Dublin teachers go on strike Monday after negotiations fail

DUBLIN, Calif. - After three days of negotiations, the Dublin Teachers Association were on the picket lines Monday morning.

The Dublin Teachers Association said there is no date set to return to the bargaining table as of Monday afternoon. 

This is the first strike in the Dublin Unified School District, according to the union. 

Dublin teachers on strike

Teachers carried signs and marched outside Dublin Unified's 13 schools Monday morning, singing and chanting their demands.

That followed a Sunday night post on Instagram from the union that read: "DUSD Management, this strike is on you! Reprioritize your budget to invest in our students!"

District disappointed

The school district, like many others across the state, is dealing with budget constraints due to declining enrollment and state and federal funding cuts.

Superintendent Chris Funk said the district was ready to sign a deal on Sunday, which adopted recommendations by a neutral third-party Fact Finder. 

"We are sticking with our current proposal and we're ready to come back to the table when they're ready to say that that is the basis of negotiations," said Funk.

Funk added that the union was unhappy with the Fact Finder's report.

"When you have declining enrollment and you don't get a full Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) from the state, that's just a double whammy for school districts," he said. 

Funk made mention of neighboring school districts that recently went on strike. 

"We're now hearing about these mass layoffs that are happening either this year or going to have to happen next year," he said. "This isn't a Dublin issue. This is a state funding issue that needs to be addressed."

Salary increase, smaller classes

The union says its proposals include a 3.5% salary increase, expanded healthcare coverage and smaller classes, including a cap of 20 students for transitional kindergarten. The union is also calling for a full-time counselor at every elementary school.

Late Sunday, union leaders posted another update on Instagram as negotiations continued.

"You are probably going to receive an email soon from them with an astronomical cost attached to our lowered bargaining proposals from today. The phone conversation ended with us asking them to please contact us if they have an actual counterproposal to discuss tonight," said Monica Lewis, bargaining chair for the Dublin Teachers Association in an Instagram update Sunday night.

The district says its current offer includes a 2% salary increase and a 1% one-time payment.

Union president Brad Dobreznski said the deal presented by the fact-finder did not address class sizes nor students with exceptional needs. 

Danelle Meyn, a 3rd grade teacher at Fredriksen Elementary and a member of the bargaining team, said, "Nowadays our kids come with so many different needs that we want to make sure we meet and it’s hard to do with not a lot of support."

Cost of strike, salaries 

District officials estimate the union's proposal would cost just over $11 million over three years, while the union’s counterproposal would cost about $32 million and could force cuts to programs, staffing and services.

"We definitely don't want this," Campbell said. "To answer your question, yes, we are prepared for it. We have been preparing in case this worse case scenario happens. We want our students to come tomorrow. The students will continue to learn, we're going to have activities for them," Campbell said.

School sites remained open Monday on an adjusted schedule as the strike begins. Both sides say they remain willing to continue negotiations.

Students who attended told KTVU they were held in a multipurpose room with little instruction received, as school administrators and a couple of substitutes supervised. 

"We didn’t do much. They just gave us packets, told us to do it," said one student at Frederiksen Elementary. 

Parents join strike

Many parents joined the picket lines on Monday morning. 

KTVU spoke with Lorie Bruland, who decided to keep her kids out of the classroom and take them out to the picket lines instead. 

"I'm very disappointed in the school board. I feel like the teachers are being reasonable. I know it’s a hard time financially, but we have to put the students first," said Bruland. 

Parent Max Serna, was walking his third-grader to school while trying to explain why her teacher wouldn't be in the classroom today. 

"Kids don’t really understand it, but it’s good that they see it. Hopefully it will strike it in them like how does this effect me. I think it’s definitely a step they have to take. I'm for it," said Serna. 

Another parent of two children at Frederiksen Elementary, Mindy Mays, said, "I didn’t send them to school today to just sit in the multipurpose room all together. This is more important. This is a lesson for them, too, in standing up for what you believe in."

There is no time set to go back to the bargaining table, and teachers said they will continue to strike indefinitely.

DublinEducationNews