UTLA reaches tentative agreement with LAUSD, one step closer to averting strike

Members of the United Teachers Los Angeles and SEIU Local 99 have announced plans to strike on April 14.

Credit: UTLA / Facebook

United Teachers Los Angeles reached a tentative labor agreement with the Los Angeles Unified School District in the early hours of Sunday morning — bringing the district step closer to averting a three-union strike Tuesday that could shut down schools for nearly 400,000 students.  

Saturday’s agreement followed months of negotiation since the union’s contract expired last June and came after LAUSD’s school board allocated additional money in a closed session Friday so that district negotiators could raise the amount they could offer in teachers’ salaries, according to Julie Van Winkle, vice president of UTLA, which represents roughly 38,000 LAUSD teachers.

“The truth has always been clear – the district CAN afford these changes. With this agreement, resources will begin to be redirected away from unnecessary spending and toward the students and classrooms that need them most,” Van Winkle said in a statement to EdSource.  

“This contract fight has never been about prolonging conflict. It has always been about securing the respect and investments that educators and students deserve. This TA is a powerful step forward and a momentous win for the Los Angeles school community.”

A signed contract between UTLA and the district also means that SEIU Local 99, which represents more than 30,000 cafeteria workers, bus drivers and special education assistants, among others, will be in bargaining on Sunday. And if they also reach an agreement with LAUSD, the strike will be averted, according to Van Winkle. 

“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 on Tuesday, April 14,” LAUSD said in a statement Sunday morning. 

The agreement must be ratified by both UTLA members and the district’s board in order for it to go into effect. 

The agreement comes amid mounting pressure from local community groups, parents and state officials. 

Much of the pressure had been directed at the district to settle the labor disputes.

“I know that our kids will benefit most when educators are feeling supported,” said Victor Sanchez, executive director of the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, an advocacy organization focused on economic, environmental and racial justice. 

A difficult economy 

Prior to the agreement, LAUSD projected a $191 million deficit in the 2027-28 school year while the unions pointed to $5 billion in reserves throughout their negotiations. 

The talks unfolded amid what UC Berkeley labor expert Harley Shaiken called a “volatile economy,” with the most recent inflation rates at 3.3% — higher than the 3% immediate salary increase the teachers’ union was proposing. The exact details of the contract have yet to be released.

Under the new agreement, salary scales for UTLA members would increase by 11.65%. And the new beginning teacher salary is $77,000 per year, according to the district release. 

According to Van Winkle the agreement also included:

• Pay equity for early education center and career technical education teachers
• Four weeks of paid parental leave for the first time ever
• Mental health staffing 
• Increased healthcare for substitute teachers 
• Protections against AI and subcontracting 
• Plans to secure arts education in more elementary schools 
• Special education stipends for violations of class sizes
• Additional support for special education inclusion 

“Both sides are aware of the constraints,” said Shaiken who was interviewed before the settlement. He noted that economic uncertainty and global conditions likely added pressure to negotiations.  

Since March 2019, consumer prices in Los Angeles have risen nearly 30%, according to an EdSource analysis. 

Interviewed Friday before the tentative agreement, Yolie Flores, president and CEO of Families in Schools, a non-profit focused on student success, and a former LAUSD school board vice president, said a lot of the challenges at play are statewide. California leaders should ideally step in to help, she said. 

“The fight really should be at the state level,” Flores said. “Having been a board member at LA Unified, it’s always a challenge to do all of the things that we want for our kids, for our teachers, because the fiscal constraints are always, always, just unbearable for what kids should have in an educational system.”

She added that a strike would have had a negative impact on LAUSD students. 

“The last thing kids need right now is disruption,” Flores said. “After Covid, after wildfires, after ICE immigration raids, what our kids need most is stability, and we’re not giving that to them. And this is unfortunately, the adult issues win out over what kids need.” 

EdSource data journalist Daniel Willis contributed to this report.