Answers to frequently asked questions about the current labor negotiations between the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) and the Sacramento City Teachers Association (SCTA). 

Here are some verifiable facts:

UPDATE MAY 5, 2022

Q: If the school year is extended to make up lost instructional time due to the recent labor strike, will graduation dates and other extra-curricular events such as prom be rescheduled? 

A: No, these events will go forward on the dates they are currently scheduled regardless of the outcome of lost time negotiations with our labor partners. 

Q: What if my student can’t attend school in the event of a school year extension due to prearranged plans?

A: As we always do, we will evaluate each request and evaluate options. We encourage your student to attend school. However, if you have prearranged plans, we ask you to talk to your school site principal and inform them of your situation as soon as possible.

UPDATE APRIL 3, 2022

Q: What is in the final agreement between SCUSD and SCTA?

A:

Employee compensation

• Ongoing 4% salary increase starting in the 2021-22 school year.
• 3% one-time stipend for 2019-2020, pro-rated for part-time employees;
• 3% one-time stipend for 2020-2021, pro-rated for part-time employees;
• One time payment of $1,250 in 2021-22 for every full-time SCTA-represented employee, and a pro-rated amount for part-time employees.

Increased Compensation for Substitute Teachers

• Increase substitute teacher daily rate by 25% for substitutes who filled in for absent teachers during the 2021-22 school year.
• Additional 14 days of sick leave for substitute teachers who test positive, are experiencing COVID symptoms, or are required to quarantine.

Additional Professional Development

• 3 additional paid days for professional learning in the 2022-23 school year. The professional learning will include anti-racist training, and content related to Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) and Universal Design for Learning.

Health Coverage

• The district will continue to provide 100% paid health coverage through Kaiser and a mutually agreed upon alternative plan or plans. The current alternative plan is HealthNet.
• The district and SCTA will research provider pools and/or additional benefit provider options to increase benefit plan choices for employees, and will reach agreement on or before August 31, 2022 or any other mutually agreed upon date on any additional plans that offer equivalent level of value as the HealthNet plan.
• In the event that health plan changes are agreed to and  savings are achieved, the savings will be applied to fund additional positions that support the district’s MTSS framework for providing equitable learning for all students.

Withdrawal of pending unfair practice charges and grievances

• SCTA agrees to withdraw a grievance and all of its pending unfair practice charges filed with the Public Employment Relations Board.

Q: What is in the final agreement between SCUSD and SEIU?​

A:

Employee Compensation

• 4% ongoing salary increase, effective July 1, 2021
• $3,000 one-time stipend for 2020-21
• $3,000 one-time stipend for 2021-22
• $1,000 one-time retention stipend for current employees for the 2021-22 school year
• Wage reopener for the 2022-2023 school year
• $238 increase in Longevity Pay effective July 1, 2022

By offering equal dollar amount stipends to SEIU, instead of percentage-based stipends which was proposed to SCTA, the district is providing hourly paid employees significantly more money than what they would receive from a stipend based on a salary percentage stipend. These dollar-amount stipends reflect the district’s commitment to equity and social justice for all employees.

The agreement also included a package of incentives specifically aimed at recruiting and retaining Bus Drivers.

• Special Salary Adjustment committee to discuss how to recruit and retain bus drivers.
• $2,000 Retention Bonus for current bus drivers for the 2022-23 school year.
• $2,000 Recruitment and Signing Bonus for new bus drivers who complete the SCUSD training program for bus drivers for the 2022-23 school year.
• $2,000 Recruitment and Signing Bonus for SEIU members who refer a new bus driver who provides service to the district in the 2022-23 school year.
• $5,000 signing bonus for new bus driver employees who are fully licensed to drive a bus. In order to receive the signing bonus, the employee must provide service to the District for the entire 2022-23 school year.

The agreement with SEIU also included several provisions to improve SEIU members’ working conditions, including:

• Continue 100% district paid health premiums for all eligible SEIU members and their dependents up to the Kaiser active rates
• Enhance dental and vision benefits to premier coverage plans
• Provide safety shoes for nutrition services staff
• Increase by $30 the amount allocated for safety shoes for transportation staff
• A classification and compensation study for all SEIU classifications
• Increase the minimum hours for bus attendants
• Increase the number of 8 hour bus routes
• Reduction from 3 years to 18 months that an employee will have to wait to receive credit for professional growth.

