To protest unsatisfactory negotiations with the district, the San Mateo Union High School District Teachers’ Association staged a “Work to Rule” day on Nov. 18, the same day as negotiations between the district and the union. Participating teachers only performed the duties required of them by contract, not allowing students in their classrooms during lunch for extra assistance or club meetings.
The current contract requires that a teacher arrive at school by 7:45 a.m and stay until 3:30. Teachers get a 30-minute lunch break where they are not required to help students or host clubs. Teachers who are also coaches stay for practice, even in the case of a “Work to Rule” day, because they are paid a stipend in exchange for staying later.
The “Work to Rule” day was part of a larger show of support for the teachers union. Special education teacher and union representative Kirt Peterson says, “We had 65 to 70 teachers go to the board meeting last week, we wore stickers to support our team, we wore black on Monday and today we asked all of our members to close their doors at lunch to show the students the value we have.”
The posters teachers put on their door cited the rising costs of healthcare in the face of a large budget surplus as the main reason for the “Work to Rule” day. Peterson says, “You can say we have a competitive salary, but Sequoia Union district just got a raise and they have full healthcare benefits. If the district keeps this up, they will lose classified staff and certificated staff. We are going to start losing teachers to other districts if we cannot pay a competitive salary. People aren’t going to be able to live here.”
This article makes the district the enemy. But really, the district shouldn’t have to pay over double the price for every teacher’s healthcare. The real problem lies in the Health Insurance companies themselves. They should not be raising the cost of healthcare in the first place. In most countries, healthcare is free, even to foreigners. They can walk straight into a hospital and get treated, without having to worry about the costs. This problem at its core, lies in the greediness of the insurance companies, not the district.