Union leaders and administrators within the Sacramento City Unified School District negotiated late into the night in an effort to avoid a strike, something the teachers officially called for last week.
The SEIU Local 1021 and Sacramento City Teachers Association and are at odds with the district with issues regarding teacher staffing shortages, staff pay and the district’s plans to manage challenges related to COVID-19. Both unions last week announced their intent to strike, and released a breakdown of the disagreement, or "fact-finding report," by a panel for the California Public Employment Relations Board. “The school board and the superintendent seem to be in no hurry to get a deal done, despite the results of the fact-finder’s report, our willingness to meet, and having an infusion of dollars from state and federal sources,” said SCTA president David Fisher. “As absurd as it may sound, because of the district’s intransigence, the only way that we’re likely to get a teacher in front of every classroom is to be prepared to walk out of our classrooms this week.”
The district has offered a 2% pay hike and a one-time bonus. If teachers go on strike tomorrow, the district's schools will shut down, impacting 40,000 students and their families. The two sides will be back at the bargaining table today to try to hammer out a deal to avoid disrupting school.