The Abridged version:
- After a mediator’s report failed to produce an agreement, educators in Twin Rivers Unified are going ahead with a strike starting Thursday.
- This is the first strike in the school district’s history.
- District officials say their plan is to keep schools open amid a strike.
- The teachers’ union said the mediator’s recommendation for a 2.3% pay increase this school year was below the district’s current offer of 2.5%. Teachers have asked for a 7.5% increase.
Teachers in Twin Rivers Unified are going forward with a strike planned for Thursday, after a state mediator’s report failed to produce any kind of agreement with the district.
“Teachers are standing up to stop resources from being diverted from our students for far too long,” Brittoni Ward, teacher union president, said in a statement Monday night.
Officials at Twin Rivers Unified plan to continue operations, according to communication with families sent last week.
“If a strike occurs, District schools will remain open so students can continue learning in a safe, supportive environment with access to meals, programs, and services they rely on each day,” district communication staff wrote.
There are about 25,000 students in the North Sacramento school district.
One of several striking groups
Twin Rivers United Educators is one of more than 30 teachers’ unions in a campaign spearheaded by the California Teachers Association. The goal, the statewide union president has said, is to push local school boards to act as well as state-level officials.
The so-called “We Can’t Wait” movement has spurred strikes or threats of strikes in school districts across California, including a few in the Sacramento region.
Teachers in Natomas Unified voted overwhelming last month to approve a strike. They are waiting for their own mediator report sometime this week. If that fails to draw a bridge between the union and the district, there may be two simultaneous teacher strikes in the Sacramento area.
Twin Rivers schools to stay open
In the most recent message to families, Twin Rivers officials said classes will continue this week.
Provided meals and afterschool programs will carry on, too. Almost 90% of students in the district qualify for free or reduced-price meals, according to state Department of Education data.
Trustees last month passed a provision allowing Superintendent Steve Martinez and administrators to hire substitutes in place of the striking teachers. The district may offer the substitutes up to $600 a day and reimbursements for commutes longer than 15 miles.
Report ‘makes a strike inevitable’
A neutral mediator has met with union and district representatives since mid-February, to hear both sides present their case.
In a non-binding report released Monday, arbitrator Gina Roccanova laid out her recommendations for a contract.
Union leaders say the report fell short of real compromise.
“Instead of bringing the parties closer together, the fact-finder’s report makes a strike inevitable,” the teachers wrote in a response letter.
The top sticking points were salaries and benefits. In their response, the union said Roccanova’s recommendation for a 2.3% pay increase this school year was below the district’s current offer of 2.5%.
Teachers have asked for a 7.5% increase.
The teachers are also seeking fully paid health care coverage.
Roccanova notes that Twin Rivers is “slightly behind” its neighbors when it comes to benefits. However, she warned that agreeing to cover employees and their families with no cap comes with significant risk, given the ever-escalating costs of health care.
Union leaders rejected her middle-ground approach to benefits, as well as her recommendations not to add provisions such as limitations on artificial intelligence usage and class size reductions.
Savannah Kuchar is a reporter covering education. She came to Sacramento to be a part of the Abridged team and contribute to a crucial local news source.