Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Teachers' strike holds strong in Baja

Lack of pension payouts the big issue

Striking teachers take to the streets
Striking teachers take to the streets

My eight-year-old godson in Tijuana has been sending me various versions of sad emoticons on Facebook for more than a week now. He is unhappy because, after a lengthy Easter vacation, school did not resume as scheduled.

My godson is one of hundreds of thousands of Baja California school children affected by a teachers' strike that began on Monday, April 13, when teachers began striking in phases. Only some primary schools for certain hours were affected at first.

By Monday, April 20, the strike had spread to all primary schools in the state served by teachers of Section 2 of the National Education Workers Union — more than 1800 elementary schools.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Gradually, the strike has spread to high schools, federal schools, and even to state schools established specifically to train teachers. Press accounts now estimate that more than 600,000 Baja California children will find school doors closed again on Monday, April 27.

At issue is some 653 million pesos (about $43 million) owed to current and retired teachers that has accumulated over the years and has yet to be paid. Both the federal and state governments have conceded that teachers are owed the money, they but are at odds over which jurisdiction owes how much.

State education secretary Mario Herrera Zárate told a civic group in Tijuana last week that Baja California was seeking a 900-million-peso loan (about $59.5 million) from private sources to cover what he described as “debts” owed to the teachers.

According to union leader Rogelio Alejandro Gudiño, some 30 retired teachers have died while awaiting payment of their pensions.

Teachers have taken to demonstrating in the streets of Baja California's major cities, including recent marches in Tijuana's Zona Rio and Baja's state capital, Mexicali. The Mexicali march, on Friday, April 24, drew an estimated 7000 teachers to the street, according to press accounts.

Federal and state authorities have been meeting with union officials in an attempt to resolve the strike amid growing public pressure for a solution. Union leaders said on Friday that some progress had been made, but advances were developing slowly.

In the meantime, teachers have vowed to stay out of the classroom until they receive all the money they are owed. The teachers' union has indicated they will not accept their back payments in dribs and drabs — that the only solution after years of waiting is that the payments be made in one fell swoop.

Some parents who can afford it have placed their children in private schools, while others have taken up home-schooling during the strike, according to the daily newspaper El Sol de Tijuana.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Jazz guitarist Alex Ciavarelli pays tribute to pianist Oscar Peterson

“I had to extract the elements that spoke to me and realize them on my instrument”
Next Article

At 4pm, this Farmer's Table restaurant in Chula Vista becomes Acqua e Farina

Brunch restaurant by day, Roman style trattoria by night
Striking teachers take to the streets
Striking teachers take to the streets

My eight-year-old godson in Tijuana has been sending me various versions of sad emoticons on Facebook for more than a week now. He is unhappy because, after a lengthy Easter vacation, school did not resume as scheduled.

My godson is one of hundreds of thousands of Baja California school children affected by a teachers' strike that began on Monday, April 13, when teachers began striking in phases. Only some primary schools for certain hours were affected at first.

By Monday, April 20, the strike had spread to all primary schools in the state served by teachers of Section 2 of the National Education Workers Union — more than 1800 elementary schools.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Gradually, the strike has spread to high schools, federal schools, and even to state schools established specifically to train teachers. Press accounts now estimate that more than 600,000 Baja California children will find school doors closed again on Monday, April 27.

At issue is some 653 million pesos (about $43 million) owed to current and retired teachers that has accumulated over the years and has yet to be paid. Both the federal and state governments have conceded that teachers are owed the money, they but are at odds over which jurisdiction owes how much.

State education secretary Mario Herrera Zárate told a civic group in Tijuana last week that Baja California was seeking a 900-million-peso loan (about $59.5 million) from private sources to cover what he described as “debts” owed to the teachers.

According to union leader Rogelio Alejandro Gudiño, some 30 retired teachers have died while awaiting payment of their pensions.

Teachers have taken to demonstrating in the streets of Baja California's major cities, including recent marches in Tijuana's Zona Rio and Baja's state capital, Mexicali. The Mexicali march, on Friday, April 24, drew an estimated 7000 teachers to the street, according to press accounts.

Federal and state authorities have been meeting with union officials in an attempt to resolve the strike amid growing public pressure for a solution. Union leaders said on Friday that some progress had been made, but advances were developing slowly.

In the meantime, teachers have vowed to stay out of the classroom until they receive all the money they are owed. The teachers' union has indicated they will not accept their back payments in dribs and drabs — that the only solution after years of waiting is that the payments be made in one fell swoop.

Some parents who can afford it have placed their children in private schools, while others have taken up home-schooling during the strike, according to the daily newspaper El Sol de Tijuana.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

WAV College Church reminds kids that time is short

College is a formational time for decisions about belief
Next Article

Dia de los Muertos Celebration, Love Thy Neighbor(Hood): Food & Art Exploration

Events November 2-November 6, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader