Oakland Teachers Approve a Strike, as Report Calls District’s Pay ‘Not Competitive’

Days after the end of a teachers strike that shut down San Francisco public schools for a week, Oakland educators have authorized their own strike following nearly a year of unsuccessful contract negotiations.

The potential work stoppage was supported in voting last week by 91% of Oakland Education Association members, which includes 3,000 teachers, counselors, social workers and other credentialed staff of the city’s public school district.

“We are in a really profound fight for the schools our students deserve and stability in our schools,” Skyline High School teacher-librarian Dylan Drewry said. “Of course, we at any point want to reach an agreement to avoid that with the district, but we are preparing.”

Last week, the Oakland Unified School District and OEA wrapped up a state-mandated mediation process without a deal. The two sides, which have been bargaining since March, are at odds over wage increases and class sizes, among other issues. They have been at an impasse since November, and OEA educators have been working under an expired contract since June.

The union is demanding a 12% to 14% raise over two years, contending that its educators are the lowest paid among 10 comparable districts and that OUSD has one of the highest staff turnover rates in the state. Oakland loses 400 teachers every year on average, according to the union, and OEA President Kampala Taiz-Rancifer told KQED that 60% of district teachers can’t afford to live in Oakland.

OUSD, like San Francisco and other districts across the state, has said that it doesn’t have enough money to fund the union’s requested wage hikes. Instead, it proposed raises of 2.5% in 2026, and up to 5.5% in two phases in 2027.

“The district has been trying to come to terms that honor OUSD educators for the work they do every day in service of our students, while at the same time staying within our means because of the very real financial challenges with which the district is currently contending,” OUSD said in a statement on Friday.

The district has said it is losing revenue due to declining enrollment and faces a major budget shortfall. It’s expected to make $100 million in budget cuts this spring, and this week, the school board is set to vote on whether to issue nearly 400 preliminary layoff notices to staff, including 180 OEA members.

But a neutral panel composed of members of both the union and district, along with a third-party mediator, affirmed the union’s grievance, saying OUSD’s wage offer was “not competitive.”

“OEA unit members are at the bottom of the scale compared to the salaries received by educators in neighboring districts,” reads its report, issued last week. Mid-career educators in Fremont make about $117,000 a year, compared to Oakland’s average of $82,700. Berkeley teachers make over $95,000.

“The difference in salaries is significant, and a wage increase is necessary and appropriate to aggressively recruit and retain competent educators,” the report continues.

The panel, which issues a list of non-binding recommendations, suggested a 6% raise over two years, plus an additional 2% bump for special education teachers. In 2027, it suggested an additional 3% to 4% raise.

It also noted that the district had not been transparent about its financial situation, adding that, in years past, “at the eleventh hour, the district has found enough funds to either avert or end a strike. Needless to say, there were trust issues.”

In 2023, OEA held a weeklong strike that ended after teachers won a 15.5% raise over two and a half years.

The union has said that while OUSD insists it cannot afford to pay higher wages, it spends a significant amount of money on consultants and outside contractors to provide some services, instead of investing in its employees.

“That money, we’re asking to be reinvested in classrooms,” Taiz-Rancifer said.

She said that instead of hiring a psychologist for a campus, for example, OUSD sometimes contracts with one through an outside company.

“When you contract out that position, you’re actually costing the district nearly double the amount of money that you would for somebody who works in the district,” she said, adding that sometimes, the contractor works remotely, which requires another adult to supervise. “And in addition, you’re not getting the same kind of quality… [as] hiring somebody on-site that actually could build a relationship, build rapport.”

The fact-finding report found that OUSD spent $316,000 on one outside consultant alone last year. It said the district needs to “wean itself” off consultants and outside contracts by increasing district wages to be more competitive.

“If the district is hiring consultants because they do not have enough qualified employees to handle the positions, then that supports the claim that wages are insufficient to recruit and retain the personnel needed,” wrote the fact-finding panel chairperson, Cheryl Stevens.

The report also said that throughout two days of hearings, the union wanted to bargain over other non-wage-related issues — including changes to the district’s Newcomer program for immigrants and English language learners, and continuation schools — that the district seemed less interested in discussing. Still, Stevens wrote that she believes if the parties can reach an agreement on salaries, they can avert a strike.

OEA has said it doesn’t plan to strike imminently and is still interested in returning to the bargaining table.

“[OUSD] can avert a strike if they bring something to the table that educators are willing to accept,” Taiz-Rancifer said. “They need to come with a real offer.”

KQED’s Billy Cruz contributed to this report.