Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Labor Relations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Teachers, union leaders and families praise tentative UTR contract at West Contra Costa board meeting
Summary
Dozens of public commenters — chiefly United Teachers of Richmond members, student leaders and families — thanked trustees who backed bargaining efforts and urged quick ratification of a tentative agreement reached Dec. 10; the superintendent confirmed tentative deals with both UTR and Teamsters and said schools would return to normal operations Dec. 11.
Dozens of teachers, union leaders, students and families packed the West Contra Costa Unified School District board meeting on Dec. 10 to thank trustees who joined strike lines and to press the board to ratify a tentative contract reached early that morning with United Teachers of Richmond (UTR).
“For 10 months, we sat at a table where district executive leadership insisted that our students should make do with less,” said Mr. Ortiz, a UTR representative in the standing reports section. “We broke it. We didn't bend. We didn't flinch. We didn't back down. And we won.”
Public commenters recounted a four-day strike and widespread community support. Marie Anna, who identified herself during public comment, said she wanted answers about security staffing and a Williams complaint she said remained unresolved. Sarah Kley, a district teacher since 1992, thanked the UTR bargaining team and trustees who supported them while faulting district communications that she said implied teachers “don't care” about students.
Multiple speakers singled out three trustees for visible support on the picket lines. Gabrielle Mutilleti, a UTR bargaining chair, said the contract’s provisions made her “hopeful” the district could attract educators, particularly in special education, and relieve staffing pressures across schools. Student trustees and student speakers were praised repeatedly for their role at rallies.
Superintendent Cheryl Cotton told the board the district had reached tentative agreements with Teamsters Local 856 (Dec. 7) and with UTR on Dec. 10, aligned with the board’s counterproposal. Cotton said the UTR agreement included salary and health-care increases and several contractual improvements and that both accords advanced to union membership and the board for formal ratification. She announced schools would return to normal operations on Dec. 11.
Union leaders and public commenters also criticized aspects of district leadership. In his standing report, Mr. Ortiz said UTR’s representative council had voted 114–1 in a no-confidence vote in Chief Business Officer Dr. Kim Moses, and several speakers accused district executives of not attending bargaining and of sending communications they found antagonistic. Mark Mitchell, executive director of UTR, said the absence of some trustees and district leaders during the crisis had been noticed and would not be forgotten.
The board did not ratify either tentative agreement during this meeting; Superintendent Cotton said UTR membership and the board would follow their respective ratification processes. Several public speakers urged the board to act quickly so classrooms could stabilize and educators could return to teaching.
The meeting moved on after roughly an hour of public comment and standing reports. The board’s formal actions later in the agenda addressed personnel policies and the district’s interim budget (see related articles).
