Oakland Teachers Ramp Up Strike Readiness

By Ken Epstein

In an escalation of labor pressure, hundreds of teachers boycotted district-organized Professional Development (PD) sessions, instead attending a mass, Oakland Education Association (OEA) rally this week at Lake Merritt to demand the Oakland Unified School District begin bargaining “in good faith” for a new union contract.

The rally Wednesday afternoon was held at the Lake Merritt Amphitheater, across from the Oakland Museum.

Chairing the rally, OEA Vice President Kampala Taiz-Rancifer said the union has been trying to negotiate for months with the school district for a new contract but has not received responses to its demands for “dignity, respect in the workplace … for a living wage (and)… for student supports and community schools.”

“Oakland has been bargaining with OUSD for safe and racially just community schools,” she said.

“We are here today to demand that OUSD bargain with us in good faith.”

OEA Interim President Ismael Armendariz said, “Today, we took a step in having a labor action; we walked out on our [professional development]. That is an escalation.”

“OUSD has been bargaining with OEA since October,” he continued. “We have a 51-member the site as a center for higher education.

In a reply to a recent letter to Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan, Jeanine Hawk, HNU’s vice president for finance and administration, wrote that HNU has already placed the property on the market through real estate broker, Mike Taquino at CBRE marketing, to market the property and is already or to me,” she wrote. She added that HNU had sent letters to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) so see if they might be interested in establishing a campus on the West Coast.

The CBRE Group, Inc. is the world’s largest commercial real

Continued on page 12 bargaining team that spent hours crafting [21] bargaining proposals.

OUSD has come to the table with two unserious proposals and zero counter [proposals].”

Criticizing the district’s approach to bargaining in public, he said, “We cannot bargain on Facebook Live; we are going to bargain at the table.”

He accused the district of spreading “fear, uncertainty and doubt to divide us as workers,” which is a “boss tactic,” adding that the district is talking about a budget crisis, even though it has received $66 million from the state to develop community schools.

“There is always a budget crisis when we’re bargaining,” Armendariz said.

OEA is getting ready to take a vote to see if members are prepared

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African American Vintners Showcased in Black Vines Event

By Carla Thomas

Black Vines: A Toast to Black Wineries, Black Art and Black Culture held their 12th anniversary event on Saturday, Feb. 25 at The Bridgeyard, near the Judge John Sutter Regional Shoreline in Oakland. It is the longest-running African American winemaker showcase.

Hundreds of guests gathered to celebrate and enjoy a live jazz band while sampling wines and a featured option on flights with Alaska Airlines.

Winemakers and vintners at Black Vines included Free Range Flower Winery, Wachira Wines, She Wines, Vintnoir, P. Harrell, and Bass Note Sangria, among others.

“We see this event as an extension of their collective and independent outreach efforts to increase awareness, visibility and market demand for these labels.

Our core mission is to provide a