Wednesday of this week, my union, UESF, held a meeting for a strike vote. I heard yesterday that the teachers voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike: article here. This was clearly a lot of posturing on the union's part. There are still two more mediation meetings to take place in April. We won't go on strike unless both of those meetings fail. The fact that the district and the union are in mediation is one indication of how difficult these negotiations have been. But, frankly, while I do not look forward to going on strike, I will. We have not had a new contract for about nineteen months now. And we have not had a raise for four years, not even a cost of living increase. It is simply an unacceptable situation. To say that the district is poorly managing its human resources, namely the teachers and paraprofessionals who do the brunt of the work, is a vast understatement.
I heard on the local morning news that Oakland teachers are also planning to strike soon.
College teachers here in Ontario were on strike for about 2 weeks. They got things sorted out and are back to work now. A friend was right near the end of his year and was afraid he wouldn't finish. But, by going to school for a few Saturdays, he should be caught up. It's a shame that it has to get to that point. Good luck and I hope things turn out positively for you.
ReplyDeleteCarrie, thanks for your comments. I hope that the district and union can come to terms. I would like to see the mediation meetings be productive, so that we don't have to strike. It hurts the students, which is why it's such an effective tool for negotiation, but I don't want it to get that far. I'll post an update soon.
ReplyDelete