On Friday, our second day of mediation, we held a rally before school to show support for our hardworking bargaining team and send a strong message to the PCS Board that we are committed to upholding the mission of our school. The faculty of United PCS are so grateful for the overwhelming showing of support, solidarity and love from our PCS and Santa Cruz community. Below, we share a few highlights, as well as what’s next in our bargaining process and how you can continue to support our work.
You can also read about the rally and our ongoing fight for a fair contract in these recent articles by the Santa Cruz Sentinel and Lookout Santa Cruz!
a few highlights…
Current and former faculty (including celebrity appearances by Cindy Gorski, Kelsey Flood & Gabe Cohn), parents, students and Santa Cruz community members started off their Friday morning with lots of dancing, rallying and an incredible display of solidarity.
(image credit: Gail Pellerin @asmgailpellerin)
We had support from leaders in our community, including Assemblywoman Gail Pellerin and PCS student government!
(image credit: Gail Pellerin @asmgailpellerin)
We were blown away by our students’ support.
(image credit: CTA @wearecta)
We braved the chilly weather with beanies, hot coffee (from newly-unionized Starbucks on Mission St.!) and lots of dancing.
(image credit: CTA @wearecta)
We concluded the rally with remarks by United PCS president Mary Gardner, and the reading of our unanimously signed strike petition by Biology teacher Kyle Walters. Then it was time for a walk-in to ensure that teachers and students were in their classrooms with plenty of time to get settled in and focused for another day of teaching and learning at PCS. It was really a hybrid walk-in/dance-in to the tune of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” - a fitting conclusion to an exuberant display of solidarity and community.
video credit: Joe Thompson
Next Steps…
After a long second day of mediation, we unfortunately did not come to an agreement with PCS, and our next mediation date is scheduled for February 10.
In the meantime, here are some concrete ways you can support PCS Faculty as we work to secure a fair contract that upholds the mission of our school. As this process continues, it is more important than ever for the PCS Board to see that the PCS community supports its educators.
Attend the next PCS Board meeting on Wednesday Feb 1 at 6pm, at PCS and speak up during public comment. Plan to arrive and speak at 6pm; this is the time for public comment on closed session topics (labor negotiations). If you speak at the later public comment time, it will be after the board has discussed negotiations.
We know it can be intimidating to speak publicly, but if you are able to attend in person, it is so important for our Board to hear form you directly.
Can’t attend the meeting? E-mail the members of our board of directors; their contact information can be found here.
If you haven’t yet, subscribe to our website for updates; scroll to the bottom of this page for the sign-up form. And, follow our Instagram for up-to-date information @unitedpacificcollegiate).
We are committed to upholding the mission of Pacific Collegiate School
We will close this update by sharing the text of our strike petition, unanimously signed by our membership, as it summarizes why we are committed to seeing this process through and securing a fair contract.
To the Board and Management of Pacific Collegiate School:
We want to settle a contract that prioritizes our students, our teachers, and our school community. When we first began this process in March 2022, we set forth a clear bargaining platform that includes: (1) Preserving our student-centered mission; (2) Fairly compensating our educators; and (3) Increasing community collaboration and transparency. Unfortunately, after several months of negotiations, we do not feel PCS is acting with enough urgency in light of the serious issues facing staff turnover, decreasing morale among students and staff, and our lack of diversity in our school community.
In fact, our United PCS bargaining platform shares the same core values as the PCS Strategic Plan, which notably states the following:
We will recruit, develop and retain staff, faculty, and leadership reflective of the demographics of our surrounding area, committed to PCS values, and equipped to advance excellence for all students by advancing the following goals:
Providing competitive compensation, benefits and additional incentives to make PCS a premier employer in the area.
Recruiting & retaining PCS faculty and staff that better reflect the demographics of our county and evolving student body.
Cultivating school leaders who practice and model PCS values.
It is our sincere belief everything we’re advocating for is in alignment with PCS and its values. And for that reason, if the PCS Board cannot meaningfully address its own core values in these negotiations, we want the Board to know:
We are willing to stand for our students.
We are willing to stand for our school.
We are willing to strike.