Cerritos : ABC Teachers Stage Sickout to Protest Contract Impasse

Teachers in the ABC Unified School District staged a wildcat sickout Monday to protest the district’s position in stalled contract negotiations.

In all, 169 of the district’s 900 teachers called in sick Monday. Particularly disrupted was Artesia High School, where 62 of 78 staff members did not go to work, district spokeswoman Helen Fried said.

At the school, more than 300 students staged a peaceful sit-in on campus grounds during third and fourth periods. Many students were protesting in support of teachers; others were unhappy with the interrupted academic schedule, Fried said.

Students who returned to class after lunch will not be penalized, Fried said. But students who left the campus could face discipline.

Teachers also could face disciplinary action, Fried said. Acting on rumors in advance of the sickout, the district distributed a memo Friday warning that absent teachers would have to provide a doctor’s note or risk having their pay docked for missed time.

Teachers union leaders said that policies described in the memo violate their contract. Instructors get six days of personal leave without advance approval per year, said Joan Elliot, co-president of the ABC Federation of Teachers.

The teachers have been working under terms of an expired contract since July. The main disagreements are over salaries.