Seattle teachers end strike after reaching tentative agreement with school district

Unionized educators in Seattle voted on Tuesday to suspend their weeklong strike, which delayed the start of the academic year, after reaching a tentative agreement with Seattle Public Schools.

The Seattle Education Association, which represents about 6,000 employees, said 57 percent of its voters approved the strike’s suspension after receiving details of the agreement, which has not been made public.

“We came together and showed our strength on the picket lines and in our community, and now the membership has made our voices heard that we’re ready to get back to our students,” the union wrote in a tweet.

Classes were set to resume last week, but officials began canceling school as the unionized educators went on strike with no contract deal. The union said information on a vote to ratify the agreement will come later in the week.

“A special thank you to our educators who are the backbone of our school district,” Seattle Public Schools said in a statement on Monday announcing the tentative deal. “They work hard every day supporting our students and families. We are proud to move in a direction that will better meet the needs of our students and staff.”

The school district said classes will begin on Wednesday. 

Educators’ previous contract expired at the end of last month, and bargaining began in early June.

The union sought a commitment to maintain certain staffing ratios for multilingual students and special education students as the district works to integrate the latter group into general education classrooms. 

Educators also asked for higher pay increases and policies to cap employees’ workloads. The union said in a statement on Tuesday the tentative deal is a three-year contract that includes raises as well as maintained or improved special education ratios, but additional specifics were not made public.

Days prior to the first day of classes, the union declined to accept a memorandum of understanding from the school district that would have allowed the school year to start on time. 

The agreement would have committed the district to recommending any future salary increase in the new contract be applied retroactively to Sept. 1. 

Seattle teachers aren’t the only ones resorting to a strike in pursuit of a better contract.

Rail workers could go on strike beginning Friday if a new contract agreement is not reached. The potential strike has gotten the attention of President Biden, and Congress could intervene to avert the strike.

Meanwhile, thousands of Minnesota nurses went on strike Monday, citing short staffing and low wage increases, potentially marking the largest private sector nurses strike in the nation’s history.

Workers at the flagship Starbucks roastery in Seattle and two other Seattle stores went on strike on Tuesday as the company held its investor day. 

The coffee chain giant and its employee union have sparred for months as more locations attempt to unionize, leading to court battles across the country.