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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update, Dec. 5:\u003c/strong> Striking teachers and West Contra Costa Unified School District officials reunited for bargaining Thursday afternoon after the first day of the walkout, but the two sides came away with strikingly contradictory descriptions of the meeting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am pleased to share that the district and UTR negotiations teams met this afternoon, and we are making progress on our negotiations,” Superintendent Cheryl Cotton said in a video message Thursday night. “It was a productive discussion, and we are making our way forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, during a Friday morning rally, union president Francisco Ortiz said the meeting was brief, district officials were 30 minutes late and they had no written proposals to offer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We let them know that we’re prepared to negotiate with them when they have something written down that we can consider,” Ortiz said. “Right now, there doesn’t seem to be any urgency regarding the settling of the contract.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district did not respond to questions about the conflicting messaging or attendance figures for the first day of the strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both sides have said they’re open to continued negotiations in the hopes of reaching a deal and ending the strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066311\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066311\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01296_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01296_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01296_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01296_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Francisco Ortiz speaks at a rally during the West Contra Costa United School District rally at Marina Bay Park in Richmond on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Original story, Dec. 4 \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bundled against the morning cold, teachers marched outside the Nystrom Elementary School entrance in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/richmond\">Richmond\u003c/a> early Thursday, cheering as passing cars honked, and carrying yellow and red picket signs reading “We Can’t Wait.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Educators at all 56 West Contra Costa Unified School District sites picketed before and during school drop-off on the first day of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065732/west-contra-costa-teachers-are-set-to-strike-across-the-bay-area-more-could-follow\">an open-ended strike\u003c/a>, marching for higher pay, smaller class sizes and a reduction of the use of long-term substitute teachers and outside contractors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Months of negotiations and a mediation process have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065486/west-contra-costa-teachers-are-near-a-pivotal-moment-in-their-potential-strike\">failed to yield an agreement\u003c/a> on a new three-year teaching contract. But Thursday afternoon, Superintendent Cheryl Cotton announced that the district and union had agreed to renegotiate and would meet at 4 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066164\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066164\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_09-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teacher Jackie Reyes and her daughter Adelina join other West Contra Costa Unified School District teachers on strike at El Cerrito High School in Richmond on Dec. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Xavier Zamora for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“My hope is that we can reach agreement on salary and benefits and then turn our attention to collaboratively outline an action plan to address the deep-rooted, systemic issues that exist in our organization,” Cotton said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district is facing a projected deficit and has maintained that its budget cannot support additional raises for teachers without risking a state takeover. Union members have argued that the district overspends on outside contractors rather than investing in district educators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside Nystrom Elementary on Thursday morning, striking teachers chanted slogans such as “Education is a right, that is why we have to fight.”[aside postID=news_12065732 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250723-WEST-CO-CO-ICE-MD-04-KQED.jpg']“I’ve been here for 13 years and seen a lot of teachers come and go and the impact that has on our kids,” said Jocelyn Rohan, a sixth-grade teacher at Nystrom Elementary. “It’s hard to want to stay somewhere when you’re not being paid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many families chose to keep their children home as the strike began. Of about 440 students enrolled at Nystrom Elementary, just 87 attended class on Thursday, according to the district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Missing school to support the strike is not considered an excused absence by the district. For families that did not want to come to school, the district offered an alternative independent study curriculum that students could do at home and still receive school attendance credit. About 1,300 students registered for the curriculum out of the 28,000 in the district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When people work, they ask for raises so they can support their families,” Nystrom Elementary parent Nidia Lopez said in Spanish, through a teacher interpreter. “If they don’t get a raise, they’ll find work somewhere else.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lopez brought her children to school, but she decided to take them home once she realized there was a strike, saying that there wasn’t a point to having her children in school if the teachers weren’t there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066163\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066163\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_05-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_05-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nedea Lopez walks her children to school as West Contra Costa Unified School District teachers strike outside Nystrom Elementary School in Richmond on Dec. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Xavier Zamora for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Other parents brought their children to school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harrishiana Lee, parent of three children in the district, told KQED over a phone call as her children were being dropped off by their father that she supported the union but was frustrated with the strike. All of her children have special needs, she said, and she didn’t have an alternative for the services they needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With the strike, my baby can’t go to school,” Lee said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For weeks, the district has been planning to keep schools open in the case of a strike. In October, the school board voted to pay up to $550 per day for substitute teachers during the strike period, up from the regular day rate of up to $280.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066306\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066306\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00410_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00410_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00410_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00410_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">West Contra Costa Unified School District teachers and families play with a parachute as children run under during a strike rally at Marina Bay Park in Richmond on December 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In an email to parents and the school community on Wednesday, Superintendent Cotton said that schools would “provide safe and supportive classrooms and learning activities” and that meals would continue to be served to students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cotton has expressed empathy for the union’s demands, but she has maintained that the district’s budget cannot afford them and that the strike is harmful to students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The strike will not fix these problems,” Cotton said in an email statement on Wednesday. “A strike takes teachers out of classrooms, harms relationships, and makes it harder to recruit and retain strong educators. … We are heartbroken for our students. They deserve stability, care, and a learning environment where adults work together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Meghan Crebbin-Coates is a student at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and a contributor to KQED.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We let them know that we’re prepared to negotiate with them when they have something written down that we can consider,” Ortiz said. “Right now, there doesn’t seem to be any urgency regarding the settling of the contract.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district did not respond to questions about the conflicting messaging or attendance figures for the first day of the strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both sides have said they’re open to continued negotiations in the hopes of reaching a deal and ending the strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066311\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066311\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01296_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01296_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01296_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01296_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Francisco Ortiz speaks at a rally during the West Contra Costa United School District rally at Marina Bay Park in Richmond on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Original story, Dec. 4 \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bundled against the morning cold, teachers marched outside the Nystrom Elementary School entrance in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/richmond\">Richmond\u003c/a> early Thursday, cheering as passing cars honked, and carrying yellow and red picket signs reading “We Can’t Wait.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Educators at all 56 West Contra Costa Unified School District sites picketed before and during school drop-off on the first day of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065732/west-contra-costa-teachers-are-set-to-strike-across-the-bay-area-more-could-follow\">an open-ended strike\u003c/a>, marching for higher pay, smaller class sizes and a reduction of the use of long-term substitute teachers and outside contractors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Months of negotiations and a mediation process have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065486/west-contra-costa-teachers-are-near-a-pivotal-moment-in-their-potential-strike\">failed to yield an agreement\u003c/a> on a new three-year teaching contract. But Thursday afternoon, Superintendent Cheryl Cotton announced that the district and union had agreed to renegotiate and would meet at 4 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066164\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066164\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_09-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teacher Jackie Reyes and her daughter Adelina join other West Contra Costa Unified School District teachers on strike at El Cerrito High School in Richmond on Dec. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Xavier Zamora for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“My hope is that we can reach agreement on salary and benefits and then turn our attention to collaboratively outline an action plan to address the deep-rooted, systemic issues that exist in our organization,” Cotton said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district is facing a projected deficit and has maintained that its budget cannot support additional raises for teachers without risking a state takeover. Union members have argued that the district overspends on outside contractors rather than investing in district educators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside Nystrom Elementary on Thursday morning, striking teachers chanted slogans such as “Education is a right, that is why we have to fight.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I’ve been here for 13 years and seen a lot of teachers come and go and the impact that has on our kids,” said Jocelyn Rohan, a sixth-grade teacher at Nystrom Elementary. “It’s hard to want to stay somewhere when you’re not being paid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many families chose to keep their children home as the strike began. Of about 440 students enrolled at Nystrom Elementary, just 87 attended class on Thursday, according to the district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Missing school to support the strike is not considered an excused absence by the district. For families that did not want to come to school, the district offered an alternative independent study curriculum that students could do at home and still receive school attendance credit. About 1,300 students registered for the curriculum out of the 28,000 in the district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When people work, they ask for raises so they can support their families,” Nystrom Elementary parent Nidia Lopez said in Spanish, through a teacher interpreter. “If they don’t get a raise, they’ll find work somewhere else.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lopez brought her children to school, but she decided to take them home once she realized there was a strike, saying that there wasn’t a point to having her children in school if the teachers weren’t there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066163\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066163\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_05-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_05-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nedea Lopez walks her children to school as West Contra Costa Unified School District teachers strike outside Nystrom Elementary School in Richmond on Dec. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Xavier Zamora for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Other parents brought their children to school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harrishiana Lee, parent of three children in the district, told KQED over a phone call as her children were being dropped off by their father that she supported the union but was frustrated with the strike. All of her children have special needs, she said, and she didn’t have an alternative for the services they needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With the strike, my baby can’t go to school,” Lee said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For weeks, the district has been planning to keep schools open in the case of a strike. In October, the school board voted to pay up to $550 per day for substitute teachers during the strike period, up from the regular day rate of up to $280.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066306\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066306\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00410_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00410_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00410_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00410_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">West Contra Costa Unified School District teachers and families play with a parachute as children run under during a strike rally at Marina Bay Park in Richmond on December 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In an email to parents and the school community on Wednesday, Superintendent Cotton said that schools would “provide safe and supportive classrooms and learning activities” and that meals would continue to be served to students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cotton has expressed empathy for the union’s demands, but she has maintained that the district’s budget cannot afford them and that the strike is harmful to students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The strike will not fix these problems,” Cotton said in an email statement on Wednesday. “A strike takes teachers out of classrooms, harms relationships, and makes it harder to recruit and retain strong educators. … We are heartbroken for our students. They deserve stability, care, and a learning environment where adults work together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Meghan Crebbin-Coates is a student at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and a contributor to KQED.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>A social worker at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-general-hospital\">San Francisco General Hospital\u003c/a> is in critical condition after being stabbed repeatedly by a patient Thursday afternoon, according to the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A 35-year-old patient who was at the medical center for an appointment had reportedly threatened a doctor before stabbing the 31-year-old social worker multiple times in the neck and shoulder, sheriff’s officials said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was arrested at the scene and taken into custody. Deputies recovered a five-inch kitchen knife they believe he used in the attack.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Sheriff’s Department said additional security personnel were called around 1:30 p.m. to the sixth floor of San Francisco General Hospital after a doctor received threats from a patient in Ward 86, an HIV resource and treatment center.[aside postID=science_1996726 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/03/20250310_DANI-GOLOMB_DMB_00070-KQED-1020x680.jpg']Officials said they were providing security at the door when they heard a disturbance in the hallway. A deputy found the suspect attacking the social worker, intervened and restrained the man.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Medical staff on site performed CPR and lifesaving care to the social worker before they were taken to an operating room. As of Thursday evening, the victim was still receiving care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their condition as of Friday is unknown. UCSF, which is a partner at Ward 86 and San Francisco General, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s deeply upsetting to have a frontline worker injured while doing their job serving our city,” Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a statement. “Our social workers spend every day helping struggling San Franciscans — they should never have to fear for their safety while doing that work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We will stay vigilant and ensure our hospitals are safe for everyone,” he continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is a developing story, and it will be updated.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Officials said they were providing security at the door when they heard a disturbance in the hallway. A deputy found the suspect attacking the social worker, intervened and restrained the man.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Medical staff on site performed CPR and lifesaving care to the social worker before they were taken to an operating room. As of Thursday evening, the victim was still receiving care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their condition as of Friday is unknown. UCSF, which is a partner at Ward 86 and San Francisco General, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s deeply upsetting to have a frontline worker injured while doing their job serving our city,” Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a statement. “Our social workers spend every day helping struggling San Franciscans — they should never have to fear for their safety while doing that work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We will stay vigilant and ensure our hospitals are safe for everyone,” he continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is a developing story, and it will be updated.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Nearly 3,000 teachers and staff from the West Contra Costa Unified School district went on strike Thursday morning after negotiations with the district broke down. It’s the latest in a series of labor disputes between educators and districts \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2025/west-contra-costa-teachers-strike/745896?amp=1\">across California\u003c/a>. Today, Jana Kadah, education reporter with Richmondside, talks to us from the field about why West Contra Costa educators walked off the job for the first time in the district’s history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Links:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://richmondside.org/2025/12/02/wccusd-strike-guide-faq-for-parents/\">Richmondside: Is your family prepared for WCCUSD teachers strike? Here’s what to know\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC8523906778\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003cem>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:00:00] I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra and welcome to the Bay, local news to keep you rooted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chanting \u003c/strong>[00:00:09] When I say union, you say power, union.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:00:14] Three thousand teachers and school staff began a strike at the West Contra Costa Unified School District yesterday morning. And it’s the first time that teachers at this district have gone on strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Teacher \u003c/strong>[00:00:30] We are united, we are strong when we’re together, and we’re gonna get this.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:00:36] West Contra Costa has struggled for years with its budget, and teachers say they’ve been sounding the alarm about a staffing crisis made worse by low wages. Today, why West Contra Costa teachers are on strike and what it means for the district’s roughly 25,000 students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:01:08] Jana, can you tell us where you are right now?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jana Kadah \u003c/strong>[00:01:11] Yeah, I’m standing right outside of El Cerrito High School, where there are more than 150 people picketing from staff, educators to a lot of students and parents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:01:25] Jana Kadah, she’s an education reporter for Richmondside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jana Kadah \u003c/strong>[00:01:30] It is very lively. It is loud. People are chanting. It has a really kind of community neighborhood feel. There are kids in the neighborhood coming, passing out snacks to those who are picketing. Overall, I think like a excited, passionate energy from the people there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:01:49] Jana, you cover this district. Can you tell me a little bit more about it? I mean, it it covers quite a a range of cities. Tell me a little bit more about this district that you cover.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jana Kadah \u003c/strong>[00:02:00] Yeah, West Contra Costa is a pretty big district, 56 different campuses, around 25,000 students all across West Contra Costa. So Richmond, El Sobrante, all the way to Hercules, Pinol, and El Cerrito. So it’s a pretty diverse community from ethnicity to languages and income levels. But what seems to be consistent are the frustrations from the community around the quality of education that they are receiving. The teachers and the Teamsters are striking right now because of pay concerns, but it’s not just about whether or not they can afford to live here. It’s about if they can re recruit and retain teachers. They say the pay is just too low for people to stay in the district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:03:00] And give me a brief timeline, Jana. They’ve been in negotiations for several months now. When did things really break down?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jana Kadah \u003c/strong>[00:03:07] From my understanding, actually, this has been a years long issue. I mean, in 2022, the teachers union did authorize a strike and the district came back with an offer, so it they averted a strike. But the bigger issues that they’ve been trying to resolve have not been sorted out in in their perspective.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:03:30] And what have the biggest sticking points been leading up to this strike? I understand that these two sides are pretty far apart on wages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jana Kadah \u003c/strong>[00:03:40] The teachers were originally asking for 10% over two years. The district in October offered them two percent. They declined it. The state recommended that the district offer them six percent over two years. After that, the district came back and offered them three percent. 99% of the teachers’ union voted, more than 98% basically said yes, we’re ready to strike. Aside from salary increases, some of the biggest concerns are reducing class sizes, addressing the issues in special education staffing. There’s also facility upgrades and security for their international educators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:04:32] I mean, what does the school district say about all of this and w and where things stand right now?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jana Kadah \u003c/strong>[00:04:37] They have gone on a tour throughout the community to basically break down their finances and show that they cannot afford to meet the union’s demands. The superintendent has repeatedly said that she understands the concerns of the teachers and the community members, but that the financial situation that the district is in makes it impossible. This year alone they have to make seven point seven million dollars of cuts and there are more cuts coming in the years ahead to try to balance their budget. And so she has kind of centered this message of like we are one, let’s stick together, let’s unify, let’s let’s solve these problems together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:05:23] I I mean, it’s interesting, you say that the the superintendent is on a a sort of tour to to really show the financial situation that the district is in. Why is the district in such financial trouble right now?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jana Kadah \u003c/strong>[00:05:37] That’s a great question. And a lot of people would tell you a lot of different things. One is that the state funding is not enough. West Contra Costa is a district that does serve a lot more students with special education needs. And they also have a huge immigrant community. At Richmond High School, for example, 50% of the students are English language learners. And so you can imagine that this requires more resources. On the other hand, you know, some would point to mismanagement of funds. The district has contracted out a lot of its services. It has contracted out a lot of special education positions, primarily. And it comes at a higher cost to the district. So it’s issues like that where the money in the in the teachers union’s perspective, it’s not used properly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:06:36] And as I understand it as well, this is a district that is also, like many others across the state, dealing with under enrollment, which also has an impact on on its budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jana Kadah \u003c/strong>[00:06:48] Yeah, thanks for bringing that up. I think in the last three years the enrollment has gone down from 28,000 to 25,000. And a lot of families are choosing to go to charter schools and there are a lot nearby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:07:06] Well I do want to ask you, Jenna, what this means for families and students. Are people still sending their kids to school? I mean, what are you hearing from the school communities out there right now?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jana Kadah \u003c/strong>[00:07:18] Yeah. So I went to two high schools so far. And the students are telling me that the only kids who are in school are there because their families are forcing them to be there, right? They’re worried about what this means for their education. But at El Cerrito, for example, a student told me that there were only 20 seniors who showed up, 20 juniors who showed up, and then couldn’t give a number for freshmen and sophomores. But the last update I got, the district was able to hire 200 substitute teachers, but there are 1500 teachers going on strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:07:53] Right. And what about school services? Are are those still running?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jana Kadah \u003c/strong>[00:07:59] The district did hire a company to provide meals. Students have access to free breakfast and lunch. And so the district is trying to maintain that. Special education transportation is still going. The district has also hired companies for security.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:08:16] I mean, is this ending any time soon, you think, or or what do you think it’s gonna take for this strike to end?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jana Kadah \u003c/strong>[00:08:22] It’s hard to say how long it’s going to last. The the sense from the teachers is they are willing to go as long as they need to. One teacher is hopeful that, you know, the district and the union will meet over the weekend and the strike can be called off by next week. But really, it needs to be an offer that addresses their compensation concerns and moves the needle to address the issues that they’re they’re bringing up. And the primarily it is recruiting and retaining educators. I think it’s been really interesting to be to be where the picket lines are happening and seeing the community support. People are driving by, everyone is honking, they’re cheering. The students at Kennedy High School walked out on Tuesday in support of their teachers in solidarity to the district office, a two mile walk that they did. Every single person along the way cheered them on, right? Whether it’s people standing at a gas station or a fire truck passing them by.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:09:29] I mean, West Contra Costa is not the only school district that has been struggling in the Bay Area in the last year. I mean, you know, there’s news of San Francisco unified teachers possibly walking out soon. Berkeley Unified District as well just announced an impasse. I mean, how do you think what’s happening in West Contra Costa, how does that fit into to what’s happening just across the region when it comes to schools and and even the state?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jana Kadah \u003c/strong>[00:09:57] Yeah, I mean it’s expensive to live here and the cost of living has increased far more than salaries have increased. This represents a larger issue. We were seeing this across the state, but it seems like the Bay Area is feeling it more. And it’s I think it’s just because it’s so expensive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:10:18] Well, Jana, thank you so so much for stepping aside for a little bit. I know you’ve had a really, really busy morning, so thank you so much for your time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jana Kadah \u003c/strong>[00:10:27] Yeah, thank you so much for having me.