How to resolve AdBlock issue? On Monday afternoon, the Middletown Teachers Association, or MTA, announced that its membership had overwhelmingly voted to authorize a potential strike.
Altogether, 96% of the union’s teachers decided they are ready to strike if necessary, union officials reported.
Union representative Diego Santelices told Lake County News that the strike authorization vote took place on Wednesday, April 16.
That vote allows the union leadership to call for a strike if teachers don’t see significant movement towards an agreement with their district in negotiations, the union reported.
“We are hopeful it doesn’t have to get to that point,” MTA negotiator and a 34-year MUSD veteran, Jennifer Pyzer said of the strike. “But we will do whatever it takes to show our commitment to fighting for our students and the community.”
The union said its teachers have cited “a lack of transparency and communication that hinders their ability to serve their most vulnerable students, as well as issues with compensation for their multilingual staff. Teachers are also seeking raises as the cost of living skyrockets.”
“Our teachers are sending a message to our new superintendent: respect our work and respect our students,” Middletown Teachers Association Co-President Adam Stevens said in the statement. “Teachers know it is crucial for us to be actively involved in supporting our special education students, and we want to be there for meetings that discuss their progress and challenges. Why this administration does not respect this part of the process is beyond me.”
On the district side, Jeff Crane, who became Middletown Unified’s superintendent last spring, said the union and district have a bargaining session planned for May 2 and the district is “optimistic that we can make progress on these issues.”
Crane added, “The work that MUSD educators do every day for our students is valuable. MUSD administration looks forward to continuing to work with MTA leadership toward a solution that benefits our staff and students and balances the realities of our financial situation. We have a structural deficit that has required us to implement a deficit elimination plan that will hopefully enable us to avoid the massive reductions that are being made in other districts throughout the state.”
Santelices said that the union — affiliated with both the California Teachers Association and the National Education Association — was formed more than 30 years ago, and that veteran educators like Pyzer haven’t held a strike vote before.
Middletown Teachers Association and Middletown Unified are currently awaiting the start of the fact-finding process of the impasse procedure.
California Public Employment Relations Board, or PERB, records show that the teachers union filed its impasse request on Feb. 14.
That request, along with mediation, was approved on Feb. 20, according to PERB records.
Once a hearing is held and a report is delivered, the teachers will be legally eligible to go on strike, the union reported.
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