UNION CITY, Calif. — Teachers, counselors and students picketed outside Logan High School May 20, in the first strike ever at New Haven Unified District schools here and in South Hayward.
“It’s the cost of living we’re up against,” social studies teacher Carlos Sutton told the Militant. “We need a pay increase. Now they are offering almost nothing!”
After months of negotiations, district administrators have offered a one-time 3% bonus for the current school year, and a 1% salary raise for the coming year. They say they’ll add a 0.5% raise in the coming year for every additional $1 million the district receives from the state.
A number of teachers on the line carried homemade signs saying: “Zero Percent = Zero Respect.”
The union is also opposing increases in class size and seeking to reduce the number of salary steps needed for teachers to win higher pay.
“A lot of teachers have two jobs to make ends meet,” said special education teacher Brenda Moreno.