Oakland teachers march, walk picket lines outside schools during 2nd day of strike
OAKLAND -- Hundreds of teachers with Oakland Unified School District and their supporters marched through city streets Friday on day two of the teacher strike.
More than 3,000 teachers and other workers in the district went on strike Thursday, saying the district failed to bargain in good faith on a new contract that asks for more resources for students and higher pay for employees.
The district's 80 schools remained open for the roughly 34,000 students, and office staff were tapped to "educate and supervise" the students, administrators said.
The teachers union, the Oakland Education Association, called a strike late Wednesday, demanding higher wages, smaller classes, more guidance counselors, improved services for students with disabilities, additional mental health help for students still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, and support for Historically Black Community Schools.
Hundreds of teachers, students, and community members gathered outside Calvin Simmons Middle School on Friday to demand fair wages and improved student mental health support.
"I feel as the schools dump more responsibility on teachers, there needs to be more support. There needs to be more support for teachers, for students," said Jaime Brown, a counselor and social worker at Fremont High School.
Brown emphasized the importance of mental health support for students in Oakland, many of whom have experienced violence and carry emotional stress when they come to school.
Brown's sentiments were echoed by many at the rally who see the strike as an opportunity to improve their own working conditions, but also the education and well being of their students.
Amara Schoberd, another teacher involved in the bargaining team, emphasized the need for better classroom facilities and climate control.
"Salary is not the only thing that is making teachers leave Oakland. We need more support for our students. We need better facilities. Classrooms that are less than 100 degrees in the summer. We need climate control," said Schoberd.
The district is the second-largest school district in the Bay Area, where rents and housing prices have skyrocketed in recent years. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Oakland is more than $2,500 and the average cost for a house is more than $900,000.
District Superintendent Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammell said the breakdown in negotiations comes from the union expecting the district to solve societal issues that should be addressed by everyone in the community.
"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," she said.
State Superintendent Tony Thurmond reached out to both sides Thursday, asking them to come back to the table where he and his team will formally mediate negotiations to end the strike.
"We are disappointed that the parties could not find an agreement in time to avert a strike," Thurmond said in a news release. "We observed how hard both sides worked and will start immediately working with the parties in a formal mediation capacity. Our goal is to help the parties reach an agreement and to end the strike so that students can return to class as quickly as possible."
The district said in a statement schools would be open "but it will not be a typical school day." A note to parents said school meals would continue to be served and all state and federally-funded after-school programs would go on being held.
So far, there has been no word from either side as to when negotiations would resume or if the strike would continue next Monday.
Teachers previously held a one-day walkout against the Oakland district on April 29, 2022. In 2019, educators struck for a week and won an 11 percent pay raise.
In Los Angeles, tens of thousands of school workers supported by teachers staged a three-day strike in March to demand higher wages and better working conditions. The LA Unified School District quickly reached a deal with the Service Employees International Union, which represents bus drivers, cafeteria employees and other service workers, and members ratified the pact last month.