The Los Angeles Unified School District finally a reached deal with labor leaders on Friday, March 4, after a mammoth three-day strike that shut down America’s second-largest school system and disrupted learning for 420,000 students.
The deal was brokered between the district and SEIU Local 99 — the union representing 30,000 bus drivers, custodians, instructional aides, cafeteria workers and special education assistants — with help from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
According to the school district, the proposed four-year contract, running from July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2024, would include:
– A 6% salary increase retroactive to July 1, 2021.
– A 7% raise retroactive to July 1, 2022.
– A 7% raise effective July 1, 2023.
– A $2 per hour increase for all employees effective Jan. 1, 2024.
It also provides for a $1,000 appreciation bonus for current employees who worked for the district during the 2020-21 school year in recognition of their work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Additionally, it would provide health benefits for part-time employees who work four or more hours a day, including coverage for qualified dependents; increased hours and compensation for paraprofessionals who work with special-needs student; and investing $3 million in an Education and Professional Development Fund for SEIU members.
The tentative deal still needs to be ratified by union members and the school board.
“I am appreciative of SEIU Local 99’s leadership for coming back to the table to negotiate an agreement that addresses the needs of our employees and brings students back to the classroom,” Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said in a statement.
He added, “We also thank Mayor Bass for her support and leadership in facilitating negotiations. When we started negotiating with SEIU, we promised to deliver on three goals. We wanted to honor and elevate the dignity of our workforce and correct well-known, decades-long inequities impacting the lowest-wage earners….
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