After joining an SEIU Local 99-led strike earlier this year against the Los Angeles Unified School District, United Teachers Los Angeles have won a substantial tentative agreement with the district. The agreement is similar to Local 99's in its sweeping nature, and according to UTLA includes:
- a 21% salary increase for all members1
- Phased-in class-size reduction for every class, in every school
- Increased staffing of psychiatric social workers (PSWs), pupil services and attendance councilors (PSAs), school psychologists, and college counselors
- Enforceable class size caps for Special Education classes, increased support staffing, and compensation for excess initial assessments
But there are also several other noteworthy wins in here, including retroactive back pay of up to 10% for some workers; a new salary table for nurses; lowering of caseloads for academic councilors; and provisions that allow for many schools to receive social worker and councilor staffing that they previously did not have, paid for by the school district.
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A particularly significant win because it closely mirrors the 30% pay raise Local 99 won and according to the union "2 in 3 LAUSD educators can’t afford to live where they teach and 28% are forced to work a second job".
