Hayward teachers strike

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The Hayward teachers strike took place in April 2007 when teachers of the Hayward Unified School District in the San Francisco Bay Area went on strike. The teachers demanded a raise of 16.84%, equal to the raise district administrators had given themselves in the summer of 2006.

The strike commenced on 5 April 2007, with over 1,300 teachers on the picket line, affecting 38 schools and over 20,000 students. After a week of the teachers' strike, Dr. Dale Vigil, the district superintendent, looked to file an injunction against the Hayward Education Association (HEA), to force the teachers back in the classroom. HEA President Kathleen Crummey firmly held her position as the leader during the strike, even claiming that she would rather serve jail time if a court order is issued.

The strike made quite an impact, having stimulated parent rallies, student rallies, in support of the teachers. Teachers used YouTube as well in their protesting campaign. High school athletics were affected directly, for the spring sports that had scheduled games/matches during the strike were forced to forfeit. The strike affected all school activities, forcing the postponement of all the events scheduled during the strike. Also, students who were enrolled in Advanced Placement classes lost valuable study time; however, the AP students were granted a later test date.

Controversies during the strike continued to escalate. There was an issue over the district having told student speakers to refrain from criticizing the school board members, an action that outraged teachers and added to the list of questionable district actions. There was also concern over the translation of several calls from the district to households, in which it sounded as if the district had said that the teachers' strike was over, when it was not. One of the bigger controversies, was an email that leaked out by the assistant superintendent bashing a teacher within the district.

The Hayward teachers' strike became a consistent presence in the media. All local television stations were covering most of the strike, while the press media became instrumental in voicing the opposing opinions on the matter. In began with an editorial by a school board member, Jeff Cook, in which he took a position against the strike and proclaimed that teachers were not keeping in mind the best interests of the students.

A high school student, Peter Bufete, in favor of the teachers, responded with an article after the strike, criticizing the previous column regarding the strike by Cook, and offered a student perspective of the current events.

The Hayward Teachers strike ended in a tentative agreement on 25 April 2007, when Dr. Vigil announced the settlement during a regular school board meeting. Teachers voted to pass the agreement detailing an 11% raise over the next two years, the following day, as class resumed as well. The events revealed how public education fails to pay its teachers satisfying salaries and the growing concern over the Hayward Unified School District and its leaders.