Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) campuses remained open on Tuesday after negotiators struck a last-minute deal with SEIU Local 99, averting a planned strike. The agreement came just hours before the 2 a.m. PDT strike deadline on Monday evening and included a 24% wage increase for about 30,000 workers represented by the union.
Key Takeaways
Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) avoided a strike with SEIU Local 99 through a last-minute deal that includes a 24% wage increase for about 30,000 workers. Mayor Karen Bass helped negotiate the agreement, which also increased work hours to ensure healthcare benefits and rescinded layoffs for IT technicians. The total cost of the agreements is nearly $1.2 billion annually.
Mayor Karen Bass participated in negotiations to help reach a compromise between LAUSD and SEIU Local 99, which represents custodians, food workers, special education assistants, and bus drivers. 'I stepped into negotiations to make sure that every effort was made to find an agreement to reach a compromise,' Bass said. She acknowledged the potential disruption a strike would have caused for students and parents.
The tentative agreement also increased work hours to ensure thousands of workers had healthcare benefits and rescinded layoffs for hundreds of IT technicians. The district had previously reached tentative contract agreements with unions representing teachers and administrators over the weekend, including an average salary increase of 13.86% for teachers and a pay increase of 11.65% over two years for administrators.
Acting Superintendent Andrés E. Chait expressed pride in reaching resolutions with all labor partners. The district had warned that schools would be closed to students if the strike went forward, including Early Education centers. United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) had stated it would strike in solidarity with SEIU if an agreement wasn't reached by Tuesday's scheduled work stoppage.
The total cost of the agreements is nearly $1.2 billion annually, according to LAUSD. The raises will be funded through a combination of internal cost-cutting and lobbying for additional state funding. Critics have raised concerns about the district's financial stability, citing deficit spending and potential insolvency within four years.
After avoiding a strike with a last-minute deal, LAUSD is turning to state officials for help funding its new contracts with unions representing 70,000 of its workers. Acting Superintendent Andres Chait conceded that the district will need financial help from the state to honor its agreements. However, a spokesperson for California's Department of Finance said their deal with LAUSD is 'still under development,' and state officials have not made their final decisions.
Aaron Smith, director of education reform at the Reason Foundation, noted that the state is on shaky financial footing. He expects that LA Unified or other school districts throughout the state cannot expect a windfall of cash to pay for these new benefits and salary increases. Smith added that the district is careening toward a financial crisis with enrollment declining amid increased costs.
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