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Nearly 3,000 teachers and staff from the West Contra Costa Unified School district went on strike Thursday morning after negotiations with the district broke down. It’s the latest in a series of labor disputes between educators and districts \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2025/west-contra-costa-teachers-strike/745896?amp=1\">across California\u003c/a>. Today, Jana Kadah, education reporter with Richmondside, talks to us from the field about why West Contra Costa educators walked off the job for the first time in the district’s history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Links:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://richmondside.org/2025/12/02/wccusd-strike-guide-faq-for-parents/\">Richmondside: Is your family prepared for WCCUSD teachers strike? Here’s what to know\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC8523906778\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003cem>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:00:00] I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra and welcome to the Bay, local news to keep you rooted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chanting \u003c/strong>[00:00:09] When I say union, you say power, union.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:00:14] Three thousand teachers and school staff began a strike at the West Contra Costa Unified School District yesterday morning. And it’s the first time that teachers at this district have gone on strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Teacher \u003c/strong>[00:00:30] We are united, we are strong when we’re together, and we’re gonna get this.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:00:36] West Contra Costa has struggled for years with its budget, and teachers say they’ve been sounding the alarm about a staffing crisis made worse by low wages. Today, why West Contra Costa teachers are on strike and what it means for the district’s roughly 25,000 students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:01:08] Jana, can you tell us where you are right now?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jana Kadah \u003c/strong>[00:01:11] Yeah, I’m standing right outside of El Cerrito High School, where there are more than 150 people picketing from staff, educators to a lot of students and parents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:01:25] Jana Kadah, she’s an education reporter for Richmondside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jana Kadah \u003c/strong>[00:01:30] It is very lively. It is loud. People are chanting. It has a really kind of community neighborhood feel. There are kids in the neighborhood coming, passing out snacks to those who are picketing. Overall, I think like a excited, passionate energy from the people there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:01:49] Jana, you cover this district. Can you tell me a little bit more about it? I mean, it it covers quite a a range of cities. Tell me a little bit more about this district that you cover.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jana Kadah \u003c/strong>[00:02:00] Yeah, West Contra Costa is a pretty big district, 56 different campuses, around 25,000 students all across West Contra Costa. So Richmond, El Sobrante, all the way to Hercules, Pinol, and El Cerrito. So it’s a pretty diverse community from ethnicity to languages and income levels. But what seems to be consistent are the frustrations from the community around the quality of education that they are receiving. The teachers and the Teamsters are striking right now because of pay concerns, but it’s not just about whether or not they can afford to live here. It’s about if they can re recruit and retain teachers. They say the pay is just too low for people to stay in the district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:03:00] And give me a brief timeline, Jana. They’ve been in negotiations for several months now. When did things really break down?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jana Kadah \u003c/strong>[00:03:07] From my understanding, actually, this has been a years long issue. I mean, in 2022, the teachers union did authorize a strike and the district came back with an offer, so it they averted a strike. But the bigger issues that they’ve been trying to resolve have not been sorted out in in their perspective.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:03:30] And what have the biggest sticking points been leading up to this strike? I understand that these two sides are pretty far apart on wages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jana Kadah \u003c/strong>[00:03:40] The teachers were originally asking for 10% over two years. The district in October offered them two percent. They declined it. The state recommended that the district offer them six percent over two years. After that, the district came back and offered them three percent. 99% of the teachers’ union voted, more than 98% basically said yes, we’re ready to strike. Aside from salary increases, some of the biggest concerns are reducing class sizes, addressing the issues in special education staffing. There’s also facility upgrades and security for their international educators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:04:32] I mean, what does the school district say about all of this and w and where things stand right now?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jana Kadah \u003c/strong>[00:04:37] They have gone on a tour throughout the community to basically break down their finances and show that they cannot afford to meet the union’s demands. The superintendent has repeatedly said that she understands the concerns of the teachers and the community members, but that the financial situation that the district is in makes it impossible. This year alone they have to make seven point seven million dollars of cuts and there are more cuts coming in the years ahead to try to balance their budget. And so she has kind of centered this message of like we are one, let’s stick together, let’s unify, let’s let’s solve these problems together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:05:23] I I mean, it’s interesting, you say that the the superintendent is on a a sort of tour to to really show the financial situation that the district is in. Why is the district in such financial trouble right now?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jana Kadah \u003c/strong>[00:05:37] That’s a great question. And a lot of people would tell you a lot of different things. One is that the state funding is not enough. West Contra Costa is a district that does serve a lot more students with special education needs. And they also have a huge immigrant community. At Richmond High School, for example, 50% of the students are English language learners. And so you can imagine that this requires more resources. On the other hand, you know, some would point to mismanagement of funds. The district has contracted out a lot of its services. It has contracted out a lot of special education positions, primarily. And it comes at a higher cost to the district. So it’s issues like that where the money in the in the teachers union’s perspective, it’s not used properly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:06:36] And as I understand it as well, this is a district that is also, like many others across the state, dealing with under enrollment, which also has an impact on on its budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jana Kadah \u003c/strong>[00:06:48] Yeah, thanks for bringing that up. I think in the last three years the enrollment has gone down from 28,000 to 25,000. And a lot of families are choosing to go to charter schools and there are a lot nearby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:07:06] Well I do want to ask you, Jenna, what this means for families and students. Are people still sending their kids to school? I mean, what are you hearing from the school communities out there right now?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jana Kadah \u003c/strong>[00:07:18] Yeah. So I went to two high schools so far. And the students are telling me that the only kids who are in school are there because their families are forcing them to be there, right? They’re worried about what this means for their education. But at El Cerrito, for example, a student told me that there were only 20 seniors who showed up, 20 juniors who showed up, and then couldn’t give a number for freshmen and sophomores. But the last update I got, the district was able to hire 200 substitute teachers, but there are 1500 teachers going on strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:07:53] Right. And what about school services? Are are those still running?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jana Kadah \u003c/strong>[00:07:59] The district did hire a company to provide meals. Students have access to free breakfast and lunch. And so the district is trying to maintain that. Special education transportation is still going. The district has also hired companies for security.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:08:16] I mean, is this ending any time soon, you think, or or what do you think it’s gonna take for this strike to end?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jana Kadah \u003c/strong>[00:08:22] It’s hard to say how long it’s going to last. The the sense from the teachers is they are willing to go as long as they need to. One teacher is hopeful that, you know, the district and the union will meet over the weekend and the strike can be called off by next week. But really, it needs to be an offer that addresses their compensation concerns and moves the needle to address the issues that they’re they’re bringing up. And the primarily it is recruiting and retaining educators. I think it’s been really interesting to be to be where the picket lines are happening and seeing the community support. People are driving by, everyone is honking, they’re cheering. The students at Kennedy High School walked out on Tuesday in support of their teachers in solidarity to the district office, a two mile walk that they did. Every single person along the way cheered them on, right? Whether it’s people standing at a gas station or a fire truck passing them by.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:09:29] I mean, West Contra Costa is not the only school district that has been struggling in the Bay Area in the last year. I mean, you know, there’s news of San Francisco unified teachers possibly walking out soon. Berkeley Unified District as well just announced an impasse. I mean, how do you think what’s happening in West Contra Costa, how does that fit into to what’s happening just across the region when it comes to schools and and even the state?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jana Kadah \u003c/strong>[00:09:57] Yeah, I mean it’s expensive to live here and the cost of living has increased far more than salaries have increased. This represents a larger issue. We were seeing this across the state, but it seems like the Bay Area is feeling it more. And it’s I think it’s just because it’s so expensive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra \u003c/strong>[00:10:18] Well, Jana, thank you so so much for stepping aside for a little bit. I know you’ve had a really, really busy morning, so thank you so much for your time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jana Kadah \u003c/strong>[00:10:27] Yeah, thank you so much for having me.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"headTitle": "SFUSD Teachers Overwhelmingly Pass Strike Authorization Vote | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>After months of unresolved contract negotiations, San Francisco educators overwhelmingly passed a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065524/san-francisco-teachers-take-key-step-toward-strike\">strike authorization vote Wednesday\u003c/a>, the first of two needed to approve a work stoppage across the city’s public schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During a five-hour vote at Balboa High School on Wednesday, 99.3% of United Educators of San Francisco members who cast their ballots chose to give the union’s bargaining team permission to call a strike vote at any time as they continue to work with the San Francisco Unified School District and third-party mediators to reach a contract deal for this year and next.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the union does call and pass a strike vote, the district’s more than 6,000 educators could launch their first teacher strike in nearly 50 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When our members come out for this vote … it gives us direction where we should be headed next. And it should be a very clear sign that our members are on the same page,” UESF President Cassondra Curiel said, ahead of Wednesday’s vote. “As a union, we have to do what our members say, and that’s what’s happening. They’re saying continue to push, and so we have to move forward with this escalation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Educators are currently working under a contract that expired in June.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UESF has asked for a 9% raise for teachers and 14% raise for non-certificated staff over two years. They also asked for up to 100% health care benefit coverage and a new special education staffing model, among other demands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12025666\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12025666 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250204-WeCantWait-13-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250204-WeCantWait-13-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250204-WeCantWait-13-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250204-WeCantWait-13-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250204-WeCantWait-13-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250204-WeCantWait-13-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250204-WeCantWait-13-BL-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cassondra Curiel, president of United Educators of San Francisco, speaks during a press conference at Buena Vista Horace Mann K-8 Community School in San Francisco’s Mission District on Feb. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Our members feel very, very strongly … and are willing to move toward collective action if necessary,” Nathalie Hrizi, who is coordinating UESF’s bargaining, said of Wednesday’s results. “There is willingness to strike over these issues if we have to.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Union leaders say months of bargaining that began in March have been fruitless: In October, UESF and SFUSD declared an impasse and entered a mediation process after the union rejected a proposal from the district that offered educators a 2% wage hike if they agreed to concede on many of their other demands — including the increased health care benefit contributions and special education staffing model.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Union leaders said the pay increase would have meant discontinuing other previous contract stipulations, like a sabbatical program for veteran teachers and extra preparation periods for advanced placement teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Curiel said that the union moved to end mediation after getting the impression that the district didn’t plan to make any additional offers in the weeks after their mediation session. Now, they’ll move to the final bargaining step before a strike, an independent fact-finding process conducted by a third-party panel. After a hearing later this month, the group will issue non-binding recommendations for a compromise deal.[aside postID=news_12065732 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250723-WEST-CO-CO-ICE-MD-04-KQED.jpg']SFUSD has said it remains committed to reaching an agreement with the union, but is currently under stringent fiscal oversight by the state and in the second year of a two-year budget stabilization plan requiring hundreds of millions in ongoing expense reductions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, the district made major personnel and service reductions to cut $114 million from its budget, and according to early recommendations \u003ca href=\"https://missionlocal.org/2025/12/sfusd-schools-budget-cuts/\">obtained by \u003cem>Mission Local\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, the district could present plans later this month to cut another $113 million next year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Spokesperson Laura Dudnick noted that in 2023, SFUSD awarded historic $9,000 raises to all UESF members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Right now, the state of California holds the authority to override any decision by the San Francisco Board of Education if it believes that decision could compromise the district’s financial stability,” Dudnick said in a statement. “We are facing another round of major budget cuts for the 2026-27 school year, and difficult decisions are ahead. Balancing the budget is a core step toward exiting state oversight.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tension echoes labor \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065732/west-contra-costa-teachers-are-set-to-strike-across-the-bay-area-more-could-follow\">negotiations in districts across the Bay Area\u003c/a>, where educators say their wages have fallen behind the cost of living and school districts have passed rising health care costs along to them, cutting deeper into their earnings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12065383\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12065383\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/240508-Berkeley-High-File-MD-02_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/240508-Berkeley-High-File-MD-02_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/240508-Berkeley-High-File-MD-02_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/240508-Berkeley-High-File-MD-02_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Berkeley High School in Berkeley on May 8, 2024. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065732/west-contra-costa-teachers-are-set-to-strike-across-the-bay-area-more-could-follow\">West Contra Costa County Unified School District’s teachers\u003c/a> launched their first-ever labor strike Thursday, and Berkeley Unified School District’s union declared an impasse in negotiations with their district last month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Curiel said come January, San Francisco teachers with more than one dependent could have to put $1,550 per pay cycle toward health insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wednesday’s result authorizes the union bargaining team to call for a strike vote at any time, though they can’t legally go on strike until the fact-finding panel issues its report in the coming weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the district and union receive the panel’s recommendations, the district will be able to make a final contract offer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Right now, we hope district management is really looking at where they’re at in negotiations and preparing to bring us things that could be a potential agreement,” Hrizi said. “No one wants to strike, but we are willing to [in order] to win the necessary things we’re fighting for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>After months of unresolved contract negotiations, San Francisco educators overwhelmingly passed a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065524/san-francisco-teachers-take-key-step-toward-strike\">strike authorization vote Wednesday\u003c/a>, the first of two needed to approve a work stoppage across the city’s public schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During a five-hour vote at Balboa High School on Wednesday, 99.3% of United Educators of San Francisco members who cast their ballots chose to give the union’s bargaining team permission to call a strike vote at any time as they continue to work with the San Francisco Unified School District and third-party mediators to reach a contract deal for this year and next.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the union does call and pass a strike vote, the district’s more than 6,000 educators could launch their first teacher strike in nearly 50 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When our members come out for this vote … it gives us direction where we should be headed next. And it should be a very clear sign that our members are on the same page,” UESF President Cassondra Curiel said, ahead of Wednesday’s vote. “As a union, we have to do what our members say, and that’s what’s happening. They’re saying continue to push, and so we have to move forward with this escalation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Educators are currently working under a contract that expired in June.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UESF has asked for a 9% raise for teachers and 14% raise for non-certificated staff over two years. They also asked for up to 100% health care benefit coverage and a new special education staffing model, among other demands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12025666\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12025666 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250204-WeCantWait-13-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250204-WeCantWait-13-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250204-WeCantWait-13-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250204-WeCantWait-13-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250204-WeCantWait-13-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250204-WeCantWait-13-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250204-WeCantWait-13-BL-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cassondra Curiel, president of United Educators of San Francisco, speaks during a press conference at Buena Vista Horace Mann K-8 Community School in San Francisco’s Mission District on Feb. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Our members feel very, very strongly … and are willing to move toward collective action if necessary,” Nathalie Hrizi, who is coordinating UESF’s bargaining, said of Wednesday’s results. “There is willingness to strike over these issues if we have to.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Union leaders say months of bargaining that began in March have been fruitless: In October, UESF and SFUSD declared an impasse and entered a mediation process after the union rejected a proposal from the district that offered educators a 2% wage hike if they agreed to concede on many of their other demands — including the increased health care benefit contributions and special education staffing model.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Union leaders said the pay increase would have meant discontinuing other previous contract stipulations, like a sabbatical program for veteran teachers and extra preparation periods for advanced placement teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Curiel said that the union moved to end mediation after getting the impression that the district didn’t plan to make any additional offers in the weeks after their mediation session. Now, they’ll move to the final bargaining step before a strike, an independent fact-finding process conducted by a third-party panel. After a hearing later this month, the group will issue non-binding recommendations for a compromise deal.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>SFUSD has said it remains committed to reaching an agreement with the union, but is currently under stringent fiscal oversight by the state and in the second year of a two-year budget stabilization plan requiring hundreds of millions in ongoing expense reductions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, the district made major personnel and service reductions to cut $114 million from its budget, and according to early recommendations \u003ca href=\"https://missionlocal.org/2025/12/sfusd-schools-budget-cuts/\">obtained by \u003cem>Mission Local\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, the district could present plans later this month to cut another $113 million next year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Spokesperson Laura Dudnick noted that in 2023, SFUSD awarded historic $9,000 raises to all UESF members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Right now, the state of California holds the authority to override any decision by the San Francisco Board of Education if it believes that decision could compromise the district’s financial stability,” Dudnick said in a statement. “We are facing another round of major budget cuts for the 2026-27 school year, and difficult decisions are ahead. Balancing the budget is a core step toward exiting state oversight.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tension echoes labor \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065732/west-contra-costa-teachers-are-set-to-strike-across-the-bay-area-more-could-follow\">negotiations in districts across the Bay Area\u003c/a>, where educators say their wages have fallen behind the cost of living and school districts have passed rising health care costs along to them, cutting deeper into their earnings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12065383\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12065383\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/240508-Berkeley-High-File-MD-02_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/240508-Berkeley-High-File-MD-02_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/240508-Berkeley-High-File-MD-02_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/240508-Berkeley-High-File-MD-02_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Berkeley High School in Berkeley on May 8, 2024. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065732/west-contra-costa-teachers-are-set-to-strike-across-the-bay-area-more-could-follow\">West Contra Costa County Unified School District’s teachers\u003c/a> launched their first-ever labor strike Thursday, and Berkeley Unified School District’s union declared an impasse in negotiations with their district last month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Curiel said come January, San Francisco teachers with more than one dependent could have to put $1,550 per pay cycle toward health insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wednesday’s result authorizes the union bargaining team to call for a strike vote at any time, though they can’t legally go on strike until the fact-finding panel issues its report in the coming weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the district and union receive the panel’s recommendations, the district will be able to make a final contract offer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Right now, we hope district management is really looking at where they’re at in negotiations and preparing to bring us things that could be a potential agreement,” Hrizi said. “No one wants to strike, but we are willing to [in order] to win the necessary things we’re fighting for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "west-contra-costa-teachers-are-set-to-strike-across-the-bay-area-more-could-follow",
"title": "West Contra Costa Teachers Are Set to Strike. Across the Bay Area, More Could Follow",
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"headTitle": "West Contra Costa Teachers Are Set to Strike. Across the Bay Area, More Could Follow | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Teachers in the West Contra Costa Unified School District \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065486/west-contra-costa-teachers-are-near-a-pivotal-moment-in-their-potential-strike\">plan to strike beginning Thursday\u003c/a> as long-simmering labor disputes come to a head in major districts across the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Union leaders say their educators need higher wages and better benefit coverage — and they aren’t alone. In San Francisco, the union representing public school teachers is holding a strike authorization vote on Wednesday, and in Berkeley, the union is entering mediation with the district after declaring an impasse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Across California, meanwhile, school districts have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12027158/how-oakland-and-sf-ended-up-among-7-ca-school-districts-who-cant-pay-their-bills\">struggled to balance their budgets\u003c/a> as they face declining enrollment and shrinking state funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is an education justice issue,” said Francisco Ortiz, the president of United Teachers of Richmond, which represents 1,400 West Contra Costa teachers. “The district’s piecemeal solutions are not serving our students. We need to see action that stabilizes our district now, which means providing competitive wages and health care, smaller class sizes, and a commitment to our educators that supports their ability to stay.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Educators at the district’s 50 campuses began negotiating a new two-year contract with school officials eight months ago. After the union declared an impasse in August, two negotiations mediated by a third party failed to yield an agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As part of that process, a neutral fact-finding committee made its recommendations for a compromise between West Contra Costa Unified and the teachers’ union last week. The district’s offer, however, proposed a lower wage hike than the report recommended, prompting United Teachers of Richmond to call the indefinite strike, Ortiz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12031022\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12031022\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-01-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-01-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-01-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Valerie Aquino (center) and other students from Richmond’s John F. Kennedy High School stage a walkout and march to the West Contra Costa Unified School District Offices to protest impending layoffs as part of cuts to the district’s budget in Richmond on March 12, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He said the offer was “not what’s going to help keep our educators here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our educators have been sounding the alarm for years about the staffing crisis and instability that our students face,” he told KQED. “Our students deserve educators who can feel safe and secure working here and can stay here. They deserve teachers whose work and commitment with our students is respected and reciprocated by the district. That’s the crux here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teachers in districts throughout the Bay Area have echoed his sentiment as they escalate their own threats to strike in the coming months without better contracts. United Educators of San Francisco members will take the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065524/san-francisco-teachers-take-key-step-toward-strike\">first of two votes necessary to authorize a strike on Wednesday\u003c/a> afternoon after their first third-party mediation process failed. The Berkeley Federation of Teachers and Berkeley Unified School District declared an impasse on Nov. 20, moving them into mediation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This has been a long time coming,” said Danielle Mahones, the director of leadership development programs at the UC Berkeley Labor Center. “Educators and parents and students have been feeling that schools … across California have been underfunded, that classrooms are too crowded, that the teacher pay is not keeping up with the cost of living in many cities. For some time, educators have diligently tried to get these issues resolved at the district level, but they’re seeing that there’s common themes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘They can’t do it anymore’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Across the districts, wages and health benefits have been the biggest sticking points for unions negotiating contracts for 2025 to 2027.