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Håfa Adai & Hello Seattle families,
Seattle’s families rely on SPS to help our children pursue their dreams and SEA is proud to partner with families to help make that happen. We know our contract creates enforceable commitments in writing that can make a big difference in our schools, whether it be class sizes, school safety, or staff retention. We take the responsibility of bargaining very seriously. SEA is using our strength and unity to win improvements that will improve student outcomes
Bargaining status
SEA has bargained with SPS in 18 sessions and all our conversations continue to center student success. But with just 14 days until we hope to welcome students back to school, the process is moving too slowly.
We are committed to bargain from 9am to 9pm nearly every day from now until September 2nd, the first day of school. But as the 18 sessions show, it’s not time at the bargaining table that makes a difference—it’s the willingness to make compromises and move toward agreement.
The district is not being responsive on the subjects that hold the greatest weight for our students and members: pressurization and wages. When we say pressurization, we mean relief from the increases in caseload, class size, and workload that take our time and focus away from students and lead to burnout. And when we talk about wages, we mean making sure all SPS employees can afford to live in the city where we work—with larger wages for lower-paid workers—to help create more continuity and stability for students.
We understand the district has budget problems, but it also has budgeting problems. Budgets are moral documents that show who matters, and who doesn’t. The spending on highly-paid administrators paints a clear picture of priorities that don’t align with what our students need, and this is just one example. SEA is digging into the district’s annual $1.3 billion budget and finding that part of the problem is state funding. And part of the problem is the district’s misplaced priorities.
Next steps
SEA’s Bargaining Team will be working tirelessly to get us to an agreement before the 1st student day . We’re ready to take issues off the table and make compromises to get there. Nobody wants to strike – we want to be in our classrooms, putting students’ names on their cubbies, refreshing our bulletin boards and finalizing student schedules. We want to be ready to welcome students!
SEA’s membership has a meeting on August 26 where we’ll be voting on a tentative agreement, if we can get to one, or possibly on a strike authorization. If the membership authorizes a strike, the Bargaining Team will still continue working toward an agreement between that meeting and the last possible moment.
The ball is clearly in the district’s court. Our union has made every effort to move bargaining along, to forge a more collaborative and positive relationship, and to work with the district to improve student outcomes. We share in the uncertainty of not knowing what the next few weeks will look like. We hope to welcome your students back on schedule.
In solidarity & Si Yu’os Ma’åse,
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