The California Teachers Association reported paying Williams in each of the last three years for which it has filed. His disclosure forms list no income from CTA.
As long as the money behind corporate and labor-nonprofit corruption keeps misleading voters that ‘the other guy does it so it’s ok,’ we will continue to see our public services deteriorate and our elections dominated by demands for more tax money. It shouldn’t matter where the stolen tax money is being diverted. It’s up to us voters to defend our tax dollars by electing responsible adults and holding them accountable. The left-right blame game is just Kabuki theater to distract us. Look behind the curtain.
Thank you Charlene and Oakland Report. This corruption has to stop. Oakland needs new and better leaders. Our children deserve a real education and a future. They are our future. Mindy Pechenuk, for Oakland Mayor 2026
Peter, thank you for your comment, but it is not germane to this article. This article is about OUSD board member VanCedric Williams, his apparent failure to disclose the compensation he receives from CTA, and his decision not to recuse himself from voting on a union contact that has material benefits to CTA -- and by extension, himself.
The author provides extensive evidence and documentation -- including Williams' and CTA's own financial filings -- to support the article's findings. Readers can examine them and decide for themselves what to think about it.
Regarding corporate interests and influence in politics: two days ago, Oakland Report was the first to publish the full transcript of a recorded phone call between Andy Duong, executive at California Waste Solutions (a for-profit corporation) and a local council member in which Duong spoke of his influence over various local politicians to benefit his businesses. Duong is currently standing trial for bribery and corruption.
Earlier this week, Oakland Report was the first to publish an in-depth examination of the California Trucking Association's (a trade group that represents the for-profit trucking industry) political influence and lobbying of state legislators and Caltrans seeking to lift a decades-long ban on heavy trucks on Interstate 580 in Oakland.
If you have specific examples of errors or bias in this article about VanCedric Williams and California Teacher's Association, then please share them. But we assert that this article is not biased, and the burden of proof is on the person making the assertion that it is.
Thank you again for your comment, and for reading Oakland Report; the discussion is very much appreciated.
Educator representation on boards actoss the country is lacking at best. It is often overseen by business interests and people who have no background in education. Pro-Union sentiment is hard to find in this day in age precisely because disinformation of this kind. The article even states that this is common practice to reimburse the salaries of union staff and elected positions within the CTA. The hatred of teachers receiving fair compensation for the difficult work of education is laughable, and they still cannot live comfortably in the cities in which they work. The holes in district budgets come from their inability to properly spend Covid-19 limited funds in a LIMITED MANNER. You should be focusing on their consultant pay, pay to ouside organizations, and their mismanagement of funds paid to district office personnel. Teacher's have little representation as it is. And you're article takes common practice and highlights it as malfeasance. Ludicrous given the state of the country, prices of goods and services, and the failure of this Nation to properly defend public servants and their role in educating our children.
Nathan— Thank you for your comment. What, specifically in the article do you find factually inaccurate or misleading? Based on the facts documented in the article, do you agree with the board member’s actions, and why or why not?
how about school board and council members who are supported by donations for corporate interest. i don't see much of that reported here or by empower oakland. your biases show on every post
Peter, thank you for your comment, but it is not germane to this article. This article is about OUSD board member VanCedric Williams, his apparent failure to disclose the compensation he receives from CTA, and his decision not to recuse himself from voting on a union contact that has material benefits to CTA -- and by extension, himself.
The author provides extensive evidence and documentation -- including Williams' and CTA's own financial filings -- to support the article's findings. Readers can examine them and decide for themselves what to think about it.
Regarding corporate interests and influence in politics: two days ago, Oakland Report was the first to publish the full transcript of a recorded phone call between Andy Duong, executive at California Waste Solutions (a for-profit corporation) and a local council member in which Duong spoke of his influence over various local politicians to benefit his businesses. Duong is currently standing trial for bribery and corruption.
Earlier this week, Oakland Report was the first to publish an in-depth examination of the California Trucking Association's (a trade group that represents the for-profit trucking industry) political influence and lobbying of state legislators and Caltrans seeking to lift a decades-long ban on heavy trucks on Interstate 580 in Oakland.
