Teachers, union and community speakers press board on pay, class size, benefits and bargaining

More than two dozen speakers addressed the Mount Diablo Unified School District Board of Education during the public comment period on May 14, urging the board to address pay, medical coverage and class size, and to require district negotiators to bargain in good faith with the district’s certificated bargaining unit.

The Mount Diablo Education Association, which represents more than 1,500 certificated educators, told the board that contract negotiations are at an impasse and that teachers are seeking a contract that provides cost-of-living adjustments that keep pace with inflation, adequate medical coverage and limits to class size. Linda Ortega, president of the Mount Diablo Education Association, told trustees the union appreciated staff and parent support and that bargaining dates were calendared for late June.

Teachers and school staff described classroom conditions they said impede student learning. Third-grade teacher Amanda said she had 31 students and asked the district to “please increase the number of counselors on elementary school campuses” and to “fix the heating and air conditioning.” Another teacher, Cindy Aguilar, said she had been a teacher in the district for 24 years and described classrooms of 31 students; she said smaller classes allow teachers to do “more with smaller classes.”

Several speakers recounted personal experiences with medical costs and coverage. Alex Economie, a district teacher who identified as transgender, said the district’s medical coverage made previously unaffordable gender-related care accessible to him and asked the board to “please recognize the union’s demands in regard to our medical coverage.” Other speakers urged the board to fund competitive pay to attract and retain educators and to honor the weekday and after-hours workload teachers already perform.

Labor leaders and allied unions also addressed the board. Kelly Kick, president of the Contra Costa Labor Council, spoke in solidarity with the teachers and criticized the district’s wage proposal as inadequate.

Union leaders and speakers said bargaining had included many proposals from both sides; some speakers said many union proposals carried no cost. Medea president Linda Ortega said the union had requested the meeting be moved to a larger room to accommodate turnout; she said IT constraints prevented the relocation and that she had sought a timely district response to an earlier request by adult education staff to join the bargaining unit.

Board members and superintendent Clark listened to the comments; trustees did not take action during the public-comment period. Multiple speakers asked for the district to bargain in good faith and to address class size, medical benefits and counselor staffing at elementary campuses.