The Dublin Teacher Association, or DTA, held an authorized strike across the Dublin Unified District from March 9th to the 11th. The East Bay Times said, “The Dublin Teachers Association said more than 98% of its members participated in a vote to authorize a strike, with over 95% voting in favor.”
Teachers who represent DTA proposed a new budget that invests in students and schools in the Dublin Unified District (DTA WEBSITE). This proposed idea intended to reduce spending on outside contractors, retain and recruit the best educators for students, improve health care, and invest in smaller classes.
Superintendent Funk said the District has faced $10 million in budget cuts in the last two years, and most likely another $6 to $7 million will be cut next school year as well. Budget constraints could lead to the loss of teaching positions. He also admitted to another $3.6 million in losses due to a budgeting error.
A hearing took place on February 23rd, 2026, with the support of a State-appointed neutral fact-finder. The Dublin Teachers Association and the Dublin Unified District met to exchange proposals and data as they sought an agreement. After twelve long hours of negotiating and fact-hearing, they were unable to reach an agreement.
Due to no agreements reached between DTA and the district, the outcome was a strike. Teachers all across the Dublin Unified District created picket lines around their designated school. School only lasted from 8:30 to 12:30 at campuses around Dublin.
Mia Salazar, a 7th-grade core teacher at Fallon Middle School, states, “We were striking over such a simple thing. We wanted counselors at every school, we wanted smaller class sizes, and we wanted easier caseloads for certain teachers. We were asking for things that are really student-centered and not crazy. Like we weren’t asking for a ton of stuff that seemed like it was just for our benefit, like for teachers’ benefit, it’s for everybody’s benefit and so to be faced with like the months of no, no, no from the district negotiators, it was infuriating to me personally, because I felt like what we were asking for was for the best for our students and nobody was listening to us. This strike had to happen because if we didn’t strike, then they wouldn’t think we were serious, and then our students would suffer.”
Students at Fallon Middle School had to stay in one classroom all day and work on packets provided by the substitutes. Students who stayed home were marked as an unexcused absence. Middle school student Noah Pakdaman (6) states, “I felt sad not going to school and not seeing my teacher those days.”
March 9th -11th was considered the first strike in the history of the Dublin Unified School District. According to “Negotiations Updates” on the official DUSD Website on March 11th, it states, “District and Dublin Teachers Association (DTA) representatives worked through the night following last night’s Board of Trustees meeting, continuing negotiations until approximately 2:00 a.m. Discussions resumed at 10:30 Wednesday morning, and both parties have remained in active talks throughout the day. The shared goal of these discussions has been, and must remain, to find common ground that balances the needs and priorities of both parties while remaining within the fiscal realities facing our district” (Negotiations Updates).
Both parties reached a final agreement that ended the strike. They agreed on smaller class sizes, the requirement of a counselor at every elementary school, better healthcare for employees, and a 2.3% cost-of-living adjustment for teachers. If it weren’t for our teachers, the Dublin schools wouldn’t be the same, as they are the ones who show up every day to educate the thousands of students in the DUSD. These agreements between the DTA and DUSD will last for 3 years, and students will continue to succeed with Dublin’s educators.
Sources:
- https://edsource.org/updates/dublin-unified-school-district-teachers-vote-to-authorize-strike
- https://dublinteachersassociation.com/
- https://www.pleasantonweekly.com/education/2026/02/08/united-and-serious-dublin-teachers-union-authorizes-strike-amid-stalled-negotiations/
- https://www.dublinusd.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=466645&type=d&termREC_ID=&pREC_ID=904768
- https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2026/02/05/dublin-teachers-vote-to-authorize-strike/
Dublin teachers vote to authorize strike
- file:///C:/Users/ZoeyI/Downloads/Recording%206.pdf
- Mia Salazar (7th grade Core)
- Noah Pakdaman (6th grade student)
