Support OUSD Teachers as They “Work to Contract” This Week

OUSD teachers have been working without a contract since last summer. Teacher salaries in OUSD are far below the median in Alameda County, while housing prices have skyrocketed. The combination of these conditions threatens the stability of our children’s classroom experiences because when quality teachers can’t afford to live here, they can’t afford to work here.

Despite months of negotiations, OUSD has not put forward legitimate proposals around compensation or class sizes. This is why this coming week (March 26-29), OUSD teachers will be “working to contract.” What this means is that OEA members will honor the terms of their current contract by not doing any work outside of their paid duty day, and will take other actions at school sites to show their solidarity. This is a powerful way for the teachers to demonstrate just how much work they do, and just how valuable their work is.

When teachers were forced to take this action during their contract negotiations in 2015, the OUSD administration and some parents were frustrated, claiming that this decision would hurt OUSD students. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. BUDGET CUTS hurt students. SCHOOL CLOSURES hurt students. TEACHER TURNOVER hurts students. LARGE CLASS SIZES hurt students. Our teachers are taking a brave stand FOR our students. It’s time for OUSD to put our students at the center by negotiating fairly with our teachers.

As parents and guardians, there are lots of things we can do to support our teachers:

• Take a minute to call your OUSD Board member and the Superintendent and leave a message telling them our teachers deserve a FAIR CONTRACT NOW! Contact information for your school Board member and the Superintendent is here, and here is a sample script:

“Hello, I am [NAME] and as the parent of a [YOUR SCHOOL] student, I’m calling in support of teachers and their right to a fair salary. We have already lost valuable teachers to the high cost of living in Oakland. Our teachers cannot work here if they can’t afford to live here. They deserve to be paid a LIVING WAGE. I demand that OUSD negotiate a fair and secure contract with our teachers.”

• Stand in solidarity with teachers at your child’s school by asking them how you can support them. This might include:
  • Joining teachers before their contract day begins in the morning, and walking into school with them in solidarity,
  • Organizing a call-in action where parents at PTA or SSC meetings all take a few minutes to call school board members together. This can also be done by having copies of scripts and phone numbers during drop-off and pick-up times.
  • Handing out flyers to other parents during drop-off or pick-up times,
  • Organizing a call-in action where parents at PTA or SSC meetings all take a few minutes to call school board members together. This can also be done by having copies of scripts and phone numbers during drop-off and pick-up times.