LIVE: LAUSD reaches last-minute deal with union to avert strike, keep schools open

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has reached a tentative agreement with SEIU Local 99, averting a strike that could have disrupted learning for nearly 400,000 students. 

The agreement ends months of tension in the nation’s second-largest school system just hours before a critical deadline.

What we know:

The agreement with SEIU Local 99—which includes bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and special education assistants—includes a 24% wage increase and an expansion of healthcare benefits.

Additionally, the district agreed to rescind layoffs of hundreds of IT technicians and promised not to subcontract work to outside vendors. 

This breakthrough follows successful negotiations on Sunday with the district’s teachers (UTLA) and administrators (AALA).

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Strike looms for California's largest school district as union negotiation talks continue

Under the separate UTLA agreement, starting teacher pay will rise from $68,966 to $77,000. 

Acting Superintendent Andrés Chait confirmed that the district has now reached resolutions with all major labor partners, ensuring that schools remain open and students continue to receive education and meals.

What we don't know:

While the "agreement in principle" has been announced, the specific timeline for the ratification votes for all three unions has not yet been made public. 

What they're saying:

Hours after the agreement was reached, LAUSD officials and labor representatives held a joint news conference alongside Mayor Karen Bass at City Hall Tuesday to discuss the deal.

Bass helped facilitate negotiations between the parties.

"It has been a long night and it's been a long few weeks of negotiations, but our schools are open," Bass said.

While the city has no direct authority over the district, Bass said she intervened to prevent disruptions for students and families.

Acting Superintendent Andrés Chait thanked Bass, labor partners and the community, particularly parents. He has been overseeing the district following the departure of Superintendent Alberto Carvalho amid a federal investigation.

"I never believed in an adversarial role or relationship between a district and its workforce. It just doesn't make sense," Chait said.

He described the agreements as ones that "honor" the work they do.

"I believe in Los Angeles Unified, but I know that we can only achieve our best outcomes when they are truly unified," Chait added.

"We are pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement in principle with SEIU Local 99 that will allow schools to be open today," the LAUSD said on its website early Tuesday. "LAUSD and SEIU teams will continue to work together to finalize the details of a tentative agreement."

"This agreement was won through the bold action and courage of thousands of workers who were willing to sacrifice to improve conditions in their schools and their lives," SEIU Local 99 Executive Director Max Arias said. "A strike was always the last resort, and we are proud that we could work with the school district and Mayor Karen Bass to reach an agreement that recognizes the contributions of front line workers in our schools."

"This success comes after 11 months at the bargaining table and an 8- month democratic process in which UTLA members and the community identified priorities and spent a year of intense collective action to force LAUSD to agree to (these) tentative proposals," UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz said.

What's next:

While the threat of a strike has passed, the agreements are not yet final.

Union members from SEIU Local 99, UTLA, and AALA must still vote to ratify their respective contracts. 

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: LAUSD, unions enter critical mediation as Apr. 14 strike threat looms

In the meantime, the district and SEIU teams will continue working together to finalize the specific details of the written agreement, and campuses remain open for the district's 400,000 students.