Denver teachers staged a walkout Monday for the first time in 25 years after contract negotiations between their union and the school district broke down over the weekend.
It was the latest in a wave of teacher walkouts across the country that began last year and which unions said showed a new level of radicalism by their rank and file.
Monday’s strike covered more than 5,600 educators, though Denver schools remained open with substitute teachers and skeleton staffs on duty. The school district claimed it offered the teachers an 11 percent increase to an average salary of $61,000 annually, up from $55,000. The Denver Classroom Teacher Association claimed the number was misleading and included already-agreed-to, phased-in salary increases.
The dispute also involved the school district’s plan to offer incentive packages to teachers in schools that serve low-income areas or to those teaching challenging subjects. Such merit-pay programs are not favored by unions and the Denver union has instead called for more uniform increases.
“We’re hoping they come to the table tomorrow ready to listen so we can get back to work because our teachers want to be in the classrooms with their kids,” Denver Classroom Teacher Association spokesman Rob Gould said, according to CNN.
Denver Public Schools Superintendent Susana Cordova accused the union of refusing to negotiate but said talks would continue. “We remain committed to working with the leadership of the DCTA to end this strike,” she said.
The strike follows ones in Los Angeles, Arizona, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and West Virginia over the last year. Unions said the walkouts were the result of years of stagnant wages pushing teachers towards activism.
