For the past six days thousands of west Contra Costa County residents have been captivated by the WCCUSD teachers strike, which ended in the wee hours of Wednesday morning after a 12-hour negotiating session.
Students and teachers and their friends, families and neighbors have rallied and danced and debated and marched. They’ve been happy and angry and sad. They’ve kept students home from school and sent them across picket lines. And they’ve passionately given a collective voice to the problems facing local public schools.
As teachers and students prepare to return to their campuses Thursday for a “normal” day, here’s a look at some Richmondside images that help illustrate how school supporters joined forces to advocate for a better quality of education and just working conditions for employees.
“They will not listen to our teachers. They will undermine them and toss them aside. But when we get together in unity and strength, we create change.”
— Elias Avalos, Kennedy High student
Credit: Maurice Tierney for Richmondside
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“We know our work is not done. While we didn’t win everything we deserved, this strike allowed us to imagine our classrooms as they truly should be with staffing levels high enough to give every student the attention they need.”
— UTR President Francisco Ortiz, announcing the end of the strike on Dec. 10, 2025
Richmond resident Maurice Tierney has been taking photographs since the ’80s and has been shooting for Richmondside since it launched in June of 2024. You might see him commuting to an assignment around town on his bicycle. See more of his work here.
Photojournalist Tyger Ligon is new to Richmondside, joining us as a freelancer in 2025 after moving to the Bay Area from Chicago, where he earned multiple honors for his work from the Chicago Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. See more of his photos here.
Photos compiled by Richmondside Editor-in-Chief Kari Hulac. Richmondside education reporter Jana Kadah contributed to this story.
