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LAUSD Support Staff Union Begin Voting On Proposed Deal

A Black woman in a purple shirt and red leather jacket hold a microhone and speaks from atop a platform with tall buildings in the background, her mouth open as she projects her voice to an unseen crowd. A yellow banner with fists and a heart emoji hangs in front of her, and she's flanked by a diverse group of people.
Representatives and leadership from support-staff union SEIU Local 99, and from UTLA, the teachers union, give speeches from a truck outside LAUSD headquarters.
(
Ashley Balderrama
/
for LAist
)

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Topline:

Members of Service Employees International Union Local 99 will begin voting today to ratify an agreement reached with the Los Angeles Unified School District after a three-day strike shut down the district.

The backstory: In late March, SEIU Local 99 led a three-day strike to protest what it called unfair labor practices by the district. The union represents over 30,000 bus drivers, custodians, special education workers and other support staff at L.A. Unified. They were seeking a contract with a 30% wage increase, health care benefits, longer work hours and a stop to private contractors.

What's in the tentative deal? Here's some of what the two sides announced on March 24.

  • A 30% wage increase for LAUSD support staff, a combination of retroactive increases and a $2 per hour wage increase.
  • Health insurance for those who work at least four hours a day, including family coverage
  • A minimum wage of $22.53 an hour
  • More hours for support staff who serve students with special needs

Here's the full deal.

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What's next: SEIU Local 99 members will begin in-person voting today:

  • Monday, April 3 at L.A. Trade Tech College.
  • Tuesday, April 4 at East Los Angeles College South Gate Campus.
  • Wednesday, April 5 at IBEW Local 11 Office.

Members who have not voted in person will be able to vote online April 6–7.

Results are expected to be announced Saturday, April 8. If approved, the LAUSD board would then vote to make the deal final. A representative for the school board said he expected that vote would be held during the board's April 18 meeting.

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