If you have specific examples of errors or bias in this article about VanCedric Williams and California Teacher's Association, then please share them. But we assert that this article is not biased, and the burden of proof is on the person making the assertion that it is.
Thank you again for your comment, and for reading Oakland Report; the discussion is very much appreciated.
Williams had no conflict of interest because he DID NOT WORK for Oakland Unified School District. He was a teacher on part time release from San Francisco USD, only when he was doing CTA business. He didn't benefit directly from Oakland teacher's pay increase. Williams was elected by the representative body of CTA to be a director. He was also elected by Oakland voters to sit on the OUSD board. Full-time released presidents, who cannot run for the school board in the district in which they work, often get their pay reimbursed in a variety of ways. NO UNION DUES can go into electing school board members; CTA members have to elect to pay an additional amount to the PAC (that is not the same as the dues that goes toward paying for services for union members including collective bargaining, membership activities, and operations of the staff of the local). RE: Oakland teacher pay: as an Oakland resident I fully support that our teachers be paid a fair wage. Oakland teachers work as hard and have the same credentials as teachers in other California school districts. And yet they earn so much less. How is this fair? Is the author of the article claiming that Oakland teachers don't deserve a pay raise? Despite their poor pay they are fully committed to their students, many of whom come to school as underserved students. There is no comparison to what the union does for its over 300,000 members and the power of corporate control. Where was the outrage as Oakland schools were sold out to Charter schools who paid to get their people elected and exerted political pressure in the state--all for profit and not for the majority of our students. Shame on all of you for attacking those who speak up for having a quality educational staff with competitive salaries. These attacks appear to me as union busting tactics when we, as workers, need unions to protect us from those who would have us work for next to nothing.
He was less than transparent and less than honest. He answered the way he did intentionally. Just like Bill Clinton when he said he did not have sex with that woman. It's a shame that Board in Oakland seems to be less than honest.
As long as the money behind corporate and labor-nonprofit corruption keeps misleading voters that ‘the other guy does it so it’s ok,’ we will continue to see our public services deteriorate and our elections dominated by demands for more tax money. It shouldn’t matter where the stolen tax money is being diverted. It’s up to us voters to defend our tax dollars by electing responsible adults and holding them accountable. The left-right blame game is just Kabuki theater to distract us. Look behind the curtain.
Thank you Charlene and Oakland Report. This corruption has to stop. Oakland needs new and better leaders. Our children deserve a real education and a future. They are our future. Mindy Pechenuk, for Oakland Mayor 2026
Peter, thank you for your comment, but it is not germane to this article. This article is about OUSD board member VanCedric Williams, his apparent failure to disclose the compensation he receives from CTA, and his decision not to recuse himself from voting on a union contact that has material benefits to CTA -- and by extension, himself.
The author provides extensive evidence and documentation -- including Williams' and CTA's own financial filings -- to support the article's findings. Readers can examine them and decide for themselves what to think about it.
Regarding corporate interests and influence in politics: two days ago, Oakland Report was the first to publish the full transcript of a recorded phone call between Andy Duong, executive at California Waste Solutions (a for-profit corporation) and a local council member in which Duong spoke of his influence over various local politicians to benefit his businesses. Duong is currently standing trial for bribery and corruption.
Earlier this week, Oakland Report was the first to publish an in-depth examination of the California Trucking Association's (a trade group that represents the for-profit trucking industry) political influence and lobbying of state legislators and Caltrans seeking to lift a decades-long ban on heavy trucks on Interstate 580 in Oakland.
If you have specific examples of errors or bias in this article about VanCedric Williams and California Teacher's Association, then please share them. But we assert that this article is not biased, and the burden of proof is on the person making the assertion that it is.
Thank you again for your comment, and for reading Oakland Report; the discussion is very much appreciated.
