San Francisco public schools shut down on Monday as teachers went on strike demanding improved healthcare benefits and pay raises, leaving the families of some 50,000 students scrambling for child care and meals. <\/p>\n
Members of United Educators of San Francisco walked off the job for the first time since 1979 after union leaders and the San Francisco Unified School District failed to reach an agreement during a weekend bargaining session.<\/p>\n
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie had pleaded with both sides to keep schools open for three more days while negotiations continued, to \u201callow kids to stay in the classroom and the adults to keep talking.\u201d Bargaining resumed Monday afternoon, a union spokesperson said, but there was no set end date for the strike.<\/p>\n
The district announced that schools would be closed Tuesday <\/a>and urged parents to check the district website \u201cfor learning, food, childcare, and district support resources.\u201d<\/p>\n In one of the nation\u2019s most expensive cities<\/a>, \u201cthe affordability crisis for those of us devoted to San Francisco\u2019s next generation is real,\u201d Cassondra Curiel, the teachers\u2019 union president said in a statement.<\/p>\n Also, rising healthcare premiums \u201care pushing excellent teachers and support staff out of our district,\u201d which now has hundreds of educator vacancies, Curiel said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis week, we said enough is enough,\u201d she wrote. <\/p>\n At school sites across the city Monday, picketing educators marched, rattled cowbells, beat drums, and held up signs reading: \u201cOn Strike for Safe and Stable Schools\u201d and \u201cWe Can\u2019t Wait \/ Invest in the Schools Our Students Deserve.\u201d <\/p>\n San Francisco USD Supt. Maria Su told reporters Monday that \u201cevery day this strike continues has real consequences.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cStudents are losing instructional time. Families are scrambling to take care of their children, to arrange child care,\u201d she said during a news conference. \u201cMany of our most vulnerable students are losing access to food, mental health support and connections to their school community, their friends, their beloved educators, their support system.\u201d<\/p>\n L.A., San Diego teachers authorize strikes<\/p>\n The San Francisco teachers\u2019 strike could portend more labor unrest in California, where educators in other major districts, including Los Angeles, have signaled that they, too, are prepared to strike for higher pay, smaller class sizes and more resources. <\/p>\n Last month, members of United Teachers Los Angeles voted overwhelmingly<\/a> to authorize their leadership to call a strike, ratcheting up pressure as negotiations stall and as the Los Angeles Unified School District is planning for likely staff layoffs and budget cuts. <\/p>\n In San Diego, the teachers\u2019 union voted before winter break to authorize a one-day unfair labor practice strike<\/a> on Feb. 26 if the San Diego Unified School District does not improve special education staffing. <\/p>\n The labor tensions come as COVID relief funds have ended and public school enrollment in California has plummeted<\/a> in recent years, leading to reduced state funding. <\/p>\n Last year, the California Teachers Assn., the statewide teachers\u2019 union, launched the \u201cWe Can\u2019t Wait\u201d campaign<\/a>, urging union chapters to band together to be forceful in labor negotiations. <\/p>\n San Francisco budget struggles<\/p>\n The San Francisco school district has said<\/a> it is struggling with \u201clong-term budget challenges made worse by having fewer students and temporary COVID relief funds that are now gone.\u201d<\/p>\n Some prominent lawmakers called on union leaders to keep classrooms open, including U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Scott Wiener, the Democratic state senator from San Francisco, who joined Lurie in asking for a 72-hour pause <\/a> before the strike.<\/p>\n The union said it had been abundantly clear about its timeline. A union spokesperson told The Times on Monday that \u201cthese are not strike-happy people,\u201d noting that it had been nearly half a century since the last teachers\u2019 strike, which lasted more than six weeks.<\/p>\n SFUSD is facing a $102-million budget deficit<\/a> and is under state fiscal oversight because of a long-standing financial crisis. The district has said that if layoffs are needed<\/a> to close the gap, employees will be given notices this spring. <\/p>\n Supt. Su said Monday that the district \u201cdoes not have unlimited funds\u201d but that, despite financial challenges, it put forward \u201ca viable offer\u201d to the union \u201cthat we can afford.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cWe will be at the table and we will stay for as long as it takes to get to a full agreement,\u201d Su said. \u201cI do not want a prolonged strike.\u201d<\/p>\n What teachers are demanding<\/p>\n Negotiations began in March 2025.<\/p>\n The teachers\u2019 union has asked for a 9% pay raise over two years and has said that money could come from reserve funds. On Saturday, the district offered to give union members a 6% raise over two years. <\/p>\n Rising healthcare costs for teachers with families have been a major sticking point. The union said its educators receive some of the lowest contributions to their healthcare costs among neighboring districts, leading many members to work elsewhere.<\/p>\n Family healthcare premiums have risen to $1,500 a month, according to the union, which said that is up to 40%<\/a> of what some of the lowest-earning classroom support staff make in a year. <\/p>\n Teanna Tillery, union vice president and representative of paraeducators \u2014 who work individually with students, often on part-time schedules \u2014 said that increasing healthcare costs and the region\u2019s high cost of living have offset the $9,000 permanent salary gains the union has made since their contract negotiations two years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re having to commute in to other cities just because we just can\u2019t afford to be here,\u201d Tillery said. \u201cMost of us are working more than one job to be able to make ends meet, and one job should definitely be enough for all of the educators.\u201d<\/p>\n With one dependent, Tillery said her healthcare premiums have reached $900 a month, which, for part-time educators, can take up 40% of their biweekly pay.<\/p>\n \u201cFor our classified employees who have two or more dependents, they\u2019re paying $1,500 a month for their portion of the healthcare, and that\u2019s quite a bit of money that\u2019s taken out of their checks when they are not full-time employees.\u201d<\/p>\n The union was asking the district to cover all medical premiums for members and their dependents \u201cor the lion\u2019s share of it,\u201d a spokesperson said Monday.<\/p>\n The Associated Press reported that<\/a> Su said the district had offered two options: Paying 75% of family health coverage to the insurance provider Kaiser or offering an annual $24,000 allowance<\/a> for teachers to choose their own healthcare plan. <\/p>\n