Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

A First Look at Fresno State’s Quarterback Battle

2 days ago

Israeli Columnist Alleges Ethnic Cleansing Plan in Gaza

2 days ago

Tesla to Roll out Bay Area Robotaxis With Safety Drivers, Report Says

2 days ago

Thailand and Cambodia Exchange Heavy Artillery Fire as Border Battle Expands

2 days ago

California Cannot Require Background Checks to Buy Ammunition, US Appeals Court Rules

3 days ago

TikTok Will Go Dark in US Without Chinese Approval of Sale Deal, Lutnick Says

3 days ago

Fresno County Authorities Still Searching for Missing Mother and Infant

3 days ago
It Took All Hands on Deck to Avoid Fresno Unified Teachers' Strike
Bill McEwen updated website photo 2024
By Bill McEwen, News Director
Published 8 years ago on
January 18, 2018

Share


Opinion
by Bill McEwen
The inevitable question after intense and protracted labor negotiations is, who won?
The cut-and-paste answer also is predictable: everyone.
The losers say it to save face. The winners — recognizing that there will be more contract battles in coming years — smartly refrain from rubbing the losers’ noses in the results.
But Wednesday, with teachers, trustees, administrators, labor reps and media members crowded into the Ann Leavenworth Elementary School library, the many pronouncements that “our community” and “our students” were the winners looked and felt real.
Fresno Unified’s teachers, along with the district’s other bargaining units, get pay raises and a better deal on healthcare. The teachers also will see class-size reductions and the creation of a union-district committee to address school safety concerns. Special education, which long has needed additional investment, will be the subject of another joint committee.
District leadership, meanwhile, spares itself and the community the black eye, expense and slowly healing wounds of Fresno Unified’s first teachers’ strike since 1978.

Long and Winding Road to Contract 

How did the district and its teachers move past 18 months of distrust and harsh words to come to an agreement?
And what happened during this dispute that inspired Superintendent Bob Nelson, Fresno Teachers Association President Tish Rice, and school board President Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas to all declare the start of a new era of cooperation Wednesday?
Nelson surely had an important role. He stuck to his guns and didn’t cave into to union demands simply to avoid the headaches of a strike. But he also never made the negotiations personal and he signaled strongly his empathy for teachers and the challenges they tackle daily in their classrooms. Simply put, he earned the trust of the union’s bargaining team.
There’s something else that’s really neat — and special — about Nelson: He can laugh at himself. If I were ever on a school board and looking to hire a superintendent, that’s a trait I would value.
Credit Rice, Jon Bath and others on the FTA team for staying committed to negotiating an agreement that helps teachers without requiring them to walk picket lines.

Smart Timing by Mediating Team

The outside mediating team had something to do with the positive outcome, too.
It wasn’t a coincidence that the timeline set by the team delayed the public release of its findings on the merits of each side’s latest offer until after Gov. Jerry Brown issued his proposed 2018-19 budget. The funding boost coming to Fresno Unified satisfied district leaders that they could comfortably sweeten their offer.

All Signs Pointed to a Strike Until …

You should also know that everything easily could have blown up. Up until the Thanksgiving break, both sides were deeply dug in. A friend of Fresno Pacific University professor Linda Hoff was following the news closely and was concerned about the damage a strike would do. The friend called Hoff and implored her to get involved.
Wouldn’t you know it? Hoff had worked with Rice on education projects at Fresno High. And Hoff knew somebody with the skills to thaw the freeze and get everyone talking. Joining Hoff: Fresno Pacific colleague Larry Dunn, an associate professor of peacemaking and conflict studies. Talk about a situation that begged for someone skilled in peacemaking.


Linda Hoff

Larry Dunn
So Hoff reached out to Rice. A few folks from both sides met informally. Hoff served chocolates, people talked and Dunn kept the peace. More people got involved and, inch by inch, progress was made. Then one day last week, the parties officially bargained until 2 a.m. They went at it again Tuesday night, finally getting a deal at 4:50 a.m.

Dawn of a New Era?

Fast forward to 1:10 p.m. Wednesday.
“This is the dawn of a new era” of trust and collaboration,” Nelson said.
You’ve heard this before. Many of you, perhaps, are of the opinion that Fresno Unified will never get over the hump and blossom into a high-achieving school district.

“The real work begins today.” — FTA President Tish Rice
Again, this felt different. This board of trustees and this superintendent appear genuinely interested in teaming with teachers to help students. Equally important: Teachers are willing to take a chance on a fresh start after more than a decade of being beaten down by the previous administration.
“I believe I heard a collective sigh of relief from the community as I drove over here,” Rice said. “There are more wins to come for the community.”
And then a reminder from Rice that healing old wounds and building trust are easier said than done.
“The real work begins today.”
 

