Madera Teachers Rally

Teachers and parents rally Oct. 17 at the intersection of Arlington Boulevard and Madera Drive.

Seeking support from parents in stalled negotiations with the West Contra Costa Unified School District, about 30 Madera Elementary School teachers and supporters held a rally before school Friday on nearby Arlington Boulevard.

They stood in two groups, one on each side of a crosswalk at Madera Drive, holding signs and chanting in response to a leader with a bullhorn. Some cars honked in support as they drove by in the early morning fog.

How Can Parents Help Avoid a Strike?

As the morning drop-off continued, parents passed out a flyer posing the question, “What can we do as parents/caregivers to help avoid a potential strike?”

Teachers passed out a flyer summing up the positions of their union, the United Teachers of Richmond (UTR).

Today was the third consecutive Friday that Madera teachers rallied to raise parent awareness that negotiations with the district are failing and a strike is a real possibility.

UTR announced Tuesday night that nearly 1,400 educators represented by the union had voted to authorize a strike. The final tally showed that 99% of teachers cast ballots and 98.4% of those voted to authorize a strike.

A strike could happen as early as mid-November if no agreement is reached.

For details on the timeline, see our previous post, Teachers OK Strike.

If there is a strike, it will be the first in the district’s history.

“We Want to Support Teachers”

After Friday’s rally, Madera parent Caitlin Stone said the teachers’ contract expired in June.

“They have been asking for a fair raise and we just want to support them in any way we can,” Stone said.

Rebecca Saltzman, a parent who also serves on the El Cerrito City Council, said schools are important to families and “teachers are the most important part of that.” She added: “They have a crisis with being able to hire more teachers and that’s going to get worse if they don’t pay them a living wage.”

A Madera teacher who did not want to be named echoed that sentiment.

“If you pay almost the lowest in the Bay Area, the best teachers move on unless they’re invested in the community. And most new teachers can’t afford to live in this community. I find it sad.”

Superintendent’s Request to Pay $750/Day

Teachers and parents also talked about Superintendent Cheryl Cotton’s request to the school board to authorize $750 per day for substitute teachers who take over classrooms if there is a strike. That is triple the $250-per-day posted rate for substitute teachers. After some discussion at the special school board meeting on Oct. 13, the board approved a strike substitute teacher rate of $550 per day.

One teacher at the rally said the superintendent’s willingness to pay $750 a day to substitutes shows that: “The money is there. You’re willing to throw down – just ballparking – a half million dollars a day to hire subs in a district with 1,400 teachers. But you’re not willing to pay the teachers who work in classrooms.”

Madera parent Shuyi Pai said the district should “definitely not” pay a high wage to substitutes to work during a teacher strike.

“Give the teachers we have at least double pay or triple pay,” she said. “We have great teachers here.”

Parent Flyer

The flyer that was passed out among parents on Friday said that teachers are fighting for resources for special education students, sustainable workloads, better classroom conditions, and a salary and benefits increase. It asked parents to write to school board members and to sign an on-line petition.

Livable El Cerrito did not receive any replies on Friday morning to requests for comment from the superintendent, school board president, or district communications director.