Sacramento’s teacher strike could be third in Northern California this month

The looming strike at the Sacramento City Unified School District is only the latest in a series of teacher labor actions taking place in Northern California over the past month.

In the Bay Area, more than 300 members of the Rohnert Park Cotati Educators Association walked out on March 10 after negotiations reached a stand-still over a proposed pay increase.

The strike lasted six days, with teachers returning to work on March 17, according to the Press Democrat. It was the largest labor action in Sonoma County in at least five years, the Press Democrat reported.

Elsewhere in the Bay Area, the Mount Diablo Education Association in Contra Costa County stands poised to strike as well, having gone more than 250 days without a contract, according to the California Teachers Association.

“The overwhelming majority of MDEA members — 92.3% — are demanding that Mt. Diablo Unified School District earnestly engage in discussions with our bargaining team to reach a just and fair contract that ensures that our students will get the education they deserve,” said union President Anita Johnson in a statement. “These members have stated emphatically that they are willing to strike if necessary.”

Union leaders are awaiting a fact-finding report expected to be released March 24. Members have authorized a strike if an agreement is not achieved following the report’s release.

These labor actions are part of a trend over the last two years of workers across the country reaching the point of “just being fed up,” said Steve Smith of the California Labor Federation. The labor federation represents SEIU Local 1021, a classified employee union at the Sacramento City Unified School District that is preparing to strike.

“Workers don’t want to go on strike. Especially in the case of teachers, they’re very committed to their kids,” Smith said. “It’s always a last resort.”

Smith said that the common thread of labor actions has been workers earning less than they should, or not having adequate COVID-19 health and safety protections at work.

“Oftentimes, what we see when a situation comes to the point where workers are going out on strike, their labor is the biggest leverage that they can have in a situation to negotiate a fair deal for themselves and those they serve,” Smith said.

Teachers in recent months have engaged in a number of labor actions related to their school districts’ handling of COVID-19 mask mandates.

Earlier this month, nearly 200 Rocklin Unified School District educators called in sick or took leave to protest the district’s decision to abandon the state-imposed K-12 mask mandate prior Gov. Gavin Newsom relaxing the rules.

In January, teachers at West Contra Costa Unified School District staged a “sickout” to protest for KN95 masks for students, as well as weekly required testing for students and a formalized omicron variant response plan from the district, according to EdSource.

Earlier this year, two Oakland teachers took part in a 20-day hunger strike to protest the planned closure of two schools at the end of the school year, according to EdSource.