Oakland School Board District 1

What was the strike about, and was it necessary to reach an agreement? On Monday, May 15, 2023, OEA signed a Tentative Agreement (TA) with Oakland Unified for a historic raise, and ended their seven-day strike.  The agreement included a 10% raise for all members, and $5,000 in one-time payments, plus a restructuring of the salary schedule for classroom teachers and some other positions that means the average raise was more like 15%.  That new structure also means that going forward, teachers will get a step increase in their salary every year until they reach the top level—unlike the current structure which leaves teachers in ‘frozen zones’ for years at a time, motivating them to leave for other districts instead. As good as this deal is, it is very similar to the offer the district put on the table on May 1 in outline form three days before the strike started, and in specific language on May 3 on the eve of the strike. So if the offer was so good, why did OEA go out on strike? There