Fresh hell for parents as another major CA teachers’ union votes for strikes

Another major teachers’ union is set to bring a wave of misery to California — a week after strikes in San Francisco brought the city to a halt.

Oakland Unified School District is set to hit the picket line as soon as next week after overwhelmingly voting in favor of a walkout at the end of last week.

The education association said 91% of participating members backed the move, accusing the district of failing to make meaningful movement on salary demands and classroom conditions.

It comes just days after San Francisco signed a deal worth $183 million with teachers following a week without classes, with sweeping layoffs expected to come.

Union leaders say educators in Oakland rank among the lowest paid in the Bay Area and have pledged to fight for a contract that delivers “safe, stable, racially-just schools.”

At the center of the dispute is money — and whether the district has any left to give.

A recent report found the district lost $9.4 million in state funding in the 2024–25 fiscal year due to declining enrollment and warned it is teetering near insolvency.

Officials argue even modest raises would strain reserves required to keep the district solvent, estimating a 1% salary bump could cost as much as $5 million.

The union initially pushed for a 14% pay hike before lowering its ask to 12%. A state-appointed panel deemed the higher figure unrealistic but suggested a 9% to 10% increase over two years.

The panel also criticized the district’s reliance on outside consultants, noting more than $316,000 was paid to a single contractor last year.

District leaders insist they are seeking a compromise that rewards educators while keeping the system afloat. Neither side is bound to adopt the panel’s recommendations.

If union leaders pull the trigger, a strike could begin as soon as midweek.

The Oakland showdown comes on the heels of the historic walkout in San Francisco, where educators with the United Educators of San Francisco went on strike for the first time in 50 years.

That strike shuttered all 120 campuses in the San Francisco Unified School District, leaving roughly 50,000 students out of class as teachers demanded a 9% raise and fully funded family health benefits.

District officials there argued they were grappling with a roughly $100 million deficit and could not meet the union’s salary demands — a financial standoff that mirrors the tensions now boiling over in Oakland.

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