The 10% pay hike proposed for each of the next two years would help attract and retain educators at a time when LAUSD, like many districts, is grappling with a worker shortage and teachers are desperately needed to help students rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic, union officials said.
The union's announcement on Monday comes as negotiations around salary, health and welfare benefits, and changes to special education teacher responsibilities have hampered a deal.
The American Federation of Teachers Local 481 in Newark filed a grievance in October 2021 after being forced to take sick days for not only being exposed to COVID-19 but also to stay home and care for loved ones even though the teachers themselves were not personally infected.
"Grow-your-own" is the most popular teacher recruitment strategy in the nation's largest school systems, with many leaders implementing team teaching and expanded PD.
Districts are paying teachers to work longer hours, offering retention bonuses and pursuing other strategies that break with tradition, an analysis says.
Teachers are at the heart of education, and their valuable work must also lead to better salaries and working conditions, the heads of three UN agencies and a partner organization said on Wednesday.