Q. These are tentative agreements. When do they become final?

A: The agreements will become final when they are ratified by the district and the union specified in the agreement.

 

UPDATE MARCH 31, 2022

PROVIDING 100% PAID HEALTH CARE COVERAGE FOR SCTA-REPRESENTED EMPLOYEES THAT THE DISTRICT CAN AFFORD

Q. What change is the district proposing for employee health care coverage?

A: The district has proposed to continue to cover 100% of the cost of the Kaiser health care premium for SCTA-represented staff and their families, and to pay up to the Kaiser premium level for those employees on the HeathNet plan. In addition, for the 2022-23 school year, the district will provide a stipend to cover 100% of the cost difference between the Kaiser health plan premium and the HealthNet health plan premium. For the 2023-24 school year the district will pay 50% of the cost difference between the Kaiser health plan premium and the HealthNet health plan premium. The district has also proposed to provide a $3,000 stipend to employees that switch from HealthNet to Kaiser by June 30, 2022.

Here is an overview of the district’s proposal on health care:

Q: Is the district ending HealthNet coverage?

A:  No. SCTA-represented employees may still choose to keep the HealthNet plan.

Q:  Is the district forcing all SCTA-represented employees to switch to Kaiser?

A:  No. District employees do not have to switch to Kaiser. They can stay with HealthNet if that is their choice. For the next two years, the District will provide a stipend for SCTA-represented employees that have HealthNet so they don’t have to pay the full difference between the cost of the Kaiser plan and the cost of the HealthNet plan. In the  2022-23 school year, the District will cover 100% of the difference between the Kaiser and HealthNet health plan premium cost difference, and in the 2023-24 school year, the district will cover 50% of the health plan premium cost difference.

Q: Will employees who choose to stay with HealthNet have to pay the extra premium costs beyond the Kaiser rate right away?

A:  No. There will be no additional cost for employees who stay with HealthNet next year. The district is proposing three ways to help SCTA-represented employees with the transition to the Kaiser plan rate.

1. The district has offered to pay for 100% of the difference between the Kaiser and HealthNet rates for 2022-23, and 50% of the difference for 2023-24. Starting in 2024-25 and beyond, employees choosing to stay with HealthNet will cover the cost difference themselves.
2. As an incentive to encourage employees to switch to the Kaiser plan, the District will provide a $3,000 one-time stipend to employees who switch from HealthNet to Kaiser by June 30, 2022.
3. Employees who have coverage under another health plan through their spouse or partner can receive a $250 per month “in lieu” of health care coverage through  SCUSD. Annually this will total $3,000.

Q: Is the district taking away employee health coverage?

A:  Absolutely not! SCUSD will continue to offer health care coverage for employees and their family through Kaiser with no plan premium cost to SCTA-represented employees. Employees also have the option to stay with HealthNet if they prefer.

Q: Is the District proposing a hard cap on the amount it pays for Kaiser family coverage?

A:  No.  The District is proposing a “floating cap” that adjusts to the premium rate charged by Kaiser. If the rate goes up, the district will continue to cover 100% of the Kaiser premium cost. 

Q: What is the current cost to the district for HealthNet and for Kaiser?

A:  The table below shows that the costs to the district for the HealthNet plan are substantially higher than the cost of the  Kaiser plan.

Q. How do health care benefits for SCTA-represented employees compare to benefits offered by other local government agencies?

A: Here is how health care benefits offered by SCUSD compare to benefits offered by the City of Sacramento, Sacramento County, and the State of California.

Q: How many employees are in HealthNet versus Kaiser?

A:  There are 941 certificated staff enrolled in HealthNet. This represents about 43% of SCTA unit members.

UPDATE MARCH 29, 2022

Q. Has the district changed its proposal to SCTA during the course of negotiations?

A. Yes, the district has significantly enhanced its proposal to increase compensation for SCTA-represented employees. The district has sent updated counterproposals to SCTA that have enhanced the proposed compensation for SCTA-represented employees. The current offer to SCTA brings the total increase offered to employees to 9.65% through a combination of one-time stipends and an ongoing salary increase. You can read the district’s latest proposals to SCTA at:

District proposal, March 28: Successor Contract

District proposal, March 28: Substitute Pay & Extra Work 2021-2022 School Year

Here is an overview of the district’s proposal to SCTA as of Monday, March 28:

Q. Since the district and SCTA are negotiating, why won’t the district call off the strike?

A. The district cannot force SCTA and SEIU to suspend the strike.  Negotiators are making progress at the bargaining table by passing and discussing proposals made by the district and SCTA, and, separately, by the district and SEIU. Union leaders for SCTA and SEIU leaders called this strike and they are the only ones who can call it off.

