The Brief

Los Angeles Unified support staff reached a labor deal with the district early Tuesday morning, hours before a strike was set to begin — meaning schools will remain open for nearly 400,000 students.

"The tentative agreement makes strides in addressing key issues raised by school workers in negotiations," SEIU Local 99 said in a statement Tuesday morning.

The district had previously reached new deals with its teachers union and its principals union over the weekend.

”Our commitments reflect the dedication of our entire workforce. We are grateful for the collaboration that made this possible and hopeful that this marks a new chapter of partnership," Andrés Chait, the acting superintendent, said in a statement Tuesday morning. "At the same time, we are clear-eyed about the challenges ahead and know that meeting them will require continued trust, shared responsibility, and a united focus on what matters most — our students."

How did the deal come together?

The unions had given the district an April 14 deadline to reach a deal, or face a walkout. A strike by all three would have shut down district schools and disrupted the education of hundreds of thousands of students and the lives of families scrambling for child care.

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass joined the negotiations with SEIU Local 99, which continued late Monday night. The deal was announced at 2 a.m. Tuesday.

 ”Over the last 24 hours, we've experienced a lot of lows, exhaustion," said Yolanda Mims-Reed, a special education assistant and member of SEIU Local 99’s bargaining team. “We have not given up. We would not leave anyone behind.  We experienced push, drive, and finally victory.”

The unions had been bargaining with the district over pay, benefits and additional support for students for more than a year. The members of each union voted overwhelmingly to give their leaders the power to call a strike after contract talks stalled.

What are the deals? 

District, union and city leaders held a press conference Tuesday morning in City Hall, just across the street from where the strike date was announced about a month earlier.

SEIU Local 99

• 30,000 members include: bus drivers, cafeteria workers, classroom and campus aides
• Contract expired: June 30, 2024
• Deal reached: Tuesday, April 14, 2026
• Approximate annual cost upon full implementation, per LAUSD: $490 million

The union’s proposals included: 

• A 30% wage increase over three years. 
• More hours for workers who don’t have enough to qualify for benefits.

The tentative deal includes: 

• A 24% wage increase
• Increased work hours, which will result in health care coverage for more members and their families
• Rescinding layoff notices for about 200 information technology positions
• The expansion of healthcare benefits to more employee groups, including teacher assistants and afterschool workers

Mims-Reed said expanding members' hours will bring students much-needed support.

“ It's never, ever only about the money,” Mims-Reed said. “We abandon our kids at the end of the day because we do not have the hours to remain on campus and stay with them, and that breaks our heart.”

Now she expects that to change.

About one in five of the union's workers are full time and make an average of $57,000; part-time workers average about $30,000, according to data provided by the union. Many are LAUSD parents and Black and Latina women. Arias estimated the new deal will bring the overall average wage up to about $43,000.

“ We're hopeful that we can start working toward not having workers live in poverty and making sure that we have robust staffing to be able to care for our students, and that we finally achieve clean, safe, supportive schools for all,” Executive Director Max Arias said.

Associated Administrators of Los Angeles (AALA)

• 3,000 members include: principals, directors and other administrators
• Contract expired: June 30, 2025
• Deal reached: Sunday, April 12, 2026
• Approximate annual cost upon full implementation, per LAUSD: $75 million

The union’s proposals included: 

• A 12.5% wage increase.
• The ability to use flex time more easily.

The final deal includes:

• A 12.15% wage increase
• A defined eight-hour workday and a 40-hour workweek 
• Flex time with notice and no pre-approval
• Read more.

AALA President Maria Nichols acknowledged the union was the “new kid on the block” when it came to negotiations. The administrators affiliated with the Teamsters in 2024.

In addition to the salary gains, Nichols highlighted the new “defined, reasonable workday.”

“We know that we work more than that,” Nichols said, noting the weekend events and afterschool performances and games principals often attend. “But we also have the flexibility as professionals to use our own judgment … to get the work done but still have some flexibilities within our schedule.

United Teachers Los Angeles

• 35,000 members include: teachers, psychologists and counselors
• Contract expired: June 30, 2025
• Deal reached: Sunday, April 12, 2026
• Approximate annual cost upon full implementation, per LAUSD: $650 million

The union’s proposals included: 

• A 17% raise over two years. 
• A minimum starting teacher salary of nearly $78,000 — a 13% increase. 
• Changes to the salary schedule so that newer teachers who complete professional development can earn increases more quickly.
• Reducing class sizes and adding more mental health support for students. 
• Learn more. 

The final deal includes: 

• An increase in salary scales by 11.65%. UTLA says the average member will see an average increase of nearly 14%
• A new-teacher salary of $77,000 per year
• Four weeks of district-paid parental leave
• Expanded student mental health supports
• A first-ever 20:1 ratio for special education specialist teachers

“ Teachers will now earn salaries that better reflect the true cost of living in communities that they serve,” Myart-Cruz said.

