Saturday, November 21, 2009

Teachers' Vote Backs Strike

West Contra Costa teachers' vote backs strike
Jill Tucker, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, November 12, 2009

The threat of a strike hung over West Contra Costa Unified schools Wednesday, a day after an election recount confirmed district teachers narrowly rejected a contract that would have drastically cut benefits and pay. The district's teachers were given two choices: Vote yes to approve the contract or no to support a strike.

A majority of teachers voting checked no. The vote was 701 - 671. Some teachers reportedly complained that the two options appeared to eliminate the possibility of returning to the bargaining table for a better offer.


District Superintendent Bruce Harter said Wednesday morning that despite the official language of the vote, he hoped both sides would sit back down to tweak the contract language to address teacher concerns without increasing district costs. That could include offering better health coverage for families while decreasing benefits for single teachers, Harter said.

Such a compromise could respect the wishes of the union's 1,858 teachers while keeping the district from going under, the superintendent said. "This is a just a hard time for our employees," he said. "Our teachers are underpaid to begin with, and now we're taking things away from them."

Schools and the office of the United Teachers of Richmond were closed Wednesday for Veterans Day. Calls to union President Pixie Hayward Schickele were not returned. On Tuesday evening, after the recount, a stunned Hayward Schickele said she didn't know what the vote would mean.

The district serves 30,000 students in Richmond, Hercules, Pinole, El Cerrito, San Pablo and unincorporated west Contra Costa County. E-mail Jill Tucker at jtucker@sfchronicle.com.=

Friday, October 9, 2009

Richmond UTR-CTA Teachers Picket Scab Training In Berkeley

http://blip.tv/file/2678555
Dozens of teachers from Richmond and the West Contra Costa Unified School District who are members of the United Teachers of Richmond-CTA picketed a training for scabs at the Double Tree Hotel in Berkeley on 10/3/2009. The district management has demanded major take-aways including eliminating healthcare for dependents and the union rights on the job. Class sizes have also increased in this working class district with a large number of Black and Latino children.
Produced by The Labor Video Project
P.O. Box 720027 San Francisco, CA 94172
(415)282-1908
www.laborvideo.org laborvideo.blip.tv

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Education is a Human Right

This is a speech given in solidarity of Richmond Teachers at the Richmond Branch of the Human Rights/Human Relations Commission on Monday September 21, 2009

Human Rights Commission 9-21-09
For 16 months the teachers of West County have been working without a contract. The possibility of a strike looms over this labor dispute like a Kansas tornado. Not unlike a tornado a strike will reek havoc on the students, teachers and all of their families. However this strike is about more than wages, seniority rights and health benefits. This strike is for the children. Should the teachers fail to win concessions the children will suffer through increased class sizes for the next four years and possibly longer. With an already failing school system we as citizens of West County cannot allow this to happen. Children have a right to an education. This right is guaranteed in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 26. Should the teachers lose in the current contract dispute our children will suffer another, significant blow to their chances of obtaining a meaningful education.
The School District’s policies significantly impact our children’s self esteem and sense of possibility for their future. The way the school treats the child - whether there are books and supplies for that child, how crowded his or her classroom is and if the teacher has the time to address there particular problems - these are the things which communicate to the child whether he or she is valued, respected and cared for. If schools function merely as institutions to house our young people until they can legally leave, if teachers serve solely as babysitters and later as guards what hope is there for our children? What will be their fate?
This Commission must stand in solidarity with the West County School teachers and their struggle for a fair contract in general and their demand for no increase in class size in particular. For the school board to suggest there is no money for the teachers and children of West County while we live in the shadow of one of the largest corporations in the world is to accept institutional injustice and abdicate our obligation to the children, parents and teachers of West County. I suggest you immediately call for a special meeting to address this issue. I would suggest that the Commission call a press conference, issue a statement of support explicitly defining the school contract issue of as one of human rights. The failure to provide meaningful education is one critical way in which society creates social conditions which breed gangs, violence, drug addiction, despair and youth suicide. This Commission can be part of a process of re-conceptualizing issues of economic justice as part of the movement for basic human rights. The Commission could forward a declaration of support for the teachers and students to the Richmond City Council. The Commission should write a commentary in the Bay Area News Group papers supporting the teachers and students of the West County Unified School District. I know the Commission is made up of capable, caring and concerned citizens. I’m sure if the will is there you will be able to find ways to provide support for the children and their teachers. Thank you.
 
 


Charles T Smith

Monday, September 7, 2009

A Call to Action

We call on teachers, students, the community and workers, to actively support UTR's contract struggle and fight for quality education for the students in WCCUSD. The Progressive Teachers have reached out to the communities of West County and asked them to support their teachers.

