Berkeley teachers union, school district reach tentative agreement

A couple hundred Berkeley educators and community members marched from Civic Center Park down Martin Luther King Boulevard and along University Avenue to the BUSD boardroom on Feb. 18 as the teachers union negotiated for a new contract. Credit: Kelly Sullivan for Berkeleyside

The Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) and its teachers union have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, likely averting a strike just as educators in neighboring Oakland voted to authorize a walkout.

Both the Berkeley Federation of Teachers (BFT) and BUSD officials told Berkeleyside a tentative agreement had been reached.

Details of the agreement will be released Tuesday afternoon, the Berkeley Federation of Teachers told Berkeleyside. Union members still need to ratify the agreement before it is sent to the school board for approval.

Berkeley Federation of Teachers President Matt Meyer speaks at a rally last week before the tentative agreement was reached. “It’s easy to look at everything as numbers and not actually hear us,” he said. “We wanted to be heard. We wanted our school board and our district office to see us as people.” Credit: Kelly Sullivan for Berkeleyside

Berkeley educators represented by the union began the school year on an expired labor contract, which was ratified in 2022 and ended on June 30. BFT represents 900 teachers, counselors, substitutes, school psychologists, and librarians at BUSD.

The district and BFT held a fact-finding hearing on Friday after a January state mediation failed to result in an agreement. Both parties declared an impasse in contract negotiations in December.

The district is trying to bounce back from a $7.6 million budget deficit, with BUSD staff expecting more challenges and possible layoffs this school year.

The labor actions are part of a larger movement in California called the “We Can’t Wait” campaign, which spans 32 school districts. The United Teachers of Richmond and the United Educators of San Francisco recently staged four-day strikes, securing higher health care benefits and salary increases.

Berkeley teachers, parents, students and supporters participate in a march from Civic Center Park to BUSD Headquarters on Feb. 18. Credit: Kelly Sullivan for Berkeleyside

At last Wednesday’s school board meeting, BUSD approved a different agreement with the Union of Berkeley Administrators (UBA) for a new contract from 2024 to 2027. The previous contract expired on June 30, 2024, and negotiations were resolved on Jan. 23. Service Employees International Union Local 1021 members ratified the contract on Feb. 13, agreeing to a 2% salary increase and a 1% off-schedule bonus, according to board documents.

This story will be updated Tuesday with details of the tentative agreement.

Berkeley teachers union, school district reach tentative agreement

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