Twin Rivers United Educators Strike FAQs (January 2026)
Why is a strike a possibility in the Twin Rivers Unified School District?
Twin Rivers Unified School District is one of the most fiscally sound unified school districts in the state. It receives two thousand dollars ($2000) more per student than surrounding unified school districts, and has an unrestricted reserve of $79.6 million and another special reserve fund of $93.5 million. Most significantly, however, rather than spend state funding on students as set forth in Ed Code, TRUSD administrators have skimmed over $115 million over the past six years, revenue that is specifically mandated to be spent on “classroom teacher salaries.”
TRUSD administrators’ willingness to shortchange students is reflected in their negotiations. After 11 months of bargaining, including two months of mediation, the District has not reached a binding agreement on a single TRUE proposal. The average Twin Rivers educator is paid $10,000 per year less than other teachers in the region who also receive fully-employer paid health insurance for themselves and their dependents. Twin Rivers educators are forced to pay over $20,000 per year for health insurance benefits for themselves and their families. The only Twin Rivers employee who receives fully-employer paid benefits is Superintendent Steve Martinez. In addition to benefits, Mr. Martinez is also paid $378,049 per year in salary, plus a $10,000 a year car allowance, a second retirement account, and a $450,000 life insurance benefit.
We are simply fighting for a contract that TRUSD can afford that meets regional standards:
- Enforcing Staffing Standards, Lower Class Sizes and Improved Services to Students
- Competitive Wages
- Fully-Employer Paid Health Insurance (just like Superintendent Martinez)
- An end to reliance on Outside Contractors.
Are negotiations continuing?
We’ve been bargaining since February 2025. In October, after the District refused to reach a binding agreement on any item, the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) determined the parties were at impasse, and the parties entered mediation. The parties met with the mediator in November and again on January 5. Because of the District’s continued bad faith actions, we requested that the mediator release us to fact-finding and we were released on Friday, January 9.
What is fact-finding?
Fact-finding is the next step in the negotiation process. In fact-finding, a neutral third party is assigned by the state to convene a hearing before a panel consisting of the fact-finder and a representative of the union and a representative of the District. After listening to a presentation from both parties in which they present arguments to support their bargaining proposals, the fact-finding panel meets to determine whether a settlement can be reached. In that process, it is not uncommon for negotiations to resume under the auspices of the fact-finding panel. If an agreement is not reached during this process, the fact-finder issues a non-binding recommended settlement. Neither party is required to accept the rejection, and the panelists indicate whether they will accept, reject, or partially accept/reject the recommending settlement. After the fact-finder has made the recommendation, a union has the legal right to strike. Independent of the fact-finding process, the union also has the right to strike if an employer has engaged in bad faith bargaining or unfair labor practices, which is the case here in our negotiations with TRUSD.
What will we vote on?
Beginning on January 20, we will be holding meetings at school sites to vote on whether to authorize the bargaining team to authorize a strike in the event that the District continues to bargain in bad faith and fails to negotiate a fair agreement. Voting to give the bargaining team that authority does not mean that a strike is a certainty, but rather that a strike can be called if necessary to win a fair contract.
If a strike is necessary, when is it likely to occur?
Although the union has a right to strike over TRUSD’s bad faith bargaining at any time, a strike is unlikely to occur before the fact-finding process described above has concluded. The fact-finding process will be likely to conclude in early to mid March.
Why don’t we all just call in sick?
A sick-out does not have the same legal protections as a strike. By making our protest an official job action, we are letting the broader community know that there are major problems at TRUSD and that we are united to address those problems.
Can anyone be disciplined for striking?
Absolutely not. It is unlawful for any employee to be disciplined for participating in a legal strike. To date, there are no known examples where any certificated educator has ever been disciplined for participating in a legal strike.
What about probationary, temps, and interns?
All employees, regardless of their status, have the legal right to strike and cannot be disciplined or discriminated against in any way.
Is a strike considered a break in service?
No, it is not.
Will a strike have any effect on retirement?
In all likelihood no. First, there is a possibility to negotiate make-up days with the District. Second, even if a makeup-days are not agreed to, because of the CALSTRS calculation formulas, which bases educators’ pensions on their highest three years of earnings, the loss of days from a strike will have a minimal effect.
How long would a strike last?
If no agreement is reached, the strike will last until we have reached a settlement that is acceptable to our members.