Schools
Oakland Teachers Strike: New Talks, No Agreement
Talks are expected to continue over the weekend in hopes of reaching an accord before Monday.
OAKLAND, CA — The head of the union that represents the Oakland Unified School District's 3,000 striking teachers said late Friday afternoon that he will now participate in contract negotiations in hopes of jump-starting talks.
Oakland Education President Keith Brown said at a news conference that "nothing much" happened in negotiations between the union and the school district that resumed at 9 a.m. on Friday and "there was very little movement."
Brown said, "I will intervene and see what I can do to get the process moving."
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He said, "I need to get involved in the process for the benefit of the community."
Brown declined to answer many questions about the negotiations but school district spokesman John Sasaki said earlier on Friday that the talks would continue into late in the day and that if an agreement isn't reached the two sides will continue negotiating over the weekend in hopes of reaching an agreement before Monday.
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The strike began on Thursday after two years of failed negotiations between the union and the school district and is the first multi-day walkout by Oakland teachers since 1996, when they went on strike for more than two months.
Teachers staged a one-day strike on April 29, 2010, to protest stalled contract talks and the school board's decision to impose a contract on the union.
The teachers' union is seeking a 12 percent pay raise over three years and the district previously offered a 5 percent raise over three years.
But on Wednesday the district made a new offer of 8.5 percent over four years.
However, Brown said that's still not enough to meet the union's demand for a living wage that addresses the high cost of living in Oakland.
Brown said Friday "was in many ways a good day because our picket lines were bigger than on Thursday and our midday rally was packed."
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