SAN FRANCISCO — About 6,000 public schoolteachers in San Francisco went on strike Monday, the town’s first such walkout in practically 50 years.
The strike comes after academics and the district failed to achieve an settlement over greater wages, well being advantages, and extra sources for college kids with particular wants. The San Francisco Unified Faculty District closed all 120 of its faculties and mentioned it will supply impartial research to a few of its 50,000 college students.
“We are going to proceed to face collectively till we win the colleges our college students deserve and the contracts our members deserve,” Cassondra Curiel, president of the United Educators of San Francisco, mentioned at a Monday morning information convention.
Lecturers with the union have been becoming a member of the picket line after last-ditch negotiations over the weekend failed to achieve a brand new contract. Mayor Daniel Lurie and Democratic U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco had urged the 2 sides to maintain speaking slightly than shut down faculties.
Union members deliberate a Monday afternoon rally at San Francisco Metropolis Corridor. Negotiations have been scheduled to renew round noon.
“We look ahead to receiving the union’s counteroffer,” mentioned San Francisco Unified Faculty District Superintendent Maria Su. She informed reporters on Monday that the district had put ahead a complete package deal regardless of entrenched monetary difficulties.
“It is a viable supply. It’s a suggestion that we will afford,” Su mentioned. “We will likely be on the desk and we are going to keep for so long as it takes to get to a full settlement. I don’t need a protracted strike.”
Lily Perales, a historical past instructor at Mission Excessive Faculty, mentioned many union members can’t afford to reside in San Francisco anymore.
“Too lots of my colleagues have been pushed out of the town due to the excessive price of dwelling, and with our present contract it’s not sufficient,” she mentioned from a picket line Monday. “We’re prepared to be on strike till all of our calls for are met.”
Her colleague Aaron Hart, a pictures and media arts instructor at Mission Excessive, mentioned faculties are understaffed. “That’s why we’re out right here. We simply really need stability for our college students,” he mentioned.
The union and the district have been negotiating for practically a yr, with academics demanding totally funded household well being care, wage raises and the filling of vacant positions impacting particular training and companies.
The academics additionally need the district to enact insurance policies to assist homeless and immigrant college students and households.
The union is asking for a 9% elevate over two years, which might imply an extra $92 million per yr for the district. They are saying that cash may come from reserve funds that might be directed again to lecture rooms and faculty websites.
SFUSD, which faces a $100 million deficit and is below state oversight due to a long-standing monetary disaster, rejected the thought. Officers countered with a 6% wage enhance paid over three years. Su mentioned the supply additionally consists of bonuses for all staff if there’s a surplus by the 2027-28 faculty yr.
A report by a impartial fact-finding panel launched final week beneficial a compromise of a 6% enhance over two years, largely siding with the district’s arguments that it’s financially constrained.
The union mentioned San Francisco academics obtain among the lowest contributions to their well being care prices within the Bay Space, pushing many to depart. Su mentioned the district provided two choices: the district paying 75% of household well being protection to the insurance coverage supplier Kaiser or providing an annual allowance of $24,000 for academics to decide on their well being care plan.
Lurie, who helped dealer an settlement that ended a hotel workers union strike after he was elected and earlier than taking workplace, mentioned that the town businesses have been coordinating with the district on learn how to supply assist to kids and their households.
“I do know everybody collaborating in these negotiations is dedicated to varsities the place college students thrive and our educators really feel actually supported, and I’ll proceed working to make sure that,” Lurie mentioned in a social media publish Sunday.
Lecturers in different main California cities have been additionally making ready to strike. San Diego academics indicated they’re able to stroll off the job subsequent month for the primary time in 30 years over a stalemate with the varsity district about particular training staffing and companies. And members of United Lecturers Los Angeles voted overwhelmingly final month to authorize their management to name a strike if negotiations with the LA Unified Faculty District collapse.
An identical strike-authorization vote by the varsity system’s different largest union, Native 99 of Service Workers Worldwide Union, is scheduled to start subsequent week.
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Related Press reporter Christopher Weber contributed from Los Angeles.
