Denver Teachers Strike: Back To The Negotiating Table

DENVER, CO – By Melanie Asmar, Chalkbeat Colorado As Colorado’s governor weighs whether to intervene to head off a teacher strike in the state’s largest school district, Denver teachers packed a school board meeting Thursday night to press their demand for higher pay. They marched on the sidewalk in front of district headquarters, chanted in the lobby, and took turns giving sometimes emotional testimony to the board.

“I’m striking because I spend 182 days a year supporting and helping raise other people’s children, but my husband and I can’t afford to have children of our own,” said Bridget Stephenson-McKee, a third-grade teacher at Force Elementary, as she fought back tears.

Denver Public Schools Superintendent Susana Cordova said Thursday that the district and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association have agreed to continue negotiations while they wait to hear if state officials will intervene. A date for negotiations has not yet been set; Cordova said the two sides are working on it.

Union President Henry Roman said that to make any progress toward an agreement, the district needs to come to the table with more money. The two sides are separated by about $8 million.
“They need to be ready to bargain,” Roman said.

Meanwhile, the district continues to prepare for how to keep schools open if teachers walk out. Cordova sent a letter Tuesday to employees who work in the central office making clear the expectation that they will be deployed to schools to work as substitute teachers or in non-instructional roles, such as hall monitors.

Central office employees, who include many administrators, will not be allowed to take vacation or personal leave from “now through the strike period” unless their time off was previously approved or they face “extenuating circumstances.”

Employees who refuse to follow the directive could face corrective action, district spokesperson Anna Alejo confirmed. District officials did not specify what corrective action means in this instance, but generally, it could include getting fired.

Teachers are also reporting pressure to stay on the job. On social media, some shared a letter from a district human resources employee that said immigrant teachers here on visas would be reported to immigration authorities if they don’t show up to work. The district later apologized, saying the human resources employee was mistaken.

READ MORE at The Colorado Independent

Denver teachers pack the lobby of the district headquarters to demand fair pay. (Photo by Melanie Asmar, Chalkbeat Colorado).