United Educators of San Francisco President Cassondra Curiel was beaming Friday — not because it was 70 degrees in February, but because her union’s new contract had officially been ratified by 92% of teachers.
Following a four-day strike earlier this month, Curiel’s 6,000-member union received its chief demand from San Francisco Unified School District: fully funded healthcare for dependents. It was enough, the union leader said, for some of her members to start planning on conceiving children.
“It’s inspiring conversations amongst members who have been holding off or uncertain financially,” Curiel said. “That’s really a great thing for San Francisco, because it’s not just techies who live here.”
But the ripple effects of the strike carry on. SFUSD has said the terms of its new contract, which include raises of between 5% and 8.5% over the next two years, will cost $183 million (opens in new tab) through the 2027-28 school year. The district is now planning to issue preliminary lay-off notices for 42 positions, including instructional aides and art teachers.
Curiel is well aware of the leverage the union now holds. And that power is reflected in the decrease in layoffs the district claims it needs, despite the increase in expenditures. Last December, it proposed issuing 200 pink slips, five times its current proposal.
Curiel says district leadership understands they find themselves “in a situation where they are held accountable.”
Even so, the union plans to push back against those layoffs until a final budget is approved in June. In the meantime, teachers will be united with the district administration in advocating for more cash from the state (opens in new tab), which currently contributes over half of the district’s $1.2 billion budget.
So there is still work to do. But after leading the first SF teachers strike in 47 years, Curiel and her union believe they have come out on top.
When The Standard asked how she was feeling in the aftermath of the contract ratification, she couldn’t help but take one last jab at the district.
“We knew you could do it the whole time,” Curiel said of the demands the district ultimately acceded to. “We could have been here a year ago.”