Teachers Will Strike Thursday

A crowded school board meeting on September 24, 2025

After months of negotiations and a state-mandated process attempting to solve the impasse, the United Teachers of Richmond (UTR) announced that the 1,450 educators they represent will begin a strike on Thursday.

Picket lines will begin 45 minutes before first bell at every school site.

Last-Minute Offer

The decision was made after a Monday afternoon meeting where the West Contra Costa School District made an offer that incorporated some recommendations made in a fact-finder’s report completed on Nov. 28.

These included an offer of a 2% raise retroactive to July 1, 2025, and another 1% effective on Jan. 1, 2026. The fact-finder’s report had recommended an offer of 6% over two years. Initially, the district had held its offer to 0% for several months, increasing it to 2% in October.

On Monday, it also offered to increase health benefits from 80% to 85% of Kaiser coverage effective Jan. 1, 2026, and to 90% on Jan. 1, 2027.

The Monday offer also addressed some health and safety demands that it had rejected earlier, including taking steps to provide classrooms with working communication systems and alarms, and with temperatures in the 68 to 76 degree-range. It offered to subsidize up to 10 teachers in getting certified as education specialists in special education.

Not Enough to Stabilize Staffing Crisis

UTR President Francisco Ortiz wrote that the offer was rejected. “Their offer does not provide a solution that will stabilize the staffing crisis in WCCUSD or provide the schools our students deserve.”

Teachers have protested frequently at school board meetings this year about the burden placed on teachers by vacant teaching positions because the district does not recruit or retain enough teachers.

UTR members say that WCCUSD offers lower wages and benefits than other districts, making the district less attractive at a time when teachers are in high demand. This creates instability for students because teachers leave when they get better offers, the union has said.

“No student should walk into a classroom wondering who their teacher will be tomorrow — or whether there will be one at all,” Ortiz said in his email announcing the strike. “The growing vacancy and turnover crisis in WCCUSD harms students every single day.”

Losing 200 to 300 Teachers Each Year

At a Nov. 20 UTR-sponsored Town Hall in Kensington, UTR’s Ortiz said WCCUSD has been losing 200 to 300 teachers each year for the past five years. The district has about 1,500 teachers and 70 current vacancies, while the neighboring Mt. Diablo school district has about the same number of teachers and only nine vacancies, he said.

“This is about our students’ futures – nothing less,” Ortiz wrote.

“Our students deserve teachers who can build relationships that last beyond a few weeks or months,” he continued. "They deserve stability — not someday, but now."

“We will return to our classrooms the moment the district agrees to the conditions that stabilize our schools and protect the education our students deserve,” Ortiz concluded.

Superintendent’s Video Statement

In a video made available Monday, WCCUSD Superintendent Cheryl Cotton said that if there is a teacher strike, all schools will remain open. Meals will be served to students who attend school or made available for pickup if students are absent from school. She said learning activities will take place “even if they are different” from what students usually do.

Serving lunch in a school cafeteria

Cotton noted that the district reached a tentative agreement last week with Teamsters 856, which represents about 1,500 district employees ranging from cafeteria staff and custodians to school secretaries, electricians, and occupational therapists. It was expected that Teamsters would vote on the agreement this week.

She said WCCUSD is in a very challenging financial situation and needs to cut about $7 million from its budget this year. Any teacher raise makes it harder to cut the amount needed to stabilize the budget, Cotton said.

What To Do During Strike?

Cotton said families will receive information from the district about how to enroll their families online in independent study during the strike.

Teachers asked families to support their strike by not attending or participating in school, and by writing to the school board. They invited families to join picket lines and teacher rallies once the strike starts.