City Government

Oakland Teachers Vote to Strike, “If Necessary”

Published

7 years ago

February 8, 2019

Oakland Unified School District teachers have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a
strike, “if necessary,” for higher wages, more counselors and school nurses, and against
the school district’s plan to close up to 24 schools and open many new charter schools.
Educators at all 86 Oakland Unified School District sites voted over four days last week.

Of the 2,311 legal votes cast, 2,206 educators voted yes, or 95.45 percent.
“No strike date has been set – but without a very serious proposal by the school board,
we expect to be on strike by the end of the month,” Oakland Education Association
(OEA) President Keith Brown said at a news conference Monday. “If the school board
won’t act, we will act.”

The OEA is affiliated with the 325,000-member California Teachers Association. So far,
at least 17 other Bay Area CTA chapters of teachers’ unions have pledged nearly
$20,000 to the OEA strike fund to assist teachers facing financial hardships during a
strike, with more pledges continuing to be received.

Friday, Feb. 1, was the second and final day of a hearing with a state-appointed neutral
fact-finder, Najeeb Khoury, who was working to resolve the contract negotiations crisis
by issuing a non-binding report, which is expected on Feb. 15. After the report is issued,
the Oakland Education Association, which represents 3,000 OUSD educators.

In a press statement released Monday, the district said it is seeking to give teachers a
raise in pay “within the reality of our financial situation.”

“We believe that our teachers deserve a fair wage, and we are doing everything we can to find a solution,” said Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell. “We will continue to advocate for more funding from the state and find a way to compensate our teachers fairly.”

The district did not respond to the union’s strong opposition to closing schools, including Roots International Academy in East Oakland and the district’s new policy merging its management with privately-operated charter school organizations.

Teachers and their supporters were out in force Tuesday night as the Oakland City Council unanimously passed a resolution supporting the teachers.

“Our teachers and support service providers are the hearts and souls of our schools and directly impact student learning. Our students suffer when their teaching and support staff are over-worked, underpaid, and find themselves in over-crowded classroom settings,” wrote City Council President Rebecca Kaplan.

“The City Council is also urging OUSD to avoid closing public schools,” wrote
Kaplan.

“With reports of up to 24 schools slated for closure, it is a citywide concern as it
potentially impacts thousands of Oakland children, according to Kaplan’s report.

“Studies also show that school closures are a high-risk/low- gain strategy that
fails to hold promise with respect to either student achievement or non- cognitive
well-being.”

Ken Epstein

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Oakland Post: Week of July 1 – 7, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 1 – 7, 2026

Published

5 days ago

July 5, 2026

Oakland Post

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Inaugural Juneteenth Awards Ceremony Celebrates the Fillmore’s Black History, Leadership and Resilience

Addressing more than 100 Black and Asian attendees, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie stated “San Francisco is reliant on the Black community, and we must invest in this community.”

Published

2 weeks ago

June 26, 2026

Oakland Post

District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, Rev. Dr. Amos Brown, Pastor Emeritus of Third Baptist Church, SF Mayor Daniel Lurie. Photo by Linda Parker Pennington.

By Linda Parker Pennington

The Fillmore Community Ambassadors held its first annual Juneteenth Wesley Johnson White Horse Awards ceremony on June 19 inside the newly reopened Fillmore Heritage Center.

The event featured awards for former San Francisco mayors London Breed and Willie Brown, along with Third Baptist Church Pastor Emeritus, Rev. Dr. Amos Brown.

The Koret Heritage lobby at the newly reopened center at 1330 Fillmore St. held a standing-room-only, culturally diverse and multi-generational audience while the art gallery featured photos of Fillmore community members in action, red Japanese lanterns, art and calligraphy, and Chinese artwork, giving the space a multicultural feel.

Addressing more than 100 Black and Asian attendees, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie stated “San Francisco is reliant on the Black community, and we must invest in this community.”

District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood acknowledged that “the Fillmore community has had a difficult history. Thanks to Rev. Amos Brown’s continuous focus on accountability and resistance, you hold us accountable and continue to inspire us.”

Mahmoud is referring to the Fillmore’s Japanese residents who were forced from their homes and sent to concentration camps during World War II. Black people occupied those homes until the return of their Japanese neighbors and then gave them back, while homes that had been unoccupied were lost. The presence of the Asian community on Juneteenth is a testament to that shared history.

In receiving his honor, Amos Brown elicited a powerful spontaneous call-and-response, where members of San Francisco’s many Black churches proudly shouted out the names: “Bethel AME! Providence Baptist! Jones Memorial! Glide!”

Awards program Master of Ceremonies Shawn Richards of Brothers Against Guns warmly introduced Breed, highlighting her many accomplishments, particularly on “March 16, 2020, when she became the first mayor to shut down a major U.S. city due to COVID-19, saving thousands of lives.”

The audience was captivated by Breed’s emotional speech touching on past traumas, present conditions, and future hopes for the neighborhood where she grew up.

She recalled another trauma of the neighborhood during the City’s redevelopment era in the 1960s, where Black residents were forced to move with a promise of being able to return that was largely unfulfilled.

“We remember when this land was just a field because they bulldozed hundreds of Victorian homes that Black people owned. They built the Fillmore Center, where most Black people can’t afford to live or start their own business. But we are still here.”