Mt. Diablo Unified School District teachers have been working without a contract since July 2018 and the union that represents them said that though strike would be their last resort, if it comes down to it, they’d be "fully up to the challenge."
Within the past 24 hours, the union declared that both sides are at an impasse in negations for a new contract and the next step, as required by law, is for both sides to meet with a mediator.
If that fails, then teachers might choose to strike.
"Obviously a strike would be a last resort, and as has been demonstrated in other California school districts recently, educators are willing to make great personal sacrifice over the short term to achieve long term gains for our students," the Mt. Diablo Education Association said in a statement.
In addition to higher pay, they want lower class sizes, more support for bilingual students, and more counselors, librarians and nurses.
Currently, there are only 14 nurses for the 30,000 students in the district and some libraries are only open one day a week.
The East Bay Times reported that teacher pay in Mt. Diablo Unified is competitive and that the district spends about 90% of its budget on salary and benefits.
Local
Earlier this week, teachers in the neighboring city of Pittsburg declared an impasse in their negotiations and will begin meeting with a mediator next week.
