Teacher Strike Averted with Contract Agreement Between School District and Teachers

By Anna Pier

A planned one-day strike on January 16 by the Valley of the Moon Teachers Association (VMTA) was averted when the Sonoma Valley Unified School District (SVUSD) Board of Trustees voted unanimously, in a Special Session January 15, to approve a contract with the union. What was approved had been a Tentative Agreement signed by District and union negotiators on October 1. That agreement had been ratified by the VMTA membership –which comprises approximately 97 per cent of SVUSD certificated staff – but had never been voted on by the Trustees.

The VMTA Executive Committee sent out to their membership the evening of January 15, a letter advising their decision to call off the unfair practice strike. During public comment at the opening of the Special Session, Marty Bennett, retired SRJC history professor and spokesperson for UniteHere, the labor group for Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn employees, whose children attend Valley schools, urge approval of the agreement with the union. Also speaking was North Bay Labor President Jack Buckhorn.

The VMTA communication reflects the anger the teachers’ union feels toward the District administration and Trustees. The negotiations which were concluded January 15 had begun in the spring of 2024; teachers have been working without a contract since the new school year opened in August. Trustees had convened a Special Session on January 14 in which the only agenda item was a Closed Session labor negotiation. At that meeting no agreement was reached.

Superintendent Jeanette Rodriguez-Chien wrote to all SVUSD Families and Community the evening of January 15 via Parent Square. She advised them that the Board had approved the VMTA October 1 agreement, and that the strike was averted. ” We look forward to welcoming our staff and students at school tomorrow.” At time of writing today, the District had not sent out a press release regarding the contract.

In their letter, VMTA Executive Committee affirmed, “We won tonight. Our students won tonight. For some of us though it doesn’t feel like a win after listening to the School Board attack us and our commitment to our students.”  The letter nevertheless urged their members to “come together as union members with our parents and community for a unity rally outside the district office at 5:30, to celebrate our victory and share the next steps in our fight to win the schools our students deserve.”