Los Angeles schools, union leaders reach deal after strike
The Los Angeles Unified School District and union leaders say they have reached a deal on a new contract for workers after a strike that shut down the nation’s second-largest school system for three days
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Unified School District and union leaders said Friday they reached a deal on pay raises for bus drivers, custodians and other support staff after a three-day strike that shut down the nation's second-largest school system.
The deal includes a series of retroactive raises going back to 2021 as well as pay bumps this coming July and January that will collectively hike worker pay by about 30%, said Max Arias, executive director of SEIU Local 99.
The deal also sets the district's minimum wage at $22.52; provides a one-time $1,000 raise for any worker who was employed in 2020 in appreciation of their work during the COVID-19 pandemic; and creates a $3 million educational and professional development fund for union members, district Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said at a news conference.
Free health care will be provided for any employee working at least four hours a day and their families, he added, calling the deal historic and unprecedented in the nation.
