Over 200 Oakland teachers and students rallied in front of the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) office after school on December 14th, in protest against union-busting and anti-student practices of State Administrator Randolph Ward. Many of the protesters were from the civil rights group Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration, & Immigrant Rights And Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary (BAMN), a group that has been active for years to demand equal, quality education for OUSD and all schools.

The school board was meeting to discuss adding a new Charter School to West Oakland. Teachers and other union workers have said that opening charter schools is a political tactic that is used to weaken and break unions. Charter schools are not union shops which means they can hire and fire as they choose, isolating the workers without rights against the managment.

This protest was part of an ongoing struggle to remove Randolph Ward and to get a fair contract for the Oakland Education Association (OEA) teachers. Dr. Ward has kept the OUSD teachers union (OEA) without a contract for 18 months while all upper level administrators have gotten raises. Photos and Report