Thousands of San Francisco teachers went on strike on Monday, citing an impasse with the school district over wages and health care benefits.
The action marks the first teachers’ walkout in the San Francisco Unified School District in almost 50 years.
Teachers stressed that the strike, which has shuttered schools for roughly 48,000 students, was launched after long-stalled negotiations over issues such as raises and insurance coverage. At the same time, the cost of living in the region remains one of the highest in the country.
“It has taken over 10 months of sounding this alarm, negotiating, asking nicely and hearing unfulfilled promises to get to this point,” Cassondra Curiel, president of the United Educators of San Francisco union (UESF), said at a press conference on Monday. “The proposals the district came with to address special education, health care and salary just didn’t go far enough.”
The union represents roughly 6,000 school staff, including teachers, social workers, nurses and librarians. It’s pressing for 4.5% annual raises for two years, and for dependents’ health care benefits to be fully covered.
