The Los Angeles Unified School District reached a tentative agreement with the union representing 30,000 essential school workers in a deal that avoids a planned strike that was set to begin Tuesday in the nation’s second-largest school district.
The tentative deal with SEIU Local 99, which represents bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers and special education assistants, was announced at about 2 a.m. Tuesday, just hours before the strike deadline. The district had reached tentative agreements with its teachers and administrators unions on Sunday, but a joint solidarity agreement between the three unions meant that a strike could still occur if talks between the district and SEIU Local 99 were not successful.
“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.”
SEIU Local 99 and UTLA members must vote to ratify the agreements.
SEIU announced the following details about the tentative agreement.
- 24% wage increase
- Increased work hours that will ensure health care benefits for thousands of workers and their families and increase services and support for students.
- Rescinding layoffs of hundreds of IT technicians.
- Expansion of health care benefits for teacher assistants, after-school workers, community representatives and others.
- No subcontracting of work to outside vendors with a pathway to bring more work into the district.
In a statement last week, the school district said it is focused on avoiding a strike, but preparing for the possibility of the first walkout since 2019. Preparations included plans around online learning, food distribution sites and more.
The district sent a letter to families last week, urging families to contact their schools if they do not have a district device at home. The district also launched a page Thursday with updates on the possible strike.