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Visalia Police Arrest Wanted Man Following DUI Traffic Stop and Chase

DON'T MISS

Trump, EU’s Von Der Leyen to Meet on Sunday to Clinch Trade Deal

DON'T MISS

Israel Announces Daily Pauses in Gaza Fighting as Aid Airdrops Begin

DON'T MISS

California School Board Resigns After Audit Reveals $180M in Improper Funding

DON'T MISS

NASA Says 20% of Workforce to Depart Space Agency

DON'T MISS

Frustration, Gaza Alarm Drove Macron to Go It Alone on Palestine Recognition

DON'T MISS

Trump Golfs in Scotland as Epstein Questions Persist

DON'T MISS

Visalia Police Arrest Armed Robbery Suspect at Long John Silver’s

DON'T MISS

Grand Rising Brings Sober Day Party Vibes to Fresno

DON'T MISS

Jack McAuliffe, Who Started a Craft Beer Revolution, Dies at 80

UP NEXT

California School Board Resigns After Audit Reveals $180M in Improper Funding

UP NEXT

Grand Rising Brings Sober Day Party Vibes to Fresno

UP NEXT

Fresno Crash Leaves One Dead After Car Submerges in Canal

UP NEXT

Lemoore Farmers Fed Up With Lack of Representation on Groundwater Agency

UP NEXT

‘Jenny from the Block’ Rescued After Camping Out by Calwa ATM

UP NEXT

Tulare Officer Injured in Crash While Trying to Save Unresponsive Infant. Child Dies at Hospital

UP NEXT

PBS Has a Future by Leaving the Past Behind: Opinion

UP NEXT

Fresno Council Candidate Rassamni Says City Is Investigating Him Amid Allegations by Arias

UP NEXT

Fresno First Responders Talk Person Down off Parking Garage Ledge

UP NEXT

Oregon Schools Face Federal Probe Over Transgender Athletes

Bill McEwen,
News Director
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email

California School Board Resigns After Audit Reveals $180M in Improper Funding

1 day ago

NASA Says 20% of Workforce to Depart Space Agency

1 day ago

Frustration, Gaza Alarm Drove Macron to Go It Alone on Palestine Recognition

1 day ago

Trump Golfs in Scotland as Epstein Questions Persist

1 day ago

Visalia Police Arrest Armed Robbery Suspect at Long John Silver’s

1 day ago

Grand Rising Brings Sober Day Party Vibes to Fresno

1 day ago

Jack McAuliffe, Who Started a Craft Beer Revolution, Dies at 80

1 day ago

Fresno Crash Leaves One Dead After Car Submerges in Canal

1 day ago

Lemoore Farmers Fed Up With Lack of Representation on Groundwater Agency

1 day ago

‘Jenny from the Block’ Rescued After Camping Out by Calwa ATM

1 day ago

Visalia Police Arrest Wanted Man Following DUI Traffic Stop and Chase

A 20-year-old man was arrested early Saturday morning after leading officers on a pursuit into Tulare County, authorities said. Just after 1...

8 hours ago

Visalia police arrested a 20-year-old man with multiple felony warrants early Saturday after he fled a DUI traffic stop, leading officers on a pursuit into Tulare County that ended with spike strips and a CHP PIT maneuver. (Visalia PD)
8 hours ago

Visalia Police Arrest Wanted Man Following DUI Traffic Stop and Chase

President Donald Trump attends a bilateral meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during the 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 21, 2020. (Reuters File)
9 hours ago

Trump, EU’s Von Der Leyen to Meet on Sunday to Clinch Trade Deal

Palestinians carry aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, July 27, 2025. (Reuters/Dawoud Abu Alkas)
9 hours ago

Israel Announces Daily Pauses in Gaza Fighting as Aid Airdrops Begin

The entire board of Highlands Community Charter in Sacramento stepped down after a state audit found the school improperly received over $180 million and engaged in questionable spending. (Shutter
1 day ago

California School Board Resigns After Audit Reveals $180M in Improper Funding

The NASA logo is seen at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., April 16, 2021. (Reuters File)
1 day ago

NASA Says 20% of Workforce to Depart Space Agency

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and French President Emmanuel Macron visit a ward for Palestinian patients at El Arish Hospital, close to the border with the Gaza Strip, in Arish, Egypt April 8, 2025. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS
1 day ago

Frustration, Gaza Alarm Drove Macron to Go It Alone on Palestine Recognition

U.S. President Donald Trump golfs at Trump Turnberry resort in Turnberry, Scotland, Britain, July 26, 2025. (Reuters/Phil Noble)
1 day ago

Trump Golfs in Scotland as Epstein Questions Persist

Noah Robinson, 38, was arrested after allegedly robbing a Visalia Long John Silver’s at knifepoint and attempting to flee through nearby backyards with $110 in stolen cash on Friday, July 25, 2025. (Visalia PD)
1 day ago

Visalia Police Arrest Armed Robbery Suspect at Long John Silver’s

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend