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Strike looming as not all unions reach deal
FOX 11 was joined by Blanca Gallegos, of SEIU Local 99, as she gives an update on the ongoing negotiations between the unions representing LAUSD employees and the school district.
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Los Angeles Unified School District has reached a tentative two-year agreement with United Teachers Los Angeles, the union representing its roughly 35,000 educators that was planning to go on strike Tuesday, officials announced Sunday.
"Los Angeles Unified is pleased to announce that early on Sunday, April 12, the District reached a tentative two-year agreement with the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) that increases their members' salary scales by 11.65% and increases the beginning teacher salary to $77,000 per year," district officials said.
"We will continue to meet with our remaining labor partners throughout the weekend with the intent to reach additional agreements that would allow us to keep schools open on Tuesday, April 14."
Two LAUSD unions remain at the bargaining table: Service Employees International Union, Local 99 - Education Workers United, which includes about 30,000 bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers and special education assistants, and the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles on behalf of roughly 3,000 administrators.
UTLA noted the agreement on Instagram, pointing out that its members still need to vote to approve the contract.
"Early this morning UTLA's 150-member Bargaining Team reached a tentative two-year agreement with the district with big wins that the team enthusiastically recommends to UTLA members for ratification. The flexing of our collective power forced LAUSD to direct significant funding into critical priorities identified by UTLA members in the Win Our Future contract demands," the union said, promising that more details would be forthcoming in an email to its members.
A later Instagram post noted the agreement also includes a flexible work day, smaller class sizes and student support staffing.
"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.
The teachers union, along with SEIU Local 99 and AALA, combined represent nearly 70,000 LAUSD employees, and the three had agreed to jointly walk out in solidarity Tuesday if no contract agreements were reached -- a move that would have hobbled daily operations at the district's 1,302 campuses.
That three-union pact also means a strike or some type of work stoppage remains in play if the district fails to reach agreements with the other two.
A top official with SEIU Local 99 said Sunday that the union would "continue to move forward with plans to strike starting on Tuesday."
"The tentative agreement reached by United Teachers Los Angeles demonstrates that the school district can make movement to address the needs of front-line workers and the students we serve," SEIU Local 99 Executive Director Max Arias said. "We continue to be open to the mediation process with the school district. Just as we work together every day in our classrooms and campuses, we are proud to be united with teachers and principals in the fight for our schools, students, and communities. LAUSD can avert a strike by ending the harassment and retaliation against SEIU Local 99 workers and presenting proposals that ensure equity and fairness for everyone who contributes to student learning."
Sunday's announcement came amid a marathon negotiation session that had been underway since Saturday.
LAUSD, the nation's second-largest school system, serves roughly 400,000 students daily, providing education, meals and child care.
On Thursday, district officials launched a dedicated website -- schoolupdates.lausd.org -- where students, parents and others could keep tabs on the negotiations and find available resources including food distribution sites, learning and mental health resources, alternative child care options, as well as tech support for devices and connectivity.