INCREASING PAY FOR SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS

Q. Why does SCUSD have a shortage of substitute teachers?

A. There are workforce shortages in many industries and that is especially true in education. The pool of qualified substitutes in our area is not sufficient to meet the demand from all school districts in our region. Most districts are increasing pay to attract more qualified people to serve as substitutes. SCUSD is trying to reach an agreement with SCTA that will allow the district to increase pay for substitute teachers. 

Q. Why can’t the district just go ahead and pay substitute teachers more money, or offer substitutes a bonus?

A.  Substitute teachers are also represented by SCTA. Any change in pay must be negotiated with SCTA. The district cannot change the pay for substitute teachers or offer recruitment bonuses to substitute teachers without a negotiated agreement with SCTA.

The district is trying to reach an agreement with SCTA to increase pay for substitute teachers in the current negotiations.

Q. Has the District offered to increase pay for substitute teachers?

A: Yes. In its proposal to SCTA, the district has offered to increase the daily pay rate by 25% for substitutes who filled in for absent teachers during the 2021-22 school year. The district’s proposal to increase pay for substitutes has been on the table the entire year, and remains in the proposal that the district has offered to SCTA. Please see: District proposal, March 28: Substitute Pay & Extra Work 2021-2022 School Year.

Q. Are substitute teachers represented by teacher unions in other districts?

A. No. SCUSD is unique in this regard. Our district is the one of the only districts in the region in which substitute teachers are represented by a union. Substitute teachers are NOT represented by a union in Elk Grove, Twin Rivers, Folsom Cordova, Natomas, San Juan, Davis, and Washington Unified School Districts, among others.

UPDATE MARCH 24, 2022

Q. SCTA says that they are waiting on the District to resume negotiations. Did the district walk away from the bargaining table?

A: No, the district remains ready and willing to continue negotiations. The mediated negotiations process ended on the evening of Tuesday, March 22 and since then SCTA has not responded to the district’s repeated offers to continue good faith negotiations. See offers to continue negotiations dated March 22 and March 23.

Q. SEIU says that the District has refused to meet to negotiate with their union until March 30. Why is this?

A. March 30 is the date that SEIU requested to meet with the district’s negotiators. The district has agreed to meet with SEIU on this date, per SEIU’s request. SCUSD’s negotiators have communicated to SEIU that the district’s negotiation team is willing to meet with SEIU on any earlier date they prefer.

Q. Are SCUSD schools closed during the strike?

A: No, SCUSD’s schools are open as work days and employees are expected to report for duty. During the strike SCUSD schools are closed only for student instruction because there are not enough staff to provide safe supervision. Employees are still expected to be at work. Some student services will continue to be provided such as nutrition services, COVID testing and COVID vaccination clinics.

Q: How does compensation for teachers in SCUSD compare to compensation for teachers at other districts in our area?

A: Total compensation for SCUSD teachers is the highest in Sacramento County, and among the highest in the region and the state. Here are fast facts about compensation for SCUSD-represented employees. Additional detail about SCUSD teacher compensation is provided in the tables below.

Q. Teachers say they are striking because SCUSD has a staffing crisis and that many students do not have a regular teacher in the classroom. What is the district doing to resolve the staffing crisis?

A: The district’s current offer to SCTA would help address the staffing crisis, with recruitment bonus incentives and increases in compensation to strengthen retention. We want to reach an agreement with SCTA, and urge SCTA to end the strike, so we can work together to address our district’s staffing problem.

Since 2017, the  district has taken meaningful steps to address understaffing by trying to hire staff earlier, proposing additional compensation, maintaining competitive benefits, compressing the salary schedule, and allowing unlimited years of experience credit for transfer teachers. This makes SCUSD more competitive in the educational job market.

The district’s previous COVID-related proposals, which SCTA did not agree to, would work toward alleviating some staffing issues and toward compensating employees for their extra workload. These proposals included:

• Providing extra pay to teachers who volunteered to take on additional students in independent study;
• Providing extra pay for substitute teachers and our existing secondary teachers who substituted during their prep period;
• Providing extra pay to our nurses who took on COVID-related duties after regular work hours;
• Supporting students who were required to quarantine by providing simultaneous in-person and remote instruction for students in short-term independent study, with extra pay for teachers who take on this extra work; and
• Addressing staffing shortages by temporarily utilizing 28 District Training Specialists to fill in for high need vacant positions.