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Compared with similarly educated workers in the state, teachers’ compensation has always been low, Mahones said, but it’s become less tenable in recent years — both because the cost of living has risen and because workers are growing more fatigued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of them are sort of surviving paycheck to paycheck and yet still buying food for their own students who are in need, buying school supplies for their classrooms,” she told KQED. “I think it’s just reached a point where folks feel like they can’t do it anymore. And they’re really concerned seeing a lot of their colleagues leave the profession.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12031025\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12031025\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-08-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-08-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-08-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-08-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-08-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-08-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Julissa Blandon and other students from Richmond’s John F. Kennedy High School stage a walkout and rally in front of to the West Contra Costa Unified School District Offices to protest impending layoffs as part of cuts to the district’s budget in Richmond on March 12, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>United Teachers of Richmond asked the district for a 5% raise in each of the next two years when it began negotiations in February.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Currently, we’re at the bottom of both pay and health care contributions in the entire county of Contra Costa,” Ortiz said, adding that union members did not receive any pay increase last year. “That’s why we’ve lost over 1,500 educators in the last five years. We’ve lost more teachers than we represent in the last five years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fact-finding team’s recommendation on Friday was equivalent to a 6% raise over the next two-year contract period: a 2.5% hike retroactive to July, when their former contract expired, plus additional raises of 0.5% in 2026 and 3% in 2027.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district’s offer, which led to the strike declaration, was half of that, according to Ortiz: a 2% increase retroactive to July and 1% more in January, with no raise in 2027. It did increase the district’s contribution to health care benefits over the next two years, according to Superintendent Cheryl Cotton.[aside postID=news_12065524 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250204-WeCantWait-13-BL-1020x680.jpg']“We made this offer even though our district is already spending millions more each year than we receive in revenue,” Cotton wrote in an email to families on Monday. The district has had to slash \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065486/west-contra-costa-teachers-are-near-a-pivotal-moment-in-their-potential-strike\">tens of millions of dollars from its budget\u003c/a> over the last two years, and more cuts will be needed to stave off an ongoing deficit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Ortiz argued that the district can afford the union’s ask.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have identified ways in which the district can afford our proposals and stabilize our school district. And their current offer will not do that,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco Unified School District has offered teachers a 2% wage hike in exchange for cutting other contractual obligations, including a sabbatical program for veteran educators and additional prep periods for advanced placement teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two years ago, the district gave teachers historic $9,000 raises. Now it’s facing a major budget crisis, spurring a commitment \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12044768/sf-school-district-unveils-balanced-budget-after-cutting-over-110-million-in-spending\">to cutting more than $150 million\u003c/a> in ongoing costs over two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Berkeley Federation of Teachers, meanwhile, asked for consecutive 5% raises for two years and has gotten no wage increase offer from BUSD after 17 bargaining sessions, according to union President Matt Meyer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12065384\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12065384\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/240508-Berkeley-High-File-MD-03_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/240508-Berkeley-High-File-MD-03_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/240508-Berkeley-High-File-MD-03_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/240508-Berkeley-High-File-MD-03_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Berkeley High School in Berkeley on May 8, 2024. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As wages fall behind the cost of living, Mahones said, more of educators’ paychecks are also going to health care coverage because districts are passing the cost of higher premiums along to teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>United Educators of San Francisco President Cassondra Curiel told KQED last week that without a new agreement, teachers with two children would have to put about $1500 of each paycheck toward health care come January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meyer said Berkeley Unified covers about 55% of employees’ benefit costs, but he added that in the last five years, the percentage of their paychecks that has gone to health coverage has increased significantly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our disposable income has gone down quite a bit just because of what the employee has to pay for medical benefits,” he told KQED. Berkeley’s union has asked the district to cover 100% of health care costs, but it has not gotten an offer from the district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement on Monday, Berkeley’s Superintendent Enikia Ford Morthel said the district was “committed to good-faith discussions that honor their contributions while also ensuring the long-term financial health of our district.” It also faces a budget deficit of \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2025/06/24/berkeley-unified-approves-budget-cuts-family-engagement\">$7.6 million\u003c/a> for this school year.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Unions build statewide unity\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As more local unions feel emboldened to push toward strikes, Mahones said increased coordination and common ground are likely playing a large part. She said they’ve found that the problems they’re facing aren’t isolated and are in part a result of state funding shortfalls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is one thing if one single district in our state goes out on strike. It is something else when we were just seeing district after district reach impasse,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12049415\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12049415\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250723-WEST-CO-CO-ICE-MD-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250723-WEST-CO-CO-ICE-MD-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250723-WEST-CO-CO-ICE-MD-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250723-WEST-CO-CO-ICE-MD-03-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The West Contra Costa School District Offices in Richmond on July 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Currently, California ranks \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/financing-californias-public-schools/\">16th in the country in terms of per-pupil education funding\u003c/a>, but that drops to 31st when accounting for the cost of living.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think it’s a shame that we’re all stuck negotiating with our local districts for what the state gives,” Meyer said. “But we do know that our district can spend its money more wisely and can prioritize and make an investment in educators.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the spring, 32 unions, including West Contra Costa, San Francisco and Berkeley, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12025440/schools-face-cuts-california-teachers-unions-band-together-demands\">joined a coordinated campaign\u003c/a> by the California Teachers Association, dubbed “We Can’t Wait,” with the goals of increasing districts’ spending on school sites and ultimately increasing state funding.[aside postID=news_12065486 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-02_qed.jpg']Mahones said that one of their hopes is that coordinated union pressure could encourage district leaders to push legislators to allocate more money for public education in the state’s budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that educators are also looking to the state of California, as the fifth-biggest economy in the world, to say, ‘We need to be doing better for our students,’” Mahones told KQED. “‘What would it look like for California to actually make a commitment to all students in our state being able to receive a high-quality education with fair teacher-to-student ratios … counselors and school nurses and access to mental health?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California Teachers Association President David Goldberg said that California’s education system has weathered decades of disinvestment since Proposition 13 passed, restricting the amount of state funding schools get from property taxes. Now, they rely much more heavily on income tax, resulting in major swings in school districts’ budgets based on economic fluctuations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he cautioned against writing off the current union tensions as just a result of state shortages. Unions across the Bay Area say their districts spend too much money on large administrative arms, contracting outside special education services and teachers, and building up high reserve funds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because state funding is so scarce, they have to be that much better. There’s no room for error,” he said. “Districts have to get it right.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/shossaini\">\u003cem>Sara Hossaini\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Teachers in the East Bay school district plan to walk off the job beginning Thursday. Their concerns over wages and benefits are echoed in districts throughout California.",
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"title": "West Contra Costa Teachers Are Set to Strike. Across the Bay Area, More Could Follow | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Teachers in the West Contra Costa Unified School District \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065486/west-contra-costa-teachers-are-near-a-pivotal-moment-in-their-potential-strike\">plan to strike beginning Thursday\u003c/a> as long-simmering labor disputes come to a head in major districts across the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Union leaders say their educators need higher wages and better benefit coverage — and they aren’t alone. In San Francisco, the union representing public school teachers is holding a strike authorization vote on Wednesday, and in Berkeley, the union is entering mediation with the district after declaring an impasse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Across California, meanwhile, school districts have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12027158/how-oakland-and-sf-ended-up-among-7-ca-school-districts-who-cant-pay-their-bills\">struggled to balance their budgets\u003c/a> as they face declining enrollment and shrinking state funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is an education justice issue,” said Francisco Ortiz, the president of United Teachers of Richmond, which represents 1,400 West Contra Costa teachers. “The district’s piecemeal solutions are not serving our students. We need to see action that stabilizes our district now, which means providing competitive wages and health care, smaller class sizes, and a commitment to our educators that supports their ability to stay.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Educators at the district’s 50 campuses began negotiating a new two-year contract with school officials eight months ago. After the union declared an impasse in August, two negotiations mediated by a third party failed to yield an agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As part of that process, a neutral fact-finding committee made its recommendations for a compromise between West Contra Costa Unified and the teachers’ union last week. The district’s offer, however, proposed a lower wage hike than the report recommended, prompting United Teachers of Richmond to call the indefinite strike, Ortiz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12031022\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12031022\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-01-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-01-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-01-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Valerie Aquino (center) and other students from Richmond’s John F. Kennedy High School stage a walkout and march to the West Contra Costa Unified School District Offices to protest impending layoffs as part of cuts to the district’s budget in Richmond on March 12, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He said the offer was “not what’s going to help keep our educators here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our educators have been sounding the alarm for years about the staffing crisis and instability that our students face,” he told KQED. “Our students deserve educators who can feel safe and secure working here and can stay here. They deserve teachers whose work and commitment with our students is respected and reciprocated by the district. That’s the crux here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teachers in districts throughout the Bay Area have echoed his sentiment as they escalate their own threats to strike in the coming months without better contracts. United Educators of San Francisco members will take the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065524/san-francisco-teachers-take-key-step-toward-strike\">first of two votes necessary to authorize a strike on Wednesday\u003c/a> afternoon after their first third-party mediation process failed. The Berkeley Federation of Teachers and Berkeley Unified School District declared an impasse on Nov. 20, moving them into mediation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This has been a long time coming,” said Danielle Mahones, the director of leadership development programs at the UC Berkeley Labor Center. “Educators and parents and students have been feeling that schools … across California have been underfunded, that classrooms are too crowded, that the teacher pay is not keeping up with the cost of living in many cities. For some time, educators have diligently tried to get these issues resolved at the district level, but they’re seeing that there’s common themes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘They can’t do it anymore’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Across the districts, wages and health benefits have been the biggest sticking points for unions negotiating contracts for 2025 to 2027.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Compared with similarly educated workers in the state, teachers’ compensation has always been low, Mahones said, but it’s become less tenable in recent years — both because the cost of living has risen and because workers are growing more fatigued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of them are sort of surviving paycheck to paycheck and yet still buying food for their own students who are in need, buying school supplies for their classrooms,” she told KQED. “I think it’s just reached a point where folks feel like they can’t do it anymore. And they’re really concerned seeing a lot of their colleagues leave the profession.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12031025\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12031025\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-08-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-08-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-08-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-08-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-08-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-08-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Julissa Blandon and other students from Richmond’s John F. Kennedy High School stage a walkout and rally in front of to the West Contra Costa Unified School District Offices to protest impending layoffs as part of cuts to the district’s budget in Richmond on March 12, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>United Teachers of Richmond asked the district for a 5% raise in each of the next two years when it began negotiations in February.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Currently, we’re at the bottom of both pay and health care contributions in the entire county of Contra Costa,” Ortiz said, adding that union members did not receive any pay increase last year. “That’s why we’ve lost over 1,500 educators in the last five years. We’ve lost more teachers than we represent in the last five years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fact-finding team’s recommendation on Friday was equivalent to a 6% raise over the next two-year contract period: a 2.5% hike retroactive to July, when their former contract expired, plus additional raises of 0.5% in 2026 and 3% in 2027.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district’s offer, which led to the strike declaration, was half of that, according to Ortiz: a 2% increase retroactive to July and 1% more in January, with no raise in 2027. It did increase the district’s contribution to health care benefits over the next two years, according to Superintendent Cheryl Cotton.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“We made this offer even though our district is already spending millions more each year than we receive in revenue,” Cotton wrote in an email to families on Monday. The district has had to slash \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065486/west-contra-costa-teachers-are-near-a-pivotal-moment-in-their-potential-strike\">tens of millions of dollars from its budget\u003c/a> over the last two years, and more cuts will be needed to stave off an ongoing deficit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Ortiz argued that the district can afford the union’s ask.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have identified ways in which the district can afford our proposals and stabilize our school district. And their current offer will not do that,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco Unified School District has offered teachers a 2% wage hike in exchange for cutting other contractual obligations, including a sabbatical program for veteran educators and additional prep periods for advanced placement teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two years ago, the district gave teachers historic $9,000 raises. Now it’s facing a major budget crisis, spurring a commitment \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12044768/sf-school-district-unveils-balanced-budget-after-cutting-over-110-million-in-spending\">to cutting more than $150 million\u003c/a> in ongoing costs over two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Berkeley Federation of Teachers, meanwhile, asked for consecutive 5% raises for two years and has gotten no wage increase offer from BUSD after 17 bargaining sessions, according to union President Matt Meyer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12065384\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12065384\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/240508-Berkeley-High-File-MD-03_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/240508-Berkeley-High-File-MD-03_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/240508-Berkeley-High-File-MD-03_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/240508-Berkeley-High-File-MD-03_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Berkeley High School in Berkeley on May 8, 2024. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As wages fall behind the cost of living, Mahones said, more of educators’ paychecks are also going to health care coverage because districts are passing the cost of higher premiums along to teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>United Educators of San Francisco President Cassondra Curiel told KQED last week that without a new agreement, teachers with two children would have to put about $1500 of each paycheck toward health care come January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meyer said Berkeley Unified covers about 55% of employees’ benefit costs, but he added that in the last five years, the percentage of their paychecks that has gone to health coverage has increased significantly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our disposable income has gone down quite a bit just because of what the employee has to pay for medical benefits,” he told KQED. Berkeley’s union has asked the district to cover 100% of health care costs, but it has not gotten an offer from the district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement on Monday, Berkeley’s Superintendent Enikia Ford Morthel said the district was “committed to good-faith discussions that honor their contributions while also ensuring the long-term financial health of our district.” It also faces a budget deficit of \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2025/06/24/berkeley-unified-approves-budget-cuts-family-engagement\">$7.6 million\u003c/a> for this school year.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Unions build statewide unity\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As more local unions feel emboldened to push toward strikes, Mahones said increased coordination and common ground are likely playing a large part. She said they’ve found that the problems they’re facing aren’t isolated and are in part a result of state funding shortfalls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is one thing if one single district in our state goes out on strike. It is something else when we were just seeing district after district reach impasse,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12049415\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12049415\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250723-WEST-CO-CO-ICE-MD-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250723-WEST-CO-CO-ICE-MD-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250723-WEST-CO-CO-ICE-MD-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250723-WEST-CO-CO-ICE-MD-03-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The West Contra Costa School District Offices in Richmond on July 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Currently, California ranks \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/financing-californias-public-schools/\">16th in the country in terms of per-pupil education funding\u003c/a>, but that drops to 31st when accounting for the cost of living.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think it’s a shame that we’re all stuck negotiating with our local districts for what the state gives,” Meyer said. “But we do know that our district can spend its money more wisely and can prioritize and make an investment in educators.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the spring, 32 unions, including West Contra Costa, San Francisco and Berkeley, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12025440/schools-face-cuts-california-teachers-unions-band-together-demands\">joined a coordinated campaign\u003c/a> by the California Teachers Association, dubbed “We Can’t Wait,” with the goals of increasing districts’ spending on school sites and ultimately increasing state funding.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Mahones said that one of their hopes is that coordinated union pressure could encourage district leaders to push legislators to allocate more money for public education in the state’s budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that educators are also looking to the state of California, as the fifth-biggest economy in the world, to say, ‘We need to be doing better for our students,’” Mahones told KQED. “‘What would it look like for California to actually make a commitment to all students in our state being able to receive a high-quality education with fair teacher-to-student ratios … counselors and school nurses and access to mental health?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California Teachers Association President David Goldberg said that California’s education system has weathered decades of disinvestment since Proposition 13 passed, restricting the amount of state funding schools get from property taxes. Now, they rely much more heavily on income tax, resulting in major swings in school districts’ budgets based on economic fluctuations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he cautioned against writing off the current union tensions as just a result of state shortages. Unions across the Bay Area say their districts spend too much money on large administrative arms, contracting outside special education services and teachers, and building up high reserve funds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because state funding is so scarce, they have to be that much better. There’s no room for error,” he said. “Districts have to get it right.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/shossaini\">\u003cem>Sara Hossaini\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>San Francisco’s teachers union plans to take a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059537/as-deficit-looms-sf-public-school-teachers-threaten-strike-over-fair-contracts\">significant step toward a strike\u003c/a> next week, after eight months of bargaining with the San Francisco Unified School District have failed to yield a contract agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>United Educators of San Francisco will hold a strike authorization vote — the first of two the union’s rules require to officially call a work stoppage — on Dec. 3.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Union president Cassondra Curiel said that since UESF and SFUSD declared an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059537/as-deficit-looms-sf-public-school-teachers-threaten-strike-over-fair-contracts\">impasse and entered third-party mediation\u003c/a> in October, the district has not made concessions on proposed raises and expanded health care coverage, among other issues, prompting the union to take a step toward striking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We did not get a signal from the district that they were going to change routes at all,” she said. The union and district’s bargaining teams attended a full day of mediation earlier this month, which Curiel said yielded no progress. “That really made it clear to our bargaining team that the district has every intention to maintain a status quo in our contract,” she continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SFUSD said in a statement on Wednesday that it was continuing to bargain in good faith “to achieve a fair agreement that avoids disruption to student services.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12008537\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12008537\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teanna Tillery (center), a Para Educator, listens to Cassondra Curiel, President of United Educators of San Francisco, during a press conference outside San Francisco Unified School District offices on Sept. 16, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>UESF and SFUSD \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12025440/schools-face-cuts-california-teachers-unions-band-together-demands\">began bargaining\u003c/a> over a new two-year contract for educators in March. Their current contract expired in June, but mostly remains in place until a new deal is reached.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In October, UESF rejected SFUSD’s contract offer, which would have given educators a 2% raise, saying it would have required more concessions than gains from its members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The deal would have undone existing agreements that give high school teachers who take on extra work — as department heads or teachers of Advanced Placement courses that enroll a certain number of students — an additional “prep” period, and cut stipends awarded to schools based on the number of AP exams their students take.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It would also have ended a program that allows educators to apply for semester-to-year-long sabbaticals after serving in the district for a minimum number of years and increased class sizes on some campuses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UESF’s initial proposal for the pay increase in March was 14% for classified employees and 9% for certificated employees over two years. In the months since, there’s been no back-and-forth negotiations bringing that percentage down, Curiel told KQED in October. She said the 2% offer was the first from SFUSD that included a raise.[aside postID=news_12064746 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/241009-SFUSDClosuresMarch-30-BL_qed.jpg']The wage hike is important, especially for paraeducator positions, which are some of the district’s lowest-paid and hardest-to-staff roles, according to the union.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the district has indicated that its budget to increase compensation is tight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SFUSD is currently in the second of a two-year budgeting process to curb a massive ongoing deficit. Last year, it \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12044768/sf-school-district-unveils-balanced-budget-after-cutting-over-110-million-in-spending\">slashed $114 million\u003c/a> in annual expenses through hundreds of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12017631/embattled-sf-school-district-offer-hundreds-buyouts-potential-layoffs\">early retirement buyouts\u003c/a>, the implementation of a strict staffing model in schools and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12044768/sf-school-district-unveils-balanced-budget-after-cutting-over-110-million-in-spending\">administrative position reductions\u003c/a>. This year, it will need to make another $48 million in cuts, which Superintendent Maria Su has indicated could be even more challenging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In October, the district said it was committed to a budget process that benefits students while ensuring long-term financial stability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Right now, the state of California holds the authority to override any decision by the San Francisco Board of Education if it believes that decision could compromise the district’s financial stability,” the district said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In October, SFUSD said that “any proposal for raises must be approved by the CDE and must be financially sustainable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The request for a wage hike comes just two years after SFUSD gave \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfusd.edu/about-sfusd/sfusd-news/press-releases/2023-10-20-sfusd-uesf-announce-9000-salary-raise-teachers-2023-24\">historic $9,000 raises\u003c/a> to educators, along with a 5% salary increase the following year. Under that deal, classified educators also received a significant bump to a minimum wage of $30 an hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Curiel said that higher pay matters to members, but the two primary focuses of negotiations have not been about compensation. UESF is requesting an agreement that the district will cover health care for educators’ dependents and development of a workload model aimed at improving working conditions for special education teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are 36 days away from a massive increase to our health care for the second or third year in a row for our dependents,” Curiel said Tuesday. She said that educators pay about $650 per pay cycle for coverage for one child. In January, coverage for two will be more than $1500, she said.