By ROBERT JABLON
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SEIU Local 99 Executive Director Max Arias, left, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and District superintendent Alberto Carvalho lock in arms after announcing on a new contract together in Los Angeles City Hall Friday, March 24, 2023. The Los Angeles Unified School District and union leaders say they have reached a deal on a new contract for workers after a strike that shut down the nation's second-largest school system for three days. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Unified School District and union leaders said Friday they reached a deal on pay raises for bus drivers, custodians and other support staff after a three-day strike that shut down the nation’s second-largest school system.
The deal includes a series of retroactive raises going back to 2021 as well as pay bumps this coming July and January that will collectively hike worker pay by about 30%, said Max Arias, executive director of SEIU Local 99.
The deal also sets the district’s minimum wage at $22.52; provides a one-time $1,000 raise for any worker who was employed in 2020 in appreciation of their work during the COVID-19 pandemic; and creates a $3 million educational and professional development fund for union members, district Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said at a news conference.
Free health care will be provided for any employee working at least four hours a day and their families, he added, calling the deal historic and unprecedented in the nation.
“This agreement’s going to make a lot of superintendents very nervous,” he said. “And that’s a good thing. … Elevate the bar and, in the process, elevate the people.”
The deal “elevates the dignity, the humanity of our workforce, respects the needs of our students, but also guarantees the fiscal viability of our district for years to come,” Carvalho said.
He announced the deal alongside Arias and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Both sides credited Bass, who took office in December, with helping reach the agreement.
The mayor has no authority over the schools but she does have a grandson in the district.
The deal must still be voted on by the school board and the full union, which represents about 30,000 workers also including cafeteria employees, special education assistants and other support staff. However it gives them most if not all of what they demanded and is expected to pass handily.
Those workers walked off the job Tuesday through Thursday amid stalled talks, and classes for some 500,000 students resumed Friday.
Members of United Teachers Los Angeles, the union representing 35,000 educators, counselors and other staff, joined the picket lines in solidarity, lending muscle to the walkout.
Teachers waged a six-day strike in 2019 over pay and contract issues, but support staff didn’t join and schools remained open.
This time Carvalho had warned parents that classrooms would close for safety reasons because both instructors and support staff were taking part. The strike ended up snarling schedules for many parents because schools had to find alternate ways to provide daycare and the meals offered on campuses.
The union said district support staffers earn, on average, about $25,000 per year and many live in poverty or must work several jobs because of low pay or limited hours while struggling with inflation and the area’s high cost of housing.
Carvalho agreed that what he called indispensable workers were being underpaid.
The deal came just days after the union accused the district of engaging in unfair labor practices. Arias noted that another contract must be negotiated next year but added: “There is no strike planned for the foreseeable future.”
“Thanks to the parents of Los Angeles and the students of Los Angeles and everyone who stood shoulder to shoulder with our members,” he said.
SEIU members have been working without a contract since June 2020, while the contract for teachers expired in June 2022. The unions decided last week to stop accepting extensions.
L.A. schools to reopen as support employees end three-day strike
More than 400,000 students in the L.A. Unified School District will return to classes Friday following a three-day strike by service workers that shuttered the nation's second-largest school system.
Bass' office has been engaged in trying to energize talks since Wednesday when the union's strike entered its second day.
The union represents some 30,000 workers, including custodians, cafeteria workers and bus drivers, who are asking for a 30% raise. The school district said it has responded by offering a 23% recurring raise and a 3% cash bonus.
Union demonstrators said while they are returning to work on Friday, other strikes and rallies could take place if contract negotiations don't make progress. Some have said it is already hard to make ends meet without the extra support.
"We have a lot of our coworkers who have two to three jobs, so when they come to school, we want them to be fresh, we want them to be filled with energy," Mirna Hernandez, a special education assistant and union member, told KTLA-TV.
The Service Employees International Union Local 99 spokeswoman Blanca Gallegos said its members will return to work today hoping they have brought enough public attention to their situation where headway can finally be made in negotiations.
Mayor Karen Bass' office said she will get involved in talks between the district and the union, as her officials said the mayor hopes to "guarantee fair treatment of all LAUSD workers."
The union represents some 30,000 workers, including custodians, cafeteria workers and bus driver, who are asking for a 30% raise. The school district said it has responded by offering a 23% recurring raise and a 3% cash bonus.
More than 400,000 students in the L.A. Unified School District will return to classes Friday following a three-day strike by service workers that shuttered the nation's second-largest school system.
Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
March 24 (UPI) -- The Los Angeles Unified School District will resume classes on Friday after a three-day strike by a union representing staff members concluded without a deal.
The Service Employees International Union Local 99 spokeswoman Blanca Gallegos said its members will return to work today hoping they have brought enough public attention to their situation where headway can finally be made in negotiations, which have been going on for a year.
"Our struggle was heard around the country," a statement from the union said. "We will keep standing strong until LAUSD also values our work. Our strike brought us back to contract talks with the leadership of Mayor Karen Bass. Our team has been working hard to reach an agreement."
A public schedule sent out Bass' office said she will get involved in talks between the district and the union, as her officials said the mayor hopes to "guarantee fair treatment of all LAUSD workers."
March 24 (UPI) -- The Los Angeles Unified School District will resume classes on Friday after a three-day strike by a union representing staff members concluded without a deal.
The Service Employees International Union Local 99 spokeswoman Blanca Gallegos said its members will return to work today hoping they have brought enough public attention to their situation where headway can finally be made in negotiations, which have been going on for a year.
"Our struggle was heard around the country," a statement from the union said. "We will keep standing strong until LAUSD also values our work. Our strike brought us back to contract talks with the leadership of Mayor Karen Bass. Our team has been working hard to reach an agreement."
A public schedule sent out Bass' office said she will get involved in talks between the district and the union, as her officials said the mayor hopes to "guarantee fair treatment of all LAUSD workers."
Bass' office has been engaged in trying to energize talks since Wednesday when the union's strike entered its second day.
The union represents some 30,000 workers, including custodians, cafeteria workers and bus drivers, who are asking for a 30% raise. The school district said it has responded by offering a 23% recurring raise and a 3% cash bonus.
Union demonstrators said while they are returning to work on Friday, other strikes and rallies could take place if contract negotiations don't make progress. Some have said it is already hard to make ends meet without the extra support.
"We have a lot of our coworkers who have two to three jobs, so when they come to school, we want them to be fresh, we want them to be filled with energy," Mirna Hernandez, a special education assistant and union member, told KTLA-TV.
The Service Employees International Union Local 99 spokeswoman Blanca Gallegos said its members will return to work today hoping they have brought enough public attention to their situation where headway can finally be made in negotiations.
Mayor Karen Bass' office said she will get involved in talks between the district and the union, as her officials said the mayor hopes to "guarantee fair treatment of all LAUSD workers."
The union represents some 30,000 workers, including custodians, cafeteria workers and bus driver, who are asking for a 30% raise. The school district said it has responded by offering a 23% recurring raise and a 3% cash bonus.
Photos by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
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