Stockton Teachers Overwhelmingly Approve Strike With 97 Percent Voting In Favor

STOCKTON (CBS13) — Stockton teachers voted to authorize a strike with a clear majority, but the move will not take place this month.

With 88 percent of members casting a vote, 97 percent approved the move on Tuesday.

A strike vote for Stockton teachers will be more of a symbolic gesture to let the Stockton Unified School District know teachers are serious if they don't get what they see as a fair contract.

Stockton Unified has more than 1,700 teachers, and is the largest district in San Joaquin County.

On Monday, both the district and teacher's union will begin the fact-finding process that determines if there can be a contract compromise. A three-person panel made up of a district representative, a teachers union member and a neutral state mediator. The process takes usually 30 days.

If the school district imposes its last best offer and teachers reject it, then teachers can go on strike.

If that happens, teachers will be out of class and can picket on the sidewalks during school hours. The district will be allowed to bring in credentialed substitute teachers.

There is no timeline for how long a strike may last, but during the strike, teachers will not be paid. Also, teachers' CalSTRS services are interrupted during the strike, and teachers lose their retirement investment payments.

The last time the Stockton teachers went on strike was in 1990. That strike lasted nine days.