[aside postID=news_12064366 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-04-KQED.jpg']While any health care or workload model deal would likely incur costs, the union’s final two major demands are “low-to-no-cost.” They’re asking to add language to the educators contract that echoes the district’s sanctuary status and commits to using district resources to provide shelter for the most vulnerable students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district already has that language and employs it in school policy, but Curiel said members feel it’s necessary to add it to their contracts because it makes it much more difficult to reverse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We see what happened to our nation during the last election cycle … when folks changed an administration that then changed policy entirely,” Curiel said. “If it’s in our contract, they absolutely cannot do that without the entire union agreeing to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The 6,000 members of UESF hold these values very deeply and want to maintain them. The district insists it doesn’t want to put it in the contract, and we know they can and they absolutely should,” she continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district did not respond to a request for comment regarding the language demands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UESF has requested to be released from mediation. If that request is granted, the district and union would enter a final third-party-led “fact-finding” period to try to reach an agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The strike authorization vote will happen in parallel. If it passes, it gives the union’s bargaining team permission to call a vote to officially authorize a strike in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>San Francisco’s teachers union plans to take a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059537/as-deficit-looms-sf-public-school-teachers-threaten-strike-over-fair-contracts\">significant step toward a strike\u003c/a> next week, after eight months of bargaining with the San Francisco Unified School District have failed to yield a contract agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>United Educators of San Francisco will hold a strike authorization vote — the first of two the union’s rules require to officially call a work stoppage — on Dec. 3.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Union president Cassondra Curiel said that since UESF and SFUSD declared an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059537/as-deficit-looms-sf-public-school-teachers-threaten-strike-over-fair-contracts\">impasse and entered third-party mediation\u003c/a> in October, the district has not made concessions on proposed raises and expanded health care coverage, among other issues, prompting the union to take a step toward striking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We did not get a signal from the district that they were going to change routes at all,” she said. The union and district’s bargaining teams attended a full day of mediation earlier this month, which Curiel said yielded no progress. “That really made it clear to our bargaining team that the district has every intention to maintain a status quo in our contract,” she continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SFUSD said in a statement on Wednesday that it was continuing to bargain in good faith “to achieve a fair agreement that avoids disruption to student services.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12008537\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12008537\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teanna Tillery (center), a Para Educator, listens to Cassondra Curiel, President of United Educators of San Francisco, during a press conference outside San Francisco Unified School District offices on Sept. 16, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>UESF and SFUSD \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12025440/schools-face-cuts-california-teachers-unions-band-together-demands\">began bargaining\u003c/a> over a new two-year contract for educators in March. Their current contract expired in June, but mostly remains in place until a new deal is reached.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In October, UESF rejected SFUSD’s contract offer, which would have given educators a 2% raise, saying it would have required more concessions than gains from its members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The deal would have undone existing agreements that give high school teachers who take on extra work — as department heads or teachers of Advanced Placement courses that enroll a certain number of students — an additional “prep” period, and cut stipends awarded to schools based on the number of AP exams their students take.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It would also have ended a program that allows educators to apply for semester-to-year-long sabbaticals after serving in the district for a minimum number of years and increased class sizes on some campuses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UESF’s initial proposal for the pay increase in March was 14% for classified employees and 9% for certificated employees over two years. In the months since, there’s been no back-and-forth negotiations bringing that percentage down, Curiel told KQED in October. She said the 2% offer was the first from SFUSD that included a raise.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The wage hike is important, especially for paraeducator positions, which are some of the district’s lowest-paid and hardest-to-staff roles, according to the union.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the district has indicated that its budget to increase compensation is tight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SFUSD is currently in the second of a two-year budgeting process to curb a massive ongoing deficit. Last year, it \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12044768/sf-school-district-unveils-balanced-budget-after-cutting-over-110-million-in-spending\">slashed $114 million\u003c/a> in annual expenses through hundreds of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12017631/embattled-sf-school-district-offer-hundreds-buyouts-potential-layoffs\">early retirement buyouts\u003c/a>, the implementation of a strict staffing model in schools and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12044768/sf-school-district-unveils-balanced-budget-after-cutting-over-110-million-in-spending\">administrative position reductions\u003c/a>. This year, it will need to make another $48 million in cuts, which Superintendent Maria Su has indicated could be even more challenging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In October, the district said it was committed to a budget process that benefits students while ensuring long-term financial stability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Right now, the state of California holds the authority to override any decision by the San Francisco Board of Education if it believes that decision could compromise the district’s financial stability,” the district said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In October, SFUSD said that “any proposal for raises must be approved by the CDE and must be financially sustainable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The request for a wage hike comes just two years after SFUSD gave \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfusd.edu/about-sfusd/sfusd-news/press-releases/2023-10-20-sfusd-uesf-announce-9000-salary-raise-teachers-2023-24\">historic $9,000 raises\u003c/a> to educators, along with a 5% salary increase the following year. Under that deal, classified educators also received a significant bump to a minimum wage of $30 an hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Curiel said that higher pay matters to members, but the two primary focuses of negotiations have not been about compensation. UESF is requesting an agreement that the district will cover health care for educators’ dependents and development of a workload model aimed at improving working conditions for special education teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are 36 days away from a massive increase to our health care for the second or third year in a row for our dependents,” Curiel said Tuesday. She said that educators pay about $650 per pay cycle for coverage for one child. In January, coverage for two will be more than $1500, she said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>While any health care or workload model deal would likely incur costs, the union’s final two major demands are “low-to-no-cost.” They’re asking to add language to the educators contract that echoes the district’s sanctuary status and commits to using district resources to provide shelter for the most vulnerable students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district already has that language and employs it in school policy, but Curiel said members feel it’s necessary to add it to their contracts because it makes it much more difficult to reverse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We see what happened to our nation during the last election cycle … when folks changed an administration that then changed policy entirely,” Curiel said. “If it’s in our contract, they absolutely cannot do that without the entire union agreeing to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The 6,000 members of UESF hold these values very deeply and want to maintain them. The district insists it doesn’t want to put it in the contract, and we know they can and they absolutely should,” she continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district did not respond to a request for comment regarding the language demands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UESF has requested to be released from mediation. If that request is granted, the district and union would enter a final third-party-led “fact-finding” period to try to reach an agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The strike authorization vote will happen in parallel. If it passes, it gives the union’s bargaining team permission to call a vote to officially authorize a strike in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/west-contra-costa-unified-school-district\">West Contra Costa Unified School District\u003c/a> educators are days away from receiving a report that could put to rest the threat of a strike — or make it official.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A mediator appointed by the California Public Employment Relations Board is expected to issue recommendations to the district and its teachers union by Friday in an effort to resolve the months-long contract negotiations that could push more than 1,500 educators to strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the two sides can’t come to an agreement after the recommendations are issued, United Teachers of Richmond can then go on strike after a 48-hour notice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Negotiations between the district and the union have been stalled for months over pay, health coverage, class sizes and services for students with disabilities. That led the union to declare an impasse in August, which kicked off a required process through PERB before the union could legally begin a work stoppage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re fighting because we love our students, because we refuse to let another generation of our kiddos experience a system that’s crumbling all around them,” union president Francisco Ortiz told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12022073\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1280px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Stege-Elementary34-1280x765-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12022073\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Stege-Elementary34-1280x765-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"765\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Stege-Elementary34-1280x765-1.jpg 1280w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Stege-Elementary34-1280x765-1-800x478.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Stege-Elementary34-1280x765-1-1020x610.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Stege-Elementary34-1280x765-1-160x96.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">West Contra Costa Unified’s Stege Elementary School in Richmond. \u003ccite>(Andrew Reed/EdSource)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>UTR has proposed a 10% pay raise over the next two years and full health coverage. The district’s most recent counterproposal included a 2% pay raise for the 2025-26 school year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union argues that an increase in compensation will attract and maintain quality educators to help the district address its staffing shortage. For this year alone in special education services, Ortiz said more than 255 students have gone without a speech-language pathologist assigned to them for five weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the district has said that it can only afford to do so much. District officials \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12030935/our-education-matters-richmond-high-schoolers-rally-against-teacher-layoffs\">cut millions of dollars\u003c/a> from their budget to stay solvent this year, and they still face additional cuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district did not respond to a request for comment from KQED, but in a Monday night letter to community members, it said that its representatives on the state fact-finding panel have been meeting with the chairperson since the last hearings on Nov. 17 and Nov. 18.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are committed to continuing these discussions into next week and through the break — whatever it takes — to try to reach a fair resolution and avert a strike that would only hurt our students,” wrote Raechelle Forrest, director of district communications.[aside postID=news_12030935 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-01-KQED-1-1020x680.jpg']Officials have also begun preparing for a potential strike, saying that the district is “committed to keeping our schools open.” WCCUSD’s school board \u003ca href=\"https://ccpulse.org/2025/10/16/wccusd-prepares-for-potential-strikes-by-upping-temporary-educators-pay/\">voted to increase pay\u003c/a> for substitute teachers last month, bumping the usual daily pay from $280 to up to $550 if the union goes on strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to UTR’s members, more than a thousand other district staff members were set to strike soon after the teachers union.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If UTR does go on strike, it could trigger a sympathy strike by IFPTE Local 21, which represents school supervisors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teamsters Local 856, which includes paraprofessionals and clerical staff, came to a tentative agreement with the district on Wednesday after \u003ca href=\"https://teamster.org/2025/10/teamsters-at-west-contra-costa-unified-school-district-authorize-strike/\">authorizing a strike\u003c/a> only days after UTR’s authorization. Local 856 also cited staffing and pay concerns as reasons for a potential strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The gains achieved by UTR and Teamsters Local 856 directly affect the compensation of our unit through our ‘me too’ clause. When they secure a higher wage increase, we will also benefit if the increase they secure is more than what we secured,” IFPTE \u003ca href=\"https://ifpte21.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Sympathy-Strike-FAQ-WCCUSD-102725.pdf\">said \u003c/a>when recommending the strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mediator’s report this week isn’t binding, so the district isn’t required to offer the union a new proposal after its release.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If the district is unwilling to [accept those recommendations], then we’re also ready to take that next step,” Ortiz said. “We’re ready to do our part, and the district needs to do theirs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/west-contra-costa-unified-school-district\">West Contra Costa Unified School District\u003c/a> educators are days away from receiving a report that could put to rest the threat of a strike — or make it official.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A mediator appointed by the California Public Employment Relations Board is expected to issue recommendations to the district and its teachers union by Friday in an effort to resolve the months-long contract negotiations that could push more than 1,500 educators to strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the two sides can’t come to an agreement after the recommendations are issued, United Teachers of Richmond can then go on strike after a 48-hour notice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Negotiations between the district and the union have been stalled for months over pay, health coverage, class sizes and services for students with disabilities. That led the union to declare an impasse in August, which kicked off a required process through PERB before the union could legally begin a work stoppage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re fighting because we love our students, because we refuse to let another generation of our kiddos experience a system that’s crumbling all around them,” union president Francisco Ortiz told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12022073\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1280px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Stege-Elementary34-1280x765-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12022073\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Stege-Elementary34-1280x765-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"765\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Stege-Elementary34-1280x765-1.jpg 1280w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Stege-Elementary34-1280x765-1-800x478.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Stege-Elementary34-1280x765-1-1020x610.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Stege-Elementary34-1280x765-1-160x96.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">West Contra Costa Unified’s Stege Elementary School in Richmond. \u003ccite>(Andrew Reed/EdSource)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>UTR has proposed a 10% pay raise over the next two years and full health coverage. The district’s most recent counterproposal included a 2% pay raise for the 2025-26 school year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union argues that an increase in compensation will attract and maintain quality educators to help the district address its staffing shortage. For this year alone in special education services, Ortiz said more than 255 students have gone without a speech-language pathologist assigned to them for five weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the district has said that it can only afford to do so much. District officials \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12030935/our-education-matters-richmond-high-schoolers-rally-against-teacher-layoffs\">cut millions of dollars\u003c/a> from their budget to stay solvent this year, and they still face additional cuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district did not respond to a request for comment from KQED, but in a Monday night letter to community members, it said that its representatives on the state fact-finding panel have been meeting with the chairperson since the last hearings on Nov. 17 and Nov. 18.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are committed to continuing these discussions into next week and through the break — whatever it takes — to try to reach a fair resolution and avert a strike that would only hurt our students,” wrote Raechelle Forrest, director of district communications.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Officials have also begun preparing for a potential strike, saying that the district is “committed to keeping our schools open.” WCCUSD’s school board \u003ca href=\"https://ccpulse.org/2025/10/16/wccusd-prepares-for-potential-strikes-by-upping-temporary-educators-pay/\">voted to increase pay\u003c/a> for substitute teachers last month, bumping the usual daily pay from $280 to up to $550 if the union goes on strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to UTR’s members, more than a thousand other district staff members were set to strike soon after the teachers union.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If UTR does go on strike, it could trigger a sympathy strike by IFPTE Local 21, which represents school supervisors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teamsters Local 856, which includes paraprofessionals and clerical staff, came to a tentative agreement with the district on Wednesday after \u003ca href=\"https://teamster.org/2025/10/teamsters-at-west-contra-costa-unified-school-district-authorize-strike/\">authorizing a strike\u003c/a> only days after UTR’s authorization. Local 856 also cited staffing and pay concerns as reasons for a potential strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The gains achieved by UTR and Teamsters Local 856 directly affect the compensation of our unit through our ‘me too’ clause. When they secure a higher wage increase, we will also benefit if the increase they secure is more than what we secured,” IFPTE \u003ca href=\"https://ifpte21.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Sympathy-Strike-FAQ-WCCUSD-102725.pdf\">said \u003c/a>when recommending the strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mediator’s report this week isn’t binding, so the district isn’t required to offer the union a new proposal after its release.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If the district is unwilling to [accept those recommendations], then we’re also ready to take that next step,” Ortiz said. “We’re ready to do our part, and the district needs to do theirs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "oakland-struggles-to-boost-number-of-women-officers-amid-worsening-staff-shortage",
"title": "Oakland Struggles to Boost Number of Women Officers Amid Worsening Staff Shortage",
"publishDate": 1763985645,
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"headTitle": "Oakland Struggles to Boost Number of Women Officers Amid Worsening Staff Shortage | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Early on a Tuesday morning in September, eight men and women lined up against a bright blue and yellow wall in a back room of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland-police-department\">Oakland Police Department’s\u003c/a> downtown headquarters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wearing gray T-shirts with their last names printed on the back, they shouted, “Yes, ma’am” or “Yes, sir,” in soldier-like unison when high-ranking officers nearby gave orders or asked questions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The recruits were part of OPD’s 195th police academy — the first in more than a year after a major budget shortfall forced the city to pause basic training.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kimberly Galvan, one of three women in the class at the time, paid close attention as a defense tactics instructor explained how to drop to the ground and inch across the mat — a move that, if done well, could help the trainees avoid injury while on patrol.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview with KQED just outside the room, Galvan recalled a male officer who had a positive influence on her growing up in Oakland. But, she said, she rarely encountered women in law enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I never had any female police officer role models,” Galvan, 32, said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As an adult, she was drawn to public service and became an OPD dispatcher. As she answered 911 calls and heard female officers responding, it occurred to her: Why not become a police officer herself?\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12058730\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12058730\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00039_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00039_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00039_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00039_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kimberly Galvan warms up during a class for the police academy at the Oakland Police Department on Sept. 30, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It inspired me, honestly, to want to take that next step in doing this,” Galvan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Six weeks after her interview with KQED, however, Galvan was no longer in the academy. A spokesperson for the department said she did not pass one of the training courses required.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The class, which started with 26 recruits, is now down to 14, including one woman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For her part, Galvan plans to join the 196th academy, which begins today, the spokesperson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This will be her third attempt.[aside postID=news_12059098 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/240327-OPD-CHIEF-MITCHELL-MD-02-KQED-1020x680.jpg']Oakland is among a growing number of law enforcement agencies that have pledged to boost the number of women in their ranks. The effort is spearheaded by the 30×30 initiative, which aims to have women make up 30% of police recruits nationwide by the year 2030. More than 400 agencies have signed the 30×30\u003ca href=\"https://30x30initiative.org/the-30x30-pledge/\"> pledge\u003c/a>, committing to reporting data on staffing, rooting out discrimination and examining procedures for hiring and promotion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But many agencies, including OPD, have struggled to meet that goal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2021, when OPD signed on to 30×30, 15% of the department’s officers were women.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Four years later, that number remains largely unchanged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The department has created a lactation space and accompanying policy and is developing workshops for women interested in OPD jobs, said Sgt. Michael Romans-Rowe, who oversees the agency’s Background and Recruiting Unit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re looking at panels that will have command staff, officers, retirees that are able to bring their perspective to a woman that’s interested in joining law enforcement and specifically with our agency,” Romans-Rowe said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12058740\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12058740\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_01271_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_01271_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_01271_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_01271_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael J. Romans-Rowe, a police officer, poses for a portrait at the Oakland Police Department on Sept. 30, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the department is facing a worsening staffing crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As of Nov. 21, OPD had 625 officers. With 102 on some form of leave — military, medical or administrative — that means 523 officers are actively working. Meanwhile, five to six officers on average leave OPD each month, according to the department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26209764-pfm-llc-opd-staffing-study/\">independent firm recommended\u003c/a> in April that Oakland have 877 police officers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is likely that OPD’s percentage of female officers has remained relatively unchanged [due] to factors such as natural attrition, the budgeted reduction in overall sworn staffing levels, and the recent hiring freeze,” Romans-Rowe said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland isn’t alone. A 2019 study found 63% of surveyed police departments reported receiving fewer applications for sworn positions than in prior years. San Francisco’s police and sheriff’s departments are down 500 and 161 officers, respectively. The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office has nearly 200 vacancies, and Santa Clara County’s sheriff’s office is short 138 officers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In those first couple of years after the police murder of George Floyd, the profession was in crisis in a lot of ways. In some ways, I think, it continues to be,” said Maureen McGough, founder of the 30×30 initiative. “30×30 offers a promising and somewhat different path towards a partial solution for some of those problems.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12058738\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12058738\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_01098_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_01098_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_01098_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_01098_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The recruitment training unit can be found at the Oakland Police Department on Sept. 30, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For decades, McGough said, police departments tended to focus their recruiting on candidates with military backgrounds or criminal justice degrees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Those are important populations. But there are other populations that are service-oriented with empathy and a desire to serve their community and great interpersonal skills — things that we know make good officers,” McGough said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, experts like Mary Dodge, professor of criminal justice at the University of Colorado, Denver, say that despite efforts to change the status quo, many agencies have struggled to boost the number of women in their ranks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m not at all surprised by the 15% number,” Dodge said about Oakland’s level of female staffing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Despite all the research we have and everything that says that women make good officers — they can do the job as well as men — nothing changes,” she said. “You really have to, at some level, attribute that to this hyper-masculine environment that they’re entering, even in 2025.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘You belong in business suits and heels’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When Margaret Dixon was a young mother in 1980, she saw an advertisement featuring a female police officer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ll never forget,” she recalled. “It said, ‘Woman. Wife. Cop.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I fit all those categories,” Dixon said. “I was a woman, I was a wife. I was athletic. So I was like, ‘Wow, let me just try this.’ And I’m glad I did. It’s the best decision I could have made.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12063250\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12063250\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT00562_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT00562_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT00562_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT00562_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Margaret Dixon, a retired Oakland police officer who works with students at Merritt College, poses for a portrait at Merritt College in Oakland on Nov. 3, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dixon enrolled in Oakland’s police academy and worked for the department for 25 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a recent fall afternoon, she walked through a Merritt College classroom where she now advises the school’s Administration of Justice program, mentoring young women interested in careers in policing, corrections, and other justice-related fields.