11 February 2019 - Denver Teachers Go on Strike for the First Time in 25 Years
Denver teachers set to strike on Monday over pay
Chris Mills Rodrigo (The Hill, 10/02/2019)
Denver Public School (DPS) teachers will begin a strike on Monday over failed negotiations over compensation.
The Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) announced Saturday that they would begin striking for the first time in 25 years.
“Teachers were stunned when DPS proposed hiking incentives instead of putting that new money into base pay where it could make the entire district more competitive," DCTA President Henry Roman said. "We are incredibly disappointed that on the last day of bargaining and less than two days before a strike, they doubled down on one-time incentives teachers do not want, and the data shows do not work to keep teachers in their schools.”
Denver is so expensive that teachers have to get creative to make ends meet
Christina Zdanowicz (CNN, 10/02/2019)
For 14 months, teachers in Denver have been negotiating with Denver Public Schools for more pay. On Saturday, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association said talks had broken off and they'll walk on Monday.
Yes, it's about money, many have told CNN. But it's also about the uncertainty of living paycheck to paycheck. It's about the necessity of taking on a second or third job. It's about the untenability of carrying on this way much longer.
Here are some of their stories.
Denver teachers on track to strike for first time in 25 years
(CBS News, 10/02/2019)
Denver teachers are planning to strike Monday for the first time in 25 years after failed negotiations with the school district over base pay. The teachers union and Denver Public Schools met Saturday in an attempt to reach a new contract after more than a year of negotiations, but both sides left disappointed.
The Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) released a statement after the meeting saying the district's proposal lacks transparency and "pushes for failed incentives for some over meaningful base salary for all."
Denver teachers set to strike over better pay and working conditions
Michael Sainato (The Guardian, 10/02/2019)
School teachers in Denver, Colorado, are set to strike on Monday in the latest of a wave of actions that has swept the sector in the past year as educators battle for better pay and working conditions.
In Denver, teacher salaries have been steadily decreasing, leading to high turnover in the district. Teachers are forced to financially rely on bonuses and incentives beyond their control as part of a system called ProComp, first enacted in 2005.
“The bonuses and the amounts change every year. This has led to a problem where teacher salaries are different every year, and teachers, including myself, have been getting paid less every year,” said Michelle Garrison, a teacher at Farrell B Howell Early Childhood Education-8th grade school “You don’t ever get a paycheck that’s the same. It makes it hard for budgeting.”