Oakland teachers plan one-day strike on May 1, claim unfair labor conditions
Parents and students in the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) are once again bracing for disruption, as teachers voted to authorize a one-day strike scheduled for May 1.
Thursday's strike, which falls on International Workers' Day, is being held in protest of what the Oakland Education Association (OEA) describes as "unfair labor practices" by the district. OUSD says schools will remain open on Thursday and there will be staff on site.
The OEA, which represents approximately 3,000 public school educators, announced the walkout over the weekend, citing the district's failure to provide required financial information related to recent budget cuts and layoffs.
OUSD has been grappling with a multi-million-dollar deficit and in March, issued around 100 layoff notices.
"The District has a legal obligation to provide this information, which is needed to enable educators to understand how proposals would affect teachers, District and classroom stability, and the community we serve," the union said in a statement released Sunday.
Thursday's work stoppage will mark the fourth teacher strike in six years. Teachers held a seven-day strike in 2023, a one-day strike in 2022 and a seven-day strike in 2019.
While the looming strike presents another logistical challenge for families, many parents said they stand firmly behind Oakland educators.
"OUSD should be ashamed of creating a school environment where kids can't count on school taking place. My kids are 6th grader and 9th grader now," said parent Rachel Kinnon. "They don't believe that school will be there for them, from one week to the next because you never know when there's going to be a strike."
Kinnon, like others, expressed frustration with the instability of the school calendar.
"We need to be able to count on the schools to be open on school days so that we know where our kids are, and we don't need to interrupt our jobs. We don't need to change our lives around when our kids should be at school learning," she told CBS News Bay Area.
Despite the inconvenience, Kinnon said she remains committed to supporting educators.
"Luckily, my kids are old enough that I can keep them home. I would never cross a strike. I support the teachers," she said. "When they were in elementary school and the strike went on for days and days, that was really hard. It's almost an impossible thing to put a family through."
Another OUSD parent, Jme McLean, said she trusts the educators' judgment.
"I'm not as caught up in all of the details, but I do trust our teachers, and know that if they're considering doing something as drastic as this, that it is important and something that we should all pay attention to," McLean said.
However, not everyone agrees with the union's stance. District 4 School Board Director Mike Hutchinson said he is confused by the strike announcement, arguing that all relevant financial documents have already been made available.
"All of our budget documents are public information. They are publicly posted on our district website, as required by law. And so, I would just point out that there's been very general claims made and nobody has been able to say specifically what document they have not been given," Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson also expressed frustration over the lack of communication in the days leading up to the planned strike.
"It is offensive that we are four days away from a strike and there's been no communication about anything. So, what's supposed to happen on Thursday?" he asked.
Amid the conflict, the OUSD school board has scheduled a special meeting for Tuesday night in an effort to work with the union and avoid the strike.
Some parents, including Kinnon, said the district's ongoing instability may push families to leave the school system altogether.
"OUSD is shooting itself in the foot. They're doing all this stuff that's breaking trust and breaking any support that they might have had with families," she said.
On Friday, the district sent a note to families, saying that schools would remain open in the event of a work stoppage.
"We strongly believe these pending items are not a reason to disrupt student learning or the routines of our families-especially given our joint agreement to exhaust all other steps before considering a strike. The threat of a work stoppage at this critical time of year is deeply concerning. It risks interrupting students' education and their participation in important end-of-year learning, celebrations, and milestone events," OUSD said in part.
"We understand that the constant uncertainty surrounding a possible strike creates real challenges for families. While we may not always agree, we believe in working through our differences with respect and in ways that put students first. We are committed to building a better path forward," the district went on to say.
