OUSD Supt. Johnson-Trammell says teacher strike is “illegal” but urges students to stay home on Friday

By Ken Epstein

Oakland educators and Port of Oakland longshore workers are holding simultaneous one-day strikes on Friday as a city-wide movement continues to grow in response to billionaires and gentrifiers backed by elected Democrats seeking to close as many as half of the city’s public schools and give away public funds and public land to build a $12-billion real estate deal and baseball stadium at the Port.

The strikes, as well as rallies and a march, were proposed by a new coalition, Schools and Labor Against Privatization (S.L.A.P.) composed of rank and file educators, members and leaders of ILWU Local and community members to oppose the privatization of public assets and the accelerated displacement of Oakland’s Black, Latino and working class residents.

Keith Brown, president of the Oakland Education Association (OEA), announced the educators’ work stoppage at a press conference on Tuesday. He said an overwhelming 75% of OEA voting members voted to authorize the one-day strike “because the Oakland Unified School District has unilaterally set aside its 2019 agreement with OEA to engage with families when considering school closures. OUSD has continued to ignore this important agreement despite the outcry from families to stop school closures.”

Trent Willis, past president International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 10 said the union moved its annual May Day stop-work meeting from Sunday to Friday so both unions could join together to protest privatization of public resources.

Willis said that longshore workers and school communities are facing the same opponents.

“We have in common the same billionaire, John Fisher, also a funder of KIPP and Rocketship charter schools, who is trying to privatize our schools and our ports,” he said. “Howard Terminal is key to our Port infrastructure and crucial as an economic engine of the Bay Area. It is a nexus between the port cargo area, ILWU training area, and ship turn around. It is critical to keeping trucks off of the streets of West Oakland and is next to a fully functioning industrial railroad.

“Already the (public) price tag for building the luxury condos and A’s stadium is $1.3 million, (and) they want to close down Oakland’s public schools? Not on our watch,” he said.

Willis added, “The ILWU is really excited about this coalition, Schools and Labor Against Privatization — in fact SLAP is urging similar committees against privatization around the country.”

OEA President Brown said that the strike is taking place because educators are taking “the next step to stop school closures that will displace thousands of students and disproportionately impact Black students in Oakland. Educators say that they (have) had enough. We have authorized a one-day ULB (Unfair Labor Practices) strike to let the district know that the refusal to honor agreements and to have meaningful conversations about how these school closures will impact communities of color is unacceptable.”

“This plan to close schools in predominantly Black and Brown neighborhoods will accelerate charter growth and gentrification, leading to more educational segregation and a financial drain. That already costs Oakland Public Schools $57 million annually,” he said.

“We call on our elected officials to provide students and schools with the support that they need — instead of closing our schools — and stop the disruption and dislocation of our students. Closing schools does not save money. Our students need more, not less.”

He said that on April 29, teachers are picketing at all OUSD school sites at 6:30 a.m. Other actions that are taking place during the day include a rally at Oscar Grant Plaza at Oakland City Hall and a march to the OUSD headquarters at 1000 Broadway.

The Oakland administration and school board have rushed to close schools ignoring its own policy and contract commitments to implement its commitments to confer with parents, teachers and the public about its proposals. Rather than “engage” with school communities, the school closures are being planned in concert with state leaders and their representatives, Alameda County Schools’ Supt. L.K. Monroe and the Fiscal Crisis Management and Assistance Team (FCMAT).

OUSD has already closed about 20 schools since 2003. This year and next year, the district is planning to close about 12 more schools. Officials have said repeatedly that OUSD should ultimately shut down about half of its 80 public schools.

Joining in the strike are school workers in AFCME and SEIU 102. A representative of the Alameda Labor Council spoke at the OEA press conference, backing the unions.

OUSD Supt. Kyla Johnson Trammell denounced the strike as an “illegal” work stoppage and urged parents and guardians not to send their children to school on Friday.

“While school buildings will be open on Friday and all employees are still required to come to work, we do not believe that we’ll be able to cover the high number of expected staff absences with substitutes or reassigned central office staff,” she said. “Therefore, we are asking all families not to send their children to school on Friday. The absence will be excused, and no student will be adversely impacted by not attending school that day.”

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