文图拉统一学区教师与职工定12月2日为拟罢工日:约1.4万名学生受关注,医保为主要分歧

文图拉县,文图拉市 — 文图拉的教师和其他学校职工表示,若届时仍未达成新工会合同,将于12月2日罢工。教师工会和非教师职工工会11月12日在文图拉统一学区成人教育中心外举行新闻发布会,宣布这一拟罢工日期。
两个工会的成员上月以近乎一致的投票授权罢工,前提是无法与学区达成新合同。拥有近1.4万名学生的文图拉统一学区是文图拉县第四大学区。工会官员表示,这将是该学区历史上首次罢工,也可能是该县历史上首次。
非教师职工工会主席 Carol Peek 说:「我们准备好为一份公平合理的合同而战。我们准备好罢工,争取一份我们都应得的协议。」教师工会主席 Sarah McLaughlin 说:「罢工确实是最后手段。」
双方仍在努力避免罢工。谈判团队在本周早些时候已会面两次,工会宣布罢工日期前数天双方仍在会谈,学区和工会官员都表示将在12月2日前继续会面争取达成协议。
学区劳资关系发言人 Heather McGowan 表示,若发生罢工,文图拉统一学区的学校将保持开放,学区将聘用代课教师。学区预计部分家长不会在罢工期间送孩子上学;学区将提供独立学习计划,报名该计划并完成作业的学生不会被记为缺勤。McLaughlin 表示,教师工会并不鼓励家长在罢工时把孩子留在家里。
双方已就新合同谈判一年,据11月1日发布的中立事实调查委员会报告,双方自5月起正式陷入僵局;其中非教师职工工会自2025年起一直在过期合同下工作。报告显示,双方对拟议加薪的大致轮廓已有共识:教师工会全体成员加薪4%已有「概念性一致」,非教学资格职工工会全体成员每小时加薪1美元。
主要分歧在医疗保障。文图拉统一学区职工传统上不支付医保月保费,学区希望结束这一做法。学区提议为职工及其家属全额支付学区基础计划的月保费,该计划由 Kaiser Permanente 提供,学区每年每人成本约2.3万美元;比该计划更贵的选项由职工自付。事实调查委员会建议成立劳资联合委员会,以控制医疗福利成本、教育成员并改善福利选项。
图中是文图拉县文图拉市的航拍景色,文图拉统一学区位于该市
Ventura Unified Teachers and Other Workers Set December 2 as Planned Strike Date: District Serves Almost 14,000 Students, Health Care Is the Main Sticking Point
Ventura, Ventura County — Teachers and other school employees in Ventura will go on strike on December 2 if they have not agreed on a new union contract by then. The union for teachers and the union for other employees held a news conference on November 12 outside the Ventura Unified School District's adult education center, where union members and leaders announced the upcoming strike date.
Members of the two unions voted nearly unanimously last month to authorize a strike if they could not reach an agreement with the district on a new contract. With almost 14,000 students, Ventura Unified is the fourth largest school district in Ventura County. A strike would be the first in the district's history, and probably the first in the county's history, union officials said.
"We are ready to fight for a fair and equitable contract," said Carol Peek, president of the union for most non-teacher employees. "We are ready to strike for an agreement that we all deserve." Sarah McLaughlin, president of Ventura Unified's teachers union, said, "A strike is truly a last resort."
The two sides are still trying to avert a strike. The bargaining teams met twice earlier in the week, days before the union's announcement of the strike date, and both union and district officials said they will continue meeting to try to reach agreement before December 2.
If a strike happens, Ventura Unified schools will stay open and the district will hire substitute teachers, said Heather McGowan, a labor relations spokesperson for the district. The district expects that some parents will not send their children to school while teachers are on strike; the district will have an independent study program, and students who sign up for that program and complete their work will not be marked absent, McGowan said. McLaughlin said the teachers union is not encouraging parents to keep their children home if there is a strike.
The district and the unions have been negotiating their new contracts for the past year and have officially been at an impasse since May, according to a report by a neutral fact-finding committee issued on November 1. One of the unions, the one for non-teacher employees, has been working under an expired contract since 2025.
The two sides have agreed on the general contours of proposed pay raises, according to the fact-finding committee reports, with conceptual agreement on a 4 percent raise for all members of the teachers union and a 1 dollar an hour raise for all members of the union representing employees without teaching credentials. The major sticking point is health care coverage: Ventura Unified employees have traditionally not paid monthly premiums, the district wants to end that practice, and it is proposing to pay the full monthly premium for the district's basic plan with Kaiser Permanente, which costs the district about 23,000 dollars per year per person, while employees would pay for anything more expensive than that plan. The fact-finding committee recommends a joint management and union committee to control health and welfare benefit costs, educate members and improve benefit options.
发布:GSM·美国(发布链接)
图片来源:图:文图拉县文图拉市的航拍景色,文图拉统一学区位于该市。来源:Wikimedia Commons — Jimwmurphy, Public domain,维基共享资源。 / Photo: An aerial view of Ventura, home of Ventura Unified School District. Credit: Wikimedia Commons — Jimwmurphy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
GSM Global · 本篇英文版 English edition of this story

