Updated: 6 p.m., Tuesday, May 28
Teachers at schools in Union City and parts of Hayward began the second week of their districtwide strike on Tuesday after a series of marathon bargaining sessions over the long weekend failed to produce a deal.
Despite some movement, both sides said they were still far from reaching a compromise.
"This union action is actually the last resort," said Joe Ku’e Angeles, president of the New Haven Teachers Association, which represents more than 560 teachers. "And as you can tell, we weren't able to get any kind of satisfaction from the conversation."
On Monday, a deal seemed within reach, as the union, which had initially sought a 10% raise over two academic years, lowered its demand to a 3.7% retroactive raise for the current school year and an additional 3.26% bump for 2019-20.
"Our members pay all healthcare costs out-of-pocket," the teachers association said in a release. "We know the district can afford to give their teachers COLA (cost of living allowance) to help us keep up with the rising cost of living in the Bay Area."
The district, however, said meeting that demand would cost roughly $17.7 million over three years and force it to make $16.3 million in cuts in the 2020-21 school year.
District spokesman John Mattos said its teachers are already the highest paid in Alameda County, leaving very little room to maneuver.
"We are a declining enrollment district who is deficit spending," he said. "We're making millions of dollars’ worth of cuts every year. And we didn't feel like we had money to offer a significant raise."
The district, which had initially offered a 1% raise for next year and a one-time 3% payment, said it had upped the ante to "a one-time, 3% off-the-schedule pay increase for 2018-19 and an ongoing 2% on-the-schedule salary increase for 2019-20."
But the union, which is also demanding smaller class sizes and more classroom support resources, said the new offer was "still not ratifiable by our members."
Roughly 11,000 students attend the New Haven Unified School District, which includes two high schools, two middle schools and seven elementary schools in Union City and parts of Hayward.
The next negotiating session is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
Throughout the holiday weekend, teachers picketed in shifts outside the county office of education, where their bargaining team and district officials participated in 10-hour daily negotiating sessions.
"This is not where I would like to be with my family on a three-day weekend," said Julie Francisco, a district teacher. "We know we're out here for a really, really important reason and we're not willing to give up that fight, so we'll continue as long as we need to."
"Teachers are a student’s most important resource," said NHTA president Ku’e Angeles. "We want to attract and retain the best teachers for our students, and this district can afford our proposal. It is time to settle this contract and end this strike."
The strike follows multiple high-profile walkouts in major school districts across the county, including in Oakland and Los Angeles earlier this year.
Members of teachers unions in Oakland, Fremont, Hayward and other Bay Area cities said they will come and picket with striking teachers, students, parents and community members. Three local teachers unions and California Teachers Association's chapters have also donated more than $10,000 to a strike fund for NHTA members.
Local teachers have also started a GoFundMe campaign for striking teachers who are "making this sacrifice in the face of a multitude of hardships," according to a note on the GoFundMe page. "There are those with life-saving medical costs, family emergencies and extraordinary financial hardship."
Ku’e Angeles voiced appreciation for the parents, community members, students and outside educators supporting teachers.
"You give us the energy we need to stay at the table," he said. "With your continued support, we will get a student-centered contract by the end of this weekend. We want to be back in our classrooms."
KQED's Vanessa Rancaño and Sara Hossaini contributed to this report, with additional content from Bay City News.