SAN FRANCISCO – Teachers in Oakland, California, are getting ready to walk off the job Thursday in the latest strike nationwide over classroom conditions and pay.
The union representing 3,000 teachers said in a statement Wednesday that educators planned to say goodbye to students, "barring an unlikely change from the district."
The walkout would affect 36,000 students at 86 schools, which the district says will remain open with substitute teachers and non-union employees.
Teachers are seeking smaller class sizes, more counselors and full-time nurses, and a 12 percent raise retroactive from 2017 to 2020.
The district has offered a 5 percent raise, saying it's squeezed by rising costs and a budget crisis.
Other recent strikes in Denver and West Virginia also have built on a wave of teacher activism that began last spring.
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