{"id":200964,"date":"2026-03-02T19:48:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T19:48:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/200964\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T19:48:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T19:48:06","slug":"wave-of-california-teacher-strikes-is-no-coincidence-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/200964\/","title":{"rendered":"Wave of California teacher strikes \u2018is no coincidence\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story<\/a> was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up<\/a> for their newsletters.<\/p>\n

If your child\u2019s teacher hasn\u2019t threatened to go on strike recently, they probably will soon.<\/p>\n

Thousands of California K-12 teachers have walked off their jobs or voted to strike in the past few months, as part of a strategic, statewide effort by the California Teachers Association to boost salaries and benefits \u2014 and get the public\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll these districts going out on strike \u2014 it\u2019s not a coincidence at all,\u201d said David Goldberg, president of the California Teachers Association, the state\u2019s largest teachers union. \u201cEverywhere in the state there are people with unmet needs. The conditions have been ripe for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

San Francisco teachers went on strike for four days this month. West Contra Costa teachers went on strike in December. San Diego<\/a>, Woodland, Apple Valley, Duarte and Madera teachers planned to strike in the past few months but reached a settlement at the last minute<\/a>. Teachers in Los Angeles, Oakland, Dublin, West Sacramento, Twin Rivers and Natomas<\/a> have voted overwhelmingly to strike. In Berkeley, Soquel and other districts, teachers are holding rallies and appear headed for strike votes.<\/p>\n

Ten local teachers unions under the umbrella of the California Teachers Association worked for years to align their contracts so they\u2019d expire at the same time: June 30, 2025. The idea, Goldberg said, was to trigger a wave of negotiations and potential strikes to garner public attention and flex political muscle. Teachers unions from at least a dozen other districts have also joined the effort, even though they weren\u2019t part of the original cohort.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a strong union with a lot of resources, and we\u2019re taking advantage of that,\u201d Goldberg said, whose union represents about 310,000 teachers. \u201cTeachers are learning from each other, and getting some clarity on how to win resources for public schools.\u201d<\/p>\n

Public and political priorities<\/p>\n

Teacher contracts vary by district, but the demands are similar: higher salaries, better benefits and amenities that affect student well-being, such as sanctuary protection for immigrants.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Considering the ever-escalating cost of living in California, the demands are not a surprise, said Julia Koppich, an education consultant who specializes in labor-management relations.<\/p>\n

Teachers in expensive cities like San Francisco often can\u2019t afford to live near their jobs, she said, noting that starting teachers in San Francisco Unified earn about $80,000. San Francisco\u2019s starting police officers, by comparison, make about $120,000.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a frustration for the teaching profession for decades, she said. But districts don\u2019t have much control over their revenues, and substantial increases in spending would have to come from the state, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be sure, the issue of marshaling sufficient resources is a district conversation about teacher worth,\u201d Koppich said. \u201cBut, ultimately, it\u2019s a state discussion about public and political priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

District financial hardships<\/p>\n

At the same time that teachers are demanding more money, school districts are facing financial hardships. Declining enrollment, especially in urban districts, has meant half-empty classrooms and less money from the state, which funds schools based on how many students show up every day. Closing schools is the obvious answer, but that\u2019s proven to be deeply unpopular<\/a> and few school boards appear willing to take that step.<\/p>\n

Another financial challenge has been the end of pandemic relief money. California schools received<\/a> more than $23.4 billion in one-time grants intended to help students recover from pandemic-related learning loss. State and federal authorities advised schools to spend the money on temporary tutors, after-school and summer programs and other short-term expenses. But some districts, including Los Angeles Unified<\/a>, San Diego Unified<\/a> and San Francisco Unified<\/a>, used some of their funds to increase teacher pay or hire permanent staff, which they\u2019re now struggling to pay for after the grant money ended.<\/p>\n

So even though the state has increased K-12 school funding<\/a> the past few years, some districts are financially strapped. It\u2019s unclear whether they can afford teachers\u2019 demands for higher salaries or more generous benefits, said Marguerite Roza, director of the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University.<\/p>\n