UTLA’s bargaining team met with the district more than a dozen times since negotiations began last February. The union declared an impasse in December, a legal step that triggered a “fact finding” intervention from a neutral mediator appointed by the state’s labor relations board.

How much do the deals cost? 

The ongoing annual cost of the three labor agreements, once fully implemented, is approximately $1.2 billion, according to a Los Angeles Unified spokesperson.

Chait said Tuesday that the agreements “ in some cases will call on us as a leadership team to find resources.”

Chait gave two examples of how the district might do that. One, through a “a laser-like focus” on the district's current spending, including on third-party contractors.

“We also want to be collectively fierce advocates to Sacramento for the funding that our students frankly deserve and need,” Chait said.

State funding comprises the vast majority of local school funding, and this year’s state revenue projection is higher than expected, in part because of high salaries tied to artificial intelligence.

Gov. Gavin Newsom will release an update about the state’s budget, including for public education, in May.

Whether or not the district could afford the union’s proposal was a matter of debate even for the fact-finding chair, Donald Raczka.

“Due to the complexity of LAUSD’s budget, thoroughly examining these claims would be time consuming and labor intensive — tasks that go beyond the chair’s current capacity given the available information,” Raczka wrote.

The union contended that such an analysis was the fact finder’s key responsibility.

“The failure of the fact finder to even attempt to figure out the finances is a disservice to the educators and students of LAUSD and to the fact-finding process itself,” wrote Brian McNamara, a UTLA director and fact-finding panelist in a lengthy dissent.

In a statement, the district said it “appreciates the report’s balanced, fiscally responsible framework.”

How did Mayor Bass get involved? 

Mayor Karen Bass joined the district’s mediation session with SEIU Local 99 on Monday.

“ I stepped into negotiations to make sure that every effort was made to find an agreement to reach a compromise,” Bass said. “Because a strike would disrupt the lives of hundreds of thousands of kids and their parents who need childcare, need to go to school and need to go to work.”

Bass is also the grandparent of an LAUSD student.

“[My]  daughter was very happy to hear that my grandson was going to school today,” she said.

The Mayor’s Office has no direct jurisdiction over the district. Bass also helped break a negotiating impasse during a 2023 strike that closed schools for three days.

What happens now? 

The district called the deal with SEIU Local 99 an “agreement in principle.” Arias said the economic proposals are secured, but the union and the district still need to hammer out the final details of the contract.

The agreements with UTLA and AALA are more finalized.

The so-called “tentative agreements” would then go before union members and the LAUSD Board for a ratification vote.

Typically, the unions do not present their members with an agreement that they don’t believe will be approved.

The district and unions are also scheduled to be back at the bargaining table within the next year because negotiations stretched so long beyond the contracts’ expiration. For example, SEIU Local 99’s newly won contract will expire in June 2027.

“My hope is that this presents a new day of opportunity for partnership and collaboration going forward,” Chait said.

Southern California was built on radio.

"I can still hear the jingle KFWB News 98,” wrote  Taline in Los Feliz, during a recent conversation on LAist's daily news show, AirTalk, which airs on 89.3 FM. “I grew up hearing that in my dad's minivan on the way to and from school. It has a special place in my heart.”

Back in April, broadcast company Audacy announced KNX News — one of the last-remaining all-news FM stations — was leaving the FM dial where it had simulcast on 97.1 FM since 2021. The station, which is also one of the oldest in L.A., is not budging from 1070 AM where it has been on the air for more than 100 years. The move away from FM officially happened in May to make way for a new sports talk station, which Audacy officials called an area of growth for advertisers in today’s media landscape.

The move is one in a long line of changes for radio and a reminder that before podcasts, playlists and algorithms, many Southern Californians built their days around radio broadcasts.

Radio, a daily ritual

The construction of KNX

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Herman J. Schultheis

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Los Angeles Public Library

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Michael Jackson, a well-known KNX, personality

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Los Angeles Public Library

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Larry Mantle, now in his 41st year hosting AirTalk, remembers being a kid and dreaming of what it might be like to be behind the mic at one of these radio stations.

“ I grew up with KNX," he said. “My dream job as a kid was to be an anchor on KNX or KFWB, the two local all-news radio stations, 'cause there was nothing like hosting AirTalk that even existed at that point.”

Mantle opened up the phone lines on a recent show to hear from his fellow SoCal radio lovers about the shows they miss and the memories they have. Here's what they had to say:

A love for radio, then and now  

A pilot of KMPC's traffic alert helicopter pictured with his daughter and grandson.

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Los Angeles Public Library

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A 1963 picture of Valley State College (now Los Angeles Valley College) preparing to launch KVCM

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Larry Leach

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Los Angeles Public Library

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“When you'd walk down Hollywood Boulevard where the station was, you could hear it playing as you went down the street,” said  Olivia in Glendale about KLAC 570 with Al Jarvis.

