LAUSD reaches tentative labor deal with teachers ahead of Tuesday strike

Los Angeles Unified has reached a labor deal with its teachers union on Sunday.

In a news statement, LAUSD said the tentative two-year agreement with United Teachers Los Angeles would increase salary scales by 11.65% and starting teacher salary to $77,000 per year. No additional details of the agreement have been released.

The district says negotiations with the unions that represent support staff and administrators are ongoing and they expect to settle contract negotiations to avert a strike on Tuesday. It also wasn't immediately clear if schools would be closed Tuesday without those additional deals.

The district had an April 14 deadline to reach a deal, or else face a walkout. A strike including teachers would have shut down district schools and disrupted the education of about 400,000 students and the lives of families scrambling for child care.

The unions have been negotiating 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.

The union’s members and the Los Angeles Unified Board must vote to approve the deal.

What is UTLA bargaining for?

UTLA’s bargaining team had met with the district more than a dozen times since negotiations began in February 2025.

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. 

What about the other unions?

The other two unions that have yet to reach agreements include SEIU Local 99, which represents support staff, and Associated Administrators of Los Angeles, which represents administrators.

SEIU Local 99

30,000 members include: bus drivers, cafeteria workers, classroom and campus aides
Contract expired: June 30, 2024
Most recent meeting with LAUSD: Thurs., April 9, 2026

The union’s proposals include: 

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

LAUSD’s most recent offer includes: 

• A 13% wage increase over three years.
• A task force to advice the district on Artificial Intelligence use that includes SEIU Local 99 members.
• Learn more.

SEIU Local 99 also declared an impasse in December, but was at a different stage in the bargaining process than UTLA.

The state has appointed a mediator to try and help the two sides meet an agreement.

The basis for SEIU’s strike vote is what the union says are more than a dozen unfair practice charges where members have been disciplined or lost hours as a result of participating in union activities.

SEIU Local 99 reports its members make an average of $35,000 a year.

Maria Avalos is a supervision aide at Fernangeles Elementary School in Sun Valley. Avalos said she’s only assigned four hours of work a day and also cleans houses and sells tamales to support her daughter.

“We need more hours,” Avalos said. “I live in an apartment that has one bedroom for 10 of us.”

Associated Administrators of Los Angeles

3,000 members include: principals, directors and other administrators
Contract expired: June 30, 2025
Most recent meeting with LAUSD: Monday, April 6, 2026

The union’s proposals include: 

• A 12% raise over two years.
• The ability to use flex time more easily.

LAUSD’s most recent offer includes: 

• A 10% wage increase over three years.
• Additional stipends for administrators in specific positions.
• Learn more.

If AALA members still walk out April 14 it would be a first for the union, which affiliated with the Teamsters in 2024.

The union declared an impasse in February, an assessment the district disagreed with, but it agreed to continue negotiating.

“We don't have the necessary resources to really say we have safe schools, to really say that we're servicing students,” said Maria Nichols, president of AALA, during a pre-strike rally.

Senior editor for education Ross Brenneman contributed to this story.