Leaders with the Sacramento City Teachers Association on Friday announced that over 92 percent of their members have voted to authorize a strike in protest of what they describe as the "unfair labor practices of Superintendent Jorge Aguilar, Board President Jessie Ryan and other District leaders."
The vote does not mean teachers will hit the picket lines anytime soon, but it does authorize the SCTA executive board to call a strike.
The unioni insists that district officials are refusing to honor a previous collective bargaining agreement approved by teachers and the District in December 2017. That deal, say the teachers, included class size reduction and increased numbers of school nurses and psychologists.
They also claim that Superintendent Jorge Aguilar and other district officials are refusing to meet at reasonable times and places with teacher representatives, and are trying to dictate who the teachers have represent them at the bargaining table.
Other complaints against the include charges of unilateral and unlawful changes to the wages and working conditions of teachers without bargaining.
In addition, SCTA continues to question the fiscal management practices of Aguilar and others in the District. They believe those practices are pushing the District to the brink of state takeover due to insolvency.
"A strike would put the district on the fast track to a state takeover which would only hurt our students, families, and employees, says District spokesman Alex Barrios in response to the strike vote. "We believe the grounds for the strike laid out by SCTA leaders today are unfounded."
"A strike is not the solution to address any concerns about the District’s practices. A strike will only put our students, families, and employees through unnecessary hardships in and outside of the classroom," Barrios told KFBK. "We instead continue to encourage SCTA leaders to come to the table to start negotiations with a neutral facilitator."