On April 29th, Oakland teachers were on strike for a day to oppose school closures.  Educators picketed in the morning at every school site; most classified employees followed their unions’ advice not to cross if they felt threatened by the picket lines. OUSD closed all the schools for the day because they didn’t have enough staff. Hundreds came to an anti-privatization rally sponsored by Schools and Labor Against Privatization (SLAP), a coalition of educators, longshore, community groups and others, in the afternoon and later to a picket at the Port of Oakland that closed down the evening shift. 

Most of the school closures passed by the OUSD board in January were postponed to next year after an outpouring of opposition by community members and educators—who are still working to stop the remaining closures. With school board elections in the fall it’s crucial for OEA and its allies to keep the issue of closures in the public’s eye; success in the elections could end next year’s proposed closures. The district has already announced that one of the closing schools, Parker Elementary, will be occupied by a charter school in the fall. The district had said it would not be ‘charterized’ when they announced the closures– even though the agreement with the charter would have already been negotiated in order for them to move in over the summer. 

As one part of opposing the closures, OEA filed an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) complaint against OUSD with the state Public Employment Relations Board (PERB).  At a preliminary hearing PERB ruled that OEA’s charge— that OUSD was implementing major changes in working conditions without negotiating them with the union— was possibly or probably valid; a final hearing and decision by PERB will happen this summer.  OUSD changed working conditions by deciding suddenly to close schools after they had passed a board policy stating that no closures would take place without both notice and a community involvement process.  Unions can strike over an unfair labor practice even while a contract is still in effect, so this ULP gave Oakland educators the right to legally strike against school closures– probably the first time this has happened in California. OUSD tried to get PERB block the strike— but they declined.

OEA leadership didn’t make the strike happen— pressure from teachers who wanted to keep pushing back against closures did.  Over several months of debate at Rep Council, organizing at sites and discussions with community organizations, support for a strike increased, both in the membership, which overwhelmingly authorized the strike in an electronic ballot vote, and in the leadership.  The ILWU has focused on privatization for their annual ‘stop-work day’ because they oppose the proposed stadium at the port; they reached out to OEA and to teachers about simultaneous actions because the school closures were the other most obvious privatization scheme going on in the town. The ILWU invitation set off a push to make the strike happen and to happen on the 29th when it would have the most visibility and political focus. Powerful forces in CTA and in the Labor Council pushed behind the scenes for OEA to back off from a strike— the Labor Council because a majority of member unions support the stadium and CTA out of general caution and conservatism.  These are organizations that OEA will need support from in the future; this is at least one source of the leadership’s hesitation. But once it was clear the strike would happen both organizations gave it official support— a crucial lesson

A one-day strike will not bring OUSD to its knees, but it did make very clear that OEA will fight for what communities need as well as for what educators need.  It was also concrete solidarity with the classifieds– some of them will actually lose their jobs if there are closures while educators will only be reassigned.  School sites  got to flex their strike muscles a little, and everyone could see that they were pretty strong.  All of these will matter as OEA goes into contract negotiations next year.

In a sign that the paid-for school board majority thinks they’re losing, director Shanthi Gonzales announced her immediate resignation on the Monday after the strike.  Her scathing letter blasted the teachers and OEA for not caring about student success and thwarting her plans to improve schools by closing them down.  Parent Mona Treviño perhaps put it best: “ Director Gonzales still owes Roots [an already closed school] parents, students and teachers an apology for treating them with complete indifference, insensitivity and total lack of concern.  Communities continue to move forward regardless.”

David  de Leeuw

OEA retired