“Why not us?”

“We’re not going away!” Teachers yell at the Sweetwater Union High School District (SUHSD) Administration Center. Raised high in the air were posters reading “Show us you care!” and “My rent increases but my pay does not!”

Branded with the phrase “Unity is Power” written on Sweetwater Education Association (SEA) T-shirts, a frustrated crowd of teachers rally by SEA representatives at the administration building entrance. As SUHSD administration members entered the building, Rancho Del Rey Middle (RDRM) English teacher Jasper Daleo clung desperately to the fence that separated teachers from the board members they cried out to.

Daleo shouted, “We deserve a raise!” But the doors to the building closed. The office building opened later only to allow speakers for the scheduled SUHSD Board meeting inside.

On March 14, SEA—representing more than 1,800 employees—organized a pre-SUHSD board meeting rally in protest of the district’s “disrespectful” salary offer made during new contract negotiations. 

“I feel disrespected because your income, your cost of living, are the sacrifices you make. Other higher officials get raises. So why aren’t we getting what we deserve?” Bonita Vista High (BVH) Integrated Math I teacher Ray Peterson said. 

Over the last two years, the state of California raised the Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) funds provided to school districts by five percent. Corresponding wage increases were given to San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) employees, with SUHSD lagging behind amidst their own financial crisis. SEA requested similar wage increases during new contract negotiations. Following a series of tense email exchanges, SUHSD ended negotiations with a final statement offering only a temporary two percent to employees. This aroused district wide discontent, sparking the protest.   

“Why are you putting us last?” Otay Ranch High Advanced Placement Geography teacher Alexandra Sanders said during the meeting, facing the Board of Trustees with audible frustration.

Contract negotiations were previously scheduled to take place last year but were put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to help SUHSD survive pandemic financial issues, district employees took a two percent pay cut. Approaching contract finalization, teachers and staff push to be “paid what they deserve” for their distance learning efforts.    

“Two percent is unacceptable. We already gave them [SUHSD] two percent to help them save themselves. We have to renegotiate it,” BVH Math teacher and Lead Union Representative Aurelio Esparza said. “Because of everything we did for them during their trouble, and everything we worked for during COVID, we’re not happy with the disrespect.” 

Earlier that day, BVH teachers and staff took photos in front of the school dressed in their black SEA shirts—a symbol of “unity and solidarity to the district’s offer,” according to BVH International Baccalaureate (IB) English, Theory of Knowledge teacher and SUHSD curriculum specialist Kalie Espinoza. Union representatives and SUHSD relations continued to strain as district officials refused to negotiate further, prompting district employees to demonstrate their anger. 

“There was no room for discourse,” BVH English 9 Accelerated and IB English HL teacher Raymond Chhan said, “I think that teachers are just fed up.” 

As the costs of living in California continue to rise, teachers worry that with low wages, they will no longer be able to sustain themselves and continue their teaching jobs within the district. Many teachers who spoke during the meeting threatened to leave SUHSD in favor of SDUSD who offered their teachers higher wages. Espinoza mentions how she is considering leaving San Diego, as she can no longer afford rent with her current paycheck. 

“My rent keeps going up but my pay has stayed the same, we’re overworked and underpaid. We work our butts off and we want a raise,” Espinoza said.

Even while working as curriculum specialist for SUHSD, Espinoza expresses how important the cause is to her, acting as a representative for younger teachers within her district job.

“I’m still a teacher,” Espinoza said. “New teachers are afraid to advocate for themselves because they don’t wanna get called back the following year, I’m the person that can advocate for them.” 

Crowds at the pre-meeting rally cheered and chanted, passerbys honked their horns in support and school buses returning to the district parking lot honked even louder. Speeches during the meeting were followed by rallying cries that could even be heard from outside the building.

“By making noise, by making people uncomfortable, they’ll listen to us if they recognize that we’re not happy. We’re letting them know that we’re not just going to go quietly, that we’re not going to accept our ragtag raise. What we need is a raise that will allow us to keep living in San Diego,” Espinoza said. 

Although the demonstration was charged with feelings of frustration and anger at SUHSD officials, teachers hope that district members recognize their love and passion for their teaching jobs. They want the SUHSD to recognize that higher wages will allow them to continue working for the students they want to support. 

“I hope that the district recognizes how teachers have been very supportive and how we really love working in this district and we want to be a part of it. But there has to be some level of [financial] support,” IB English teacher Jason Good said. 

As protestors trickled out of the district parking lot, they left the meeting cheering and honking. A single poster sits on the floor of the meeting room, left by a frustrated teacher for every board member to see. It reads, “Stop dictating! Start negotiating.”

“I want people to realize that we love teaching, we want to be here in San Diego [and] we want to care for these students. We love these students. But we need to have the finances, the funding to do that. We hope that the community will support our efforts to ask to be paid what we deserve,” Espinoza said.