The lack of agreement over these COVID-related issues has prevented staff from benefiting from extra pay for taking on extra work related to COVID. Without an agreement, the district cannot assign district training specialists who usually work at the district office to cover classes when there is a vacancy at a school site.

Q: SCTA has said that the district has a lot of new state and federal money that should go to ongoing teacher compensation. Why does the district oppose this idea?

A: The district cannot make ongoing financial commitments with one-time money. The district has received COVID-relief funds from the state and federal governments in the form of one-time funding designed to address pressing student needs as a result of the pandemic. We cannot spend one-time money on ongoing financial commitments like salaries and benefits. That would be like committing to pay rent that is higher than your salary based on the fact that you received a one-time bonus.The SCUSD Board has taken responsible and fiscally sound steps toward correcting district’s the longstanding structural budget imbalances. They approved a policy to not use one-time funds for ongoing expenditures. They also adopted a goal to maintain a prudent and fiscally sound reserve for contingencies.

Q. What proposals has the district offered to SCTA?

A: The district has offered a good faith proposal that gives SCTA-represented employees a reasonable raise, fully paid health coverage for all staff and their families, bonus payments, and additional paid days of professional development. You can read the proposal that the District presented to SCTA on Monday, March 21 here, and the following is an overview of the proposed compensation increases that the District has offered to SCTA.

On Tuesday, March 22, the district presented an enhanced proposal that includes all of the employee compensation increases offered to SCTA described above, plus a proposal to pay for one year 80 percent (80%) of the cost difference between the cost of a Kaiser health plan and the cost of a HealthNet plan for those employees currently enrolled in HealthNet that choose to continue HealthNet coverage. You can read the District’s enhanced proposal to SCTA here, Here is how it would work.

 

UPDATE MARCH 23, 2022

Q. What proposals has the district offered to SCTA?

A: The district has offered a good faith proposal that gives SCTA-represented employees a reasonable raise, fully paid health plan for all staff and their families, bonus payments, and additional paid days of professional development. Here is an overview of the proposed compensation increases that the District has offered to SCTA.

On Tuesday, the district presented an enhanced proposal that includes all of the employee compensation increases offered to SCTA described above, plus a proposal to pay for one year 80 percent (80%) of the cost difference between the cost of a Kaiser health plan and the cost of a HealthNet plan for those employees currently enrolled in HealthNet that choose to continue HealthNet coverage. Here is how it would work.

You can read the District’s actual proposal to SCTA here.

Q. SCTA says the district has a staffing crisis. Isn’t that true?

A: Yes, we have a staffing crisis, but so do most other school districts in the state. This problem predated these negotiations and will exist after this contract is settled. Public schools, and especially SCUSD, do not have sufficient qualified teachers and substitutes entering the profession to fill vacant positions. For evidence, see this CalMatters article, Short-term fixes won’t really solve California’s teacher shortage, and this Learning Policy Institute report, Teacher Shortages During the Pandemic: How California Districts Are Responding.

In the State of California alone, there are currently over 11,200 job postings for certificated employees. SCUSD is experiencing a hiring crisis that is impacting districts across our region, state and nation. Despite offering the most generous total compensation in the region, SCUSD is still struggling to attract qualified teachers and substitutes to fill vacant positions.

The district has made an offer to SCTA that squarely addresses this staffing crisis, with recruitment bonus incentives and increases in compensation to strengthen retention. The district hopes to work together with SCTA to recruit and retain talented staff in our district.

Q. Does the District proposal include a $10,000 pay cut?

A: No. The District is not proposing to cut salaries. SCUSD is proposing to cover 100% of a Kaiser health care plan for all SCTA-represented staff and all of their immediate family members. If some teachers want to remain in a more expensive HealthNet health care plan they can, and the district will cover the costs up to the same level as the Kaiser plan. In addition, the district has proposed to pay 80 percent (80%) of the cost difference between the cost of a Kaiser health plan and the cost of a HealthNet plan for one year for employees who are currently enrolled in HealthNet that choose to continue HealthNet coverage.