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s why I’m so positive about really trying to get other women to do it, because I think if they get into it and see what they can bring to the job, they’ll be happy that they did,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An Oakland Office of the Inspector General report tracking OPD police academies and field training found the percentage of female recruits remained unchanged between 2019 and 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dixon believes there needs to be more female police officers so women see the job as something they can do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are girls, young ladies, that want to do the work, but they don’t feel welcome because all they see is men,” Dixon said. “Women have to tell other women that — you can do this job.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064208\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064208\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-womeninlawenforcement00527_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-womeninlawenforcement00527_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-womeninlawenforcement00527_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-womeninlawenforcement00527_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Veronica (who did not share her last name for privacy reasons), a student at Merritt College who is studying to apply to the Oakland Police Academy, sits on a bench at Merritt College in Oakland on Nov. 3, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One of Dixon’s students, Veronica, recently took the Berkeley Police Department’s physical agility test but didn’t pass. KQED is not publishing her last name so she can speak candidly about the hiring process without harming her job prospects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The image of law enforcement doesn’t look like me. It doesn’t look like a single mom,” Veronica said. “It looks like a huge, masculine man.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Veronica had always wanted to be a homicide detective, but when she started pursuing the career, she felt discouraged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I even have male family members who have told me, like, you won’t be able to do it,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lack of support from her community has made breaking into such a male-dominated field harder, she said. It has felt like she’s doing it on her own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12058732\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12058732\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00606_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00606_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00606_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00606_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An instructor demonstrates a drill during a class for the police academy at the Oakland Police Department on Sept. 30, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“You go to a lot of these events and a lot of these training exercises, you look around and it’s like you’re one of maybe two [women], and it’s scary. It’s really intimidating,” Veronica said. “And you’re looking at them like, you know, maybe they were right. Maybe I don’t belong here. Maybe I should go get that desk job they told me to get. Oh, ‘You belong in business suits and heels.’ And it’s like, that’s not what I want to do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As she prepares physically and mentally to retake the test and apply to other academies, support from people like Dixon has helped, Veronica said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I want to see women because it makes us feel more able. Like I’m capable of the job. I see you’re here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That means I can do it,” she said. “You have to stay encouraged.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>OPD Deputy Chief of Police Lisa Ausmus said she thinks the department has evolved since she first joined in 2000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve just learned as a department to be better, to recognize people,” Ausmus said. “I see women in leadership roles now. I’m one of three deputy chiefs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ausmus said other women have had success at OPD, and are part of the DEA task force, SWAT teams and investigations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The officers here – man, woman, color, not color, it doesn’t matter. All they want to know is, Are you going to do your job?”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What women bring\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Supporters of increasing the number of women in policing emphasize the different skills they bring to the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is a strong and growing body of scientific evidence that shows that there’s a unique value in how women police,” McGough said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They use less force and excessive force,” she said. “They get better outcomes for crime victims, especially gender-based violence. They’re named in community complaints and lawsuits proportionally less often. They’re perceived as more trustworthy by diverse communities and especially communities who are impacted most by police activities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12058735\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12058735\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00759_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00759_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00759_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00759_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students’ duty belts lay on the floor during a class for the police academy at the Oakland Police Department on Sept. 30, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Bill Terrill, professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University, said that while the majority of research tends to reflect those positive outcomes, data on the use of force and gender is somewhat more complicated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One study that Terrill co-authored found women and men used physical force similarly, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>When we looked at it,” Terrill said, “whether you’re male or female, if you’re faced with a physical threat, you’re going to use physical force. Gender doesn’t come into play.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of 30×30’s recommended actions for police departments have to do with ensuring hiring assessments reflect the knowledge, skills, abilities and experiences required to be an effective officer.[aside postID=news_12057782 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250428-OPD-FILE-MD-01-KQED-1-1020x680.jpg']“We’re really confident that as agencies do that, they’ll naturally see an increase in the number of women who are drawn to the profession and the number of women who pass assessments,” McGough said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to 30×30, agencies that reported recruitment data to the organization over two years achieved, on average, a 28% increase in the representation of women in recruit classes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Oakland, the percentage of women who have completed police academies in recent years has varied from class to class, with women making up as little as 5%, and as much as 25% of recruit graduates since December 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While OPD’s academies have funding to train at least 33 recruits, recent classes have consistently graduated fewer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12057073/oakland-naacp-partners-with-city-and-police-to-recruit-new-officers\">new task force\u003c/a> launched by Mayor Barbara Lee’s office is hoping to address that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a September press conference, Rev. Damita Davis-Howard, Lee’s director of public safety, stood alongside other members of the newly formed task force, including representatives of the Oakland NAACP and City Councilmember Charlene Wang.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12058734\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12058734\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00720_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00720_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00720_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00720_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kimberly Galvan (center) practices a drill during a class for the police academy at the Oakland Police Department on Sept. 30, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Not only do we want to recruit folks from our own neighborhoods, from our fair city, Oakland, we also want to make a special effort for dispatchers, but also women, women of color,” Davis-Howard said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to women and native Oaklanders, the task force also wants to attract members of the LGBTQ community, Wang said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Davis-Howard told KQED in an interview that the task force’s initial focus has been on increasing the number of people who sign up for, and finish, Oakland’s police academies, and that it plans to shift its focus to officer retention next.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The task force, she said, is not limiting its recruitment efforts to any one group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>I think that if you do it for everybody, you’re going to reach that 30 by 30, right? Because I believe that all demographics are capable of doing this job,” Davis-Howard said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064196\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064196\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250930_womeninlawenforcement_00777_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250930_womeninlawenforcement_00777_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250930_womeninlawenforcement_00777_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250930_womeninlawenforcement_00777_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students observe instructors demonstrating an exercise during a class for the police academy at the Oakland Police Department on Sept. 30, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We are looking at the whole package, from beginning to end. I’ve had folks call, understanding the mayor’s initiative to enhance recruitment, and say, ‘Hey, I’ve got this program over here. I could help folks get physically fit for the academy.’ Or another program that says, ‘Hey, we can offer support to folks who are in the academy,’” she said. “What we want to do is make the extra effort to actually get folks in, prepared, stay — and stay here in Oakland.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other Bay Area agencies have also struggled to recruit and retain enough officers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Law enforcement is upside down right now. We have more vacancies than we have quality applicants,” said Piedmont Police Capt. Chris Monahan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Monahan surveyed nearly 600 female officers for his doctoral research. Among the biggest challenges they reported were perceptions that policing is a man’s world and balancing work with family life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064194\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064194\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250911-LivermoreFile-11-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250911-LivermoreFile-11-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250911-LivermoreFile-11-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250911-LivermoreFile-11-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A police van with the insignia for multiple Bay Area police departments sits outside the Livermore Police Department on Sept. 11, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Monahan said he brought a recruitment booth to a UC Berkeley women’s basketball game to try to find women interested in policing. It didn’t yield high results. The department may also try recruiting at Valkyries’ games next season.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Monahan said he has been so desperate to find candidates that he recruited his dog groomer and the boyfriend of a woman whose mother keeps a horse on his property.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you’re down 20, 30 people, your drive is not women, women, woman — or man, man, man, for that matter,” Monahan said. “Your drive is candidate, candidate, candidate. Who can I find? Who can get through a background? Who can get through a police academy? Who can go through a field training program? Who can work on midnights for several years before they become a detective or a motor officer or a SWAT operator or whatever the case may be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Does Piedmont support 30×30? Absolutely. Is it the end-all, be-all of my life? It can’t be.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Refilling the pipeline\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As Lee’s task force tries to refill OPD’s ranks, a pipeline from Merritt College that has been dormant since 2023 is gearing up to restart in the spring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pipeline, or pre-academy, is designed to expose students to the training that takes place in the police academy, said Mildred Oliver, a retired OPD sergeant and co-chair of Merritt’s Administration of Justice program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students receive training in areas where many recruits fail out of the academy, such as driving, shooting and defensive tactics, Oliver said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064195\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064195\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250930_womeninlawenforcement_00434_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250930_womeninlawenforcement_00434_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250930_womeninlawenforcement_00434_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250930_womeninlawenforcement_00434_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Recruits warm up during a class for the police academy at the Oakland Police Department on Sept. 30, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As a recruit herself in the late ’90s, Oliver recalled a female captain in OPD’s training division who held meetings just for female trainees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That made a huge difference,” Oliver said. “Because she understood that we were dealing with other stressors than our male counterparts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a male-dominated field and a lot of women either come in feeling like they are not valued or not strong enough to do the job or they may feel like they have to prove themselves and sometimes go overboard,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oliver retired from OPD in 2019. That year, she sued the department alleging race and gender discrimination, a hostile work environment and retaliation in connection with the department’s handling of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11757557/oakland-releases-heavily-redacted-records-that-shed-light-raise-questions-on-sex-abuse-case\">Celeste Guap scandal\u003c/a>, in which multiple Bay Area officers were accused of exploiting and having sex with an underage girl. Oliver was assigned to investigate as a member of the Internal Affairs Division.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12065111\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12065111\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2030/11/250930_womeninlawenforcement_00122_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2030/11/250930_womeninlawenforcement_00122_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2030/11/250930_womeninlawenforcement_00122_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2030/11/250930_womeninlawenforcement_00122_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students observe instructors demonstrating an exercise during a class for the police academy at the Oakland Police Department on Sept. 30, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The OPD made Sgt. Oliver its scapegoat by removing her from the investigation, blaming her for its limitations, and launching a course of conduct to harass and retaliate against her,” an amended complaint in the lawsuit reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city awarded Oliver a $50,000 settlement last year. After attorneys’ fees, she said, she “didn’t see a dime.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Oliver said she’s not bitter. Today, she’s doing the work she was called to, but on her own terms, she said. And she still encourages students to pursue jobs with OPD and other agencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12065125\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 1080px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12065125 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/573936796_1232690352235524_1225952375076521984_n.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/573936796_1232690352235524_1225952375076521984_n.jpg 1080w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/573936796_1232690352235524_1225952375076521984_n-160x160.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A flyer promoting OPD’s efforts to recruit women as part of the 30×30 initiative. \u003ccite>(Oakland Police Department via Facebook)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I’m still gung-ho about getting them into the career because it’s a great career,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it comes to recruiting and retaining women, Dixon believes OPD could do more by inviting women to tour the department and meet female officers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s got to start at the top,” Dixon said. “Do you really want more women, or are you just going along with the fad because it’s 30-30?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She believes the department should begin working with young people before they’re actually in the academy, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>Right now, you got one or two women in the academy. Maybe one of them will make it, maybe none of them will make it,” Dixon said. “Why are you hiring them, and they’re not making it? Do you really want them? Or do you want to just say, well, we hired two, but neither one of them made it. Why didn’t they make it?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The profession, she said, still isn’t doing enough to show women they belong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Why are we at this place now? Why are we here? Because of the work we didn’t do? And the work that we continue not to do,” Dixon said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Oakland police face deep staffing shortages as efforts to recruit and retain more women officers stall. Four years after OPD signed onto the 30x30 initiative, the representation of women in the department remains unchanged. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Early on a Tuesday morning in September, eight men and women lined up against a bright blue and yellow wall in a back room of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland-police-department\">Oakland Police Department’s\u003c/a> downtown headquarters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wearing gray T-shirts with their last names printed on the back, they shouted, “Yes, ma’am” or “Yes, sir,” in soldier-like unison when high-ranking officers nearby gave orders or asked questions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The recruits were part of OPD’s 195th police academy — the first in more than a year after a major budget shortfall forced the city to pause basic training.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kimberly Galvan, one of three women in the class at the time, paid close attention as a defense tactics instructor explained how to drop to the ground and inch across the mat — a move that, if done well, could help the trainees avoid injury while on patrol.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview with KQED just outside the room, Galvan recalled a male officer who had a positive influence on her growing up in Oakland. But, she said, she rarely encountered women in law enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I never had any female police officer role models,” Galvan, 32, said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As an adult, she was drawn to public service and became an OPD dispatcher. As she answered 911 calls and heard female officers responding, it occurred to her: Why not become a police officer herself?\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12058730\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12058730\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00039_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00039_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00039_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00039_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kimberly Galvan warms up during a class for the police academy at the Oakland Police Department on Sept. 30, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It inspired me, honestly, to want to take that next step in doing this,” Galvan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Six weeks after her interview with KQED, however, Galvan was no longer in the academy. A spokesperson for the department said she did not pass one of the training courses required.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The class, which started with 26 recruits, is now down to 14, including one woman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For her part, Galvan plans to join the 196th academy, which begins today, the spokesperson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This will be her third attempt.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Oakland is among a growing number of law enforcement agencies that have pledged to boost the number of women in their ranks. The effort is spearheaded by the 30×30 initiative, which aims to have women make up 30% of police recruits nationwide by the year 2030. More than 400 agencies have signed the 30×30\u003ca href=\"https://30x30initiative.org/the-30x30-pledge/\"> pledge\u003c/a>, committing to reporting data on staffing, rooting out discrimination and examining procedures for hiring and promotion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But many agencies, including OPD, have struggled to meet that goal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2021, when OPD signed on to 30×30, 15% of the department’s officers were women.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Four years later, that number remains largely unchanged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The department has created a lactation space and accompanying policy and is developing workshops for women interested in OPD jobs, said Sgt. Michael Romans-Rowe, who oversees the agency’s Background and Recruiting Unit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re looking at panels that will have command staff, officers, retirees that are able to bring their perspective to a woman that’s interested in joining law enforcement and specifically with our agency,” Romans-Rowe said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12058740\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12058740\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_01271_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_01271_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_01271_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_01271_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael J. Romans-Rowe, a police officer, poses for a portrait at the Oakland Police Department on Sept. 30, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the department is facing a worsening staffing crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As of Nov. 21, OPD had 625 officers. With 102 on some form of leave — military, medical or administrative — that means 523 officers are actively working. Meanwhile, five to six officers on average leave OPD each month, according to the department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26209764-pfm-llc-opd-staffing-study/\">independent firm recommended\u003c/a> in April that Oakland have 877 police officers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is likely that OPD’s percentage of female officers has remained relatively unchanged [due] to factors such as natural attrition, the budgeted reduction in overall sworn staffing levels, and the recent hiring freeze,” Romans-Rowe said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland isn’t alone. A 2019 study found 63% of surveyed police departments reported receiving fewer applications for sworn positions than in prior years. San Francisco’s police and sheriff’s departments are down 500 and 161 officers, respectively. The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office has nearly 200 vacancies, and Santa Clara County’s sheriff’s office is short 138 officers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In those first couple of years after the police murder of George Floyd, the profession was in crisis in a lot of ways. In some ways, I think, it continues to be,” said Maureen McGough, founder of the 30×30 initiative. “30×30 offers a promising and somewhat different path towards a partial solution for some of those problems.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12058738\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12058738\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_01098_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_01098_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_01098_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_01098_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The recruitment training unit can be found at the Oakland Police Department on Sept. 30, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For decades, McGough said, police departments tended to focus their recruiting on candidates with military backgrounds or criminal justice degrees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Those are important populations. But there are other populations that are service-oriented with empathy and a desire to serve their community and great interpersonal skills — things that we know make good officers,” McGough said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, experts like Mary Dodge, professor of criminal justice at the University of Colorado, Denver, say that despite efforts to change the status quo, many agencies have struggled to boost the number of women in their ranks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m not at all surprised by the 15% number,” Dodge said about Oakland’s level of female staffing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Despite all the research we have and everything that says that women make good officers — they can do the job as well as men — nothing changes,” she said. “You really have to, at some level, attribute that to this hyper-masculine environment that they’re entering, even in 2025.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘You belong in business suits and heels’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When Margaret Dixon was a young mother in 1980, she saw an advertisement featuring a female police officer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ll never forget,” she recalled. “It said, ‘Woman. Wife. Cop.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I fit all those categories,” Dixon said. “I was a woman, I was a wife. I was athletic. So I was like, ‘Wow, let me just try this.’ And I’m glad I did. It’s the best decision I could have made.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12063250\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12063250\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT00562_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT00562_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT00562_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT00562_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Margaret Dixon, a retired Oakland police officer who works with students at Merritt College, poses for a portrait at Merritt College in Oakland on Nov. 3, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dixon enrolled in Oakland’s police academy and worked for the department for 25 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a recent fall afternoon, she walked through a Merritt College classroom where she now advises the school’s Administration of Justice program, mentoring young women interested in careers in policing, corrections, and other justice-related fields.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s why I’m so positive about really trying to get other women to do it, because I think if they get into it and see what they can bring to the job, they’ll be happy that they did,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An Oakland Office of the Inspector General report tracking OPD police academies and field training found the percentage of female recruits remained unchanged between 2019 and 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dixon believes there needs to be more female police officers so women see the job as something they can do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are girls, young ladies, that want to do the work, but they don’t feel welcome because all they see is men,” Dixon said. “Women have to tell other women that — you can do this job.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064208\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064208\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-womeninlawenforcement00527_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-womeninlawenforcement00527_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-womeninlawenforcement00527_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-womeninlawenforcement00527_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Veronica (who did not share her last name for privacy reasons), a student at Merritt College who is studying to apply to the Oakland Police Academy, sits on a bench at Merritt College in Oakland on Nov. 3, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One of Dixon’s students, Veronica, recently took the Berkeley Police Department’s physical agility test but didn’t pass. KQED is not publishing her last name so she can speak candidly about the hiring process without harming her job prospects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The image of law enforcement doesn’t look like me. It doesn’t look like a single mom,” Veronica said. “It looks like a huge, masculine man.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Veronica had always wanted to be a homicide detective, but when she started pursuing the career, she felt discouraged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I even have male family members who have told me, like, you won’t be able to do it,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lack of support from her community has made breaking into such a male-dominated field harder, she said. It has felt like she’s doing it on her own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12058732\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12058732\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00606_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00606_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00606_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00606_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An instructor demonstrates a drill during a class for the police academy at the Oakland Police Department on Sept. 30, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“You go to a lot of these events and a lot of these training exercises, you look around and it’s like you’re one of maybe two [women], and it’s scary. It’s really intimidating,” Veronica said. “And you’re looking at them like, you know, maybe they were right. Maybe I don’t belong here. Maybe I should go get that desk job they told me to get. Oh, ‘You belong in business suits and heels.’ And it’s like, that’s not what I want to do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As she prepares physically and mentally to retake the test and apply to other academies, support from people like Dixon has helped, Veronica said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I want to see women because it makes us feel more able. Like I’m capable of the job. I see you’re here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That means I can do it,” she said. “You have to stay encouraged.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>OPD Deputy Chief of Police Lisa Ausmus said she thinks the department has evolved since she first joined in 2000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve just learned as a department to be better, to recognize people,” Ausmus said. “I see women in leadership roles now. I’m one of three deputy chiefs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ausmus said other women have had success at OPD, and are part of the DEA task force, SWAT teams and investigations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The officers here – man, woman, color, not color, it doesn’t matter. All they want to know is, Are you going to do your job?”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What women bring\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Supporters of increasing the number of women in policing emphasize the different skills they bring to the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is a strong and growing body of scientific evidence that shows that there’s a unique value in how women police,” McGough said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They use less force and excessive force,” she said. “They get better outcomes for crime victims, especially gender-based violence. They’re named in community complaints and lawsuits proportionally less often. They’re perceived as more trustworthy by diverse communities and especially communities who are impacted most by police activities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12058735\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12058735\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00759_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00759_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00759_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00759_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students’ duty belts lay on the floor during a class for the police academy at the Oakland Police Department on Sept. 30, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Bill Terrill, professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University, said that while the majority of research tends to reflect those positive outcomes, data on the use of force and gender is somewhat more complicated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One study that Terrill co-authored found women and men used physical force similarly, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>When we looked at it,” Terrill said, “whether you’re male or female, if you’re faced with a physical threat, you’re going to use physical force. Gender doesn’t come into play.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of 30×30’s recommended actions for police departments have to do with ensuring hiring assessments reflect the knowledge, skills, abilities and experiences required to be an effective officer.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“We’re really confident that as agencies do that, they’ll naturally see an increase in the number of women who are drawn to the profession and the number of women who pass assessments,” McGough said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to 30×30, agencies that reported recruitment data to the organization over two years achieved, on average, a 28% increase in the representation of women in recruit classes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Oakland, the percentage of women who have completed police academies in recent years has varied from class to class, with women making up as little as 5%, and as much as 25% of recruit graduates since December 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While OPD’s academies have funding to train at least 33 recruits, recent classes have consistently graduated fewer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12057073/oakland-naacp-partners-with-city-and-police-to-recruit-new-officers\">new task force\u003c/a> launched by Mayor Barbara Lee’s office is hoping to address that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a September press conference, Rev. Damita Davis-Howard, Lee’s director of public safety, stood alongside other members of the newly formed task force, including representatives of the Oakland NAACP and City Councilmember Charlene Wang.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12058734\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12058734\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00720_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00720_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00720_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/250930_WOMENINLAWENFORCEMENT_00720_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kimberly Galvan (center) practices a drill during a class for the police academy at the Oakland Police Department on Sept. 30, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Not only do we want to recruit folks from our own neighborhoods, from our fair city, Oakland, we also want to make a special effort for dispatchers, but also women, women of color,” Davis-Howard said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to women and native Oaklanders, the task force also wants to attract members of the LGBTQ community, Wang said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Davis-Howard told KQED in an interview that the task force’s initial focus has been on increasing the number of people who sign up for, and finish, Oakland’s police academies, and that it plans to shift its focus to officer retention next.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The task force, she said, is not limiting its recruitment efforts to any one group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>I think that if you do it for everybody, you’re going to reach that 30 by 30, right? Because I believe that all demographics are capable of doing this job,” Davis-Howard said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064196\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064196\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250930_womeninlawenforcement_00777_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250930_womeninlawenforcement_00777_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250930_womeninlawenforcement_00777_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250930_womeninlawenforcement_00777_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students observe instructors demonstrating an exercise during a class for the police academy at the Oakland Police Department on Sept. 30, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We are looking at the whole package, from beginning to end. I’ve had folks call, understanding the mayor’s initiative to enhance recruitment, and say, ‘Hey, I’ve got this program over here. I could help folks get physically fit for the academy.’ Or another program that says, ‘Hey, we can offer support to folks who are in the academy,’” she said. “What we want to do is make the extra effort to actually get folks in, prepared, stay — and stay here in Oakland.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other Bay Area agencies have also struggled to recruit and retain enough officers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Law enforcement is upside down right now. We have more vacancies than we have quality applicants,” said Piedmont Police Capt. Chris Monahan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Monahan surveyed nearly 600 female officers for his doctoral research. Among the biggest challenges they reported were perceptions that policing is a man’s world and balancing work with family life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064194\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064194\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250911-LivermoreFile-11-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250911-LivermoreFile-11-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250911-LivermoreFile-11-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250911-LivermoreFile-11-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A police van with the insignia for multiple Bay Area police departments sits outside the Livermore Police Department on Sept. 11, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Monahan said he brought a recruitment booth to a UC Berkeley women’s basketball game to try to find women interested in policing. It didn’t yield high results. The department may also try recruiting at Valkyries’ games next season.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Monahan said he has been so desperate to find candidates that he recruited his dog groomer and the boyfriend of a woman whose mother keeps a horse on his property.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you’re down 20, 30 people, your drive is not women, women, woman — or man, man, man, for that matter,” Monahan said. “Your drive is candidate, candidate, candidate. Who can I find? Who can get through a background? Who can get through a police academy? Who can go through a field training program? Who can work on midnights for several years before they become a detective or a motor officer or a SWAT operator or whatever the case may be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Does Piedmont support 30×30? Absolutely. Is it the end-all, be-all of my life? It can’t be.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Refilling the pipeline\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As Lee’s task force tries to refill OPD’s ranks, a pipeline from Merritt College that has been dormant since 2023 is gearing up to restart in the spring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pipeline, or pre-academy, is designed to expose students to the training that takes place in the police academy, said Mildred Oliver, a retired OPD sergeant and co-chair of Merritt’s Administration of Justice program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students receive training in areas where many recruits fail out of the academy, such as driving, shooting and defensive tactics, Oliver said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064195\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064195\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250930_womeninlawenforcement_00434_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250930_womeninlawenforcement_00434_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250930_womeninlawenforcement_00434_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250930_womeninlawenforcement_00434_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Recruits warm up during a class for the police academy at the Oakland Police Department on Sept. 30, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As a recruit herself in the late ’90s, Oliver recalled a female captain in OPD’s training division who held meetings just for female trainees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That made a huge difference,” Oliver said. “Because she understood that we were dealing with other stressors than our male counterparts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a male-dominated field and a lot of women either come in feeling like they are not valued or not strong enough to do the job or they may feel like they have to prove themselves and sometimes go overboard,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oliver retired from OPD in 2019. That year, she sued the department alleging race and gender discrimination, a hostile work environment and retaliation in connection with the department’s handling of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11757557/oakland-releases-heavily-redacted-records-that-shed-light-raise-questions-on-sex-abuse-case\">Celeste Guap scandal\u003c/a>, in which multiple Bay Area officers were accused of exploiting and having sex with an underage girl. Oliver was assigned to investigate as a member of the Internal Affairs Division.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12065111\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12065111\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2030/11/250930_womeninlawenforcement_00122_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2030/11/250930_womeninlawenforcement_00122_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2030/11/250930_womeninlawenforcement_00122_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2030/11/250930_womeninlawenforcement_00122_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students observe instructors demonstrating an exercise during a class for the police academy at the Oakland Police Department on Sept. 30, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The OPD made Sgt. Oliver its scapegoat by removing her from the investigation, blaming her for its limitations, and launching a course of conduct to harass and retaliate against her,” an amended complaint in the lawsuit reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city awarded Oliver a $50,000 settlement last year. After attorneys’ fees, she said, she “didn’t see a dime.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Oliver said she’s not bitter. Today, she’s doing the work she was called to, but on her own terms, she said. And she still encourages students to pursue jobs with OPD and other agencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12065125\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 1080px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12065125 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/573936796_1232690352235524_1225952375076521984_n.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/573936796_1232690352235524_1225952375076521984_n.jpg 1080w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/573936796_1232690352235524_1225952375076521984_n-160x160.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A flyer promoting OPD’s efforts to recruit women as part of the 30×30 initiative. \u003ccite>(Oakland Police Department via Facebook)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I’m still gung-ho about getting them into the career because it’s a great career,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it comes to recruiting and retaining women, Dixon believes OPD could do more by inviting women to tour the department and meet female officers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s got to start at the top,” Dixon said. “Do you really want more women, or are you just going along with the fad because it’s 30-30?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She believes the department should begin working with young people before they’re actually in the academy, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>Right now, you got one or two women in the academy. Maybe one of them will make it, maybe none of them will make it,” Dixon said. “Why are you hiring them, and they’re not making it? Do you really want them? Or do you want to just say, well, we hired two, but neither one of them made it. Why didn’t they make it?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The profession, she said, still isn’t doing enough to show women they belong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Why are we at this place now? Why are we here? Because of the work we didn’t do? And the work that we continue not to do,” Dixon said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"headTitle": "From Rust to Robots, the East Bay Bids for a High-Tech Revival | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>After a year of testing and tooling around \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> city streets, Zoox announced it is making its robotaxis available to the public, starting with free rides for those who join a waitlist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zoox’s green vehicles are eye-catching. They aren’t built like cars. They have no steering wheel or pedals, all four seats face inward and some people refer to them as toasters on wheels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re notable in another way, too. They’re \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfAt803DQMw\">manufactured in Hayward\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As factory jobs continue their decades-long decline across the country, the East Bay is doubling down on precision manufacturing, betting its proximity to Silicon Valley’s labs and talent pools will help lift a slumping industrial base into a new era. Alameda County’s manufacturing sector expanded by 10% over the same period, reaching nearly 94,000 jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Old timers will recall that the East Bay has a storied history of building cars, most famously the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/201005210900/tesla-and-toyota-at-nummi\">NUMMI\u003c/a> plant in Fremont, taken over by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101883541/the-unpredictable-volatile-world-of-elon-musk-and-tesla\">Tesla\u003c/a> in 2010, now operating the biggest auto plant in the United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But ask anyone at Zoox and they’ll tell you, they’re not building cars. They’re designing robots that happen to carry people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064734\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064734\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-From-Rust-to-Robots-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-From-Rust-to-Robots-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-From-Rust-to-Robots-02-KQED-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-From-Rust-to-Robots-02-KQED-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-From-Rust-to-Robots-02-KQED-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Zoox robo taxi is assembled at the company’s manufacturing facility in Hayward. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Zoox, Inc.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We do not classify ourselves as in the automotive sector. We are in the robotic sector,” said Corrado Lanzone, vice president of manufacturing operations at Zoox, acquired by \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/amazon-zoox-robotaxis-manufacturing-plant-8c34ae849ccb10eaa7e6e5266d6de8e8\">Amazon\u003c/a> in 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lanzone told KQED that one of Hayward’s biggest benefits is its proximity to Silicon Valley and its \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11732182/is-the-future-of-automotive-engineering-in-silicon-valley-ask-this-german-auto-giant\">culture of innovation\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That means the mechanical engineers in Hayward have an easier time collaborating with the software engineers at Zoox’s headquarters in Foster City.[aside postID=news_12064374 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/TeslaFremontGetty.jpg']Zoox launched its manufacturing operation in a 220,000-square-foot, repurposed \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ds6QiEp9yg\">Gillig bus \u003c/a>manufacturing facility last June, and ultimately hopes to produce up to 10,000 vehicles a year. While about 100 people work for Zoox in Hayward today, the company anticipates hiring more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not just Hayward driving the advanced manufacturing bus in Alameda County. Fremont and Newark are doing it, too, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.resilienteastbay.org\">East Bay Economic Development Alliance\u003c/a>, a public-private partnership covering Alameda and Contra Costa counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Together, the three cities have positioned themselves as an \u003ca href=\"https://www.resilienteastbay.org/map/\">emerging regional hub\u003c/a> for high‑value sectors like advanced transportation, biomedical, food and beverage, climate tech, and, yes, robotics. Fremont hosts Tesla, Applied Materials, and dozens of precision-hardware suppliers. Newark hosts Lucid Motors’ engineering and prototype plant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By protecting industrial land, expediting permits, and modernizing infrastructure, the three cities have drawn a concentration of robotics, electric vehicle, biotech-hardware and clean-tech manufacturers that did not exist at this scale 15 years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064736\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064736\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250730-WAYMOFILE_00136_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250730-WAYMOFILE_00136_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250730-WAYMOFILE_00136_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250730-WAYMOFILE_00136_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Zoox autonomous vehicle drives through 16th Street and Potrero in San Francisco on July 22, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area is too expensive to lure most manufacturing work, but because of its established base of technological talent, companies like Zoox find an attractive value proposition in building things close to headquarters, “especially in the early stages of trying to fine tune and commercialize a product that’s going to be made at scale,” said Stephen Baiter, executive director of the East Bay Economic Development Alliance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Baiter calls what’s happening in the region a “convergence effect.” That is to say, companies like Tesla, Applied Materials and Zoox are capitalizing on the regional talent pool, its strong research and development ecosystem, availability of production space, and supportive local economic development policies as reasons why the region is an attractive place to scale operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the East Bay’s biggest employers are education, health services, and professional/technical services, manufacturing is a major player, and one that’s growing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s anywhere between 20 to 30% of our gross regional product. Employment-wise, it’s closer to 10%. But still a substantial sector, however you want to slice it,” Baiter said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>After a year of testing and tooling around \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> city streets, Zoox announced it is making its robotaxis available to the public, starting with free rides for those who join a waitlist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zoox’s green vehicles are eye-catching. They aren’t built like cars. They have no steering wheel or pedals, all four seats face inward and some people refer to them as toasters on wheels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re notable in another way, too. They’re \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfAt803DQMw\">manufactured in Hayward\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As factory jobs continue their decades-long decline across the country, the East Bay is doubling down on precision manufacturing, betting its proximity to Silicon Valley’s labs and talent pools will help lift a slumping industrial base into a new era. Alameda County’s manufacturing sector expanded by 10% over the same period, reaching nearly 94,000 jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Old timers will recall that the East Bay has a storied history of building cars, most famously the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/201005210900/tesla-and-toyota-at-nummi\">NUMMI\u003c/a> plant in Fremont, taken over by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101883541/the-unpredictable-volatile-world-of-elon-musk-and-tesla\">Tesla\u003c/a> in 2010, now operating the biggest auto plant in the United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But ask anyone at Zoox and they’ll tell you, they’re not building cars. They’re designing robots that happen to carry people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064734\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064734\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-From-Rust-to-Robots-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-From-Rust-to-Robots-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-From-Rust-to-Robots-02-KQED-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-From-Rust-to-Robots-02-KQED-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-From-Rust-to-Robots-02-KQED-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Zoox robo taxi is assembled at the company’s manufacturing facility in Hayward. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Zoox, Inc.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We do not classify ourselves as in the automotive sector. We are in the robotic sector,” said Corrado Lanzone, vice president of manufacturing operations at Zoox, acquired by \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/amazon-zoox-robotaxis-manufacturing-plant-8c34ae849ccb10eaa7e6e5266d6de8e8\">Amazon\u003c/a> in 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lanzone told KQED that one of Hayward’s biggest benefits is its proximity to Silicon Valley and its \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11732182/is-the-future-of-automotive-engineering-in-silicon-valley-ask-this-german-auto-giant\">culture of innovation\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That means the mechanical engineers in Hayward have an easier time collaborating with the software engineers at Zoox’s headquarters in Foster City.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Zoox launched its manufacturing operation in a 220,000-square-foot, repurposed \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ds6QiEp9yg\">Gillig bus \u003c/a>manufacturing facility last June, and ultimately hopes to produce up to 10,000 vehicles a year. While about 100 people work for Zoox in Hayward today, the company anticipates hiring more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not just Hayward driving the advanced manufacturing bus in Alameda County. Fremont and Newark are doing it, too, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.resilienteastbay.org\">East Bay Economic Development Alliance\u003c/a>, a public-private partnership covering Alameda and Contra Costa counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Together, the three cities have positioned themselves as an \u003ca href=\"https://www.resilienteastbay.org/map/\">emerging regional hub\u003c/a> for high‑value sectors like advanced transportation, biomedical, food and beverage, climate tech, and, yes, robotics. Fremont hosts Tesla, Applied Materials, and dozens of precision-hardware suppliers. Newark hosts Lucid Motors’ engineering and prototype plant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By protecting industrial land, expediting permits, and modernizing infrastructure, the three cities have drawn a concentration of robotics, electric vehicle, biotech-hardware and clean-tech manufacturers that did not exist at this scale 15 years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064736\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064736\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250730-WAYMOFILE_00136_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250730-WAYMOFILE_00136_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250730-WAYMOFILE_00136_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250730-WAYMOFILE_00136_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Zoox autonomous vehicle drives through 16th Street and Potrero in San Francisco on July 22, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area is too expensive to lure most manufacturing work, but because of its established base of technological talent, companies like Zoox find an attractive value proposition in building things close to headquarters, “especially in the early stages of trying to fine tune and commercialize a product that’s going to be made at scale,” said Stephen Baiter, executive director of the East Bay Economic Development Alliance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Baiter calls what’s happening in the region a “convergence effect.” That is to say, companies like Tesla, Applied Materials and Zoox are capitalizing on the regional talent pool, its strong research and development ecosystem, availability of production space, and supportive local economic development policies as reasons why the region is an attractive place to scale operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the East Bay’s biggest employers are education, health services, and professional/technical services, manufacturing is a major player, and one that’s growing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s anywhere between 20 to 30% of our gross regional product. Employment-wise, it’s closer to 10%. But still a substantial sector, however you want to slice it,” Baiter said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "california-doctors-urge-ban-on-engineered-stone-as-silicosis-cases-surge",
"title": "California Doctors Urge Ban on Engineered Stone as Silicosis Cases Surge",
"publishDate": 1763579020,
