Los Angeles Unified School District officials and leaders of SEIU Local 99 reached a tentative agreement early Tuesday, averting a planned walkout and keeping schools open for Tuesday’s session. The accord was the third and final milestone needed to prevent a districtwide shutdown that would have affected about 390,000 students across the nation’s second-largest district. Negotiations ran late into the night, generating uncertainty for parents and staff before the deal was announced. With campuses set to operate normally, attention shifts to ratification details and implementation timelines.
Key takeaways
- The tentative agreement with SEIU Local 99 was reached early Tuesday and stopped a planned strike that threatened to close LAUSD campuses.
- About 390,000 students in the Los Angeles Unified School District were potentially affected if a walkout had proceeded.
- This settlement completed the final condition after tentative deals with teachers and administrators, creating a unified setback to a coordinated strike.
- The 2023 Local 99 action shut schools for three days and resulted in raises that in some cases exceeded 30%; those precedents shaped current bargaining leverage.
- LAUSD’s acting superintendent, Andres Chait, who was named in February after Alberto Carvalho was placed on administrative leave, played a visible role in the late negotiations.
- Key financial and staffing details of the new tentative contract remain to be finalized and subject to ratification by union membership and district approval.
Background
Labor tensions in Los Angeles public schools have a recent history of escalations that influenced bargaining positions this year. In March 2023, Local 99 led a three-day shutdown that won substantial salary gains for many low-wage district workers, with increases exceeding 30% for some positions and smaller raises for others, varying by tenure and baseline pay. That strike gained momentum because of coordinated actions and sympathy support from the teachers’ union; collective solidarity has become a recurring feature of LAUSD labor disputes. Earlier, in 2019, teachers staged a six-day strike that produced a mixed contract outcome — including a roughly 6% pay increase — and national attention on Los Angeles public education issues.
Those past campaigns have raised expectations among service employees, educators and the public for concrete improvements in compensation and school services. Union leaders have argued that higher pay for bus drivers, custodians, special education assistants, cafeteria staff and gardeners addresses long-standing equity issues for largely low-paid workers who keep schools functioning. For district leaders, balancing fiscal constraints, state funding and contract demands has been a persistent challenge. The presence of multiple unions with a pledge to walk out together increased bargaining pressure on the district this round.
Main event
Negotiations ran late Monday into the early hours of Tuesday as district negotiators and Local 99 representatives worked to hammer out terms and avoid a strike. Local 99 posted a social update shortly after midnight indicating talks were ongoing, underscoring how close the district came to a disruption. The pact announced early Tuesday completed the set of tentative agreements after weekend deals with the teachers’ union and the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles, who represent principals and assistant principals. With those three milestones met, union leaders called off coordinated strike plans and the district confirmed schools would open as scheduled on Tuesday.
Officials cautioned that the agreement is tentative and still requires formal ratification by union membership and final approval from the district’s governance bodies. District communications emphasized continuity of services, while noting that detailed contract language, timelines for pay adjustments and implementation mechanics will be released as they are finalized. On the ground, families who had prepared alternate childcare and food plans responded with relief as campuses reopened operations. Educators and staff returned to schools with uncertainty reduced but with attention turned to the specifics of what the tentative deal will deliver.
Acting Superintendent Andres Chait, who assumed leadership in February after Superintendent Alberto Carvalho was placed on indefinite administrative leave amid a federal inquiry, had said publicly that strikes harm students and families and had been engaged directly with bargaining teams. Union leaders framed the agreement as a product of sustained pressure and previous bargaining gains that set expectations for meaningful compensation shifts. The district and unions now face the near-term work of communicating next steps and ensuring service continuity, particularly for students with special needs and families who had arranged contingency services.
Analysis & implications
The avoidance of a strike provides immediate stability for roughly 390,000 students and prevents a disruption to instructional time, nutrition services and transportation logistics. In practical terms, averting a walkout spares families the sudden need for childcare or alternative meal arrangements and prevents lost classroom days that can be difficult to make up. For the district’s budget outlook, the cost of the tentative settlement will feed into multi-year financial planning; LAUSD must reconcile any increased labor costs with state funding, local revenues and existing commitments.
Politically, the episode reinforces the bargaining leverage that coordinated labor action has delivered in Los Angeles over the past decade. The calendar of past strikes — notably 2019 (teachers) and 2023 (Local 99) — demonstrates that unified pressure across unions can extract concessions beyond what single-union negotiations typically achieve. That dynamic may shape future rounds of bargaining and encourage unions to maintain alliances in pursuit of improved wages and workplace protections, especially for lower-paid classifications.
For students with special needs and families relying on district-run supports, the ceasefire buys time but does not erase concerns about access to services. LAUSD has previously warned that certain contingency sites cannot accommodate children with moderate to severe disabilities or children under age four, highlighting ongoing gaps in emergency preparedness. Administratively, implementation burdens fall to operations teams — the division formerly overseen by the acting superintendent — who must coordinate payroll changes, hiring plans, and service continuity without interrupting the school day.
Comparison & data
| Year | Duration | Unions involved | Reported pay change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 6 days (teachers) | Teachers | About 6% for teachers |
| 2023 | 3 days (Local 99-led) | Local 99 + teacher sympathy | Up to >30% for some Local 99 members |
| 2026 (this round) | Averted (deals reached) | Teachers, Local 99, Administrators | Details pending ratification |
The table summarizes the arc of major labor actions and outcomes in recent LAUSD history. Past settlements show a pattern of escalating wage gains for classified staff in 2023 and incremental teacher raises after 2019; the current tentative agreement completes bargaining milestones but leaves precise compensation figures awaiting formal disclosure and membership votes. Observers will compare finalized terms to prior deals to assess relative gains across employee groups and the district’s fiscal flexibility.
Reactions & quotes
Local leaders and community members expressed relief at the avoided shutdown, while union officials signaled caution until ratification votes conclude. The late-night bargaining and the public solidarity among unions were credited with maintaining pressure that produced the tentative deal.
“This agreement will set new standards, not just for Los Angeles, but the entire state.”
Max Arias, Executive Director, SEIU Local 99 (comment on 2023 settlement)
The 2023 remark from Local 99’s executive director underscored how that prior victory reshaped expectations for current negotiations.
“Nobody wants a strike. Strikes are not good for students. They are not good for our schools.”
Andres Chait, Acting Superintendent, LAUSD
Chait’s public statements during the bargaining period emphasized the district’s priority on minimizing disruption and returning focus to instruction and student services.
“Negotiations are continuing,”
SEIU Local 99 social media update (post after midnight)
The union’s late-night update illustrated how close talks came to a possible walkout and signaled that both sides were working to avoid a shutdown.
Unconfirmed
- Precise salary increases and the schedule for any raises in the current tentative agreement have not yet been publicly released or ratified.
- The final timeline for contract ratification votes and district board approvals remains pending and was not disclosed in the initial announcement.
- Details about how the agreement will address staffing for students with moderate to severe disabilities during contingency situations were not specified.
Bottom line
The immediate consequence of the early-Tuesday tentative deal is operational stability: schools will open and students will attend classes as planned, avoiding the logistical and educational disruption a strike would have caused. However, the story is not finished — the terms must be finalized, presented to union members for ratification and integrated into the district’s budget and operational plans. Stakeholders should watch for the contract text and ratification outcomes to understand the concrete gains for workers and the fiscal implications for LAUSD.
In the broader view, the episode reinforces how coordinated labor action in Los Angeles has reshaped bargaining norms and raised expectations for compensation improvements among classified staff. For families and staff, the near-term relief will be judged against the final contract details and the district’s ability to implement changes without compromising services for vulnerable students.