Huntington Beach : Teachers Stage ‘Work-In’ to Protest Negotiations

With contract negotiations deadlocked, five teachers are holding what they call a “work-in” at Edison High School, vowing to stay until graduation day if no settlement is reached. Two have stayed in at the school since Monday, and three others have joined in the protest this week.

The work-in is intended as a positive response to the frustration generated by the lack of movement in the negotiations, the teachers said.

The Huntington Beach Union High School District board of trustees “pushed us and pushed us and pushed us, so finally we had to do something,” said geography teacher Gary Rhoades. “This is a positive way of showing our discontent.”

Don Leavey, a world history teacher, agreed: “This is an attempt not to hurt the kids. But we’re frustrated to the point that we’re willing to sacrifice our social lives away from campus.”

Wednesday evening, history teacher Michael Shimpock and English teacher Pete Burwell prepared to sleep on couches in the social studies office, as they did the previous night. Changes of clothing hung from the rafters, and placards stood in a corner, one proclaiming: “Teachers are not the enemy of education.”

On Tuesday, Rhoades, Shimpock and Leavey sent a letter to Supt. Marie Otto stating: “. . . We are denying ourselves our personal lives with our families and friends until constructive progress is made in the negotiating process.”

On Wednesday, the four were joined by model United Nations teacher Ken Ammann. District administrators “tell you you’re not worth anything, then they tell you you’re worth 1%; they treat you like a hired hand,” he said, referring to salary-increase offers tendered by the district during the eight months of negotiations. The group says it will continue the protest until June 20--graduation day--unless there is progress in the talks.

Otto was not available for comment Wednesday, but a district spokeswoman said she had heard rumors about the work-in. A negotiating session with an independent mediator broke down shortly before noon Wednesday, and a 9 p.m. board meeting that had been called to discuss progress in the talks was cancelled.