The Berkeley Federation of Teachers # 1078 National Substitute Teacher Alliance (NSTA) and the Chair of the Berkeley Commission on Labor pledged that no substitute teachers from Berkeley and San Francisco will scab or cross our picket lines if there is a strike.

The University of California Berkeley Student Workers Action Team (SWAT), UC Graduate students, members of AFSCME Local 444 East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), the California Association of Professional Scientists (CAPS), Oakland Education Association teachers, and workers from Berkeley joined us and distributed our community fliers in Richmond, San Pablo, Hercules, Pinole, and El Cerrito on Saturday, August 29th and Sunday, August 30th.

Union members from the Transport Workers Solidarity Committee, ILWU Local 10, and ATU BART Local1555, have pledged to support our activities around our contract demands. We have joined with other unions in solidarity rallies against concessions, give backs, furloughs, and union busting. We must build a bottom- up grassroots movement for the working class so that we can fight back and win. We ask UTR members to join us in mobilizing the community and work with other unions who support our struggle.

The UTR Bargaining Team and the District met September 1st, the first meeting since April. Talks are set to continue on September 15th. Go to http://www.unitedteachersofrichmond.com to read about the recent negotiations.

We ask UTR members to participate in these labor events and actions:

On September 19, AFT 2121 and the San Francisco Labor Council will hold a Northern California meeting of all education unions and student groups at San Francisco State University to develop a united plan for action initiated by the United Public Workers Association (UPWA); UC Professors’ Call for a System Wide Walkout on September 24th to protest faculty furloughs, budget cuts, and student fee increases.; on Saturday, September 26th, the Defend Our Education Conference will be held at the San Francisco State University Student Union, Rosa Parks Room, at 1:00 PM.

UTR members should consider the impact of possible concessions on their income. Here are two examples. The number of furlough days (5) and term of the contract (3 years) are based on the recently rejected Local 1 tentative agreement.

The annual and daily rates are taken from Salary Schedule 8 for Teachers, Nurses, and Librarians.

A teacher in Range 1, Step 1
New hire with Credential Plus

Annual Salary, $40,297
Daily Rate, $217.82

5 furlough days =
$1089.10 reduced annual pay

For 3 years = $3,267.30 reduced pay A teacher in Range 2, Step 12,
Experienced

Annual Salary, $54,461
Daily rate, $294.38

5 furlough days =
$1471.90 reduced annual pay

For 3 years = $4,412.72 reduced pay


The potential reduced annual pay (5 furlough days) plus increased employee contributions for health insurance, particularly for dependents, mean that teachers will have less take-home pay to meet their families’ needs.
UTR members should follow the leadership of Local 1 rank and file members and reject a TA with concessions.

Contact Progressive Teachers @ 510-501-7347.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Support Our Teachers

Parents, Students, Teachers, workers and allies of the workers movement in West Contra Costa Unified School district and beyond.

Classes began in WCCUSD schools on August 24th. Teachers are working under conditions imposed by the school district. Teachers and parents have reported these conditions in schools.
Classes had as many as 55 students; others were in the high 40's. There were not enough chairs and desks for all the students. Some students sat on the floor until chairs were found; desks were not provided to go with the extra chairs. Some students sat at counters. Students at counters had to twist their bodies to write things down. Improper seating, lack of a desk and forcing children to twist and bend to write is an ergonomic hazard. Children's bodies are still developing and poor posture due to lack of chairs and desks may lead to future orthopedic damage. It was hard to hear the teachers over the background din of noise. Following the lesson and getting one on one attention from the teacher was difficult. Students have been placed in classes that are inappropriate for their ability level. At Kennedy High School, some classes had 65 students.

Imposed cuts to Kindergarten teachers’ preparation time and increased duties take teachers' time from our most vulnerable young students who are just beginning their education. This is a prescription for destroying quality education. In some elementary schools, there are 34 in K, and 28 in second grade.

District Imposed cuts in health insurance benefits are a take away done in bad faith. For years the teachers in WCCUSD traded cash/wages for their health insurance benefits. This trade off put our teachers’ salaries below many in the surrounding districts. Cuts in health insurance benefits increase the stress on the teachers and their families. By taking away the security provided by their current health insurance plan, teachers will be worrying about their families instead of giving their full attention to their students.

UTR and the district return to the table on Monday, August 31st. However, the district is prepared to pay $325.00/day for labor scabs. We call on parents, students, community groups, labor unions and worker activists to support direct actions. Support a teachers’ strike by setting up strike schools and strike kitchens. We need your help to mobilize our communities.

