2002–2024
David White