The Red for Ed nationwide teachers strike tour is now in Oakland, California, where teachers abandoned their classrooms Thursday to take up picket signs and demand a 12 percent raise taxpayers can’t afford.

In many places, the protesting educators toted young kids along for the ride, giving them picket signs and convincing them of their righteous mission to “save public education” from greedy “billionaires” working to destroy their schools.

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The reality is the Oakland Education Association’s collective bargaining agreement with the district expired in 2017, and union bosses want a 12 percent raise for members over three years, as well as a lot of new employees who pay dues, including more teachers, nurses, counselors, and psychologists. The district is offering to raise salaries 8.5 percent over four years, and to reduce class sizes by 1 percent, KGO reports.

The teachers union is also demanding the Oakland Unified School District reverse course on the recent decision to shutter 24 schools to close a $30 million budget deficit. The move comes as the district continues to encourage the growth of charter schools in the city, which compete directly with the unionized schools for students, and could face a state takeover if it doesn’t get its finances in order.

A fact finder appointed by the state issued a non-binding report of recommendations to help settle the contract dispute in Oakland on Friday, but the OEA rejected the report and walked out on strike instead.

KQED reports:

Najeeb Khoury, the neutral fact-finder, recommended a new contract that would last through the 2019-2020 school year and would include 3 percent pay increases over the first two years and reopen talks for a salary increase in the third year.

“Parents, especially those reliant on walking and public transportation, want strong neighborhood schools. Rather than follow the parents’ agenda, these moves are being pushed by a group of billionaires with a political agenda and their campaign contributions,” OEA President Keith Brown said.

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Teachers donned “Red for Ed” as they took to the streets Thursday in front of schools across the city, blasting music and waiving large signs along the roadside. Schools remained open, but many students were on the picket lines rather than in the classroom, KGO reports.

Pictures and videos posted online show teachers toting preschools with union-printed signs in hand, chanting protest slogans in Spanish.

Six-year-old Djumi became a prop for Stephanie Lister in her campaign for more cash when she posted a picture of the youngster to Twitter to promote the cause.

“Djumi, 6 years old, knew exactly what her sign would say ‘Treat teachers like puppies’ because everyone loves puppies,” Lister posted.

The “East Bay Majority” also posted several images of young children doing the OEA’s bidding. In one, three elementary aged students hold up a sign reading, “Stop starving our schools” that also featured a heart around the word “teachers.”

In another Twitter post, Eric Blanc posted a picture of a young Hispanic boy who apparently spent his class time making protest signs Wednesday in anticipation of the strike.

“I am proud to go on strike for my family and friends,” the sign read. It also featured a clutched fist holding a pencil.

It’s unclear how long the OEA will hold education hostage in Oakland. Recent strikes in Los Angeles and Denver lasted for several days before school officials caved and inked expensive deals to get teachers back to work. A teachers strike in West Virginia this week – the second in a year, this time to kill school choice options – only lasted one day before politicians gave in.

In Oakland, the OEA and socialist and communist support organizations have reportedly raised over $100,000 in the run-up to the strike to feed teachers, kids, and anyone else who wants to come out for the collective tantrum.

Socialist Worker reports:

The Alameda County Labor Council and member unions will honor picket lines and support OEA at daily pickets and rallies. The historic Grand Lake Theater will host special shows, including the film Black Panther, on the first day of the strike, at a cost of $1 admission and $1 for popcorn. The Oakland Museum of California will provide free admission to students during the strike.