OEA President, Ismael Armendariz, recently signed an agreement with OUSD severely limiting our power to combat the District’s frequent violations of labor law, aka Unfair Labor Practices (ULPs).

Last summer OEA held a seven-day ULP strike in May 2023 for OUSD’s bad-faith bargaining, and to counter the District filed its own ULP charge against OEA over the strike itself.

In November 2023, the two sides resolved the competing charges with a settlement agreement that handcuffs OEA’s ability to hold ULP strikes. A strong union can strike within a month or two of a new unfair practice by the boss. This new agreement ensures a delay of at least five and a half months before the ability to strike! It’s a deal that only a frequent labor-law breaker like OUSD can love, which is probably why you haven’t heard about it until now. (Details at bit.ly/OEAhandcuffed). We call on OEA leadership to hold an open forum to discuss this agreement and its ramifications on our ability to strike.