Pleasanton Teachers Union OKs Strike

PLEASANTON, CA — More than 98 percent of members of the Pleasanton Unified School District teachers union voted this month to authorize a strike after nearly two years of bargaining.

The Association of Pleasanton Teachers announced this week that a strike could take place after impasse procedures are exhausted. An impasse is declared when both sides of a labor dispute are unable to find common ground and attempt to resolve those issues with the help of a third party — in this case, the state.

The strike vote doesn’t mean a strike is imminent, and the process is ongoing.

Pleasanton Weekly first reported the story.

The union "is hopeful that we can avoid a strike, however, it is going to take PUSD management to willingly partner with us to help make a student-centered agreement happen," said President Michelle VerKuilen in a statement.

District spokesperson Patrick Gannon called the vote premature in an email and noted that both sides are still in the midst of a fact-finding process, during which a third party is tasked with determining a set of facts related to the dispute.

The California Teachers Association, which is affiliated with Pleasanton's teachers union, filed a request to enter the fact-finding stage before the district presented its best and final offer, according to the district.

"We have and continue to be committed to collaborative, ongoing conversations with the Association to reach a collective bargaining agreement," Gannon wrote. "We hope this new development does not undermine what could be a productive part of the ongoing collective bargaining process."

The union argued that its teachers are among the county's lowest-paid and that the district refuses "to invest in students by prioritizing teaching and learning in their budget," according to its statement.

The district has pushed to increase high school teachers' work time without additional compensation and remove a 30-minute work-free lunch for teachers — even though it has benefited from a 5 percent funding increase amid "the largest funding increase to public education in a generation," according to the union.

Teachers have pushed for the following requirements, according to the union.

• Higher, more competitive pay.
• A 2 percent cost-of-living salary adjustment.
• Smaller class sizes and caseloads for teachers.
• Individual support for special education students.
• Health benefits for certificated salary instructors as the district plans to increase health insurance costs up to nearly 24 percent next year.

The following stipulations were in PUSD's latest offer, according to the district.

• A 5 percent pay increase for 2020 through 2022.
• One-time and ongoing salary increases.
• Stipend increases for special education staff, nurses, psychologists, speech-language pathologists and behaviorists.

A fact-finding hearing between district and union officials is slated for Oct. 26.