Los Angeles Unified School District reached a tentative agreement with SEIU Local 99 at 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, canceling a planned strike that would have idled 420,000 students in the nation's second-largest school district. The union representing 30,000 bus drivers, cafeteria workers, custodians and teacher aides had threatened to walk out over wages and healthcare access for part-time employees. Schools opened on schedule Tuesday morning after the last-minute deal was announced.
The agreement delivers a 24% wage increase, according to SEIU Local 99. It also guarantees more work hours for thousands of part-time employees, pushing them above the threshold needed to qualify for health insurance benefits. The deal rescinds layoffs for hundreds of IT technicians and expands healthcare coverage for teacher assistants and other support staff. Santos Robles, a member of the union's negotiation team, said the agreement addresses workers who currently "work two hours" and cannot make a living wage.
Special education assistants perform physically demanding work that never appears on their timesheets, Robles told reporters before the agreement. These workers feed students and change diapers while earning part-time wages with no benefits. The union had argued that LAUSD's initial offers failed to recognize how support staff keep schools functioning. A rally was held Monday outside the Roybal Learning Center in downtown LA in support of SEIU.
District officials said they will continue working with SEIU Local 99 to finalize contract language before the membership ratification vote.
SEIU Local 99's 30,000 members must vote to ratify the tentative agreement in coming weeks. The wage increases and benefit expansions will take effect once workers approve the contract. LAUSD has committed to implementing the healthcare hour increases immediately while negotiations continue on final contract language. Tuesday's classes proceeded normally, with bus routes running and cafeterias serving meals that would have stopped during a strike.
Los Angeles Unified School District reached a tentative agreement with SEIU Local 99 at 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, canceling a planned strike that would have idled 420,000 students in the nation's second-largest school district. The union representing 30,000 bus drivers, cafeteria workers, custodians and teacher aides had threatened to walk out over wages and healthcare access for part-time employees. Schools opened on schedule Tuesday morning after the last-minute deal was announced.
The agreement delivers a 24% wage increase for SEIU Local 99 members, according to union president Max Arias. It also guarantees more work hours for thousands of part-time employees, pushing them above the threshold needed to qualify for health insurance benefits. The deal rescinds layoffs for hundreds of IT technicians and expands healthcare coverage for teacher assistants and other support staff. Santos Robles, a member of the union's negotiation team, said the agreement addresses workers who currently "work two hours" and cannot make a living wage.
Special education assistants perform physically demanding work that never appears on their timesheets, Robles told reporters before the agreement. These workers feed students and change diapers while earning part-time wages with no benefits. The union had argued that LAUSD's initial offers failed to recognize how support staff keep schools functioning. A rally Monday outside the Roybal Learning Center drew hundreds of workers demanding fair compensation for essential services.
LAUSD avoided what would have been a $100 million daily shutdown if 30,000 workers had walked out alongside teachers and administrators. The district had already reached tentative agreements Sunday with unions representing teachers and school administrators, leaving the service employees as the final holdout. District officials said they will continue working with SEIU Local 99 to finalize contract language before the membership ratification vote.
SEIU Local 99's 30,000 members must vote to ratify the tentative agreement in coming weeks. The wage increases and benefit expansions will take effect once workers approve the contract. LAUSD has committed to implementing the healthcare hour increases immediately while negotiations continue on final contract language. Tuesday's classes proceeded normally, with bus routes running and cafeterias serving meals that would have stopped during a strike.
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The sources also report that LAUSD reached tentative agreements with unions for teachers and school administrators on Sunday before this deal.