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"headTitle": "California Doctors Urge Ban on Engineered Stone as Silicosis Cases Surge | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>A former stoneworker named Lopez sat confined to his \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/east-bay\">East Bay\u003c/a> home, breathing with the help of a whirring oxygen supply machine through clear tubes pronged to his nostrils. After years of making kitchen countertops from engineered stone, the 43-year-old was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11969381/california-regulators-to-vote-on-emergency-rules-for-stonecutters-safety\">diagnosed with silicosis\u003c/a>, an often deadly lung disease linked to inhaling toxic dust the material releases when powercut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The once-active father of four now awaits a double lung transplant. He can no longer support his family or walk a few steps without pausing to catch his breath. Two stonecutter friends died after working with the man-made material, also known as artificial stone or quartz. Three others are on a waitlist for lung transplants, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel desperate just sitting here unable to do anything,” said Lopez, an undocumented immigrant who worked in California for more than two decades. KQED is withholding his full name, as he fears losing vital medical care if arrested by federal authorities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s agonizing waiting for the hospital to call me so I can finally get the transplant I’m waiting for and be able to go back to work,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As silicosis cases surge in California’s countertop fabrication industry, medical and occupational safety experts warn that current regulations won’t protect hundreds more relatively young workers like Lopez from contracting the incurable illness. The state must act urgently to phase out hazardous engineered stone from fabrication shops, as Australia did, they say, to stem a growing health crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Australia banned the use, supply and manufacture of engineered stone benchtops in July 2024, forcing major manufacturers to switch to silica-free alternatives in that market, though they still sell their higher-silica products in the U.S. The companies maintain that their products are safe if fabrication shops follow protocols.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064718\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064718\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A photo of a pair lungs with silicosis used in a Cal/OSHA presentation slide about the disease, and rising number of cases in California, at a public meeting on Nov. 13, 2025. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Museomed via Wikimedia Commons)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Silicosis is preventable when proper safety and health measures are in place to protect workers against inhalation of silica dust in the workplace,” a spokesperson for Cosentino North America said in a statement. “The company continues its efforts in research and development for the ongoing improvement of its products.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Between 1,000 to 1,500 stoneworkers in California could develop silicosis within the next decade, leading to roughly 285 deaths, according to California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or Cal/OSHA. The state is home to about 5,000 countertop fabrication workers, predominantly Latino immigrants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Artificial stone in the U.S. market often contains more than 90% pulverized crystalline silica, far more than natural stones such as marble and granite. When workers powercut, polish and grind slabs of the material, tiny silica particles are released. If inhaled, they can lodge in the lungs and cause tissue scarring that progressively impedes breathing. Respirable silica can also lead to lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other illnesses.[aside postID=news_12033036 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/StonecutterGetty-1020x680.jpg']To save lives, the Governor’s Office could issue an emergency declaration pausing the processing of artificial stone until a permanent ban is pursued through rulemaking, according to a Sept. 4 memorandum obtained by KQED. Drafted by a committee of doctors, occupational safety experts and worker advocates convened by Cal/OSHA, the letter was addressed to the state board responsible for adopting new workplace safety regulations, but was not sent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office did not respond to requests for comment about his position on banning engineered stone in fabrication shops. A spokesperson with the Department of Industrial Relations, which oversees press requests for both Cal/OSHA and the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, said the draft had not been vetted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The memo referenced … is an incomplete working draft by the Silica Technical Committee and not by Cal/OSHA. None of the recommendations are final,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Cal/OSHA continually works to protect the health and safety of California’s workers and enforces all regulations adopted by the Board.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several board members have publicly expressed dismay for months at the steep climb in silicosis cases, but the agenda for their next meeting on Thursday does not include decision-making on artificial stone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maegan Ortiz, director of the Instituto de Educacion Popular del Sur de California, said that although the state approved stricter standards nearly two years ago, California has made little progress in protecting stoneworkers still inhaling engineered stone dust on the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064281\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064281\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-04-KQED-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-04-KQED-2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-04-KQED-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-04-KQED-2-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lopez adjusts the breathing tube connected to his oxygen tank in his home in Pittsburg on Nov. 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We need to ban this. I think the concern is great, but it is kind of like thoughts and prayers in the face of other crises that don’t go far enough,” said Ortiz, whose organization has been surveying stoneworkers in Los Angeles County, the state’s silicosis epicenter. “We’ve seen the conditions ourselves on the ground in terms of the amount of dust that is there, even in these bigger shops that are following the regulations. Workers see the dust, they carry it on them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 2019, more than 430 workers have been confirmed with silicosis in California, including 25 who died and 48 who underwent a lung transplant, according to state public health officials tracking \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/Pages/essdashboard.aspx\">reported cases\u003c/a>. Half of those sick are located in Los Angeles County. Nearly all are Latino men, some in their 20s, who said they didn’t know how dangerous artificial stone dust could be. About 40% of silicosis cases were identified this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lopez said he worked in licensed shops using safety gear and methods his supervisors said would protect him. He wore filter masks and cut and polished engineered stone with machines that covered slabs with water to suppress dust. But mounting evidence shows silica particles in artificial stone dust are so small and toxic that it doesn’t take much to hurt workers. Silica can penetrate filter masks and remain on workers’ clothes and tools when water dries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Australia tried banning drycutting of engineered stone, similar to Cal/OSHA rules in place since December 2023 and a bill Newsom signed last month, SB 20. Australia also tried additional safeguards, including full-face powered air-purifying respirators, ventilation systems and monitoring, like California’s strict \u003ca href=\"https://worksafewithsilica.org/employer-information#rp\">regulations\u003c/a> that go beyond federal requirements. But in both places, experts say, the sophisticated and costly measures are not realistic for an industry made up of mostly small shops with only a few workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064282\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064282\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-05-KQED-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-05-KQED-2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-05-KQED-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-05-KQED-2-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lopez coils the breathing tube connected to his oxygen tank in his home in Pittsburg on Nov. 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I think it’s completely unfeasible,” said Dr. Ryan Hoy, a respiratory physician and researcher at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. “I often use the analogy that you can work with asbestos safely, you can work with uranium safely, but you need to have in place very sophisticated control measures.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, most fabrication shops are not complying with drycutting bans, respiratory protection, monitoring or other requirements. About 94% of 107 worksites investigated by Cal/OSHA had violations of the silica regulations as of Oct. 16.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lopez’s wife said she wished her husband had more accurate information from manufacturers, vendors and employers before working with artificial stone so he could have chosen whether to take on the risk. Considering the impact of his disease on her family, the 41-year-old choked back tears.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s painful because I’ve always seen him working. He’s always looked out for us. He’s the pillar of our family,” she said in Spanish, adding that her youngest son is 3. “It hurts us deeply.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064276\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064276\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-03-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lopez’s wife draws in a coloring book with their 3-year-old in their home in Pittsburg on Nov. 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lopez’s state disability benefits have run out, he said, and the family relies on financial support from their oldest daughter, a 20-year-old medical assistant. He became one of hundreds of workers in the U.S. and other countries who have sued top manufacturers of engineered stone — including Minnesota-based Cambria, Israel-based Caesarstone and Cosentino, headquartered in Spain — claiming silica-related injuries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Caesarstone, which generated nearly half of its $303 million in revenue so far this year in the U.S. market, reported claims by more than 500 individuals in its latest \u003ca href=\"https://ir.caesarstone.com/news/news-details/2025/Caesarstone-Reports-Third-Quarter-2025-Financial-Results/default.aspx\">financial results\u003c/a>. The company recorded a $46 million provision for probable losses, with $24.3 million covered by insurance. But costs could grow, as most of the 320 U.S. claims are awaiting trial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Caesarstone won one case in the U.S., which remains under appeal, and settled another this year, according to Nahum Trust, Caesarstone’s chief financial officer, during an earnings call this month. Last year, a jury \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-08-07/jury-finds-stone-companies-at-fault-in-suit-by-countertop-cutter-with-silicosis\">awarded\u003c/a> a 34-year-old stoneworker $52 million after finding Caesarstone and other companies liable, a decision the company has appealed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company developed crystalline silica-free countertop surfaces in preparation for restrictions in Australia and recently unveiled what it advertises as safer alternatives for fabrication workers in the U.S. Caesarstone’s sales were down this quarter in the U.S. and Canada, due to softness in the market and competitive pressures, according to Trust, but sales are up in Australia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033047\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033047\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A stone fabricator places his hand on a table that he cut at his home in San Francisco on Oct. 17, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Our first year of real growth in this market since the silica ban implementation,” Trust said. “This reflects early recovery and the successful launch of our zero silica collection.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cosentino said it has also moved to offer newer products due to safety concerns, including a new mineral-surface product with zero crystalline silica that will be available next year globally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cosentino, Caesarstone and associations representing manufacturers declined to comment on why they continue selling their high-silica engineered stone products in the U.S. if they have alternatives for the Australian market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Global demand for artificial stone, a multibillion-dollar industry in the U.S., is expected to significantly grow. In California, sales are expected to increase even more due to efforts to rebuild the more than 16,000 homes and buildings destroyed by January wildfires in Los Angeles.[aside postID=news_12063843 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/CaregiverGetty.jpg']Consumers prefer the stain-resistant material because it’s often cheaper than natural stone and offers diverse colors and designs. But many homeowners don’t know of the potential health impacts to the workers who make their countertops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pulmonologists predict silicosis cases will keep rising, even if exposure to silica dust stopped immediately. By the time workers feel symptoms, the disease has often advanced, Hoy said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, that is definitely the tip of the iceberg of workers that are currently affected,” said Hoy, who screened stoneworkers in Australia for silicosis and treats diagnosed patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As manufacturers switched to silica-free products in Australia, costs increased, but consumers still purchased countertops for renovations and new buildings. The industry carried on without the old material.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. Hayley Barnes, a pulmonologist who studied silicosis in Australia, said that initially, talking about banning the material in that country felt like a huge ordeal, with predictions that the building industry would collapse and jobs would disappear. But that didn’t happen, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The companies just made a low-silica or no-silica product, which is currently available in Australia and many other countries,” Barnes said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now medical director of UCSF’s Interstitial Lung Disease Program, she worries many cases in California have not yet been diagnosed, and stoneworkers are suffering.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12037908\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12037908\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250424_UCSFFILE_GC-12-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1236\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250424_UCSFFILE_GC-12-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250424_UCSFFILE_GC-12-KQED-800x494.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250424_UCSFFILE_GC-12-KQED-1020x630.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250424_UCSFFILE_GC-12-KQED-160x99.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250424_UCSFFILE_GC-12-KQED-1536x949.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250424_UCSFFILE_GC-12-KQED-1920x1187.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay in San Francisco on April 24, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We could do better. It’s been done elsewhere,” Barnes said. “People would still get their houses and apartments built and workers would be better protected.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. Sheiphali Gandhi, an assistant professor of medicine at UCSF and a colleague of Barnes who treats dozens of silicosis patients, said she wants California to begin phasing out artificial stone countertops. The move would ensure consumers purchase materials that also protect workers, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve tried all these regulations, but we still are seeing that the cases are going up,” Gandhi said. “We need to move towards the more effective strategies of elimination or substitution, where we really go for safer alternatives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, Gandhi must wade through a stack of about 40 additional cases of very sick workers she has been referred.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s just like every month, my mailbox is full of more referrals of silicosis cases,” she said. “The number of cases is exploding. It’s insane.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "California stoneworkers are becoming severely ill from silica dust exposure from cutting engineered stone, prompting urgent warnings from doctors and workplace safety experts as Australia’s 2024 ban underscores the urgency.",
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"title": "California Doctors Urge Ban on Engineered Stone as Silicosis Cases Surge | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A former stoneworker named Lopez sat confined to his \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/east-bay\">East Bay\u003c/a> home, breathing with the help of a whirring oxygen supply machine through clear tubes pronged to his nostrils. After years of making kitchen countertops from engineered stone, the 43-year-old was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11969381/california-regulators-to-vote-on-emergency-rules-for-stonecutters-safety\">diagnosed with silicosis\u003c/a>, an often deadly lung disease linked to inhaling toxic dust the material releases when powercut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The once-active father of four now awaits a double lung transplant. He can no longer support his family or walk a few steps without pausing to catch his breath. Two stonecutter friends died after working with the man-made material, also known as artificial stone or quartz. Three others are on a waitlist for lung transplants, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel desperate just sitting here unable to do anything,” said Lopez, an undocumented immigrant who worked in California for more than two decades. KQED is withholding his full name, as he fears losing vital medical care if arrested by federal authorities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s agonizing waiting for the hospital to call me so I can finally get the transplant I’m waiting for and be able to go back to work,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As silicosis cases surge in California’s countertop fabrication industry, medical and occupational safety experts warn that current regulations won’t protect hundreds more relatively young workers like Lopez from contracting the incurable illness. The state must act urgently to phase out hazardous engineered stone from fabrication shops, as Australia did, they say, to stem a growing health crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Australia banned the use, supply and manufacture of engineered stone benchtops in July 2024, forcing major manufacturers to switch to silica-free alternatives in that market, though they still sell their higher-silica products in the U.S. The companies maintain that their products are safe if fabrication shops follow protocols.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064718\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064718\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A photo of a pair lungs with silicosis used in a Cal/OSHA presentation slide about the disease, and rising number of cases in California, at a public meeting on Nov. 13, 2025. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Museomed via Wikimedia Commons)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Silicosis is preventable when proper safety and health measures are in place to protect workers against inhalation of silica dust in the workplace,” a spokesperson for Cosentino North America said in a statement. “The company continues its efforts in research and development for the ongoing improvement of its products.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Between 1,000 to 1,500 stoneworkers in California could develop silicosis within the next decade, leading to roughly 285 deaths, according to California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or Cal/OSHA. The state is home to about 5,000 countertop fabrication workers, predominantly Latino immigrants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Artificial stone in the U.S. market often contains more than 90% pulverized crystalline silica, far more than natural stones such as marble and granite. When workers powercut, polish and grind slabs of the material, tiny silica particles are released. If inhaled, they can lodge in the lungs and cause tissue scarring that progressively impedes breathing. Respirable silica can also lead to lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other illnesses.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>To save lives, the Governor’s Office could issue an emergency declaration pausing the processing of artificial stone until a permanent ban is pursued through rulemaking, according to a Sept. 4 memorandum obtained by KQED. Drafted by a committee of doctors, occupational safety experts and worker advocates convened by Cal/OSHA, the letter was addressed to the state board responsible for adopting new workplace safety regulations, but was not sent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office did not respond to requests for comment about his position on banning engineered stone in fabrication shops. A spokesperson with the Department of Industrial Relations, which oversees press requests for both Cal/OSHA and the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, said the draft had not been vetted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The memo referenced … is an incomplete working draft by the Silica Technical Committee and not by Cal/OSHA. None of the recommendations are final,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Cal/OSHA continually works to protect the health and safety of California’s workers and enforces all regulations adopted by the Board.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several board members have publicly expressed dismay for months at the steep climb in silicosis cases, but the agenda for their next meeting on Thursday does not include decision-making on artificial stone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maegan Ortiz, director of the Instituto de Educacion Popular del Sur de California, said that although the state approved stricter standards nearly two years ago, California has made little progress in protecting stoneworkers still inhaling engineered stone dust on the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064281\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064281\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-04-KQED-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-04-KQED-2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-04-KQED-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-04-KQED-2-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lopez adjusts the breathing tube connected to his oxygen tank in his home in Pittsburg on Nov. 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We need to ban this. I think the concern is great, but it is kind of like thoughts and prayers in the face of other crises that don’t go far enough,” said Ortiz, whose organization has been surveying stoneworkers in Los Angeles County, the state’s silicosis epicenter. “We’ve seen the conditions ourselves on the ground in terms of the amount of dust that is there, even in these bigger shops that are following the regulations. Workers see the dust, they carry it on them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 2019, more than 430 workers have been confirmed with silicosis in California, including 25 who died and 48 who underwent a lung transplant, according to state public health officials tracking \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/Pages/essdashboard.aspx\">reported cases\u003c/a>. Half of those sick are located in Los Angeles County. Nearly all are Latino men, some in their 20s, who said they didn’t know how dangerous artificial stone dust could be. About 40% of silicosis cases were identified this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lopez said he worked in licensed shops using safety gear and methods his supervisors said would protect him. He wore filter masks and cut and polished engineered stone with machines that covered slabs with water to suppress dust. But mounting evidence shows silica particles in artificial stone dust are so small and toxic that it doesn’t take much to hurt workers. Silica can penetrate filter masks and remain on workers’ clothes and tools when water dries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Australia tried banning drycutting of engineered stone, similar to Cal/OSHA rules in place since December 2023 and a bill Newsom signed last month, SB 20. Australia also tried additional safeguards, including full-face powered air-purifying respirators, ventilation systems and monitoring, like California’s strict \u003ca href=\"https://worksafewithsilica.org/employer-information#rp\">regulations\u003c/a> that go beyond federal requirements. But in both places, experts say, the sophisticated and costly measures are not realistic for an industry made up of mostly small shops with only a few workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064282\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064282\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-05-KQED-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-05-KQED-2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-05-KQED-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-05-KQED-2-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lopez coils the breathing tube connected to his oxygen tank in his home in Pittsburg on Nov. 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I think it’s completely unfeasible,” said Dr. Ryan Hoy, a respiratory physician and researcher at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. “I often use the analogy that you can work with asbestos safely, you can work with uranium safely, but you need to have in place very sophisticated control measures.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, most fabrication shops are not complying with drycutting bans, respiratory protection, monitoring or other requirements. About 94% of 107 worksites investigated by Cal/OSHA had violations of the silica regulations as of Oct. 16.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lopez’s wife said she wished her husband had more accurate information from manufacturers, vendors and employers before working with artificial stone so he could have chosen whether to take on the risk. Considering the impact of his disease on her family, the 41-year-old choked back tears.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s painful because I’ve always seen him working. He’s always looked out for us. He’s the pillar of our family,” she said in Spanish, adding that her youngest son is 3. “It hurts us deeply.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064276\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064276\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-03-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lopez’s wife draws in a coloring book with their 3-year-old in their home in Pittsburg on Nov. 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lopez’s state disability benefits have run out, he said, and the family relies on financial support from their oldest daughter, a 20-year-old medical assistant. He became one of hundreds of workers in the U.S. and other countries who have sued top manufacturers of engineered stone — including Minnesota-based Cambria, Israel-based Caesarstone and Cosentino, headquartered in Spain — claiming silica-related injuries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Caesarstone, which generated nearly half of its $303 million in revenue so far this year in the U.S. market, reported claims by more than 500 individuals in its latest \u003ca href=\"https://ir.caesarstone.com/news/news-details/2025/Caesarstone-Reports-Third-Quarter-2025-Financial-Results/default.aspx\">financial results\u003c/a>. The company recorded a $46 million provision for probable losses, with $24.3 million covered by insurance. But costs could grow, as most of the 320 U.S. claims are awaiting trial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Caesarstone won one case in the U.S., which remains under appeal, and settled another this year, according to Nahum Trust, Caesarstone’s chief financial officer, during an earnings call this month. Last year, a jury \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-08-07/jury-finds-stone-companies-at-fault-in-suit-by-countertop-cutter-with-silicosis\">awarded\u003c/a> a 34-year-old stoneworker $52 million after finding Caesarstone and other companies liable, a decision the company has appealed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company developed crystalline silica-free countertop surfaces in preparation for restrictions in Australia and recently unveiled what it advertises as safer alternatives for fabrication workers in the U.S. Caesarstone’s sales were down this quarter in the U.S. and Canada, due to softness in the market and competitive pressures, according to Trust, but sales are up in Australia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033047\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033047\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A stone fabricator places his hand on a table that he cut at his home in San Francisco on Oct. 17, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Our first year of real growth in this market since the silica ban implementation,” Trust said. “This reflects early recovery and the successful launch of our zero silica collection.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cosentino said it has also moved to offer newer products due to safety concerns, including a new mineral-surface product with zero crystalline silica that will be available next year globally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cosentino, Caesarstone and associations representing manufacturers declined to comment on why they continue selling their high-silica engineered stone products in the U.S. if they have alternatives for the Australian market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Global demand for artificial stone, a multibillion-dollar industry in the U.S., is expected to significantly grow. In California, sales are expected to increase even more due to efforts to rebuild the more than 16,000 homes and buildings destroyed by January wildfires in Los Angeles.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Consumers prefer the stain-resistant material because it’s often cheaper than natural stone and offers diverse colors and designs. But many homeowners don’t know of the potential health impacts to the workers who make their countertops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pulmonologists predict silicosis cases will keep rising, even if exposure to silica dust stopped immediately. By the time workers feel symptoms, the disease has often advanced, Hoy said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, that is definitely the tip of the iceberg of workers that are currently affected,” said Hoy, who screened stoneworkers in Australia for silicosis and treats diagnosed patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As manufacturers switched to silica-free products in Australia, costs increased, but consumers still purchased countertops for renovations and new buildings. The industry carried on without the old material.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. Hayley Barnes, a pulmonologist who studied silicosis in Australia, said that initially, talking about banning the material in that country felt like a huge ordeal, with predictions that the building industry would collapse and jobs would disappear. But that didn’t happen, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The companies just made a low-silica or no-silica product, which is currently available in Australia and many other countries,” Barnes said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now medical director of UCSF’s Interstitial Lung Disease Program, she worries many cases in California have not yet been diagnosed, and stoneworkers are suffering.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12037908\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12037908\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250424_UCSFFILE_GC-12-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1236\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250424_UCSFFILE_GC-12-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250424_UCSFFILE_GC-12-KQED-800x494.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250424_UCSFFILE_GC-12-KQED-1020x630.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250424_UCSFFILE_GC-12-KQED-160x99.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250424_UCSFFILE_GC-12-KQED-1536x949.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250424_UCSFFILE_GC-12-KQED-1920x1187.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay in San Francisco on April 24, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We could do better. It’s been done elsewhere,” Barnes said. “People would still get their houses and apartments built and workers would be better protected.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. Sheiphali Gandhi, an assistant professor of medicine at UCSF and a colleague of Barnes who treats dozens of silicosis patients, said she wants California to begin phasing out artificial stone countertops. The move would ensure consumers purchase materials that also protect workers, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve tried all these regulations, but we still are seeing that the cases are going up,” Gandhi said. “We need to move towards the more effective strategies of elimination or substitution, where we really go for safer alternatives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, Gandhi must wade through a stack of about 40 additional cases of very sick workers she has been referred.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s just like every month, my mailbox is full of more referrals of silicosis cases,” she said. “The number of cases is exploding. It’s insane.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "tesla-dodges-class-action-case-now-faces-hundreds-of-individual-race-harassment-claims",
