ABOUT 6,500 San Francisco Unified School District teachers and staff will stage their first strike in over 45 years on Monday if a late agreement can’t be reached with the district on a new contract.
United Educators of San Francisco president Cassondra Curiel said at a press conference at SFUSD’s headquarters building on Franklin Street on Thursday morning that union leadership was announcing plans for the strike to give parents and students time to prepare.
“We did not reach this decision lightly,” Curiel said on the steps of the building. “We want to be in our classrooms and school sites with our students. We’ve been saying for a long time that we will do whatever it takes to win the schools our students deserve. And so here we are.”
Meanwhile, United Administrators of San Francisco, a separate union that represents school principals and other administrative staff and is not involved in the contract dispute, opened voting to its 253 members Thursday to decide whether to stage a sympathy strike along with UESF members. Results will be known by noon Friday.
“As a public employee union, we have the right to strike in sympathy with our fellow union,” said Anna Klafter, president of the United Administrators of San Francisco.
“As site and central office leaders, we cannot safely manage schools without our educators. We support them and I hope we can engage in a collective action that shows our support and helps to bring a swift resolution to this impasse,” Klafter said in a statement.
UESF representatives said a fact-finding report released Tuesday that was a final step to encourage a compromise did not go far enough in its recommendations on solving the outstanding issues, which they said include pay rates, hiring and workload policies, and health coverage for dependents.
The report was meant to give both sides a clear picture of each other’s positions and makes non-binding recommendations to give the bargaining representatives a last chance to strike a deal.
UESF teachers voted overwhelmingly last week to authorize a strike and Thursday’s announcement of a Monday work stoppage was the final notice that a strike is imminent if a deal can’t be reached Thursday or Friday, when bargaining sessions are scheduled between the two sides.
SFUSD school board members voted to give Superintendent Maria Su emergency authority this week to contract out substitutes, alter schedules and create policies to keep the district’s 122 schools open during the strike.
Su said at her own press conference Wednesday that the district wanted to reach a deal before it would be necessary to use such authority. She thanked the teachers involved in the labor dispute for their work and urged resolution for the sake of students and families, while pointing to the fact-finding report’s optimism that a future bond measure could create lasting funds for some of the union’s demands.
The union had been asking for a range of reforms and improvements, including full health care coverage for family members written into the labor contract and a 9% raise paid in two 4.5% yearly increases.
SFUSD made a final offer last week of a 6% raise paid over three years in 2% increases and said it could utilize funds from an expiring parcel tax to temporarily pay for dependent health coverage.
The arbitration panel recommended a 6% raise paid over two years in 3% increases. It also recommended accepting the offer to use the district’s method of covering dependents with parcel tax funds in anticipation of exiting state oversight, which began in 2024 amid severe financial deficits.
The two sides have been in negotiations since the union’s contract expired in July. Multiple tentative agreements were reached without being ratified.
Other major points of contention include hiring more special education teachers and reducing their workloads to prevent burnout, reducing reliance on outside contracting by the district on consultants and other personnel, creating housing support for families that need it, and declaring the district a “sanctuary district” and increasing use of the district’s position as a landlord to more assertively protect vulnerable immigrant families.
Supervisor warns of community impact
District 4 Supervisor Alan Wong urged the two sides to reach a deal before impacts were felt by residents. He said the school district was the largest employer in his supervisorial district.
“I am deeply concerned about the impact on students, working parents and school communities,” Wong said in a statement. “I urge both parties to continue coming to the table in good faith and work urgently toward an agreement that minimizes disruption and restores stability for families and educators.”
SFUSD is the seventh-largest school district in the country and enrolls about 50,000 students a year, according to the district. The last teachers’ strike in San Francisco was in 1979.