Orange Unified Education Association members, fed up with being manipulated, deceived and mistreated for the past few years, held a one-day strike to express their unhappiness with what they consider to be one of the most dictatorial school boards in the state.
Approximately 70 percent of the 1,412 members of OUEA stayed off the job April 27 to participate in the 'Day of Dignity' strike, which affected 47 school sites. With many parents choosing to keep their children at home, school buses reportedly ran nearly empty in many cases.
The strike is the result of abuse and hostility by the district over many years that have created a toxic work environment, say teachers. The last straw for teachers occurred in March, when the district retroactively imposed a 1998-2000 contract without OUEA consent. When the district's negotiators refused to participate in mediation, members left the bargaining table. OUEA has submitted seven contract offers without one counteroffer from the district.
OUEA members Elizabeth Fisher and Karen Esparza attend rally in 93 degree heat.
Among the contract provisions imposed by the district is an 8 percent pay raise for the two-year period, 1998-2000, which teachers consider a farce. In fact, the district is offering a 6.5 percent raise over a two-year period, while directing teachers who attended staff development days to give the money back.
OUEA members, who accepted a pay cut in 1991-92 to stave off bankruptcy for the district, earn far less than teachers in surrounding districts. The imposed contract brings the top salary to $56,560, while top salaries in nearby districts range as high as $72,000.
Debbie Larson chooses picket signs for her school.
The imposed contract also slashes health-care benefits. Teachers had accepted lifetime health benefits in exchange for lower salaries, but now the district is trying to renege on that.
The purpose of the strike was to educate the community about the teachers' working conditions. Because teachers are so unhappy, 25 percent of new teachers leave at the end of their second year. It is estimated that hundreds of teachers, including longtime teachers, may leave the district at the end of this school year.
Sherry Posnick-Goodwin