SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — San Francisco’s public school teachers union has voted 97% to authorize a strike, joining two other unions of school district workers which may strike this fall.
The United Educators of San Francisco union, representing about 6,500 teachers, gathered more than 3,000 people together Wednesday evening at Balboa High School. Workers waited in long lines for hours to vote on the decision to strike, while enjoying pizza with live music and dancers.
The vote result Thursday comes amid contentious contract negotiations with the San Francisco Unified School District, one week after the district proposed a “historic contract package.” It agreed to offer $10,000 across-the-board raises for teachers for the year and 4% raises next year under certain budget conditions, and a $30 minimum wage for non-credentialed faculty.
The teachers’ union has been asking for that minimum wage along with $12,000 raises this year and 7.5% salary increases next year.
“There is no new information, no change in budgets or allocation,” the union’s Oct. 2 bargaining update said. “Their actions have brought us to the brink of a strike.”
The vote comes a week after SEIU 1021, which represents union staffers in custodial, cafeteria and other work, voted 99.5% to authorize a strike. The union's members are among the lowest paid in the district, in one of the richest cities in the country. It is circulating a petition stating that parents and families support fair wages for member workers while returning to bargaining Thursday.
“Every day we see our kids go to school happy to learn and come home smiling because of the professionalism and dedication of their teachers, custodians, cafeteria workers, nurses, secretaries, paraprofessionals and other district staff,” the petition, which has more than 500 signatures said. “But we also see first-hand every day the untenable conditions that educators and staff are working under, and we know that they are holding strike votes because the district has not addressed these problems.”
The San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council, representing district tradespeople including metalworkers, carpenters and locksmiths, also on Wednesday sought its own strike authorization against the school district. It is looking for a two-day strike due to having “frankly little faith” of reaching an agreement with the district, according to a letter to the district.
If all negotiations fail, the three unions could all announce walk outs at the same time with potentially up to 90% of the district's staffers on strike.
The teachers’ union will be back at the bargaining table Monday, according to a tweet which added: “SFUSD management can avoid this crisis of their own making by coming to the table ready to negotiate a fair contract now!”
The vote to strike does not guarantee a walkout, as a second vote could be called for within the next two weeks.
The school district’s superintendent did not respond to a request for comment before press time.
The pushes for strikes come amid a districtwide staffing crisis. A quarter of the district’s teaching positions are unfilled as are a quarter of custodial worker positions, and San Francisco teachers’ compensation ranks at 129 out of 268, according to a San Francisco Chronicle analysis.
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