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LAUSD reaches deal with staff union, averting strike and keeping schools open
UTLA and SEIU have been engaged in contract negotiations with LAUSD for over a year.
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LAUSD reaches deal with staff union, averting strike and keeping schools open
The unions representing teachers, support staff and school principals have called off Tuesday’s strike.
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 union said the new agreement raises members' wages 24% and will rescind the recent layoff notices for hundreds of information technology workers. LAUSD confirmed the details of deal are still being worked out.
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 the deal came 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.
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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.
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.
The union’s members and the Los Angeles Unified school board must vote to approve the deal. The union said it would release more details of the deal at a news conference later Tuesday.
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