Last-minute agreement keeps Fairfield teachers from resuming strike
In one of the most-watched chapter contract fights of the year, Fairfield teachers who went out on strike for 10 days in June kept up their pressure on district officials during the summer - and won a tentative agreement on Labor Day, giving them a raise of nearly 16 percent over two years.
In addition to their 10-day strike in June, Fairfield teachers held several rallies, staged a five-mile-long picket line and battled the district with electronic media.
At press time, the 1,300 members of the Fairfield-Suisun Unified Teachers Association (F-SUTA) were preparing to vote on the agreement. It was expected to be easily ratified by teachers, and the school board was due to approve it Sept. 13.
"This contract ends extremely difficult negotiations that began way back in March of 2000," notes F-SUTA President Liz Priest. "It represents a significant victory, but it does not end the bitterness we feel toward the superintendent and school board."
The teachers won a 10 percent increase retroactive to July 1, 2000. In addition, they won a 2 percent raise retroactive to July 1, 2001, and another 3.37 percent increase to take effect this Oct. 1. Due to compounding, the increase adds up to 15.98 percent.
F-SUTA's bargaining team nailed down the raises across the board - fighting back the district's attempts to pay some bargaining unit members, such as coaches, band directors and child care teachers, less than others. In addition, the teachers won an 11 percent increase in health benefits, and defeated attempts by the district to weaken their due process and evaluation rights.
The one-year contract, which expires June 30, 2002, includes strong language protecting teachers against reprisals by the district. It was reached with the help of Jim Tamm, the administrative law judge with the Public Employment Relations Board, who worked with both sides over the summer to forge a settlement.
Showing tremendous solidarity and strongly backed by parents, the Solano County teachers were willing to resume their strike if a settlement wasn't reached.
Before the summer was over, CTA and its members statewide had donated more than $64,000 to the F-SUTA strike hardship fund.
Just three days before the contract settlement was reached, the teachers held a "Cold Day in Hell Rally" complete with arctic weather clothing and one ton of ice used to build an igloo in front of the district office. The rally was in response to a statement in a local paper by Superintendent Sharon Tucker that it would be a "cold day in hell" before the union would triumph.
Television cameras swarmed to the 6 a.m. rally. Over the months of organizing that led to the June strike, and then during the strike and afterward, the F-SUTA leaders used the media as a tool to make their case. News conferences with the local mayor, rallies by parents and teachers, and a five-mile-long picket line kept the teachers in the news.
The F-SUTA Web site [www. fsuta.org] battled the district's Web site for community and media attention. An electronic list serve was used to e-mail members and parents about the latest developments.
During the strike, the F-SUTA bargaining team camped out on the front lawn of the district office to get the district's bargaining team back to the table. It worked.
"We did what we had to do to get teachers the respect they deserve," says F-SUTA president Priest. "This victory was a triumph for teachers and parents. Its benefits will be felt for years to come."
In addition to their 10-day strike in June, Fairfield teachers held several rallies, staged a five-mile-long picket line and battled the district with electronic media.