Educator representation on boards actoss the country is lacking at best. It is often overseen by business interests and people who have no background in education. Pro-Union sentiment is hard to find in this day in age precisely because disinformation of this kind. The article even states that this is common practice to reimburse the salaries of union staff and elected positions within the CTA. The hatred of teachers receiving fair compensation for the difficult work of education is laughable, and they still cannot live comfortably in the cities in which they work. The holes in district budgets come from their inability to properly spend Covid-19 limited funds in a LIMITED MANNER. You should be focusing on their consultant pay, pay to ouside organizations, and their mismanagement of funds paid to district office personnel. Teacher's have little representation as it is. And you're article takes common practice and highlights it as malfeasance. Ludicrous given the state of the country, prices of goods and services, and the failure of this Nation to properly defend public servants and their role in educating our children.
Nathan— Thank you for your comment. What, specifically in the article do you find factually inaccurate or misleading? Based on the facts documented in the article, do you agree with the board member’s actions, and why or why not?
how about school board and council members who are supported by donations for corporate interest. i don't see much of that reported here or by empower oakland. your biases show on every post
Peter, thank you for your comment, but it is not germane to this article. This article is about OUSD board member VanCedric Williams, his apparent failure to disclose the compensation he receives from CTA, and his decision not to recuse himself from voting on a union contact that has material benefits to CTA -- and by extension, himself.
The author provides extensive evidence and documentation -- including Williams' and CTA's own financial filings -- to support the article's findings. Readers can examine them and decide for themselves what to think about it.
Regarding corporate interests and influence in politics: two days ago, Oakland Report was the first to publish the full transcript of a recorded phone call between Andy Duong, executive at California Waste Solutions (a for-profit corporation) and a local council member in which Duong spoke of his influence over various local politicians to benefit his businesses. Duong is currently standing trial for bribery and corruption.
Earlier this week, Oakland Report was the first to publish an in-depth examination of the California Trucking Association's (a trade group that represents the for-profit trucking industry) political influence and lobbying of state legislators and Caltrans seeking to lift a decades-long ban on heavy trucks on Interstate 580 in Oakland.
If you have specific examples of errors or bias in this article about VanCedric Williams and California Teacher's Association, then please share them. But we assert that this article is not biased, and the burden of proof is on the person making the assertion that it is.
Thank you again for your comment, and for reading Oakland Report; the discussion is very much appreciated.
And, by the way, I think it is cowardly that the author is not sharing their name when those who comment here are vulnerable to attacks.
Williams had no conflict of interest because he DID NOT WORK for Oakland Unified School District. He was a teacher on part time release from San Francisco USD, only when he was doing CTA business. He didn't benefit directly from Oakland teacher's pay increase. Williams was elected by the representative body of CTA to be a director. He was also elected by Oakland voters to sit on the OUSD board. Full-time released presidents, who cannot run for the school board in the district in which they work, often get their pay reimbursed in a variety of ways. NO UNION DUES can go into electing school board members; CTA members have to elect to pay an additional amount to the PAC (that is not the same as the dues that goes toward paying for services for union members including collective bargaining, membership activities, and operations of the staff of the local). RE: Oakland teacher pay: as an Oakland resident I fully support that our teachers be paid a fair wage. Oakland teachers work as hard and have the same credentials as teachers in other California school districts. And yet they earn so much less. How is this fair? Is the author of the article claiming that Oakland teachers don't deserve a pay raise? Despite their poor pay they are fully committed to their students, many of whom come to school as underserved students. There is no comparison to what the union does for its over 300,000 members and the power of corporate control. Where was the outrage as Oakland schools were sold out to Charter schools who paid to get their people elected and exerted political pressure in the state--all for profit and not for the majority of our students. Shame on all of you for attacking those who speak up for having a quality educational staff with competitive salaries. These attacks appear to me as union busting tactics when we, as workers, need unions to protect us from those who would have us work for next to nothing.
He was less than transparent and less than honest. He answered the way he did intentionally. Just like Bill Clinton when he said he did not have sex with that woman. It's a shame that Board in Oakland seems to be less than honest.