Instead of heading into their classrooms Tuesday morning, teachers from The Preuss School UC San Diego and their supporters gathered outside to rally against what they claim are unfair labor practices by the university.
The teachers are represented by the Union Council – American Federation of Teachers (UC-AFT). They have been without a contract since July of last year and allege UC San Diego leaked information and spread misinformation during negotiations.
The Preuss School UC San Diego is a charter school that serves 6th through 12th grade. Most of the students are first-generation college-bound students.
“Most of them come from a low-income background,” said teacher Dr. David Weber. “So we’re trying to serve a very underrepresented population and try to get them to university to hopefully break the cycle of poverty.”
Weber, who is also the chief negotiator for the UC-AFT, said that although the school is overseen by the San Diego Unified School District, its school year is longer.
Unfortunately, he said, their salaries don’t reflect that, and it’s having a negative impact on the teachers and their students.
“We need to be able to attract and retain the best teachers in San Diego, and you can’t do that with a contract that consistently keeps you behind what people could make in San Diego Unified. And so ultimately, we’re hoping to create this school where people want to come and teach and kids want to come and learn,” Weber said.
The strike is scheduled to continue through Friday.
UC San Diego said substitute teachers were brought in to cover employees engaging in the strike and provided NBC 7 with this statement in response to the union’s claims:
The Preuss School UC San Diego received notice from UC-AFT, which represents Preuss teachers, counselors, resource specialists and librarians, of its intent to engage in a strike. UC is committed to bargaining in good faith and making fair proposals reflecting the critical services provided by Preuss faculty. We hope to reach a resolution soon.