Work To Rule Begins January 7

By Web Editor Shiantel Chiang and Staff Writer Gokul Ramapriyan

FUSD teachers began Work To Rule on January 7.

Fremont Unified District Teachers Association (FUDTA) and FUSD declared Impasse regarding salary negotiations on December 3. They held a teacher rally during the FUSD Board of Education Meeting on December 12, where crowds of educators from the school district gathered with signs. According to FUDTA President Victoria Birbeck-Herrera, FUSD offered a 0.71 percent cost-of-living raise in October.

“That’s not enough considering that the [living] costs go up every year, especially in the Bay Area … We are hoping that the school board is going to realize they need to start respecting educators and offer us something that helps us keep pace with the living wage,” Birbeck-Herrera said.

FUDTA voted last month to begin Work to Rule. They also released a message yesterday morning:  

“It is heartbreaking to teachers that this disruption impacts students and families. However, it is important that the public take notice of the situation in Fremont Unified or there won’t be public educators here for upcoming years of students in our system. Already this year, almost 40 educator positions were vacant when the school year started. Can you imagine being the parent of a kindergarten child walking them to their first day of school to a classroom without a permanent teacher? This downward spiral needs to stop NOW.

We are working to the rule because the district is refusing to pass along the Cost of Living Increase the state gave them in their budget. Instead they are offering up 0.71%. This is not the way to recruit and retain the best for our Fremont students.”

FUDTA at FUSD Board Meeting on December 12

Photos by Staff Writer Gokul Ramapriyan