Teachers ‘occupy’ board meeting

Several hundred San Francisco union teachers, paraprofessionals, custodians, nutritional aides, secretaries and other school workers demonstrated outside, rallied, and “occupied” the regular meeting of the School Board here on the evening of Oct. 25. Working without a contract for months now, they were protesting plans by the superintendent to immediately hire “replacement” workers under “emergency powers” in the event of a strike.

Contract negotiations are stalled and the two unions, United Educators of San Francisco (UESF) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 790, say they will take a strike vote if no progress is made.

Like so many other contract negotiations across the country, one of the disputed issues is healthcare. The school district wants to limit employee family coverage to at most one single dependent per employee. After three years with no wage increase, the workers at this well-organized demonstration of solidarity made it clear they are ready to fight.

The San Francisco Central Labor Coun cil has voted to support a strike, which means affiliated unions should refuse to cross picket lines. School bus drivers and other teachers’ unions were there tonight in support, and parents as well came out to demand that the School Board give the workers a decent contract.

Speaker after speaker in the packed auditorium took the microphone or used a bullhorn to express sympathy with the workers. The School Board never got to their seats on the stage in front because union representatives already occupied them.

Despite the presence of a couple of dozen San Francisco Police Department officers, there were no arrests. After two and one half hours the School Board sent a representative into the occupied meeting to announce that they had postponed the discussion. It was clearly a workers’ victory. The enthusiastic crowd immediately chanted, “We’ll be back” for the next meeting.

—Story and photo by J. Marquardt