Hayward Unified School District Asks For Injunction To End Strike

Apr. 20 - KGO (KGO) -- The Hayward school district will take court action today to force striking teachers back in the classroom. Meanwhile, the teachers and parents who support them are marching in the street today, charging the district with not negotiating in good faith.

The teachers and kids marching are part of group called Families In Action and it was created because of the teacher's strike. When they get to district headquarters they will ask to see the superintendent personally. They would like to deliver letters to him, written by their children in support of their teachers who want a 16 percent pay raise.

The superintendent says the kids should be in school so today he's going to take steps to file an injunction to force the teachers to go back to the classroom. It's a move the teachers see as an insult.

Dale Vigil, Hayward U.S.D. superintendent: "The whole purpose of the injunction is to get our students back in. They are being denied an education. We want to make sure they get an education for the rest of this school year."

Julie Greenfield, union leader: "We want to get back to school just as badly as he does, probably even more. But there is another way to get us back and that is to settle the strike."

Teachers see the injunction as a sign that their strike is effective and they want the right to continue picketing so they can continue to have an impact.

But district officials say only a quarter of Hayward students have been attending school since the strike started, and with testing season coming, they think it's important to get the kids back in class. School officials contend they continue to negotiate the contract while the kids are in the class.

Julie Greenfield, union leader: "The STAR testing is not for the kids. It's for the state to know how the kids are doing. So the kids are nor missing anything by missing the STAR testing. It affects the district, not the kids."

Dale Vigil, Hayward U.S.D. superintendent: "Some of our high school kids have been accepted to colleges. If they don't finish those course requirements they'll be denied that opportunity to go the college of their choice."

Here's how it works. Today, an attorney for the district will file the injunction with a state neutral board. That board decides whether the injunction should be forwarded on to a judge. The judge decides whether the teachers have to go back to class or if they can continue striking. The district is hoping to get that decision early next week.

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