The Long Beach Unified School District has hit a snag in negotiations for a new contract with the Teachers Association of Long Beach, the largest employee union in the district.
According to an LBUSD bargaining update, the district has reached agreement with TALB on several items, but the two sides are still working on pay.
“The District has offered TALB a 4% ongoing raise,” according to the bargaining update, in addition to a 3% one-time payment. The district said that its offer is based on declining enrollment and a tightening budget, something the LBUSD Board of Education has discussed over the past few months.
TALB has asked for a 6% raise and a 1% one-time payment in order to keep up with inflation, according to an update on the union’s website.
The negotiations have been ongoing since November, and have included a dozen meetings totaling more than 60 hours. The two sides ended their scheduled bargaining sessions in late March with the wide gap on pay, but have scheduled a small group meeting this week, with the next LBUSD Board of Education meeting scheduled for April 13.
TALB is planning a large demonstration at next week’s board meeting, and an update on their website said they’re hoping to resume whole-team negotiations after spring break. Those negotiations will include salary as well as conversations about full-day transitional kindergarten and full-day kindergarten, both topics of interest for Long Beach parents.
“We understand the fiscal challenges the District is facing with declining enrollment,” said TALB officials said in a release. “However, the District has maintained and built large reserves for several years and has received massive infusions of revenue from the state and federal government.”
The district is now in a pay-related impasse with its two largest unions, as they’re in a state-mediated process with the Long Beach chapter of the California Schools Employees Association as well.