It’s now been six days of empty classrooms and packed picket lines in Oakland. For the past two days the Oakland Unified School District said negotiation sessions are going into the wee hours of the morning, but many students and parents want to know — are we close to the end? Melissa Colorado reports.
More teachers and protesters packed the State Building in Oakland Thursday as negotiations between the Oakland teachers union and the school district appeared to go nowhere on the sixth day of the strike.
Security personnel at Elihu M. Harris State Office Building were unable to stop hundreds of demonstrators carrying picket signs, playing instruments and shouting demands of better pay for teachers, smaller class sizes and more resources for students.
"We are Oakland educators. We want justice for our students. We’re not asking anymore, we’re demanding," the union said.
Earlier in the day, protesters gathered at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza with giant banners that listed their demands. Comedian W. Kamau Bell joined them after he was walking around and saw the large crowd, he said.
"We need to support our public schools. I'm right here with you. Look, I know it doesn't matter whether your kids go to public schools or not, whether you have kids, whether you like kids, because stronger public schools leads to a stronger, better society," Bell said.
The group was able to get the Oakland school board to postpone a scheduled Wednesday meeting to Friday.
At the meeting, the board is expected to vote on the district's proposal to make $21.75 million in budget cuts for the 2019-20 school year, as the district says it faces a $56 million budget shortfall by 2020-21 if no reductions are made.
The district said in a statement, "These reductions are needed to prioritize investing in a raise for our Oakland Education Association members that will help students and teachers return to school as soon as possible.
"We are disheartened by tactics that directly interfere with the district's ability to give the teachers a raise and get students and teachers back into classrooms."
The teachers' strike began last Thursday after two years of failed negotiations between the union and the school district and likely will continue for a seventh day on Friday.
Melissa Colorado/NBC Bay Area
Hundreds of teachers and their supporters surrounded La Escuelita Elementary on Wednesday, the fifth day of the teachers strike, where a school board meeting was slated to take place.
Melissa Colorado/NBC Bay Area
Hundreds of teachers and their supporters surrounded La Escuelita Elementary on Wednesday, the fifth day of the teachers strike, where a school board meeting was slated to take place.
Melissa Colorado/NBC Bay Area
Hundreds of teachers and their supporters surrounded La Escuelita Elementary on Wednesday, the fifth day of the teachers strike, where a school board meeting was slated to take place.
Suministrada
Hundreds of teachers and their supporters surrounded La Escuelita Elementary on Wednesday, the fifth day of the teachers strike, where a school board meeting was slated to take place.
Melissa Colorado/NBC Bay Area
Hundreds of Oakland teachers union supporters gathered in East Oakland on Tuesday, Feb. 26, to march to Roots International Academy, one of the schools district plans to close.
Melissa Colorado/NBC Bay Area
Frank Ogawa Plaza is packed with Oakland teachers and supporters on Thursday, Feb. 21, the first day of the strike.
Melissa Colorado/NBC Bay Area
Frank Ogawa Plaza is packed with Oakland teachers and supporters on Thursday, Feb. 21, the first day of the strike.
Melissa Colorado/NBC Bay Area
Frank Ogawa Plaza is packed with Oakland teachers and supporters on Thursday, Feb. 21, the first day of the strike.
Frank Ogawa Plaza is packed with Oakland teachers and supporters on Thursday, Feb. 21, the first day of the strike.
Jeff Chiu/AP
Oakland Education Association President Keith Brown, center left, yells after speaking outside of Manzanita Community School in Oakland, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019.
PATRULLA FRONTERIZA
Roxana De La O Cortez, teacher at Manzanita SEED Elementary School, marches with other teachers and supporters in Oakland, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019.
Jeff Chiu/AP
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., center, marches with Oakland Education Association President Keith Brown, center right, along with teachers and supporters outside of Manzanita Community School in Oakland, Calif., Feb. 21, 2019.
Bob Redell/NBC Bay Area
Teachers at Oakland Technical High School gather outside the school campus on the first day of strike.
Jeff Chiu/AP
Garrick Ruiz, union member with United Teachers of Los Angeles, center, yells while teachers and supporters march outside of Manzanita Community School in Oakland, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. Teachers in Oakland went on strike Thursday in the country's latest walkout by educators over classroom conditions and pay.
PATRULLA FRONTERIZA
Teachers at Oakland Technical High School gather outside the school campus on the first day of strike.
Tamara Palmer
Teachers at Oakland Technical High School gather outside the school campus on the first day of strike.
Tamara Palmer
A number of students refuse to cross the picket lines and attend class today at Oakland Technical High School. They stand in solidarity with their teachers who are striking for better pay and smaller class sizes.
Pete Suratos/NBC Bay Area
Teachers hold up signs outside Manzanita Community School in Oakland on the first day of the strike.
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OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 21: Oakland Unified School District students, teachers and parent carry signs as they march to the Oakland Unified School District headquarters on February 21, 2019 in Oakland, California. Nearly 3,000 teachers in Oakland have gone on strike and are demanding a 12 percent retroactive raise. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 21: Oakland Unified School District students and teachers carry signs as they picket outside of Oakland Technical High School on February 21, 2019 in Oakland, California. Nearly 3,000 teachers in Oakland have gone on strike and are demanding a 12 percent retroactive raise. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Getty Images
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 21: A student wears a homemade hat during a march to the Oakland Unified School District headquarters on February 21, 2019 in Oakland, California. Nearly 3,000 teachers in Oakland have gone on strike and are demanding a 12 percent retroactive raise. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 21: Oakland Unified School District students, teachers and parents gather at Oakland City Hall before marching to the Oakland Unified School District headquarters on February 21, 2019 in Oakland, California. Nearly 3,000 teachers in Oakland have gone on strike and are demanding a 12 percent retroactive raise. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The teachers' union is seeking a 12 percent pay raise over three years, and the district previously offered a 5 percent raise over three years. But last week, the district made a new offer of 8.5 percent over four years.
However, OEA President Keith Brown has said that's still not enough to meet the union's demand for a living wage that addresses the high cost of living in Oakland.
The district said that on Monday it increased its offer to an 8 percent ongoing raise plus a 2 percent bonus for a total increase of 10 percent.
The district said, "Collectively, we could end this strike now. We look forward to receiving a new proposal from the OEA and remain hopeful that we will reach an agreement soon."
