On Feb. 9, the United Educators of San Francisco (EUSF) went on strike against the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) for better wages, health care coverage, and resources for special education.
SFUSD Director of Communications Laura Dudnick voiced the reasons for the strike, “The items being discussed today are healthcare, salaries, and special education,” during a press conference on Wednesday, adding, “We are making progress”.
This strike was the first one in nearly 50 years in San Francisco, with the previous conflict taking place in 1979.
The strike lasted four full days, with both parties coming to a tentative agreement on Friday morning, Feb. 13.
Long time union member and English instructor Michael Vezzali-Pascual ’88 said, “From a union standpoint, I think they handled the strike about as well as they could have. A strike or work stoppage is really the last resort for a union that sees an impasse and no way forward in negotiations.”
Although opposing viewpoints on fund allocations are what catalyzed the strike, both the EUSF and SFUSD’s end goal was better learning environments for San Francisco youth.
“We all must get together to get this done,”and “get our kids back into the classroom” were phrases Dr. Maria Su, the SFUSD Superintendent, used during her hearing on the third day of the strike.
The agreement that was eventually reached was a $183 million deal that ensured a 6 percent raise in teachers’ salaries over a two year contract, as well as health care coverage and better support for special education.
Former EUSF member and current English Department Chair and instructor Richard Sylvester ’01 on the topic of compensation said, “The agreement was a step in the right direction, and I’m happy for public school teachers in the SFUSD, but personally, I will probably always feel like teachers who want to raise families in San Francisco are not fairly compensated.”
Although missing any amount of school is detrimental to a students’ performance, union members believed the strike was necessary so that SFUSD teachers had adequate resources and so that they could give their students a quality education.
After the strike was over, and after missing a full week of instruction, students returned to class on Feb. 18.
