Compton : Sickouts Spread as Teachers Protest Pay Talks
Teachers in Compton have stepped up their protest over the lack of a contract, calling in sick at one or more schools every day this week. Until now, the “blue flu,” as the work actions are called, was striking schools only intermittently and one at a time.
But on Monday, large numbers of teachers at Compton High School and Washington Elementary School called in sick. On Tuesday, only two teachers and two counselors showed up for work at Walton Middle School and Marian Anderson Elementary School.
And Anderson teachers stayed home again on Wednesday, along with teachers at Foster and Roosevelt elementary schools. The sickouts this week appear to be occurring at schools that are being visited by state accreditation teams or that have an open house scheduled.
The Compton Unified School District and the Compton Education Assn., which represents the 1,000 teachers, are locked in a battle over pay. No talks have been held since last fall, when the district asked a state fact-finding team to assess its financial situation. The report has not yet been released.
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