 Larry in Yorba Linda shouted out KBCA Jazz for its 24-hour jazz, saying “When I first moved out here in '68 from Phoenix, which had like an hour a week, it was a real wonder.”

 Mark in Glassell Park emailed that he loves KCRW’s Henry Rollins, writing, “I used to bristle at his unique DJ persona, but over time, I came to love him and his crazy eclectic playlists. I find his knowledge in history and punk rock fascinating. He's a gem and a legend."

"I'd like to give a shout-out to all the DJs working at KXLU, the college station at Loyola Marymount University, said  Jeremy in Culver City in an email. “That station's been on the air for nearly 60 years. I believe it's one of the best examples of what's possible with radio."

"KFWB and KRLA back in the day when they were rock music stations —  Dr. Demento, one of my favorite on-air personalities, also had eclectic music taste," said  Carrie in Desert Edge.

“ Dr. Demento was must listening when I was a kid in junior high school at Le Conte Junior High in Hollywood,” Mantle added. “Every Sunday night on KMET, we would make sure we were listening to Dr. Demento and his funny records.”

The question remains…

An 11-year-old winning a car in a KMPC contest in 1963.

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Los Angeles Public Library

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Listener support is vital to any radio station, and it’s clear KNX has many lifelong fans. AirTalk listeners highlighted their support for household KNX names over the decades like Bill Keene, Melinda Lee, Mike Roy and Jackie Olden.

As KNX makes changes, many are watching closely and thinking about the future of radio.

Listeners like Tommy in La Quinta are left wondering if the radio dial will be the same…

“I’m a hardcore listener, but I don't know about casual listeners [and] if they'll tune to AM,” he said.

After months of hand-wringing, Los Angeles and LA28 have come to a tentative agreement on how Olympics organizers will reimburse the city for its expenses for the 2028 Summer Games.

According to the deal, the private Olympic organizing committee will pay upfront for the estimated cost of services that are not eligible for federal reimbursement, like trash pick-up and traffic control. Under another proposal, the city would also be able to tap an LA28 contingency fund if it isn't fully repaid by the federal government for policing costs at Olympic venues.

The agreement is nearly nine months overdue and still needs approval by Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council.

The 2028 Olympics are intended to be privately financed, and an existing city agreement with LA28 states that the Olympics organizers, not L.A., will pay for extra costs for public services in support of the Games. But L.A. is the financial back-stop for the Olympics, meaning if LA28 goes in the red, taxpayers will pick up the bill.

Beyond that, the city services agreement presents another area where L.A. could incur additional unexpected expenses for hosting the Games. L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez warned LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover earlier this year that a bad deal could "bankrupt" the city.

Jacie Prieto Lopez, an LA28 spokesperson, and Paul Krekorian, who leads the city's office of major events, said in statements that the freshly inked agreement would help deliver a fiscally responsible Games.

"Mayor Bass’ priority is that the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games be fiscally responsible, protect taxpayers, and benefit Angelenos for decades to come. This agreement helps deliver that commitment," Krekorian said.

But the contract between the two parties doesn't fully resolve one of the biggest areas of financial risk for the city: the enormous cost of security for an event as extensive and high-profile as the summer Olympics and Paralympics.

Organizers are counting on the federal government to pay for public safety at Olympic venues that are considered part of a "national special security event." That includes costs for LAPD staffing. LA28 has not included security costs in its $7.1 billion budget — a fact that City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto criticized earlier this year.

The federal government has so far allocated $1 billion for security costs for the Olympics. Exactly where those federal funds will go has not yet been determined, and there's no guarantee they will cover all of L.A.'s policing costs.

To address this, city officials have also proposed an amendment to a 2021 agreement between the city and LA28. That amendment would establish that if L.A. is not reimbursed by the federal government for all its eligible expenses, it could dip into LA28's contingency fund of $270 million before the private organizing committee could use those funds for any legacy projects.

But that bucket of money will first be used for any costs that Olympics organizers still owe if they run out of revenue — meaning if the Olympics don't turn a profit, the city's access to that money will depend on how much is left for the taking.

Civil rights attorney Connie Rice, who has been tracking the city's negotiations with LA28, told LAist the agreement was a "PR document" not a deal. She pointed out that if the federal government does not pay up for security spending as expected, L.A. could be in trouble.

" It leaves the taxpayers with a GoFundMe strategy," she said.

The city services agreement lays the groundwork for more negotiations between LA28 and the city. Each venue will require its own agreement, to be negotiated by July 1, 2027. Venues in the city of L.A. include Dodger Stadium, the L.A. Convention Center, L.A. Memorial Coliseum and the Venice Beach Boardwalk.

The City Council's ad-hoc committee on the 2028 Games will meet Tuesday afternoon to vote on the agreement.