The California Teachers Association initially coordinated with 10 district unions to align their contracts to expire on the same date:<\/p>\n

San Diego Unified<\/p>\n

Anaheim Union High School District<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Unified<\/p>\n

San Francisco Unified<\/p>\n

Oakland Unified<\/p>\n

Berkeley Unified<\/p>\n

West Contra Costa Unified<\/p>\n

Sacramento City Unified<\/p>\n

Twin Rivers Unified<\/p>\n

Natomas Unified<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Unified, for example, gave its teachers 5% raises plus a $2,000 one-time stipend and a $500 bonus. The district\u2019s nurses, who are also represented by the union, got $5,000 stipends.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe unions are saying, \u2018We know you have an ATM back there. If you were nice, you\u2019d push the buttons,\u2019 \u201d Roza said. But districts\u2019 money is tight, she said, \u201cso we\u2019re at a standoff.\u201d<\/p>\n

If districts agree to teachers\u2019 demands, cuts will have to come from somewhere \u2014 most likely from programs considered nonessential, such as sports, electives, advanced placement classes and other offerings, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It could also mean staff layoffs. Tutors, classroom aides and newer teachers would be the most vulnerable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Those cuts would harm low-income students the most, Roza said, because they\u2019re more likely to rely on special school programs and attend schools with newer teachers<\/a>. Low-income students are also more likely to be affected by a strike, she said, because families typically have fewer options for child care and those students are more likely to suffer from academic disruptions.<\/p>\n

School boards need to stand up for those students, she said, and do a better job negotiating with teachers unions. That entails more transparency about finances and a willingness to close under-used schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so irresponsible to erode services for vulnerable students because you don\u2019t have a spine,\u201d Roza said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018Kids as leverage\u2019<\/p>\n

Lance Christensen, vice president of education policy at the California Policy Center, said California should get rid of teachers unions altogether. Teachers deserve higher salaries, he said, but the teachers union does not always act in the interests of students.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The union devotes too much time to defending incompetent teachers, he said, and strikes are harmful to students and families. He also said the California Teachers Association has a political stranglehold on Sacramento that \u201covershadows every conversation in the Legislature, even if it\u2019s not about education.\u201d<\/p>\n

He noted that charter schools and private schools are rarely unionized, and sometimes have better outcomes than traditional public schools. A handful of other states don\u2019t allow teachers to collectively bargain, and at least 35 don\u2019t allow teachers unions to strike.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe union uses kids as leverage,\u201d said Christensen, who ran for state superintendent of public instruction in 2022. \u201cRight now, CTA is the biggest evil in California education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next steps in San Francisco<\/p>\n

In San Francisco, parent Meredith Dodson said she\u2019s relieved the strike is over. Although most parents support teachers and believe they deserve better compensation, the strike was stressful\u00a0 for families and disrupted learning for thousands of students.<\/p>\n

The $183 million settlement includes raises and improved benefits for teachers, which the district plans to pay for by draining its reserve funds<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Parents now are bracing for the inevitable cuts. The district\u2019s finances remain shaky, and aren\u2019t likely to improve anytime soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat comes next? Layoffs? Increased class sizes? State intervention?\u201d said Dodson, who is executive director of the San Francisco Parents Coalition, a parent advocacy group. \u201cThere\u2019s going to be some hard questions for the board, and they\u2019re going to have to ask themselves, what\u2019s best for kids?\u201d<\/p>\n

CalMatters<\/a> is a nonpartisan and nonprofit news organization bringing Californians stories that probe, explain and explore solutions to quality of life issues while holding our leaders accountable.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. If your child\u2019s teacher hasn\u2019t threatened…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":200965,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[7,56643,15,74,76,75,1354,3797,80432],"class_list":{"0":"post-200964","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-california-teachers-association","10":"tag-education","11":"tag-san-diego","12":"tag-san-diego-headlines","13":"tag-san-diego-news","14":"tag-san-diego-unified-school-district","15":"tag-teachers","16":"tag-teachers-strike"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=200964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200964\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/200965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=200964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=200964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=200964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}