On November 6, 2023, the Public Employment Relations Board ordered West Contra Costa Unified School District to give English as a Second Language teachers at its Adult School back pay with legal interest, finding WCCUSD unilaterally changed the way ESL teachers were assigned in 2021. 

ASTU won a representation election five years ago, but WCCUSD still has not signed a contract. United Teachers of Richmond, the union for K-12 teachers in WCCUSD chose not to represent the adult school teachers; UTR also does not to represent substitute teachers.

At least a dozen ESL teachers lost pay, one suffering a loss of 18 hours of work per week . One ESL teacher lost her adult school teaching job completely after WCCUSD refused to continue her online evening ESL teaching assignment, insisting she instead teach her adult students in person. The teacher had informed WCCUSD in 2021 that she also taught in its daytime K-12 programs as a special education teacher, working with medically fragile children. The ESL teacher told WCCUSD she was afraid of spreading COVID to her medically fragile special education children during the day if WCCUSD changed her online evening ESL classes with adults to an in-person assignment. WCCUSD’s refusal to negotiate over its unilateral change to ESL assignments resulted in a job loss to this teacher.