At Oakland ‘art build,’ teachers paint picket signs in advance of possible strike

OAKLAND — The Oakland Unified School District and the union representing its teachers spent Saturday in negotiations over a new contract. Neither side would comment but, even as they were at the table, the rank-and-file were at work on a colorful show of solidarity for a possible strike.

At Oakland Education Association headquarters, union teachers and sympathizers gathered for an “art build” where they prepared the picket signs they will use in the event a strike is called.

“It feels energizing,” said teacher Ebony Perry. “It’s really energizing to see all of my colleagues here.”

Perry has been working in the district for 20 years and said he understands that a strike threat this close to the end of the term will not be well received by some.

“This is the perfect time, I believe, to strike,” he said. “Unfortunately, toward the end of the school year with testing and a lot of things going on but we have to send a big message to the district that we’re not going to settle just for anything that you offer.”

These art builds have become a relatively common occurrence in Oakland.  The union staged a citywide strike in 2019 over salary levels that, they say, drive experienced teachers away. And there was another one-day strike last year over the issue of school closures.  

“Teacher strikes have happened a couple of times in the past couple of years because teachers are fed up,” said elementary school teacher Jose Padilla.  “For years, we’ve been having our budgets slashed and our wages have not been increasing with our cost of living.”

Instead of just printing out a bunch of signs, in Oakland, the tradition is to hand-color them. They say it’s a subtle message — to both the district and the community — about the commitment of the people making them.

“Artwork always inspires and keeps us hopeful,” said Linda Tapia, a worker at Manzanita Seed Elementary. “And we are also using our skills to send a message to the community and OUSD.  They see how much effort we put into it, not only for this but this is the kind of effort that we also use when we’re in the classroom with our kids.”

Nine-year-old Isadora Karjian was getting pretty good with a power screwdriver as she assembled signs.  She said she was doing it for fun and to support the teachers but there may have been an ulterior motive.

“For me, school is sometimes boring — emphasis on ‘sometimes’ — but I won’t be in tears if school is canceled!” she said with a smile.

The kids may be OK with it but the adults said they would like to avoid a strike. All signs, however, indicate a strike is a very real possibility.