Oakland Local Defies CTA on Prop 1A
The Oakland Education Association has often been on the fringes of the California Teachers Association, but it’s unusual for any local to openly split ranks with the state union. Not only has OEA announced its opposition to the CTA-backed Proposition 1A, but its president is making public appearances and trying to rally other labor unions to its side.
“It’s not comfortable to be in the position of disagreeing with our state organization,” said Betty Olson-Jones, president of the Oakland Education Association, which represents about 2,800 teachers, counselors, nurses and librarians in the city’s public schools.
Still, Olson-Jones said, “We really cannot, in all good conscience, support any measure that would cap and cut vital social services, because they are needed by our students.”
Here’s a link to the open letter Olson-Jones sent to the other labor unions in the No on 1A coalition.
