Public schools are the backbone of our communities. Our students deserve schools that are adequately staffed, clean and safe, with engaging curriculum, robust programming, and comprehensive services.
To achieve this vision, conditions in California must radically change. We face annual budget cuts and layoffs while corporations and billionaires make record profits. We see attacks on free speech and immigrant communities while OUSD targets pro-Palestine teachers and closes programs for immigrant students. These circumstances—and the cost of living that outpaces district pay raises—spur the high turnover rate depriving Oakland students of experienced educators.
As public educators, we have been on our heels for decades in a defensive battle against attacks on our schools. To turn the tide, we must go on offense: instead of struggling to maintain the status quo, we must fight for the material learning conditions our students deserve. This will require us to break out of the narrow framework of local bargaining, to coordinate statewide action with other unions and anyone who shares our commitment to quality public schools and services for all working people.
OEA can meet the moment—but only if we pursue radical change.
Drastically improve educational conditions
- We must fight for the learning conditions our students need, according to the best research: maximum class size of 15, more student support, more teacher prep time, and quality facilities. These are among the conditions OEA committed to fight for in 2007. tinyurl.com/theOEAvision
- School workers and families must have a meaningful voice in policy.
- We should embrace liberatory, teacher-driven pedagogy centered around social transformation. OEA must fight for the adoption of curricula that centers the struggles of oppressed people, and must resist right-wing efforts to sanitize history and current events — especially when they relate to our students’ lives.
Coordinate a statewide movement to tax corporations
- To pay for the learning conditions students need, we must “chop from the top” not only in OUSD, but in California. The combined wealth of the state’s approximately 200 billionaires exceeds 2 trillion dollars. It’s time to tax and redistribute that wealth produced by workers to radically increase funding for public schools and services and to end the cycle of cuts to school districts, cities, and counties.
- To win this, we must make the We Can’t Wait campaign real, one that unites educators and workers statewide in coordinated action to upend the status quo. Regular union members should set our own goals and strategy to drive the campaign, including joint strikes, “official” or not.
A Stronger, More Democratic Union
- We must rebuild democracy and transparency in our union by ensuring members have a meaningful voice and full information, and by respecting Rep Council’s authority under the Bylaws to approve actions and policy.
- We’ll be strongest when bargaining is both “big” and transparent: bargaining sessions open to all union members, robust rank-and-file input on proposals, and systems to obtain feedback from members before making significant compromises.
- We must organize regular general membership and cluster meetings to organize from the bottom up, reduce or eliminate the number of union officers on full-time release from the classroom, and unite with classified staff to end the district’s divide-and-conquer tactics and fight for better conditions for everyone.
- OEA needs to assert political independence from the Democratic Party and CTA. Our union dues should be invested in strike funds and organizing, not super PACs.
Fight for Racial and Economic Justice and against Imperialism
- Beneficial programs like restorative justice are constantly on the chopping block. To end this, we must change OUSD’s spending priorities and California’s insufficient funding
- The labor movement has always been most powerful when it fights for the broad interests of working people. Together with parent and community groups, our union must continue to fight for common-good demands that strengthen our entire community.
We need all of us to make it happen.
Since 2019, our group’s members have been at the forefront of bottom-up organizing in OEA. Our work includes:
- founding OEA for Palestine, leading the 2023 Palestine teach in, and ongoing work to divest CalSTRS from militarism
- strong participation in the OEA Rapid Response Team
- organizing solidarity schools to support the 2023 strike and in anticipation of a strike in 2026
- leading the organizing against school closures, including the 125-day occupation at Parker School in 2022
- forming an OEA and longshore workers union alliance in 2022 that shut down the Port and OUSD for a day to fight privatization
Our union is strongest when regular members work together to defend and improve our schools. Most ERC members are longtime reps and all have organized at our sites so our colleagues are informed and engaged.
We need our movement to grow and we cordially invite you to join us! We need ALL union members to engage with the necessary work of community and union organizing. Are you ready to join the struggle to transform public education? Reach out to us at educatorsforradicalchange.org/contact
