School Labor Dispute: SFUSD and SEIU Local 790

The current labor dispute between SEIU Local 790 and the SFUSD is an example of the financial rock and a hard place in which we now find ourselves. Employees in this union are the secretaries, cafeteria workers, janitors. 790 employees are currently working without a contract and have not had a pay raise in several years. In this regard, they are like our teachers and administrators. Additionally, they do not have full health coverage for their dependents.

The District argues that there are not sufficient funds to pay for raises and more extensive health care coverage. The Union argues that the funds are available. Those of us outside the negotiating room are left confused, trying to compare apples to apples in a complex debate.

At this point, what seems most necessary for the public, and maybe for all the players involved, is to have a clearer sense of the realities of our financial situation, the set of options available to us as a district, and the impact of those choices on our schools and students. Some of that can be gleaned from resources on the district website, including the latest offers to 790 and the budget that was recommended back in June, and SEIU Local 790’s site, but more information and analysis would be greatly welcomed.

Current offers and responses:
http://portal.sfusd.edu/template/default.cfm?page=home.seiu
http://www.seiu790.org/docUploads/latestproposals10.12.pdf
Recommended Budget:
http://portal.sfusd.edu/data/budget/BudgetProjections.pdf

No one wants a strike; all agree that it would be bad for employees, the district and most importantly our kids. Knowing this, many people are working very hard to find a path through this situation. Hopefully that path will be uncovered soon, as the challenges from outside, such as the Special Election and the continued lack of State funding, require all of us working together to surmount them.

Lisa Schiff is the parent of two children who attend McKinley Elementary School in the San Francisco Unified School District and is the president of the board of directors of Parents for Public Schools of San Francisco (http://www.ppssf.org).