Across West Contra Costa Unified School District, staff, faculty and school families were preparing for the planned staff strike Thursday, which will affect 56 different schools.That includes the school situated on the Contra Costa College campus, Middle College High School. 

The United Teachers of Richmond union and the Teamsters union announced they will go on strike Thursday, Dec. 4. Non-teacher WCCUSD employees are expected to support them by also stopping their work. At least 3,000 employees are likely to be on strike from the district’s 56 campuses, leaving classrooms to be staffed by administrators and substitute teachers. 

Teachers at Middle College High School (MCHS) will be joining the strike on Thursday. The administration at MCHS has announced that students will be following an adjusted schedule via asynchronous, in-person learning.

 “For me, I feel very sad that it has come to a point where the teachers in the district have to strike,” said Max Stemmle, a junior at MCHS. “While it is slightly inconvenient to me due to the class cancellations, I and many of my classmates fully support the strike as the teachers in our district deserve better.  

“I’m disappointed in WCCUSD for their response to the strike as it has been very disrespectful (in my opinion) to the union,” Stemmle said. ”Overall, I hope the district listens to the union’s demands so this strike can end soon, otherwise they will be the ones responsible for a continued loss of education in the district.”

CCC administrators encouraged dual enrollment instructors to move their classes online during the strike.

The teachers’ union has several demands, including a 10% salary increase over two years, 100% coverage of health benefits, class size reductions and support for international teachers. 

The union has been negotiating with the district for nearly ten months without reaching a resolution. After talks reached a dead end, a third party stepped in to mediate by holding meetings, gathering information, and conducting formal hearings.

The district initially offered no salary increase, citing budget shortages as the reason it could not meet the union’s demands. But last October, it introduced a new proposal that included a 2% salary increase and raising benefits coverage from 80% to 85%. The union, however, insisted on a 10% raise.

At the Nov. 18 hearing, both sides presented their cases to a three-person panel with representatives from the district, the union and the California Public Employment Relations Board. The neutral panelist released a report on Friday, recommending a gradual 6% salary increase over one year, and an increase in health benefits coverage from 85% in 2026 to 90% in 2027.

Francisco Ortiz, president of UTR, expressed frustration regarding the negotiations in interviews with news outlets. 

“It feels like educators have been sounding the alarm for years,” Ortiz told CBS News. “We’ve been in negotiations for 10 months, and there hasn’t been any movement by the district that really prioritizes stable schooling or stable conditions for our students.

Ortiz told KQED that the union views the strike as part of a broader effort to improve educational conditions in West Contra Costa. He said that the district’s current approach is not meeting students’ needs and that educators are pushing for better pay, stronger health coverage, and smaller class sizes so teachers can afford to stay in the community and provide more stable support for students.

“A strike will not fix these problems. A strike takes teachers out of classrooms, harms relationships, and can make it harder to keep strong educators. It will not improve our budget and may deepen our deficit. And it will interrupt essential services for students with special needs—students who rely on us the most,” Cotton wrote in an email sent to school families about the UTR’s recent strike announcement.  “I understand why people are frustrated, but a strike does not solve the challenges we face and may make them harder to overcome.”

While Superintendent Cotton argued that striking would be an overall detriment to students’ success, UTR has claimed that the standard of education for schools is being advocated for in these strikes, too.

The district also clarified that participation will be recorded as an unjustified absence under school regulations and urged parents to discuss the matter with their children to ensure they can exercise their right to express themselves safely. The administration emphasized that no school staff member other than family members is permitted to encourage students to skip school.

Schools have informed parents of calls for students to walk out of some high schools in protest against the teachers’ strike. The administration affirmed its respect for students’ right to express themselves, but stressed that this action is not supported by the schools and that students walking out puts their safety at risk because the school cannot protect them off campus and police may intervene if dangers arise. 

The Richmond City Council approved an emergency allocation of $50,000 to support families who may be affected by the West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) strike expected to begin this week.

Martinez said the goal is to help children and families who might suddenly lose access to school-day supervision, meals, and support services during the strike. He noted that waiting for the next regular meeting would delay the city’s ability to respond quickly to community needs.

With thousands of students potentially affected, Richmond officials said they have a responsibility to prepare short-term support options for families who may suddenly have no place to send their children during school hours.