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Update, Dec. 8: The Teamsters Union, representing some 1,500 paraprofessionals, office staff and cafeteria workers in the West Contra Costa Unified School District in Richmond, California, reached a tentative agreement Dec. 8 and returned to work. The teachers, represented by United Teachers of Richmond, remained on strike.

Some 3,000 teachers, paraprofessionals, office staff and cafeteria workers in Richmond, California, reported to a picket line instead of their schools Thursday in the West Contra Costa Unified School District. 

Members of the United Teachers of Richmond and Teamsters demanded the district of 26,000 students hike wages to address increasing staff vacancies, but West Contra Costa has said a steep budget deficit made that impossible. At least seven other California teachers unions are at an impasse with their districts during contract negotiations. On Wednesday, United Teachers Los Angeles announced an impasse, while United Educators of San Francisco completed the first of two scheduled strike votes. 

West Contra Costa Unified, located in the San Francisco Bay area, has been negotiating with its teachers union since February. The district initially proposed no raises for teachers, while the union requested a 5% annual pay hike for the next two school years. Following an impasse in August, the district recently offered a 3% raise, but the proposal was rejected.

The district’s Teamsters union, which represents paraprofessionals along with office, cafeteria, maintenance and security workers, rejected a tentative agreement on Tuesday. Its members joined the teachers on the picket line Thursday.

United Teachers of Richmond said in a statement that 70 classrooms are currently without permanent, credentialed teachers and 1,500 educators have left the district in the past five years. 

“These vacancies also mean that our students receiving special education services do so from outside contractors, some over Zoom,” the union said in the statement. “Inability to staff our schools also results in overcrowded classrooms, overworked teachers and diminished learning environments.”

Superintendent Cheryl Cotton, who was hired six months ago, said in a Monday video that the district already needs significant budget cuts. In a November fact-finding report, an arbitrator said West Contra Costa has a deficit of $16.9 million, but the union claimed the budget projections are incorrect and leave out millions in revenue.

“I heard the real frustration of our educators regarding pay increases, health benefits, special education, fully staffed schools and several other key issues,” Cotton said. “Compensation increases only increase the size of the financial reductions our board must make this year.”

Classrooms remained open Thursday as the strike began. On Tuesday, the Richmond City Council approved $50,000 in funding to expand community center hours and provide programming for children during the strike. 

The union completed a strike vote in 2022, with 90% of members casting ballots in favor. That pressure caused West Contra Costa Unified to offer a 14.5% raise over two years, and the strike was avoided.

School districts across the nation are struggling to afford teacher contracts amid financial strains caused by loss of state and federal funding, underenrollment and other issues. 

Several California teachers unions have recently declared an impasse during negotiations, including Los Angeles, Berkeley, Madera, Twin Rivers, Natomas, Oakland and San Francisco. The next step in the bargaining process is often hiring a third-party mediator, but a strike can occur if an agreement isn’t reached. 

More than 99% of United Educators of San Francisco members voted to authorize a strike Wednesday after nine months of bargaining with San Francisco Unified. It’s the first step in a two-vote process before the union can finalize a strike date.

The union, which has 6,500 members, has asked for a 14% pay increase for support staff and 9% for teachers over two years, along with improvements to health care coverage, special education teacher workloads and family housing. 

After initially offering no raises, the district proposed a 2% increase in September. The union rejected the offer, and both parties declared an impasse and entered mediation in October. 

A strike vote in 2023 resulted in a $9,000 salary increase and an additional 5% raise last year.

The district of 50,000 students has a $103 million deficit for the next school year. In 2024, it went through several reductions in expenses and jobs and still has more cuts on the table. Just like in Richmond, the union accuses the district of mismanaging the budget and failing to present accurate financial figures. 

“The superintendent’s perspective [is] that there is no money and that more cuts will stabilize the school district budget,” the union said in a statement. “Every year, we have been in negotiations with the district, they have claimed the same thing. This is despite the facts … year after year, San Francisco Unified closes its books with millions in surplus cash, they send out pink slips but start the next year with empty classrooms, they put families on a long waitlist to enroll their students while forcing underenrollment at schools.”

San Francisco Unified told KQED that it’s committed to securing an agreement with the union, but it’s also dealing with fiscal oversight by the state and is in the process of making millions of dollars in budget reductions.

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