It was a sight to behold when teachers from the West Contra Costa Unified School District showed up to work recently wearing red in a recent display of solidarity as their union representatives began their contract negotiations with the district.
January 29 marked the day where the United Teachers of Richmond (UTR) – a labor union within the school district representing and advocating for the numerous teachers, counselors, nurses, and many other faculty members – presented their first proposal to the school board concerning their collective bargaining agreement.
The “We Can’t Wait” campaign is built across multiple unions and was created to fight for the schools that students deserve, according to leaders of the teachers’ union. The most recent demonstration of “Wear Red for Ed” was just one of the many movements that have occurred as workers continue their fight towards a better learning environment.
Sam Cleare, the chair of the UTR’s organizing committee and the one in charge of movements within the union, provided a list of demands that would be included in the initial proposal to the district.
“More thorough campus inspections, working to close the wage gap of teachers, along with fully staffing schools district-wide,” Cleare said. “Simply providing students with the things they need and the things they deserve.”
In an interview with The Advocate union members explained that their goal above all else is to help the families of the district. The UTR has made it their mission to work as a united front to provide the best schools possible for their communities and these demands would only help in obtaining that final goal.
With the start of this discussion over the legal contract dawning, union members are anticipating a long negotiation process covering the wages, work hours and most importantly the security and conditions of their jobs.
Many educators felt that perhaps the biggest problem impacting both teachers and students throughout the district is the ongoing shortage in permanent teachers. In some cases, students have been left without a credentialed teacher in their classroom for the majority of the school year – sometimes even spanning across multiple school years without a stable teacher.
Susan King, a UTR representative for Montalvin Manor Elementary, explained that the lack of teachers has had an especially negative impact for special education teachers and students.
“Speech and Special Education teachers are facing significant challenges related to heavy workloads and a lack of support in the classroom,” said King. “Many are overwhelmed with caseloads that are too large, which makes it difficult to provide the level of individualized attention and support that students need.”
To combat this, the district’s solution has been to reassign staff members working in central office positions, such as prep teachers and literacy coaches, into these classrooms to fill those vacant roles.
However, Ethan Sorscher, a teacher and other UTR representative at Montalvin Manor Elementary, felt that the district’s solution did not address some of the long lasting issues that have been present within the district.
“This is a move that may make sense in the short-term,” said Sorscher. “But does nothing to address the long-term failure of our district to recruit and retain teachers.”
This failure in providing students with qualified teachers has also brought up legal troubles for the district. In January 2024, after a complaint against WCCUSD was filed, the district was called out on their violation of a part of the Williams v. California settlement – which states any school district in California must correct any teacher vacancies within 30 days. The school board was instructed to right the wrongs caused by the teacher shortage and begin on long-term solutions to address the problem.
“Under previous administrations, our district has repeatedly engaged in bad-faith negotiating and misled our negotiating team,” Sorscher said. “Hopefully, the new district administration will negotiate our collective bargaining agreement in good faith so that we can reach an agreement that prioritizes students and communities.”
The agreements listed in the final version of the upcoming collective bargaining agreement have the potential to shape a lot of how schools district-wide will look in the future – especially in terms of overall stability.
Union representatives explained that with unsafe campuses and unsteady staffing positions,the district seems to, once again, be violating the Williams settlement. In Cleare’s own words; “We are not yet at a point where we can just sit and wish for the best. It’s up to the community to unite and push for better conditions.”
Reached on Wednesday, Feb. 5, the district did not respond to the request for comment on the situation by the appointed deadline of Monday, Feb. 10. There are still many unanswered questions about teacher vacancies, the upkeep of campuses, funding and wage gaps that are dependent on the outcome of the final contract. It’s difficult to tell when they’ll find their answers, but the result is one many are looking forward to.