Parents concerned of possible Fresno Unified teacher strike

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Thousands of teachers and supporters gathered at the Fresno Fairgrounds on Wednesday night.

Educators were asked to vote on whether or not to strike after months of failed labor contract negotiations.

"This is not good enough to transform education in Fresno Unified. If we want to do better we need to prioritize our classrooms first," said Manuel Bonilla, president of the Fresno Teachers Association.

But Fresno Unified says the ball is in the teacher's association's court.

"We've asked them to put in writing, specifics of their four items that they say are still outliers so that we can work collaboratively off a document to land those four items and get it settled before it comes to the situation of folks striking," said Fresno Unified Superintendent, Bob Nelson.

The key items up for negotiation are a better salary, health benefits, and investing in the classroom by reducing class sizes and special needs caseloads.

If teachers vote to strike, the district says they're required to give 60 hours notice to the community.

On Thursday, you could see support for their cause throughout neighborhoods.

But the possibility of a strike is concerning for parents like Abreya Young.

"That might make kids drop out of school, cause the teachers won't be here no more," said Young.

But Fresno Unified says they're prepared for the possibility of a walk-out with 2,100 substitute teachers ready to fill classrooms.

"Every substitute that comes through Fresno Unified has been fingerprinted, background checked, and made sure to meet all of the requirements for safety well before they're placed in our classrooms," said Nelson.

Bonilla tells Action News they're hoping to have the results of the vote by Monday.

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