Congratulations YHS TEACHERS & STAFF!

Yucaipa High School teachers and staff deserve the recognition for this accomplishment that the district office administration and school board will surely brag about.

President Oedekerk and Supt. Hovey need to be reminded that without QUALITY teachers, a school is just a collection of buildings, fields, asphalt patches and concrete. Yucaipa teachers are the LOWEST PAID in the region. You can't expect to attract quality teachers in the future or retain the quality teachers you currently have when you insult them. We don't want to see the Distinguished School Banner become the backdrop for teachers striking on Yucaipa Blvd.

Do the right thing! Settle now!

614 days without a settlement!

Feeling the pinch?

Remember, every time we receive a salary adjustment that is less than COLA (cost of living) we are taking a pay cut. Yucaipa-Calimesa teachers are not being greedy, we're just trying to keep our heads above water.

613 days without a settlement!

Hayward Teachers Go On Strike!

Will Yucaipa be next?

You can learn more about the situation in Hayward and lend some words of encouragement by visiting their blog:

http://haywardteacherstogether.blogspot.com/

Community support for the strike is strong. According to a poll by a local television station, 85% of parents in the community support the teachers going on strike.

Link to News Story

News coverage from the picket lines show parents pulling their children out of school when learning that schools are lacking substitutes despite $300 day pay for substitute teachers.

Link to video

612 days without a settlement!

Could this be the board's new mission statement?

"If you repeat a lie enough times, it will resonate."

611 days without a settlement!

District finds way to waste even MORE $$$ sending out "Snot Grams"

Can you think of some better ways the district could have spent the $$$ they spent on postage, Xeroxing, and envelopes plus all the time for a clerk to stuff, address, apply postage and mail the "snot gram" you received today?

Obviously the senior administration of the district and the school board think it's better to waste taxpayer money sending out garbage rather than fairly compensate teachers.

610 days without a settlement!

We are Strong, and We are Together!

608 Days Without a Settlement!

So, you want to do something? Here are a few ideas:
1. Write a letter to the publisher of the News-Mirror, and let him know how you feel about the lack of coverage this bargaining crisis is getting. We are one of the city's largest employee groups, and we deserve fair treatment by the press as well as the District. Tell him that there are 1050 CTA members in Yucaipa and Calimesa, and we will be encouraging them to take action - like maybe cancelling their subscriptions.
2. Write a letter to the editor of the News-Mirror, and hope it can get published.
3. Talk to parents. Encourage them to contact board members and push for a settlement.
4. Talk to business owners and community leaders. They have a lot at stake, and labor unrest is not something that brings new business and new residents. Encourage them to contact board members and push for a settlement.
5. Talk to any of your colleagues who so far have been inactive or absent from negotiations support activities. Encourage them to participate!
6. Sign your name to the newspaper ad, which your reps have been circulating. Don't be afraid to go public with your name and support.
7. Sign your name to the "WE ARE YCEA" posters that identify you by site. Show the District that it's not just YCEA leadership pressing for a fair settlement.
8. SHOW UP at the picketing on May 1.
9. SHOW UP at the picketing on May 9.
10. SHOW UP at the rally on May 10.
11. Write letters to the editors of the San Bernardino Sun and the Riverside Press-Enterprise. You can do these either on paper or via their websites/email.

Any more ideas? We'll add them to the list.

How's that for a formal statement of the obvious!

Instead of the traditional prevacation "snotgram" the District mailed each teacher a form explaining that if we had accepted the T.A. back in June with what amounted to a 6.5% pay increase (over 2 years) we would currently be making MORE money.

The Blog Committee would like to formally thank Mitch and Ted for spending district funds to provide us with a statement of the painfully obvious.

What would really be helpful is to see the same calculations for ... let's say ... a Colton-like settlement of more 10% for the same period. Why should Yucaipa and Calimesa teachers settle for less?