From today’s CNN News:
Public school educators in Oakland, California, are set to go on strike Thursday morning after contract negotiations between the district and the educators’ union failed to yield a deal, school and union officials said late Wednesday.
Oakland Unified School District schools still will be open to the district’s roughly 34,000 students Thursday, though because the teachers are striking “it will not be a typical school day,” the district said in a news release.
“School principals, office staff and support staff will educate and supervise students during a strike,” and lunches will be provided, a separate document on the district’s website reads.
The strike – the second in four years in the district – includes teachers, counselors and others represented by the Oakland Education Association, which told CNN last month it was seeking competitive pay that would bring salaries up to the county median.
“After seven long days and nights of bargaining, the Oakland Education Association … has decided to go ahead with their planned strike” starting Thursday, the district said in a news release late Wednesday.
The union announced the strike on Facebook.
“Oakland educators will be … on strike for our students and for Oakland schools,” the union’s post reads. “Join us on the picket line and at our rally. We will continue to negotiate in good faith, and we hope the district does the same.”
The strike comes less than two months after school workers in Los Angeles carried out a three-day strike in an effort to secure higher pay, more full-time work and increased staffing levels. Both work stoppages are among a wave of strikes across the country, sparked by complaints of dilapidated school conditions, insufficient funding and low pay, among other issues.
Read the complete story here.