LAUSD strike averted after tentative deal reached with 3rd union; schools to open Tuesday

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A strike has been averted after the Los Angeles Unified School District reached a tentative agreement with the third union it was in contract negotiations with, meaning campuses in the nation's second-largest school district were open Tuesday.

Talks continued overnight, but hours before the strike deadline around 2 a.m., the district announced that a deal was struck with SEIU Local 99, which represents 30,000 custodians, food workers, special education assistants and bus drivers.

The district reached tentative contract agreements with two other unions representing teachers and administrators over the weekend, but they were both ready to join SEIU members on the picket lines in solidarity if an agreement hadn't been reached.

"We are pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement in principle with SEIU Local 99 that will allow schools to be open today," the LAUSD said on its website early Tuesday. "LAUSD and SEIU teams will continue to work together to finalize the details of a tentative agreement."

According to SEIU Local 99, highlights of the deal include:

- A 24% wage increase that will make a significant difference in workers' livelihoods;
- Increased work hours that will ensure health care benefits for thousands of workers and their families and increase services and support for students;
- Rescinding layoffs of hundreds of IT technicians;
- Expansion of health care benefits for teacher assistants, after-school workers, community representatives and others;
- No subcontracting of work to outside vendors with a pathway to bring more work into the district.

"This agreement was won through the bold action and courage of thousands of workers who were willing to sacrifice to improve conditions in their schools and their lives," SEIU Local 99 Executive Director Max Arias said. "A strike was always the last resort, and we are proud that we could work with the school district and Mayor Karen Bass to reach an agreement that recognizes the contributions of front line workers in our schools."

SEIU Local 99 members still must vote to ratify the agreement.

Hours after the agreement was reached, LAUSD officials and labor representatives held a joint news conference alongside Mayor Karen Bass at City Hall Tuesday to discuss the deal. Bass helped facilitate negotiations between the parties.

"It has been a long night and it's been a long few weeks of negotiations, but our schools are open," Bass said.

While the city has no direct authority over the district, Bass said she intervened to prevent disruptions for students and families

Acting Superintendent Andrés Chait thanked Bass, labor partners and the community, particularly parents. He has been overseeing the district following the departure of Superintendent Alberto Carvalho amid a federal investigation.

"I never believed in an adversarial role or relationship between a district and its workforce. It just doesn't make sense," Chait said.

The district reached a tentative agreement late Sunday night with Associated Administrators Los Angeles, which represents roughly 3,000 administrators, after reaching a tentative two-year agreement earlier in the day with United Teachers Los Angeles, the union representing its roughly 35,000 educators.

The teachers union, along with SEIU Local 99 and AALA, combined represent nearly 70,000 LAUSD employees.

The LAUSD serves roughly 400,000 students daily, providing education, meals and child care.

City News Service contributed to this report.