Oakland teachers announce strike over pay, class sizes
Posted Feb 16, 2019 05:08:29 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OAKLAND, Calif. — Oakland teachers say they will strike starting Thursday.
The union representing the 3,000 teachers announced the walkout Saturday, making it the latest in a wave of educator activism that has swept the U.S. since last spring.
The union wants smaller class sizes, more counsellors and full-time nurses, and a 12 per cent raise over three years. The district has offered 5 per cent and says it is squeezed by rising costs.
The action comes a day after the sides received compromise recommendations in a fact-finding report.
Oakland Unified School District Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell had said Friday she was pleased with the recommendations report and hoped it would coax the union back to negotiations.
Union president Keith Brown said Saturday that teachers will strike unless the district dramatically changes its spending approach.
The Associated Press
