Last-minute tentative agreements avert big L.A. school strike

LOS ANGELES—Last-minute tentative agreements, reached at 3 a.m. on April 13—two days before a scheduled strike was to start—averted the walkout by the three unions representing 37,000 teachers and support staffers of the Los Angeles United School District (LAUSD), one of the largest districts in the U.S.

One key to the agreements, covering the United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA), a Teachers/AFT local, Teamsters Local 2010, and Service Employees Local 99, was widespread labor, community, and political support for the workers, who sought substantial raises that would enable them to continue to live and work in L.A.

The Los Angeles County Council, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, the state AFL-CIO, and a wide range of unionists turned out with the Teachers and the support staffers for a mass rally in downtown L.A. just days before the strike was scheduled to begin.

And the county federation urged its member unions not to cross picket lines should the strike occur. That vote was unanimous.

“More than 500,000 students in LAUSD depend on the collective work of these unions—bus drivers, cafeteria workers, teacher aides, custodians, counselors, teachers, and administrators,” said Yvonne Wheeler, the L.A. County federation president. “These are the people who create the support system that allows our young people not just to attend school but to thrive.

“This agreement means stability for those students. It means respect for the workers who serve them, and it means progress for public education in Los Angeles.”

The three pacts have different cumulative pay raises. A 13.86% average, retroactive to last July 1 and running through June 30, 2027, for the United Teachers of Los Angeles, the biggest unit. That pact also includes longevity increases ranging between 1.5% for the longest-tenured teachers and 3.25% for the least-tenured, to let them catch up to the general salary scale.

There will be a 24% raise, again retroactive to July 1 and running through mid-2027, for the lowest-paid workers, members of Service Employees Local 99, and a 12.15% total raise for the administrators and counselors whom Teamsters Local 2010 represents: 2% retroactive to last July 1, another 2% retroactive to Jan. 1, 2026, 4% on July 1, and 3.65% effective Jan. 1, 2027.

But the unions also won other notable changes, including moves they hope will benefit the entire city. UTLA won paid family and medical leave, for example.

And following in the path the Chicago Teachers Union pioneered, UTLA got the district to commit to work with the union on converting excess or empty school properties into housing for low- and moderate-income people, including the teachers and staffers.

L.A. has one of the severest housing shortages in the U.S. and also leads the nation in the number of homeless people on its streets. Pay is so low that some of the unionized paraprofessionals were forced into hours-long one-way commutes or, if the turnaround was too fast, sleeping in their cars.

And Genevieve Ortiz, whose SEIU Local 99 represents some of the lowest-paid workers in the L.A. schools, said a mediator helped them win an even bigger raise over the life of their pact: Half of their 24% compounded hike is retroactive pay. Bus drivers will now be 8-hour workers, and subcontracting is limited, too, in all the pacts. There are also curbs on the intrusion of artificial intelligence in the classroom.

Teamsters Local 2010 President Maria Nichols outlined some of the other benefits for the workers in the tentative agreements: A defined 8-hour workday and 40-hour week, “flex time with notice and no pre-approval,” and $5,000 bonuses for administrators—her unit’s members—assigned to large schools, and some others. If the school district wants to change the terms, it must bargain with the unions first.

“This more than contract language,” said Nichols. “This is a restoration of professional dignity, trust, and respect for how administrators manage the complex demands of our role

“This moment did not happen by accident. It happened because 90% of you voted YES to authorize a strike. It happened because you trusted our union. It happened because you stood firm, you stood together, and you refused to be overlooked. Your courage at that vote changed the tone at the bargaining table. Your unity shifted the balance of power. Your perseverance made this moment possible.”

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