The Los Angeles Unified School District and Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Local 99, which represents about 30,000 school support workers, reached an agreement in principle early Tuesday, averting a strike just hours before schools were set to open.
The Los Angeles Daily News reports that district announced the breakthrough in a statement released at 3 a.m., saying schools would remain open as both sides continue working to finalize the details of a tentative agreement.
The deal follows days of negotiations leading up to a Tuesday strike deadline. SEIU Local 99, the last of the district’s three major unions to reach a deal, had been preparing to walk off the job if no agreement was reached.
The union said the tentative agreement includes a 24% wage increase, increased work hours for employees, expanded health care benefits for teacher assistants, after school workers and community representatives, along with protections against subcontracting and the rescinding of planned layoffs for hundreds of IT workers.
Monday: The Los Angeles Unified School District has reached a tentative agreement with the unions representing teachers and administrators, likely averting a strike planned for Tuesday.
The Los Angeles Daily News reports that uncertainty about a strike remains because the district is still negotiating with Service Employees International Union Local 99, which represents about 30,000 bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers and special education assistants.
The two-year deal with United Teachers Los Angeles includes a double-digit salary increase and raises the starting teacher salary to about $77,000, according to both the district and the union, which represents about 37,000 educators.
District leaders say the salary increase amounts to 11.65%, while union leaders say the average increase is close to 13.86%, depending on how it’s calculated.
The district said its agreement with the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles/Teamsters 2010, which represents around 3,000 administrators and principals, calls for a salary increase of 11.65% over two years.
The spokesperson also said the agreement with teachers would carry an ongoing cost of around $650 million and includes additional mental health staffing, reduced class sizes in 11th and 12th grades, and four weeks of paid parental leave.
