LA teachers reach tentative deal to end strike

Los Angeles teachers struck a tentative deal on Tuesday to end a strike that had stretched into a second week in the nation’s second-largest school district.

The Los Angeles Unified School District said in a tweet that it had reached a “tentative agreement” with United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), but did not disclose further details.

Los Angeles Unified has reached a tentative agreement with UTLA. More details to follow.

— L.A. Unified (@LASchools) January 22, 2019

The Los Angeles Times reported that the Board of Education is likely to ratify the deal, which must be approved by a majority of UTLA members.

{mosads}The union could vote on the pact within a matter of hours, the Times reported, and teachers could be back at work as early as Wednesday. 

The details of Tuesday’s agreement were not immediately clear. The Los Angeles Times reported that the district’s most recent offer before the strike included class size reductions and increases in staff, though it did not reach levels for which the union had asked.

Roughly 30,000 teachers and other school staff in Los Angeles began the strike on Jan. 14, demanding better pay, improved conditions and greater staffing in the city’s schools. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) expressed support for the striking teachers and staff.

Schools were staffed over the past week by administrators and employees who were not on strike, but more than two-thirds of students did not come to campus during that time, the Times reported.

The Los Angeles Unified School District is the second-largest in the country, with roughly 640,000 students.