Big victory

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teachers strike 16 SOCIALIST ACTION FEBRUARY 1986 OAKLAND, Calif.—On Jan. 31, teachers here voted 1200 to 64 to ratify a contract which, after four long weeks of strike, represented a hard-earned victory for the teachers. At a time when working people are being pressured to give back gains they had won from employers in past years, the teachers have set an example for workers everywhere.

The teachers won all their major demands, with only a few minor con -cessions. The new contract provides for a 20-percent raise over the next three years and an additional raise after this time, which would bring Oakland teachers' salaries and benefit packages to the California average.

The teachers also kept their fully paid health benefits. The Oakland Unified School District had stated throughout the strike that in exchange for the salary increases, the district would limit its share of the teachers' healthcare benefits. This would have forced the teachers to pay for the rising cost of healthcare out of their paychecks. But the teachers refused this "cap" as an unacceptable giveback.

The teachers' union, the Oakland Educational Association (OEA), also won back the 7.5-percent annuity that had been given up under the previous contract for those hired since 1983.

Equally important was the the fact that the district gave up on its demand to include a disclaimer clause in the contract. This clause would have allowed the district to pull out of the agreement in the event of financial difficulties.

The final contract was worked out after both sides agreed to involve a state arbitrator, Judge Tamm, in the negotiations and after State Superintendent of Public Instruction Bill Honig agreed to intercede. Earlier in the week, the OEA had agreed to a compromise proposal made by Oakland Mayor Lionel Wilson. The school board, however, rejected Wilson's proposal, leav -ing the responsibility for dragging the strike into the fourth week squarely on the district's shoulders.

Many felt that the school board's stalling tactics throughout the strike were meant to punish the teachers for their militancy. As one elementary school teacher said, "It's clear to me they're now trying to break the union. They want to wear us down so that no one will ever want to go out on strike."

Indeed the intransigence of the school district and its apparent insensitivity to the massive public support for the strike only increased teachers' feelings of outrage.

This outrage led 800 teachers to take over the Administration Building of the Oakland Unified School District on Jan. 24. Carrying picket signs and loudly chanting, they peacefully installed themselves in offices throughout the four-story building. The takeover, which resulted in the closing of the offices, was seen as a big success by the teachers.

The strike began on Jan. S when the teachers voted 3 to 1 to strike rather than