San Francisco Unified teachers’ strike ends after tentative agreement reached
By Tim Fang
A tentative agreement has been reached between the San Francisco Unified School District and the United Educators of San Francisco, both sides announced Friday morning, ending a teachers’ strike that began earlier this week.
“I recognize that this past week has been challenging. Thank you to the SFUSD staff, community-based partners, and faith and city leaders who partnered with us to continue centering our students in our work every day,” said superintendent Maria Su.
According to the union, the agreement was reached around 5:30 a.m., following a 13-hour bargaining session.
On Monday, about 6,000 teachers began walking the picket lines. It was the district’s first teacher strike since a 1979 walkout that lasted six weeks.
Sticking points on a deal were wages, healthcare for dependents, along with assistance for special education staff.
The union said the agreement includes fully-funded healthcare that includes families and what they described as “immediate relief” for special education staff in the form of caseload reduction. Classified employees will also receive an 8.5% raise over two years, while teachers will receive a 5% raise over two years.
Other terms of the agreement include sanctuary protections and limitations on the use of artificial intelligence.
“By forcing SFUSD to invest in fully funded family healthcare, special education workloads, improved wages, sanctuary and housing protections for San Francisco families, we’ve made important progress towards the schools our students deserve,” union president Cassondra Curiel said in a statement. “This contract is a strong foundation for us to continue to build the safe and stable learning environments our students deserve.”
Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a statement from his office, “Our kids deserve schools where they can thrive, with educators who have the tools and support they need to best serve our kids. And all of our families deserve a fiscally stable school district that will be able to do the same for generations to come. This agreement is evidence that when we work together, we can all get closer to that goal.”
It was not immediately known when union members would hold a ratification vote on the agreement. The agreement would also need to be ratified by the Board of Education.
Classes are slated to resume on Wednesday, Feb. 18, following the Presidents’ Day holiday on Monday and the observance of Lunar New Year on Tuesday.
