SFUSD, teachers union don’t reach agreement ahead of Monday’s strike

By Da Lin

San Francisco Unified School District officials and the union representing roughly 6,000 educators could not come to an agreement on some major items in an effort to avert a strike that will disrupt learning for tens of thousands of students across the city.

Talks between district leaders and union representatives took place inside the War Memorial Building on Van Ness Avenue, directly across from City Hall. Negotiations began around 2 p.m. Saturday and continued into Sunday.

As negotiations stretched on, the district announced that schools would be closed on Monday, prompting families to scramble for childcare and alternative plans.

On Sunday night, Mayor Daniel Lurie said an agreement could not be reached and urged them to do so as soon as possible.

“I’m disappointed that the parties could not come to an agreement, “Lurie said in a statement. “And frankly, I’m frustrated—real progress has been made, and there are hours left in the day that should be spent working to keep schools open tomorrow. There is no reason both parties can’t be at the table right now figuring this out.”

The school district and teachers’ union reached an agreement on the sanctuary policy, but they could not agree on wage increases and health care benefits. 

The teachers’ union, United Educators of San Francisco, is seeking a 4.5% wage increase each year for two years. The district has offered a 2% raise each year for the next three years, citing ongoing budget constraints and a deficit.  

District officials said a major budget deficit and state oversight limit what they can offer.

“We need to make sure that we can afford any raises that we put forward and that any raises we put forward would be approved by the state. We are still currently under state oversight, which means that they do have the authority to approve or deny the raises that we put forward and so we need to make sure we are able to pay for the raises that we put forward,” said SFUSD spokesperson Laura Dudnick.

Superintendent Dr. Maria Su said in a video statement she hopes negotiations can quickly lead to a resolution.

“I do not want a prolonged strike. I do not want a strike at all. We need to build on the positive momentum from [Saturday] night’s negotiation so that we can get an agreement,” Su said.

Both sides are expected to pick up talks again on Monday in an effort to reach an agreement. 

Strike’s impact on parents

Many parents expressed hope that the two sides could reach an agreement and avoid a strike altogether.

“We think this is resolvable without a strike. We really believe in both sides’ ability to come together and negotiate something that will give our educators what they truly deserve, but also keep our kids in school, which is what they deserve,” said Emily de Ayora of the San Francisco Parents Coalition.

De Ayora, who has three children in the district, said she has already made arrangements for the Monday closure.

“I have a neighbor just a couple of doors down with two kids in SFUSD. And we will be co-watching our kids this week.  Mission Science Center, right over here on Mission Street, is going to be hosting open hours on Monday and Tuesday. So we’ll take the kids down there to make a musical instrument,” she said.

Some families who are able to work from home are organizing informal childcare cooperatives, sharing responsibilities and creating safe spaces for children during the closure.

“We’ve organized a bit with some parents in our community.  And so we have a play date scheduled. We actually also plan to join the picket with the teachers first thing in the morning and bring in some refreshments and snacks to support them,” said SFUSD parent Erica Collantes-Peter.

However, not all parents have the flexibility to work remotely. For those families, the district has partnered with day camps to offer activities for students. One option, Rock Band Land, is already sold out.

“They’ll have about an hour of playing the instruments, exploring the instruments that they’ve never played before. We have art activities, we have story writing and story listening activities. We have park time, we have free play, we have a bunch of games,” said Brian Gorman, founder and director of Rock Band Land.

While many parents said they can manage a day or two of school closures, a prolonged strike would pose significant challenges for families.

Parents like de Ayora said the stakes are high for families and students if the impasse continues.

“There will be a moment where I will start pulling my hair out, I know this from past experience.  But right now, I’m just focused on hopefully getting it over as quickly as possible, getting our teachers what they deserve and getting kids back in school,” she said.

The strike will be the first time San Francisco public school educators walk the picket lines in nearly 50 years. The last teachers’ strike in the district occurred in 1979.