Strike averted: Covina Valley Unified School District and teachers reach tentative agreement
Covina teachers narrowly avoided a strike after the district and the union came to a tentative agreement late Wednesday night.
COVINA, Calif. (KABC) -- A strike was narrowly averted when the Covina Unified Education Association came to a tentative agreement with Covina Valley Unified School District late Wednesday night.
Teachers were in classrooms Thursday morning, but just the day before, hundreds of them rallied in front of the district's headquarters, chanting with signs and cowbells in hand, with the promise of going on strike Thursday if an agreement wasn't met.
The union said it's been trying to negotiate with the district for more than a year. Discussions were focused on three main issues - salary, health and welfare benefits and changes to special education teacher responsibilities.
The key sticking point was the district's proposal for a hard cap on health benefits, but in a press release, the union said a compromise was reached.
A statement from the union read in part:
"Teachers want to be in our classrooms with our students and are grateful. We've been determined to have the district make things right and today's settlement begins to do just that."
The district also released a statement that read in part:
"We are pleased to announce that the district has reached a tentative agreement with our teachers union on a contract."
The press release from the union said ratification will take place as soon as possible over the next few days.
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