Yesterday was our thirteenth bargaining session, and we’re continuing the escalated pace! There’s been movement from both sides, because both the District and our team are motivated to come to an agreement on as much as possible this month. The District has been clear that their priority is to do whatever they can to avoid a strike. Even though our strike is specifically about our Unfair Labor Practice for the District’s violations of our current contract on Special Education staffing, the fact is that the District is discussing the entire contract in a room full of picket signs that are a constant reminder that SDEA educators are ready to hit the picket lines. The District is also seeing other unions escalate across the state, and seeing other union educators stand up when their own bargaining stalls (like the big recent win of our We Can’t Wait siblings United Teachers of Richmond in the East Bay.) That bigger picture may be providing extra motivation to keep things moving at our own table. That’s the point of a statewide coordinated bargaining campaign – ramping up the pressure for the schools our students deserve!

Our team’s priority is to use that momentum to reach quick resolution on as many things as possible, and to set the stage for anything best resolved in our next bargain, since next school year we’ll already be collectively developing our demands for our next round of negotiations.

Important Movement:

Layoffs 

The District proposed a package of proposals that included a sideletter promising no layoffs this school year. They packaged this with their proposal for Transfers and class sizes. We’re still negotiating over a more fair and standardized process for extended day units, and for limits to assignments to combo classrooms, so won’t be accepting this particular full package deal, but the fact that the District is willing to offer no layoffs would be a big win for our members and our schools. See the District’s full package proposal for Article 12: Transfer Policies, Article 13: Class Size, and a Sideletter: Reassignment of Certificated Unit Members in Lieu of Layoff Notices.

Our new Equity Article

The District proposed their own changes to our new Equity article, which is informed by the 10-Point Program that was adopted by SDEA’s elected representatives in January 2025, with protections for the members of our community most susceptible to current federal attacks.

• The District accepted our proposal to provide up to 10 days of unpaid release for educators to attend to immigration or citizenship matters.
• They also agreed to establish at least 1 immigrant family legal clinic in partnership with a local law school or community organization.
• They accepted a variety of our proposals to protect LGBTQ+ students and staff, like the use of our preferred name and pronouns.
• They agreed to provide at least one private gender neutral bathroom at each school, and will ensure that all bathrooms and locker rooms, regardless of designated gender identity, will contain free menstrual products and stall-based trash receptacles for menstrual products.

Even when some protections exist in current District policies and initiatives, putting protections in our union contract means that these cannot be changed without negotiating with us. See the District’s full proposal for the new Article 35, which they’ve suggested naming “Safe and Supportive Communities”. 

Still Negotiating:

Special Education Staffing and Supports

We’re still negotiating over exactly what our Special Education contract article should look like, as this is a critical part of our contract (and as the District seeks to avoid our strike over violations of our contract related to Special Education!) We discussed the need to address the “continuum of services” – all support our students get, not just from SDEA members. We’re hoping to set the foundation for future negotiations where we hope to work alongside our District union siblings like CSEA to address the big picture issues with SpEd staffing. In the meantime, we urgently need to get fixes into this contract. Yesterday we proposed a few changes to the District’s last proposal:

• As we seek to replace years of caseload grievances with more enforceable language, we proposed adjustments to the tiers of stipends for when the District goes over caseload limits. Right now it’s been possible for the District to save some money by leaving positions vacant and educators overloaded, and we’re trying to find ways to incentivize actually supporting students and educators!
• Similarly, we proposed parameters around staffing 0.2 positions after Fall excessing.
• We’re holding firm on our proposal that all SpEd teachers get a $4000 stipend.
• See all our proposed changes for Article 29: Special Education and for Appendix A: Salary Schedules & Rules.

Wages 

Yesterday both our teams countered on wages for this next contract. The discussion of how raises should be distributed across the two school years in our contract is influenced by what the District gets as funding through the state COLA, which is confirmed 2.3% for this school year and estimated 2.41% for next school year.

• We proposed 3.5% this current school year and another 3.5% next school year. See our full proposal on Article 7: Wages: 2025-2026 & 2026-2027.
• The District proposed a 1.87% raise this current school year, and another 2% next school year. They also want to add a lot of contingency language tying these numbers to state funding, and specifying that they wouldn’t necessarily have to pay members retroactively if they retire or resign. See the District’s full proposal on Article 7: Wages: 2025-2026 & 2026-2027, and their proposals for related Appendices B through G.

ECE Stipend 

The District still hasn’t come through on the most urgently felt issue for ECE Teachers: A pay cut of $4250 when the District let the ECE Teacher Stipend expire in June. The District’s proposals yesterday did not include renewing that stipend, so this is something we’ll have to continue to stand firm on. ECE Teachers are the lowest-paid contracted teachers in the District, and any proposal that represents a pay cut for these members is unacceptable. See the District’s full proposal for Appendix B: Early Childhood Education Programs Salary Schedule & Rules.

Other proposals:

We’re still negotiating over a variety of other open articles, including:

• Hours: The District rejected most of our proposal from almost a year ago, where we tried to expand and clarify prep time and the support needed to be successful. They did accept our proposed right to bathroom breaks. We’re also negotiating minimum days, and the definition of an 8 hour “consecutive” work day, which would impact required attendance at evening events and attendance at more frequent department meetings for some members. See the District’s proposal for Article 8: Hours of Employment.
• Employee Organization Rights: We’re very close to agreement. Read the District’s proposed changes to Article 5. 
• Leave Policies: The District rejected our last proposals to expand and clarify leave policies and make the process more fair. Read the District’s proposal for Article 10: Leave Policies.
• Discipline: We’ve made significant movement toward our SDEA proposal to make discipline more fair, and are negotiating the details. Read the District’s proposed changes to Article 33: Discipline.

What’s Next?

As we take advantage of the District’s motivation to settle as much as possible, there is a real possibility we could reach a deal on fixing Special Education Staffing before our scheduled ULP strike. If so, SDEA leaders would call a special Rep Council to give your site and program leaders the information needed to pivot to next steps, like contract ratification if we end up settling even more than just SpEd. Attend your union meetings and stay in communication with your colleagues – we are stronger together!

We’re bargaining again tomorrow, February 5, and again on February 12 & February 26… mark your calendar and put your red shirts in the laundry so you can wear red in solidarity!

See our tracker for all proposals exchanged so far and all tentative agreements, with links to read the full text of each.

In Solidarity,

SDEA’s Bargaining Team

Kyle Weinberg, SDEA President, Ed. Specialist: Mild/Moderate, English and History Teacher; Laurie Bailon, Restorative Justice Teacher, Bell MS; Carly Bresee, Ed. Specialist: Moderate/Severe, Lafayette ES, Sarah Darr, SDEA Secretary, WCW Campaign Organizer & SLP; Christina Gallegos, ECSE Teacher, Rodriguez ES; Candace Gyure, School Nurse; Stacy Hernandez, SDEA Bargaining Chair & 2nd Grade Teacher, Dailard El.; Andrew Melia, School Psychologist, Riley School; Elizabeth Miller, Ed. Specialist: Mild/Moderate, Lewis MS; Eri Nall, Head Counselor; Kiki Ochoa, History and Ethnic Studies Lead Teacher, Lincoln HS; Lori Schmersal, PE Teacher & Coach, Clairemont HS; plus SDEA staff Anthony Saavedra, Executive Director,  Sara Holerud, Organizer, and Rafal Dobrowolski, Contract Specialist