"title": "Tesla Dodges Class Action Case, Now Faces Hundreds of Individual Race-Harassment Claims",
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"headTitle": "Tesla Dodges Class Action Case, Now Faces Hundreds of Individual Race-Harassment Claims | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>A California state judge has ruled that more than 14,000 Black workers who alleged racial harassment at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/tesla\">Tesla\u003c/a>’s flagship assembly plant in Fremont cannot sue as a class, meaning the company is likely to face a flood of individual lawsuits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Superior Court Judge Peter Borkon’s Friday\u003ca href=\"https://tmsnrt.rs/3XzzhNU\"> ruling,\u003c/a> the 2017 lawsuit cannot move forward as a class action because lawyers for the plaintiffs were unable to find 200 randomly sampled class members willing to forgo a few days of wages to testify ahead of a trial scheduled for 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Borkon said he did not trust that the jury would be able to “reliably extrapolate from the experiences of the trial witnesses to the 14,000 members of the class as a whole.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“An infinitesimal number of the workers have testified,” Stanford Law School professor emeritus William Gould IV, a former National Labor Relations Board chairman, told KQED. Tesla “has superior resources, and plaintiffs need the class action to really get the defendant’s attention.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The named plaintiff, former assembly line worker Marcus Vaughn, alleged that Black workers at the Fremont facility were subjected to a range of racist conduct, including slurs, graffiti and nooses hung at their workstations. Vaughn said that line workers and supervisors alike referred to him using a slur on a regular basis and that Tesla did not investigate after he complained in writing to the human resources department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, Vaughn said, Tesla fired him for “not having a positive attitude” six months after he started the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11992305\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11992305\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/TeslaFremont.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1265\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/TeslaFremont.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/TeslaFremont-800x527.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/TeslaFremont-1020x672.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/TeslaFremont-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/TeslaFremont-1536x1012.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A row of new Tesla Superchargers seen outside of the Tesla Factory on Aug. 16, 2013, in Fremont, California. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The ruling is a meaningful legal victory for Tesla, but the company still faces multiple lawsuits alleging pervasive race discrimination and other forms of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101854776/foreign-workers-at-tesla-spotlight-a-visa-system-vulnerable-to-fraud\">worker mistreatment\u003c/a> at its \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11662641/tesla-says-its-factory-is-safer-but-it-left-injuries-off-the-books\">Fremont factory\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces federal anti-discrimination laws, has also brought \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/legal/tesla-appears-unlikely-nix-us-suit-alleging-bias-against-black-workers-2024-03-28/\">race discrimination claims\u003c/a> against Tesla in federal court in California, and state regulators at the California Department of Fair Employment & Housing \u003ca href=\"https://omny.fm/shows/kqed-segmented-audio/tesla-sued-over-disturbing-reports-of-workplace-ra\">are suing\u003c/a> in Alameda County Superior Court. The company has\u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-settles-black-employees-lawsuit-alleging-pervasive-harassment-2025-04-17/\"> settled other race discrimination lawsuits\u003c/a> involving individual plaintiffs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the wake of the class-action denial, plaintiffs’ lawyers said they intend to press on with a host of individual lawsuits. They’ve already filed more than 500 and plan to eventually file more than 900.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Tesla has jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire with this decertification, because they are now facing hundreds of victims of race harassment seeking damages in their own suits,” wrote the plaintiffs’ co-lead counsel Bryan J. Schwartz.[aside postID=news_12063980 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/231005-TRUCK-GETTY-KQED-1020x680.jpg']Tesla and its attorneys did not respond to requests for comment on Monday, but the board has stated to investors that the company remains “committed to creating and maintaining a respectful and inclusive workplace, and the steps we have taken to prevent and address harassment and discrimination throughout our workforce, and will continue to challenge and defend ourselves against any allegations to the contrary.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s performance at the electric vehicle maker has been both celebrated and dogged by persistent reports of erratic behavior. But at least as regards labor law, his largely \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101907450/lawsuits-against-national-labor-relations-board-could-cloud-future-of-organized-labor\">successful pushback\u003c/a> against the National Labor Relations Board’s attempts to rein in labor practices at his various companies is widely seen as indicating a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101911701/federal-workers-face-new-round-of-layoffs-as-labor-rights-under-attack\">troubled future for the NLRB\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have prominent people that are close to the White House saying that, really, employment discrimination laws should not have existed in the first place,” said Gould, the Stanford law professor emeritus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gould said many employees following news headlines may steer clear of lawsuits like Vaughn et al v. Tesla for fear of failure and retaliation from employers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Under these circumstances, the fact that workers will not come forward and testify does not necessarily mean that the plaintiffs’ case is weak. It may mean that people are more discouraged and less likely to stick their head up, in the fear that it will get chopped off,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A California state judge has ruled that more than 14,000 Black workers who alleged racial harassment at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/tesla\">Tesla\u003c/a>’s flagship assembly plant in Fremont cannot sue as a class, meaning the company is likely to face a flood of individual lawsuits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Superior Court Judge Peter Borkon’s Friday\u003ca href=\"https://tmsnrt.rs/3XzzhNU\"> ruling,\u003c/a> the 2017 lawsuit cannot move forward as a class action because lawyers for the plaintiffs were unable to find 200 randomly sampled class members willing to forgo a few days of wages to testify ahead of a trial scheduled for 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Borkon said he did not trust that the jury would be able to “reliably extrapolate from the experiences of the trial witnesses to the 14,000 members of the class as a whole.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“An infinitesimal number of the workers have testified,” Stanford Law School professor emeritus William Gould IV, a former National Labor Relations Board chairman, told KQED. Tesla “has superior resources, and plaintiffs need the class action to really get the defendant’s attention.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The named plaintiff, former assembly line worker Marcus Vaughn, alleged that Black workers at the Fremont facility were subjected to a range of racist conduct, including slurs, graffiti and nooses hung at their workstations. Vaughn said that line workers and supervisors alike referred to him using a slur on a regular basis and that Tesla did not investigate after he complained in writing to the human resources department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, Vaughn said, Tesla fired him for “not having a positive attitude” six months after he started the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11992305\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11992305\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/TeslaFremont.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1265\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/TeslaFremont.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/TeslaFremont-800x527.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/TeslaFremont-1020x672.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/TeslaFremont-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/TeslaFremont-1536x1012.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A row of new Tesla Superchargers seen outside of the Tesla Factory on Aug. 16, 2013, in Fremont, California. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The ruling is a meaningful legal victory for Tesla, but the company still faces multiple lawsuits alleging pervasive race discrimination and other forms of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101854776/foreign-workers-at-tesla-spotlight-a-visa-system-vulnerable-to-fraud\">worker mistreatment\u003c/a> at its \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11662641/tesla-says-its-factory-is-safer-but-it-left-injuries-off-the-books\">Fremont factory\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces federal anti-discrimination laws, has also brought \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/legal/tesla-appears-unlikely-nix-us-suit-alleging-bias-against-black-workers-2024-03-28/\">race discrimination claims\u003c/a> against Tesla in federal court in California, and state regulators at the California Department of Fair Employment & Housing \u003ca href=\"https://omny.fm/shows/kqed-segmented-audio/tesla-sued-over-disturbing-reports-of-workplace-ra\">are suing\u003c/a> in Alameda County Superior Court. The company has\u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-settles-black-employees-lawsuit-alleging-pervasive-harassment-2025-04-17/\"> settled other race discrimination lawsuits\u003c/a> involving individual plaintiffs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the wake of the class-action denial, plaintiffs’ lawyers said they intend to press on with a host of individual lawsuits. They’ve already filed more than 500 and plan to eventually file more than 900.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Tesla has jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire with this decertification, because they are now facing hundreds of victims of race harassment seeking damages in their own suits,” wrote the plaintiffs’ co-lead counsel Bryan J. Schwartz.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Tesla and its attorneys did not respond to requests for comment on Monday, but the board has stated to investors that the company remains “committed to creating and maintaining a respectful and inclusive workplace, and the steps we have taken to prevent and address harassment and discrimination throughout our workforce, and will continue to challenge and defend ourselves against any allegations to the contrary.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s performance at the electric vehicle maker has been both celebrated and dogged by persistent reports of erratic behavior. But at least as regards labor law, his largely \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101907450/lawsuits-against-national-labor-relations-board-could-cloud-future-of-organized-labor\">successful pushback\u003c/a> against the National Labor Relations Board’s attempts to rein in labor practices at his various companies is widely seen as indicating a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101911701/federal-workers-face-new-round-of-layoffs-as-labor-rights-under-attack\">troubled future for the NLRB\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have prominent people that are close to the White House saying that, really, employment discrimination laws should not have existed in the first place,” said Gould, the Stanford law professor emeritus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gould said many employees following news headlines may steer clear of lawsuits like Vaughn et al v. Tesla for fear of failure and retaliation from employers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Under these circumstances, the fact that workers will not come forward and testify does not necessarily mean that the plaintiffs’ case is weak. It may mean that people are more discouraged and less likely to stick their head up, in the fear that it will get chopped off,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "UC Service Workers Strike, Saying Wages Aren’t Enough to Afford Cost of Living",
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"content": "\u003cp>Tens of thousands of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/university-of-california\">University of California\u003c/a> workers began a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064154/uc-workers-plan-two-day-strike-as-wage-talks-stall-and-staffing-shortages-deepen\">two-day strike\u003c/a> on Monday as yearslong negotiations with the university system over wages and benefits remain stalled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local 3299 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which represents more than 40,000 custodians, food service workers, patient care assistants and hospital technicians, said wage increases haven’t kept up with the cost of living as employees’ health care costs have skyrocketed, making it nearly impossible to make ends meet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s an affordability crisis that is crushing UC’s most vulnerable workers, workers that UC once called heroes during the pandemic,” said Carmen Lee, a UCSF transportation worker. “I feel completely disrespected.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UCSF Health said in a statement that it did not expect significant disruptions to essential operations thanks to contingency plans, although radiology and lab services could still see delays, along with transportation and custodial services across the system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Negotiations between AFSCME and the UC, which began in January 2024, have been deadlocked since April, when the university presented a “best and final” offer that was far from the union’s demands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064421\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064421\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251117-UCStrike-11-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251117-UCStrike-11-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251117-UCStrike-11-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251117-UCStrike-11-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Carmen Lee (left), a shuttle operator, and Betty Yee, California State Controller, walk the picket line alongside patient care and service workers represented by AFSCME Local 3299 at the UCSF Medical Center Mission Bay campus on Nov. 17, 2025, striking for living wages, affordable health care, housing benefits and safe staffing. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The five-year contract proposal includes a 5% wage increase in 2025; 4% in 2026; and 3% in 2027, 2028 and 2029. AFSCME has asked for increases of 8.5% this year and 7.5% in each of the next two years, citing post-pandemic inflation, rising cost of living and increasing health care premiums.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I used to bring home six bags of groceries to feed my family. … I had to give that up,” Lee said. “My health care went up $200. With the low wage that they’ve imposed on us so far, I’m not going to be able to afford that health care. I should be able to live and thrive in the city that I grew up in and raised my two sons in.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Todd Stenhouse, AFSCME’s statewide spokesperson, said union members are making at least 7% less than they did seven years ago when accounting for the rising cost of living. That’s forcing people to move farther from their workplaces, including as far as El Dorado County, north of Sacramento, or crowd into homes and apartments that aren’t large enough for their families.[aside postID=news_12064154 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/RS61791_GettyImages-1244836327-qut-1020x680.jpg']“In the last three years, a third of [AFSCME members] have voluntarily left their jobs. Why? Because they can’t afford to stay,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In April, the university increased its best and final offer to make up for “potentially catastrophic state and federal funding cuts,” UC Associate Vice President for Systemwide Labor and Employee Relations Missy Matella said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The UC said its offer was $113 million higher than its initial offer in February 2024, and meets the union’s demand to raise minimum wage to $25 an hour. AFSCME had asked that the wage hike be retroactive to 2023. It was implemented in July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The university also implemented terms from its offer to add monthly health insurance premium credits up to $125 to reduce costs for Kaiser and UC Blue and Gold HMO enrollees. Under its offer, some employees could have access to $0 premiums.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Joanna Marie Fernandez, who’s been an ophthalmic technician at UCSF for 11 years, said the deal doesn’t keep up with rising insurance and housing costs. At the same time, she said, she and her colleagues have had to take on more work because they are understaffed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have double-booked, triple-booked patients in our clinic,” she told KQED. “I came out here [to UC] because of these incredible doctors, this incredible institution, and the thing is, we’re not even able to take care of our own health.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064418\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064418\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251117-UCStrike-14-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251117-UCStrike-14-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251117-UCStrike-14-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251117-UCStrike-14-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Patient care and service workers represented by AFSCME Local 3299 picket at the UCSF Medical Center Mission Bay campus on Nov. 17, 2025, striking for living wages, affordable health care, housing benefits and safe staffing. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This month, two other bargaining groups have come to agreements with the UC.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These outcomes show that UC can and has quickly closed deals when both parties actively participate in solutions-oriented bargaining,” the university said in a statement. “Despite UC’s continued outreach, AFSCME has not presented any substantive counterproposals since April 2025. Absent AFSCME’s engagement, the University cannot engage in meaningful negotiations for this critical workforce.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Nov. 8, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12034098/nearly-60000-uc-workers-hit-picket-lines-in-3rd-statewide-strike-in-recent-months\">UPTE-CWA\u003c/a>, which represents 21,000 research and technical professionals across the UC, announced a tentative deal with the university, prompting them to pull out of Monday’s strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064415\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064415\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251117-UCStrike-02-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251117-UCStrike-02-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251117-UCStrike-02-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251117-UCStrike-02-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fredrieka Michael (center), a shuttle operator, strikes alongside patient care and service workers represented by AFSCME Local 3299 at the UCSF Medical Center Mission Bay campus on Nov. 17, 2025, for living wages, affordable health care, housing benefits and safe staffing. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And over the weekend, California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, which had planned a sympathy strike with AFSCME, also came to a tentative agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UC nurses will vote on the tentative agreement this week, and thousands said they still planned to join picket lines off duty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stenhouse said it’s telling that AFSCME workers, who are some of the UC’s lowest-paid, are still negotiating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It says a lot that as we’re here today after a week where we saw two contracts settle, the most economically vulnerable workers are the last ones standing,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/eromero\">\u003cem>Ezra David Romero\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Tens of thousands of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/university-of-california\">University of California\u003c/a> workers began a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064154/uc-workers-plan-two-day-strike-as-wage-talks-stall-and-staffing-shortages-deepen\">two-day strike\u003c/a> on Monday as yearslong negotiations with the university system over wages and benefits remain stalled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local 3299 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which represents more than 40,000 custodians, food service workers, patient care assistants and hospital technicians, said wage increases haven’t kept up with the cost of living as employees’ health care costs have skyrocketed, making it nearly impossible to make ends meet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s an affordability crisis that is crushing UC’s most vulnerable workers, workers that UC once called heroes during the pandemic,” said Carmen Lee, a UCSF transportation worker. “I feel completely disrespected.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UCSF Health said in a statement that it did not expect significant disruptions to essential operations thanks to contingency plans, although radiology and lab services could still see delays, along with transportation and custodial services across the system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Negotiations between AFSCME and the UC, which began in January 2024, have been deadlocked since April, when the university presented a “best and final” offer that was far from the union’s demands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064421\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064421\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251117-UCStrike-11-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251117-UCStrike-11-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251117-UCStrike-11-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251117-UCStrike-11-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Carmen Lee (left), a shuttle operator, and Betty Yee, California State Controller, walk the picket line alongside patient care and service workers represented by AFSCME Local 3299 at the UCSF Medical Center Mission Bay campus on Nov. 17, 2025, striking for living wages, affordable health care, housing benefits and safe staffing. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The five-year contract proposal includes a 5% wage increase in 2025; 4% in 2026; and 3% in 2027, 2028 and 2029. AFSCME has asked for increases of 8.5% this year and 7.5% in each of the next two years, citing post-pandemic inflation, rising cost of living and increasing health care premiums.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I used to bring home six bags of groceries to feed my family. … I had to give that up,” Lee said. “My health care went up $200. With the low wage that they’ve imposed on us so far, I’m not going to be able to afford that health care. I should be able to live and thrive in the city that I grew up in and raised my two sons in.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Todd Stenhouse, AFSCME’s statewide spokesperson, said union members are making at least 7% less than they did seven years ago when accounting for the rising cost of living. That’s forcing people to move farther from their workplaces, including as far as El Dorado County, north of Sacramento, or crowd into homes and apartments that aren’t large enough for their families.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“In the last three years, a third of [AFSCME members] have voluntarily left their jobs. Why? Because they can’t afford to stay,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In April, the university increased its best and final offer to make up for “potentially catastrophic state and federal funding cuts,” UC Associate Vice President for Systemwide Labor and Employee Relations Missy Matella said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The UC said its offer was $113 million higher than its initial offer in February 2024, and meets the union’s demand to raise minimum wage to $25 an hour. AFSCME had asked that the wage hike be retroactive to 2023. It was implemented in July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The university also implemented terms from its offer to add monthly health insurance premium credits up to $125 to reduce costs for Kaiser and UC Blue and Gold HMO enrollees. Under its offer, some employees could have access to $0 premiums.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Joanna Marie Fernandez, who’s been an ophthalmic technician at UCSF for 11 years, said the deal doesn’t keep up with rising insurance and housing costs. At the same time, she said, she and her colleagues have had to take on more work because they are understaffed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have double-booked, triple-booked patients in our clinic,” she told KQED. “I came out here [to UC] because of these incredible doctors, this incredible institution, and the thing is, we’re not even able to take care of our own health.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064418\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064418\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251117-UCStrike-14-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251117-UCStrike-14-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251117-UCStrike-14-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251117-UCStrike-14-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Patient care and service workers represented by AFSCME Local 3299 picket at the UCSF Medical Center Mission Bay campus on Nov. 17, 2025, striking for living wages, affordable health care, housing benefits and safe staffing. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This month, two other bargaining groups have come to agreements with the UC.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These outcomes show that UC can and has quickly closed deals when both parties actively participate in solutions-oriented bargaining,” the university said in a statement. “Despite UC’s continued outreach, AFSCME has not presented any substantive counterproposals since April 2025. Absent AFSCME’s engagement, the University cannot engage in meaningful negotiations for this critical workforce.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Nov. 8, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12034098/nearly-60000-uc-workers-hit-picket-lines-in-3rd-statewide-strike-in-recent-months\">UPTE-CWA\u003c/a>, which represents 21,000 research and technical professionals across the UC, announced a tentative deal with the university, prompting them to pull out of Monday’s strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064415\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064415\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251117-UCStrike-02-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251117-UCStrike-02-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251117-UCStrike-02-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251117-UCStrike-02-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fredrieka Michael (center), a shuttle operator, strikes alongside patient care and service workers represented by AFSCME Local 3299 at the UCSF Medical Center Mission Bay campus on Nov. 17, 2025, for living wages, affordable health care, housing benefits and safe staffing. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And over the weekend, California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, which had planned a sympathy strike with AFSCME, also came to a tentative agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UC nurses will vote on the tentative agreement this week, and thousands said they still planned to join picket lines off duty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stenhouse said it’s telling that AFSCME workers, who are some of the UC’s lowest-paid, are still negotiating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It says a lot that as we’re here today after a week where we saw two contracts settle, the most economically vulnerable workers are the last ones standing,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/eromero\">\u003cem>Ezra David Romero\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
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"possible": {
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"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"radiolab": {
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},
"rightnowish": {
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"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
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"tagline": "Real stories with killer beats",
"info": "The Snap Judgment radio show and podcast mixes real stories with killer beats to produce cinematic, dramatic radio. Snap's musical brand of storytelling dares listeners to see the world through the eyes of another. This is storytelling... with a BEAT!! Snap first aired on public radio stations nationwide in July 2010. Today, Snap Judgment airs on over 450 public radio stations and is brought to the airwaves by KQED & PRX.",
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"soldout": {
"id": "soldout",
"title": "SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America",
"tagline": "A new future for housing",
"info": "Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
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