Oakland’s striking teachers and school district reach agreement on four ‘common good’ demands

Teachers have maintained that adding support beyond the classroom would improve learning conditions and retain educators.

Associated Press

May 14, 2023

The Oakland Unified School District and striking teachers have reached agreement on four “common good” provisions that had been sticking points during the walkout that is now in its second week.

“We are still on strike, but momentum is on our side,” the Oakland Education Association said on Twitter Saturday night.

The union representing 3,000 educators, counselors and other workers has maintained the district has failed to bargain in good faith on a new three-year contract that also makes more traditional demands like higher salaries. The striking workers want their contract to also include provisions that address racial equity, homelessness and environmental justice for students.

Oakland Unified School District students, teachers and parent carry signs as they march to the Oakland Unified School District headquarters on February 21, 2019 in Oakland, California. Nearly 3,000 teachers in Oakland have gone on strike and are demanding a 12 percent retroactive raise. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

On Saturday night, four of those demands had been agreed upon, relating to: housing and transportation, the community schools grant, the Black thriving community schools initiative, and school closures, the Bay Area News Group reported.

It was not immediately clear Sunday morning how close the two sides were were on reaching a deal on the demands still left on the table, particularly related to increased compensation.

Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell said in a message to parents last week that the district, the state’s 11th largest, is offering raises of as much as 22% for some teachers.

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Teachers have maintained that adding support beyond the classroom would improve learning conditions and retain educators. Other common-good demands include providing more mental health support, fixing deteriorating schools, and offering subsidized transportation for low-income students.

The strike comes at the end of the school year, which wraps up May 25. But the district’s 80 schools have remained open to the district’s 34,000 students, with meals being offered and office staff educating and supervising. Only about 1,200 students have shown up to school since the strike started May 4, district spokesperson John Sasaki said last week.

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