San Francisco public school teachers and the school district reached a tentative contract agreement Friday after an all-night bargaining marathon, averting a possible strike by thousands of teachers.
The agreement, signed around 6 a.m., according to a video statement from Cassondra Curiel, president of the teachers union United Educators of San Francisco, includes raises for teachers, improved working conditions and student support.
“We have a deal,” Curiel said in the statement. “Every win in this tentative agreement is the direct result of the organizing and advocating by educators, families and community supports who showed up and pushed the district to agree to a fair contract that would stabilize our schools.”
🧵At 6 am, our big bargaining team reached a tentative agreement with the district! This TA is a direct result of our collective power. https://t.co/jkVZQHJEyH
— UESF (@UESF) October 20, 2023
“We are tired, but we done made it, baby,” said bargaining team member and sixth-grade math teacher Michelle Cody, who appeared alongside Curiel in the video.
Pay Bump
Under the new tentative two-year agreement, credentialed teachers will get a permanent raise of $9,000 the first year and a 5% salary increase the second year.
Teaching positions that don’t require a credential would receive a minimum salary of $30 per hour or an 8% pay increase, whichever is greater, for the first year, followed by a 5% increase the second year.
Substitute teachers would see a 15% raise over two years, and Proposition A substitute teachers would make $80 more than the current daily rate of $287.57. Prop. A substitute teachers can only work at high-potential schools—mainly those serving historically underserved communities.
Amid contract negotiations, which Curiel said began in March, concerns of a teacher strike had grown, with 97% of over 3,000 UESF members voting in favor of a strike on Oct. 12. The union has 6,000 members. The vote did not lead to a strike but was one of two votes that would have been needed to authorize one.
Teachers have faced pay issues due to technical problems with a payroll system that went live in January 2022, which led to canceled insurance benefits during health emergencies, tax-filing nightmares and delayed retirement contributions.
The school district has also threatened school closures, with the district blaming declining student enrollment, aging facilities and staffing shortages.
UESF would still need to vote to ratify the tentative contract agreement, and Curiel said a bargaining report would be sent out Friday afternoon via social media and the union’s website.
San Francisco United School District was contacted for comment.