Oakland Educators Plan Strike for March 24th

OEA Rep Council Votes to Set
Strike Date for March 24
Site Reps Vote Overwhelmingly to Uphold the Executive Board Motion

At the March 1 Rep Council meeting, 92% of those voting, representing about 2/3 of our Site Reps, voted to uphold the Executive Board’s motion to call a one-day strike on March 24th in support of our contract demands. Reps were informed that we will not be strike legal until a fact-finding report is issued, but the fact-finding panel is due to meet later this week and we anticipate a formal report shortly thereafter. (Fact-finding hearings were conducted February 22 and 23, and your Bargaining Team did an outstanding job of presenting our case).

Check the website regularly for the latest updates — if the fact-finding process leads to a settlement proposal that merits the vote of our members, we will organize a membership meeting at short notice. But until and unless you hear otherwise, we are on for a one-day strike March 24. Now is the time to make sure every member at your site is on board, and that parents are notified and informed about why we are striking. Remember, the money is there — it’s a question of priorities

The Facts About the OEA Contract Fight (1st Draft)

by Jack Gerson, Oakland teacher

In 2003 the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) was taken over by the state, ostensibly because the district was running a $37 million deficit. The state takeover was orchestrated by Los Angeles billionaire Eli Broad, the country’s leading advocate of privatization of education. All three OUSD state administrators were graduates of Broad’s Urban Superintendents Academy.

Under the state regime, Oakland has been a laboratory for cuts and privatization:

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Most middle school libraries and several high school libraries were closed.
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Electives were cut back or eliminated.
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Custodial staff was reduced, custodians laid off
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Maintenance staff was reduced to a skeleton crew
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Outsourcing to contractors and consultants increased sharply.
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The number of charter school students quadrupled – from 2,000 in 2002 to more than 8,000 today.

This was done according to plan. In 2005 and 2006, OUSD raised $43 million dollars from private sources for “Expect Success”. According to this project’s executive summary, it was meant to create a “performance management culture”, including “market-driven services”, including outsourcing custodial services, buildings and grounds, and food services and replacing unionized workers with private contractors. Not a penny of the $43 million went to classroom instruction.

As a result of the Broad / State Administration:

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Oakland teachers are the worst-paid teachers in Alameda County. The average Oakland teacher salary is more than 20% below the Alameda County average. (OUSD received more than 20% in COLA money from the state, but Oakland teachers received less than a 2% TOTAL pay increase.)

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Oakland has one of the highest teacher turnover rates in the country.
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Forty six schools were closed or reorganized.
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Oakland has the highest percentage of students in charter schools of any urban school district in California.
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The state debt – the ostensible reason for the takeover – tripled to $110 million. Debt repayment (to the state) now costs OUSD $6 million / year.
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OUSD is way above the state average in the percentage of its budget that goes to contractors and way above average in the percentage going to administrators.
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OUSD pays classroom teachers and instructional aides less than what’s required by state law. California Education Code requires that 55% of educational expenses go to compensation for classroom teachers and aides, but the Alameda County Office of Education found OUSD’s adopted budget to allocate only 45% -- or $35 million less than what the law requires. This amount alone would more than pay for OEA’s contract demands.

What are OEA’s Key Contract Demands?


1.

Compensation – 5% per year for each three years, to recruit and retain good teachers and help break the downward spiral of instability, teacher flight, and declining enrollment. (OUSD’s counterproposal: 0%, 0%, 0%.)
2.

Class Size – Preserve class size at or near their current levels in the critical grades: kindergarten through third grade and 9th grade. Research overwhelmingly shows that small class size correlates with student achievement, especially in the early grades and in the 9th grade, and especially for helping struggling students in low-performing schools. [OUSD wants to increase class size so they can lay off more teachers. Teachers, students and the community will all lose if OUSD gets its way.] OEA’s specific proposals for student: teacher ratios are:
1.

K-3 in decile 1 and 2 (low-performing schools): max of 20:1 (OUSD’s counterproposal is 27:1 for K and 30:1 for grades 1-3)
2.

K-3 in all other schools: max of 24:1 (OUSD’s counterproposal is 27:1 for K and 30:1 for grades 1-3)
3.

9th grade Algebra, Algebra Intervention, and English: max of 24:1 (OUSD’s counterproposal is 32:1)
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No combination classes in elementary school (OUSD counterproposal: allow combination classes)
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Setting workable class size and student contact limits for special education (the specifics of our proposal will be added in a subsequent draft)
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Adult Education – Preserve the adult education program (which OUSD has already cut sharply by laying off nearly all hourly adult education teachers) by:
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Requiring that OUSD employ a minimum of 64 full-time adult education teachers. (OUSD’s counterproposal is to have no minimum)
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Maintaining the current contractual student / teacher max of 36:1 (OUSD’s counterproposal is to have no class size maximum in Adult Ed)


OUSD is really asking for the right to lay off all Adult Ed teachers and completely gut the program. It is difficult to exaggerate just how much harm this will do to the Oakland community – especially to immigrants, dropouts, single mothers and others who depend on Adult Ed. Until a few years ago, OUSD had 30,000 Adult Ed students in a robust program. The district is trying to destroy this vital and indispensable resource.