On Saturday August 29, and Sunday August 30, at 10:00 am we will meet at the Richmond Civic Center Auditorium 403 Civic Center Plaza in Richmond and give out fliers to be distributed to our school communities. We are inviting teacher members and allies to join us.

West Contra Costa Community for Quality Education,
Progressive Teachers of UTR Contact 510 501 7347

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Community Support Needed for Teachers

Parents, Students, Teachers, workers and allies of the workers movement in West Contra Costa Unified School district and beyond.

Our teachers have been working without a contract since July of 2008. During this time the teachers and their representatives in the negotiations with the School Board have negotiated in good faith. That good faith is demonstrated by the fact that our teachers have continued to teach, our students day in and day out, without a contract. During these negotiations the School Board has unilaterally imposed cuts that attacks the quality of education.

Last Thursday August 20th the workers of the UTR voted a strike authorization which the president of the UTR hopes will show the School Board how serious the teachers are. With a 93% approval vote there can be no doubt the teachers are fed up with the disingenuous negotiations of the School Board. All the while the union busting School Board has been preparing to pay up to $325.00 per day for scab labor.

Although many teachers joined parents fighting against the school closures last spring, the UTR did not organize strikes or occupations of schools in order to stop the closures, layoffs, increases in class size or cuts in programs. In hind sight this inaction on the part of the union has only emboldened the School Board which has become more and more inflexible.

As school is set to open our children will face the following destruction of the quality of their education:
1) Increase in class size “to ratio” instead of “to maximum” means some classes may have as many as 45-50 students enrolled. These are not conditions conducive to teaching youth. Rather they are conditions that warehouse youth.
2) Imposed cuts to Kindergarten teachers preparation time and increased duties take away time our teachers have for our most vulnerable young students just entering the school system. This is not how trained professional educators should have to work and this is a prescription for the destruction of educational quality.
3) Imposed cuts to health care benefits are a take away done in bad faith. For years the teachers in the UTR traded cash/wages for their health program. This trade of increased wages for health benefits put our teachers salaries below many in the surrounding districts. This increases the stress on the teachers and their families. By taking away the security provided by their current health plan our teachers will be worrying more about their families while we expect them to give our children their full attention.

We understand that as Fredrick Douglas taught us “Power concedes nothing with out a demand!” only when we make our demand concrete through action can we win. A winning strategy is for the UTR teachers is to strike immediately before the class rooms are organized. The teachers should not prepare their class rooms for the scabs to easily take over. The UTR should call on the parents, students, community groups, labor unions and worker activists to help keep the scabs out of our schools and to set up Strike Schools and Strike Kitchens to educate our children and keep the community mobilized during the strike.

Our strike schools will teach more in the few weeks we will need to win the strike than Arnie Duncan’s or the forced curriculum and teach to the test method of “No Child Left Alive” can teach in a year. Parents we can only win by keeping our children out of school and organized during a strike. On Saturday August 29, and Sunday August 30 at 10:00 am we will meet at the Richmond Civic Center Auditorium 403 Civic Center Plaza in Richmond and divide up the fliers to be distributed to our school communities. We are inviting members and other allies to join us.

West Contra Costa Community for Quality Education,
Progressive Teachers of UTR Contact 510 501 7347

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

WALK NOW! Students Not a Priority

WALK NOW!

The latest UTR Newsline dated August 3rd reports that on July 29, the WCCUSD School Board voted to pay scabs $325 a day and authorized rent-a-cops to keep us in line. Cap health care for active and retired. Health Plan for Blue Shield: Single ($577.33) 2-Person ($1,154.66) Family ($1,501.06). Plan for Kaiser: Single ($532.56) 2-Person (1,065.12) Family ($1,384.66).

It also announced UTR Members to Vote on Strike Authorization at August 20 Meeting. The district's actions clearly reflect their priorities and devalues rank-and-file workers. Now it is our battle. When we meet on August 20, change the tone.

VOTE to STRIKE NOW!
Demands
1) Restore Class Size K-3, 20:1
2) Rescind the lay-off notices for 125 teachers laid-off in May
3) Restore Quality Education. Bring back music, art, sports…
4) Hands off teachers wage and benefit package!
5) Keep Class Size Maximums

On August 20 we must act together and vote to STRIKE! WALK NOW!
Show the bosses that we are ready to battle for our students and our rights.

When we meet on August 20;

Form STRIKE COMMITTEES in each job site. NO SCABS!
Organize massive marches, job actions, rolling informational picket lines
Media messages, press conferences, community forums
Reach out to our sisters and brothers in Local 1, coordinate meetings with all workers
Parent Liaisons, Open Strike Schools
Build Inter union labor actions
DON'T LIE DOWN NOW!

Diane Brown