Teachers union OKs deal with Los Angeles school district

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles teachers have overwhelmingly approved a new contract with the LA Unified School District that will give a significant pay raise to educators, nurses, counselors, librarians and other educational staff in the nation’s second-largest school system.

United Teachers Los Angeles announced Friday that its 35,000 members voted by a 94 percent margin to ratify the three-year deal that was given tentative approval last month.

The deal calls for a 21% pay increase in increments of 3% or 4% retroactive to last July and through Jan. 1, 2025.

The pact, reached over 11 months of bargaining, also enhances pay for substitute teachers, decreases class sizes by two students, creates enforceable class size caps for special education, provides support for immigrant students and families, and increases mental health and counseling services.

“This contract will set the national standard for all other educators to achieve livable wages and solidify an equitable future where students are supported in a healthy learning environment,” UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz said in a statement Friday.

District Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho last month said the agreement “is a necessary step not only to make Los Angeles Unified the district of choice for families but also the district of choice for teachers and employees.”

In March, the teachers union largely supported a three-day strike by a separate union representing the district’s bus drivers, cafeteria workers and other service workers.

The strike shut down the district, which quickly reached a deal with the Service Employees International Union, whose members ratified the pact in April.

Both contracts require approval by the district Board of Education.

The LA Unified School District has more than 500,000 students. It serves Los Angeles and all or part of 25 other cities and unincorporated county areas.