Striking Sacramento City Unified Teachers Enter District Headquarters In Show of Solidarity, Still No Agreement Reached
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) -- Teachers who are now one week into a strike in the Sacramento City Unified School District marched inside the district headquarters Wednesday in a show of solidarity. The message did not end with an agreement.
Thursday marks day seven with no school for 40,000 students in the school district.
More than a hundred teachers huddled together inside the Serna Center even after they did not get the offer they wanted from district leaders Wednesday night.
"Well, even though the district gave a frustrating proposal that is take-aways basically, but we plan to make a counter proposal," Sacramento City Teachers Association Vice President Vikki Milevsky said.
The school district's newest offer included a 3% salary increase and an agreement to pay 100% of the premium for teachers' HealthNet Plan for the 2022-2023 school year.
The teachers who stay on the health plan would then start paying into it -- a move they say would reduce take-home pay.
Once it was clear an agreement would not be reached, the teachers union and supporters began to march outside district headquarters.
"I want to go back to school," third-grader Kiyomi Shimabukuro said.
Shimabukuro and her father were out for a sweet treat at Gunther's Ice Cream Parlor as the strike continued. The family has become accustomed to clashes between the district and teachers union.
There was a one-day strike in 2019.
"And I'm wondering why there's so much, you know, so many things going on with finances regarding the school district," Russell Shimabukuro said.
Teachers who gathered inside the district headquarters Wednesday said they were there to show their urgency to reach an agreement.
"We're going to stay, but I want to be clear. It's not a sit-in. It's not an occupation of the Serna Center. It's here to get business done, real business done," Sacramento Teachers Association President David Fisher said.
Late Wednesday night, Superintendent Jorge Aguilar met face-to-face with the teachers union after further discussions did not result in an agreement.
Fisher questioned Aguilar about his availability to conduct negotiations and said the superintendent could make things easier by committing to reaching an agreement.
As the strike hits a second week, there is seemingly no end in sight.
