LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nearly 400,000 students in Los Angeles will head to class as scheduled after school district officials and support staff workers hammered out a contract agreement in the final hours before a planned walkout.
The Service Employees International Union Local 99 announced through social media early Tuesday that negotiators secured a preliminary contract featuring significant improvements, including pay increases and expanded work hours. District officials confirmed they had reached an agreement in principle with SEIU Local 99, ensuring schools would operate normally Tuesday while both sides work to complete the contract details.
According to SEIU Local 99, the preliminary agreement also secured safeguards against outsourcing jobs, prevented planned information technology department cuts, and boosted staffing levels. The union instructed members to return to their regular work schedules Tuesday and expressed gratitude to allied unions and the Los Angeles community, stating the “victory belongs to ALL of us.”
Educational staff, school administrators, and teachers had been ready to launch a coordinated work stoppage if negotiations failed. Union representatives for teachers and principals had already secured preliminary contract deals with the country’s second-largest school system during weekend negotiations.
The three labor organizations representing approximately 70,000 employees throughout the Los Angeles Unified School District had committed to a unified strike if any single union failed to secure a preliminary agreement.
Never before have all three unions conducted simultaneous work stoppages — school administrators typically remained on duty during past teacher strikes to maintain limited operations. This occurred in 2023 when Local 99 employees walked off the job and teachers supported them for three days. During that action, roughly 150 of the district’s 1,000 schools stayed open.
