WCCUSD teachers’ strike not inevitable, union says, but sides remain far apart on salary and benefits

Leaders from United Teachers of Richmond updated parents and community members Tuesday evening on contract negotiations between the union and the West Contra Costa Unified School District.

WCCUSD and UTR have been negotiating a new three-year teaching contract since January and declared an impasse on Aug. 19, triggering third-party mediation and a fact-finding process. 

“This is more than just a contract fight for us,” UTR President Francisco Ortiz told an audience of about 50 people at CoBiz Richmond. “We’re in a collective struggle for safe classrooms, for special education done right, for stability for all of our learners, and a fight for a district that invests today’s dollars for today’s students.”

On Tuesday morning, a three-person panel including one representative from WCCUSD, UTR and a third party appointed by the California Public Employment Relations Board held a hearing at which the two sides presented arguments.

At CoBiz, UTR shared a self-created report claiming that the district was overspending on contractors and underspending on in-house teaching staff. According to the report, WCCUSD increased spending on contracts and vendors from approximately $53 million in 2019 to about $116 million in 2023.

UTR bargaining Chair Gabrielle Micheletti told Richmond Confidential that the union’s presentation focused on multi-year financial projections based on the districts’ budget calculation formula. The union argues the district has sufficient funding to meet the union’s demands. 

The district has said it doesn’t have sufficient funding, citing a budget deficit that has put it at risk of state takeover. The district plans to withdraw $13 million from reserve funds to cover the projected deficit for this school year.

Salary and benefits

The union’s demands include a 10% increase in salary over two years, full medical benefits coverage, and reductions in class sizes. The district initially offered no increase in salary or in the percentage of benefits it pays, but then offered a 2% salary increase and a bump in its health coverage from 80% to 85%, which the union rejected.

WCCUSD has not responded to Richmond Confidential’s request for comment, but in a negotiation update Friday on YouTube, Superintendent Cheryl Cotton said the district’s offer would require shifting $7 million from other places in the budget. 

“We made this offer knowing full well that it will require significant budget reductions in other areas in order for us to remain financially solvent,” Cotton said in the video. “Like a family budget, we can only spend what we can afford, and our responsibility is to ensure that our school remains strong not just today but for years to come.” 

On Thursday, the three panel members will meet again. The neutral party then has until Nov. 28 to release a non-binding report recommending a resolution. If the union and the district do not come to an agreement based on the report, the union may call a strike 48 hours after the report is released.

Last month, UTR members authorized leaders to call a strike. Union leaders have told teachers the earliest a strike would be called is Dec. 2, and that a strike is not inevitable.

“My hope would be that the neutral sees that our students and our staff cannot wait for changes. That they need to have salaries that will keep staff here,” Micheletti said.

Parents at the meeting expressed support for the union but raised concerns about possible school closures during a strike. They wondered how children would access lunches and how families would find childcare.

UTR will be holding another town hall for parents and community members at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Kensington Community Center.

WCCUSD teachers raise classroom heat as a contract issue: ‘It is a moment of real concern’