'Stay strong on the lines, we are almost there,' union tells striking Oakland teachers
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“We are on day six and we are making movement, I’m asking you to stay strong on the lines, we are almost there,” a union leader told striking Oakland teachers on Thursday, as the union and school district management have been conducting marathon bargain'Stay strong on the lines, we are almost there,' union tells striking Oakland teachers
“We are on day six and we are making movement, I’m asking you to stay strong on the lines, we are almost there,” a union leader told striking Oakland teachers on Thursday, as the union and school district management have been conducting marathon bargaining sessions. Staying strong doesn’t look like a problem for teachers, though. “I know this is hard work, but it’s also heart work,” teacher Marisa Villegas told reporters. ”I am tired,” wrote another teacher on Facebook, but even so, she offered a long list of things in her career as a teacher that have been harder than striking—and that show why striking is so important. The list included “Teaching in a school without walls and having to install foam core fake walls to block the noise and visual distractions. Duct tape on the carpets. Ceilings falling in from a leak that was reported multiple times but ignored. Conditions so bad they resulted in a lawsuit. Realizing that the kennel I used to volunteer for was better maintained”; “30 students in a class, all with high needs. Knowing I couldn't do half the things I could with 20”; “A student being shot while playing in her front yard and being told by the district personnel that we should reassure children that they were safe, and not honestly being able to do that”; and “Principals slashing supply budgets because we can do DonorsChoose projects (which require a significant amount of unpaid work to get).” Because of those and other experiences, “Striking's easy. It's just my joints that hurt.” The joints will continue to ache until the Oakland Unified School District gives teachers and students a fair deal, but teachers’ hearts must have been buoyed on Friday when construction workers refused to cross a picket line in front of an OUSD construction project. “The site is shut down. This is solidarity!” the union tweeted. Saturday, Mar 2, 2019 · 1:13:44 AM +00:00 · Laura Clawson There's a tentative deal and teachers could be back in the classroom on Monday if they vote to approve the deal. Read more