But the New Haven Unified School District said the union’s latest offer amounted to a step backwards that would actually cost the district more than the previous proposal.
“The regressive nature of NHTA’s current proposal represents bad faith bargaining and illustrates an unwillingness of NHTA’s Bargaining Team to end the teacher strike,” the district said in a statement. The district also emphasized that it would not compensate teachers for any of the days they participated in the strike.
Negotiations are expected to resume on Tuesday.
Now in its 10th day, this is the first strike in the district’s history. With less than two weeks remaining in the school year, the walkout has left roughly 11,000 students in limbo, particularly those in high school who were scheduled to begin final exams today.
Although schools have remained open since the strike began on May 20 — staffed by temporary substitutes and district personnel — virtually no teachers have crossed the picket line, and only a small percentage of students have come to class, the union said.
If a deal is not reached soon, the district intends to calculate students’ final grades based on several data points from previous quarters this year, said district spokesman John Mattos. He said he was hopeful, though, that it wouldn’t come to that.
“I really want to meet today and push this thing over the goal line and get kids back in their classrooms,” he said. “I think both sides are very highly motivated to get things done.”
As of Sunday, the district’s offer included a one-time 3% pay increase for the current year (paid retroactively) and a 2% increase that would take effect in the middle of the 2019-20 school year. “This offer would give teachers, on average, $2,900 for 18/19 and an ongoing increase for 19/20 of approximately $1,000, which would compound to $2,000 every year after,” the district said in a statement.
The district on Sunday also tried sweetening the deal by offering the possibility of small additional increases if more state funding becomes available.
While that’s still a far cry from the union’s current demand, the gap has narrowed considerably since the strike began. At that time, the union was demanding a 10% raise over two academic years, while the district had offered a 1% increase for next year and a one-time 3% payment.
“We are closer than we’ve been,” district spokesman Mattos said. “I think that’s heartening.”
But the union’s current proposal, he added, which the district estimates would result in roughly $18 million in cuts, is simply not feasible given the district’s declining enrollment and deficit spending.
“We just can’t swing that. It would devastate programs and possibly compromise student safety,” Mattos said, noting that a number of support services would likely land on the chopping block. “It would be a gigantic hit.”
District teachers make an average of $96,544 a year, the highest in the county, a point the district has underscored repeatedly. But unlike their counterparts in most neighboring districts, teachers here also pay full health care premiums, which union members say can add up to at least $20,000. The union said it is simply seeking a cost-of-living increase.
Long Bargaining Process
Despite ongoing talks, and the involvement of State Superintendent Tony Thurmond, who participated in Friday’s negotiations, tensions between the two sides have been ratcheting up. Leading into Sunday’s talks, union president Ku’e Angeles released a statement calling Superintendent Arlando Smith a “dictator who is unwilling to compromise and is hurting teachers by keeping them out on strike.”
In a follow-up statement, Smith countered, “It is a sign of desperation when leaders such as Mr. Angeles continue to misrepresent the truth, misstate the facts, incite violence, incivility and hate, then deny that is what he is doing.”
Ku’e Angeles said that while some progress has been made, the district’s current offer is “not anything we could consider.”
He defended the union’s latest offer, arguing that the district has saved a considerable amount of money over the last two weeks and can afford to compensate teachers for time lost without cutting into the the future budget.
“I don’t think we’re asking for something that would come come close to bankrupting the district,” he said. “I’m hoping that we can come to terms. This is a critical week.”
After a deal is eventually reached, the proposed contract must then be approved by a majority of union members.
The New Haven strike follows a series of recent high-profile walkouts in larger districts across the country, including in Los Angeles and Oakland earlier this year, both of which were resolved within two weeks.
Ku’e Angeles said that despite the strike’s duration, almost all teachers have continued to picket outside their schools, and remain committed to holding the line until a fair deal is reached. Teachers who need financial assistance can dip into the union’s strike fund, which now has about $20,000 in donations from supporters, he said. Additionally, a local credit union is offering no-interest loans of up to $2,000.
For teachers, though, frustration has continued to mount as the strike drags on.
“I think it’s ridiculous we’re still out here, Mike Isenberg, a history teacher at James Logan High School in Union City, said on Friday. “This isn’t about money, this is about equity.”
There’s a feeling of disbelief among teachers and students that this is still going on, he added.
“We all hope that is it going to end, everyday,” he said. “Even graduation is in question right now.”
