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In a significant development for Los Angeles, schools have successfully averted a strike that threatened to disrupt the education of nearly 400,000 students throughout Southern California. This resolution came as the school district and the union representing support staff reached a preliminary agreement early Tuesday morning.
Local 99 of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) took to social media to announce the tentative deal, highlighting “major gains” such as salary increases and more working hours. The school district confirmed that an agreement in principle was reached with SEIU Local 99, ensuring that schools could remain open on Tuesday while efforts continue to finalize the tentative accord.
The proposed agreement from SEIU Local 99 includes several key provisions, such as protections against outsourcing, a halt to IT department layoffs, and increased staffing levels. The union advised its members to report to work as scheduled on Tuesday and expressed gratitude to fellow unions and the wider Los Angeles community, declaring that this “victory belongs to ALL of us.”
Had the deal not been secured, teachers, principals, and other staff members were prepared to strike. Fortunately, teachers’ and principals’ unions had already reached tentative contracts with the nation’s second-largest school district over the preceding weekend.
In a show of solidarity, all three unions, which collectively represent around 70,000 employees of the Los Angeles Unified School District, had committed to striking should any one of them fail to reach a tentative agreement.
The three unions have never gone on strike at the same time — administrators have remained on duty during previous teacher walkouts to help keep schools open. That was the case in 2023 when Local 99 workers went on strike and teachers joined them for three days. About 150 of the district’s 1,000 schools remained open.