Teacher Strike

Teacher strike nets Capistrano $1.7 million

Scott Martindale, The Orange County Register It crippled the Capistrano Unified School District for three days, causing lost instruction time, wild swings in student attendance and unexpected bills for substitute teachers, security guards and consulting fees. In the end, though, the teacher strike in Orange County's second-largest school district in April netted Capistrano $1.7 million in extra cash, even after all of the bills were paid, according to a Register financial analysis…

Talk of CUSD teacher strike getting louder

Asha Patel, Orange County Local New Network The Capistrano Unified School District is expected to make official a more than 10 percent teacher pay cut at a special meeting Wednesday, a move which has the entire Capistrano education community worried about a possible teacher strike. The proposed pay cut – to be put before the district board at a public meeting Wednesday – would affect 2,300 CUSD teachers and certificate-holding employees. Capistrano Unified is facing a $34 million shortfall for fiscal year 2010-2011 and an additional $5 million shortfall in 2011-2012…

CUSD And The Strike

Column: Larry Christensen, The Orange County Register The cuts were neither temporary nor permanent but to be tied to the State’s ability to reinstate funding back to schools at historic levels. CUEA conceded the fact that at least a l0% cut was required, however they touted that since no specific date was given as to when teacher’s pay would be reinstated then the cuts were permanent. Strike posturing began almost immediately and the mantra associated with strike chants built upon the word “permanent”, even though the word was never part of the imposed language. Though pre-strike rhetoric against the board was disseminated on a daily basis the board honored the precondition to remain quiet about their reasons or viewpoints in order not to violate fair practice laws by negotiating in public. CUSD offered a date to meet with CUEA to resolve the remaining issues and to set language for a new contract in order to avoid a strike. CUEA set that very same day to strike…

A Word About Strikes — An Editorial

Ron Bennett, The Fiscal Report Unions have no legal responsibility for the solvency of the district; their duty is to their dues paying members. The School Board has full accountability for the solvency of the district and must take whatever action is necessary to meet its legal responsibilities and protect the students and taxpayers. Over the past few weeks, we have seen media attention drawn toward the collective bargaining process, particularly when there has been a unilateral contract imposition by management or a strike by labor. In my opinion, we are likely to see a few—maybe quite a few—similar situations evolving over the next several months. I would like to offer some opinions on how to think about these situations and how to either avoid them or handle them appropriately...