US: Striking Oakland Teachers Win Tentative Deal with District

"These movements have radicalized a class movement against billionaire “philanthropists" that do not pay their fair taxes," a statement by the union reads. | Photo: OEA

2 March 2019
Telesur

“This is a historic contract... that moves us toward a win for the schools Oakland students deserve,” the OEA union said.

The Oakland Education Association (OEA) in California, United States announced Friday that the union reached a tentative agreement with the Oakland Unified School District to end the ongoing teachers strike on its seventh day.

“After seven days on strike – with 95% of our members on the line, 97% of students out of school, and tens of thousands on our picket lines and rallies – we have reached a Tentative Agreement,” OEA said in a statement.

“This is a historic contract with a win in every major proposal we made, that moves us toward a win for the schools Oakland students deserve,” they added.

The OEA union is the second largest union in the United States with 35,000 teachers, according to a union member. Teachers are expected to receive an 11 percent raise over four years with a three percent bonus upon the ratification of the new contract, local media reported. They are also expecting additional counselors, RSPs, psychologists, speech pathologists and other support staff.

In California, the Los Angeles teacher strike earlier this year ignited movements by educators to resist privatization by more conservative and right-wing local governments across the United States.

Oakland educators have been grappling with wages of US$2800 after taxes in a city where rent is US$2,000 minimum. This has subsequently caused a teacher retention crisis. The majority of the population in Oakland are people of color in a city just 20 minutes from some of the richest companies in the world, including Google, Facebook, Twitter, and other tech firms in San Francisco.