About 100 BUSD teachers and staff attended an October school board meeting to demand a contract with higher wages and benefits. Credit: Vanessa Arredondo/Berkeleyside

The Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) and the Berkeley Federation of Teachers (BFT) have declared an impasse in their contract negotiations, adding to the number of school districts in the Bay Area and California where labor talks have broken down.

Since Nov. 20, the district and BFT have met 17 times to negotiate a new contract, without success, according to the union. BFT is asking for higher salaries and more robust benefits to reduce teacher turnover. Educators represented by the union began the school year on an expired labor contract, which was ratified in 2022 and ended on June 30.

Declaring an impasse will trigger a state-mediated process with factual findings from a neutral third party; if no agreement is reached, the path is clear for the teachers’ union to give the district notice of a strike. It’s uncertain whether BUSD teachers will strike in the near future. 

“Our educators felt that we had limited options given that BUSD has not engaged with us around compensation and benefits,” BFT President Matt Meyer said in a statement to Berkeleyside on Tuesday. “Our contract responds to real issues. We care about our schools but are driven to take this action.”

BUSD Superintendent Enikia Ford Morthel said in a statement Tuesday that the district and union have had “many productive and thoughtful discussions,” reaching tentative agreements on 13 of 21 negotiation items. 

Both parties agreed on items related to preschool class sizes, elementary school report card due dates, and substitute teacher compensation. 

But several items are still on the negotiation table. The teachers’ union is asking for better health coverage and higher wages, as these are a “major barrier to hiring and retaining educators,” Meyer said. The BFT proposed a 5% salary increase for this year and the next to “bring us in line with neighboring districts,” he said in an email. Meyer said the current contract with BUSD covers 56% of teacher healthcare costs.

During the 2024-25 school year, the lowest teacher salary offered at BUSD was about $56,000. By comparison, the lowest starting salary at nearby Oakland Unified is just over $62,000, according to salary information available on the district website. Salaries at some other school districts in Alameda County are significantly higher. For example, Fremont Unified educator pay starts at $85,000, according to 2025-26 documents.

The California Department of Education also publishes salary information for every district across the state. Its most recent data, from the 2023-2024 academic year, shows the average salary of a BUSD teacher was just above $100,000, falling in-between the $86,000 and $116,000 average earned by teachers at Oakland Unified and Fremont Unified, respectively. Salaries at BUSD and other districts are mostly determined by an educator’s credential status, education level completed, and service time.

In their negotiations, Berkeley staff are also asking for a “reasonable” contractual staffing formula to manage workloads and student-to-staff ratios for school psychologists, higher child-rearing leave benefits (from 25% of income to 50%), and contract language that addresses training and use of artificial intelligence for teachers.

Ford Morthel said both parties agreed during the most recent negotiation session to seek assistance from a mediator. She said mediation is expected to begin soon, and educators will continue to work under the terms of the expired contract. 

“The District values our educators deeply, and we understand the very real challenges they face—from the high cost of living in our region to the broader staffing pressures affecting schools across the state,” Ford Morthel said in the statement. “These issues matter, and we remain committed to good-faith discussions that honor their contributions while also ensuring the long-term financial health of our district.”

She added that an impasse is a “structured part of negotiations that almost always leads to agreement and better understanding.”

Teacher contract negotiations faltering elsewhere in California

BUSD isn’t the only school district in California where negotiations have stalled, with impasses occurring this fall in Sacramento, San Francisco, and more locally at the Oakland and West Contra Costa school districts, according to “We Can’t Wait,” an advocacy campaign for California teachers’ unions. According to EdSource, many more renegotiated contracts will soon expire, making future strike threats possible. 

Ten months of negotiations at the West Contra Costa School District reached a head recently, with teachers on Monday announcing they’ll go on strike starting Thursday, Dec. 4, Richmonside reported. Barring any last-minute settlement with the district, 1,500 teachers will not be in their classrooms, but schools will remain in operation.

The West Contra Costa teachers’ union, United Teachers of Richmond (UTR), declared an impasse in August, with the biggest point of contention being salary, but other issues include class sizes and union proposals to lighten the workload for special education teachers, therapists and school nurses. The UTR contract expired in June.

In early October, about a hundred Berkeley Unified teachers packed the boardroom, demanding a new labor contract with higher pay, better benefits, and full compensation for extra work performed. Staff spoke about rising healthcare costs, insufficient salary increases to keep pace with inflation and tariff costs, and high staff turnover. 

Teacher turnover and vacancies are an ongoing challenge at BUSD, as they are for other school districts in the state. In a 2025 report by the California Teachers Association, just 12% of surveyed educators said they’re able to save enough for their future, and 31% are living paycheck to paycheck.

“Declaring impasse is not something we take lightly, but we feel we must bring our concerns about employee retention and future staffing to the next level,” Meyer said. “(The district) have had every opportunity to show that they care about keeping quality educators in Berkeley and providing stability for our students. We are hopeful that mediation will bring a contract settlement that is good for students and educators.” 

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