In the final hours before the strike, LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District) and teachers came to an agreement that prevents over 400,000 students from having their education affected. The strike was a concern for all parties involved, as faculty members were unhappy with their current contract and working conditions, but everybody was hoping an agreement would be reached before the strike.
“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 percent and increases the beginning teacher salary to $77,000 per year,” LAUSD 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.”
“It has been a long night, and it’s been a long few weeks of negotiations, but our schools are open,” Bass said. Although the city has no direct control over the district, Bass said she stepped in to prevent families and students from being impacted.
In the event a strike took place, the district created a comprehensive contingency plan to ensure continuity of learning, including take-home instructional materials and access to online learning.“These preparations include plans to support continuity of learning, including take-home instructional materials and access to online learning.
While a contract was agreed upon on Sunday, it wasn’t until Tuesday that everything was officialized as SEIU Local 99 added a few more terms to the new contract. Terms of the tentative agreement include a 24 percent wage increase that SEIU said “will make a significant difference in workers’ livelihoods.” Health care benefits will be expanded for teacher assistants, after-school workers, and community representatives. Meanwhile, layoffs for hundreds of IT Technicians are being rescinded, and LAUSD won’t subcontract work to outside vendors.
“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,” Max Arias, SEIU Local 99 executive director, said in a statement. “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.”