We have entered a new phase of the struggle to positively transform public education. The wildcat strike on Friday, March 24th, organized by Oakland High School teachers and the Rank & File Caucus, involved educators and students from 15 schools.
Articles
CTA and OEA President Attempt to Override Rep Council
UPDATE: On April 10, 2023, OEA Rep Council approved a resolution that “OEA Rep Council protests the advice of CTA and denounces the action of the OEA interim president to override the following mandate...
State of the Union: Democracy or Bureaucracy?
Our union is democratic in form but not in content. We have elections, and every member gets a ballot. Yet only about 30% of members participate or are even aware of OEA elections. Democracy requires that the majority of members be informed and actively engaged in what the union is doing. And real democracy means … Continue reading State of the Union: Democracy or Bureaucracy?
The State of Bargaining
We are less than three months away from the end of the school year, and our union is not in a strong bargaining position, to say the least. Our “big bargaining” strategy has helped create a detailed and well thought-out proposal, but it has not pressured the district in any way, as evidenced by OUSD’s … Continue reading The State of Bargaining
OEA Bargaining with OUSD
Summary of OEA’s Initial Proposal Compensation: 22.97% raise in 1st year (retroactive from Nov 2022), with a possibility to reopen negotiation over salary in subsequent years; no pay plateaus in salary schedule (currently salary stagnates in years 12-20) Class size: 20 max for TK-3 in high-needs schools, 29 for secondary high-needs Nurses: 1 or 0.5 … Continue reading OEA Bargaining with OUSD
An Open Letter to OEA Leaders and Members in the Interest of a Stronger Union
We are writing out of concern that not all members who have faced District retaliation lately are being fairly represented and that this failure is part of a pattern of actions—and inaction—that prioritize OEA collaboration with OUSD while ignoring Rep Council decisions to fight for members.
Tough Lessons that Led to OEA’s Vision for Quality Public Education
How the 1995-96 OEA strike inspired a campaign to Redistribute Corporate Wealth (RCW), and why RCW needed a vision for high-quality public education
Teacher Compensation Analysis
Compiled below are some data about our compensation in comparison with other districts and our bosses.
Let’s Revive Rep Council
Picture this — a Zoom room full of black boxes, disconnected from one another, sitting in silence. Could this be one of our classes in the difficult days of distance learning? This is actually what OEA’s Representative Council has degenerated into. The meeting structures imposed in 2022-23 have reduced Rep Council — the only body … Continue reading Let’s Revive Rep Council
Big Bargaining vs Open Bargaining
Our contract has expired, and OEA is currently bargaining with OUSD. As we all know, pay is way too low, which contributes to the high teacher turnover (about 20% yearly), and the raise we won from going on strike in 2019 has not even kept up with inflation.
Oakland Rank and File Caucus 