Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1525262
Bargaining Roundup Compiled by Julian Peeples SANTA BARBARA: Educators Win after Authorizing Strike Santa Barbara Teachers Association (SBTA) showed that educators united are unstoppable, winning a tentative agreement after a marathon, 18-hour fact- finding session in June. SBTA members had overwhelmingly authorized a strike this spring, holding massive rallies and packing school board meetings for months, fighting for the schools all Santa Barbara students deserve. The agreement includes a 10% salary increase for 2024–25 and a 5% raise the following year, additional paid workdays for special educators and early childhood educators — in addition to guaranteed class-size reductions and an increase in health care contributions agreed to earlier. "While this is a historic settlement for our members and our com- munity, we are not done yet," SBTA President Hozby Galindo told the Santa Barbara Independent. "We want members to vote yes for this tentative agreement, and then work with us to elect a school board that will return the focus of this district to what happens in the classroom." SBTA members organized and mobilized, showing they were strike-ready and united, to move the district toward a fair contract at the bargaining table, holding rallies and a march, packing school board meetings and eventually voting to authorize a strike with a 98% approval. STOCKTON: Delta College Faculty Boycott Commencement In response to the continued disregard of faculty by college management, San Joaquin Delta College Teachers Association (SJDCTA) boycotted Delta College's commencement in May. Calling management's recent offers "insulting," SJDCTA members made the difficult decision to boycott the ceremony in protest of stalled negoti- ations and to demand a fair contract agreement. SJDCTA President Elizabeth Maloney said that faculty need an administration that respects and values their contributions. "It's time for meaningful dialogue around real numbers, so we can make real progress," Maloney told the Stock- ton Record. Courtesy Stockton Record 40 cta.org Advocacy