By Diana Lambert, EdSource
Twin Rivers Unified School District teachers in Sacramento County will go on strike Thursday for the first time in the district’s history.
Schools will remain open, and students will be required to attend, according to the district website. Administrators, support staff and substitutes will supervise students and provide educational activities. Meals and transportation will continue to be provided.
Twin Rivers teachers are striking to improve their pay and benefits. The teachers have asked for a 12% salary increase over two years. The district offered 2.5% the first year and no guarantee for the next year, according to Brittoni Ward, president of Twin Rivers United Educators (TRUE).
For several years, the district has asked for waivers to allow it to use less than the state required 55% of its budget on salaries and benefits for classroom teachers, according to the union.
“Every single day, more than 2,000 of our students are left without a permanent, credentialed teacher in their classroom,” Ward said in a statement. “Teachers are standing up to stop resources from being diverted from our students for far too long.”
The strike announcement came after a fact-finding report from a state panel found that Twin Rivers Unified salaries were comparable to those in similar districts and recommended a cost-of-living increase of 2.3% retroactive to July 1, 2025, and an ongoing 2.4% increase effective in July.
The report also found that health benefits were lagging behind other districts and recommended that Twin Rivers pay a contribution, based on the cost of a Kaiser HMO premium, for each union member and their family until June 20, 2027, unless both parties negotiate an extension.
Fact-finding reports are non-binding, and if either party disagrees with them, negotiations can continue, or a strike can be called.
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