Q. Did the district’s negotiators stay at the bargaining table on March 22? SCTA says the district’s negotiators didn’t show up.

A: The assertion that the district’s negotiators did not show up or stay at the bargaining table is false. Following a mediation session that went late into the night on Monday, March 21, the SCUSD negotiations team continued meeting with two state appointed mediators who were facilitating talks between the two parties throughout the day on Tuesday, March 22.

Here is the schedule of meetings that were scheduled and occurred over the last 48 hours, which can be verified by the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB).

Monday, March 21

• The district offered to meet with SCTA at 9:00 a.m. At SCTA’s request, the meeting was scheduled at 2:30 p.m.
• Starting at 2:30 p.m. the district’s negotiations team met in a joint session with SCTA and two state-appointed mediators for over an hour.
• The mediation continued, with both parties meeting with the mediators the rest of the afternoon and into the evening in shuttle negotiations between the district and SCTA.
• The mediation ended shortly after 10:00 p.m.

Tuesday, March 22

• The district’s negotiations team offered to be available to continue meeting as early as 9:00 a.m.
• The mediators joined a meeting with the district at 11:30 a.m.
• For the remainder of the afternoon and into the evening, the mediators conducted a series of meetings with the district and SCTA via shuttle negotiations.
• Around 8:30 p.m. the district learned through media reports that SCTA concluded the mediation.
• The mediators concluded their meeting with the district negotiations team at 8:36 p.m.

On Tuesday evening the district’s negotiating team offered to meet with SCTA on Wednesday, March 23, and reiterated the offer to meet on Wednesday morning. The district’s negotiations team remains ready to continue negotiations with SCTA.

Q. SCTA says the district’s negotiations team is unprepared and cannot make decisions. Is this true?

A: This is not true. The district is represented at the negotiating table by experienced professional negotiators  with expertise in bargaining labor agreements on behalf of school districts and public agencies. They are bargaining in good faith and come prepared at each session to discuss the issues. The district’s bargaining team has successfully reached agreements on MOUs with a number of the district’s labor partners, including with SCTA, SEIU, Teamsters, and UPE.

Q: How long have the parties been negotiating a successor agreement?

A: The District and SCTA sunshined their respective initial proposals for a 2019-2022 successor contract in early 2019. This was well before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

 

UPDATED MARCH 16, 2022

THE STATUS OF NEGOTIATIONS, MEDIATION & FACT FINDING

Q: Where do negotiations stand between the District and SCTA?

A: The District is negotiating with SCTA on two tracks simultaneously:

One negotiation track is to reach agreements on a set of MOUs that address issues related to COVID for this 2021-22 school year only.  Since we are well into the school year and have not been able to reach agreement with SCTA on these COVID-related issues, the district declared impasse in these negotiations in December 2021. Declaring impasse means we asked a mediator to help. Neutral mediators were called in to facilitate talks, but after several sessions the mediators recommended that both parties participate in a Fact Finding process, which is the next step under California law. A report from the Fact Finding process is expected on March 17.

The other negotiation track is over a successor agreement with SCTA that addresses ongoing issues like salaries and benefits, and other working conditions. The last contract between the district and SCTA expired in 2019, and since February 2019 the district has been attempting to reach agreement with SCTA on a successor contract. Negotiations over the successor agreement are ongoing, and impasse has not been declared over successor contract negotiations.

Q: What are the district’s COVID-related reopening proposals?

A: Because teaching and learning during a pandemic has presented extra challenges, Sacramento City Unified has tried since last July to problem solve and reach an agreement with SCTA so schools could reopen safely and the district could provide the best education possible under the constraints of the pandemic this school year. 

The district’s proposals to SCTA included:

• Providing extra pay to teachers who volunteered to take on additional students in independent study;
• Providing extra pay for substitute teachers and our existing secondary teachers who substituted during their prep period;
• Providing extra pay to our nurses who took on COVID-related duties after regular work hours;
• Supporting students who were required to quarantine by providing simultaneous in-person and remote instruction for students in short-term independent study, with extra pay for teachers who take on this extra work;
• Complying with the COVID-19 public health guidance and recommendations for schools, detailed in the district’s Return to Health plan; and 
• Addressing staffing shortages by temporarily utilizing 28 District Training Specialists to fill in for high need vacant positions.

Q: Can’t the district simply implement its COVID-related proposals for the 2021-22 school year since we are nearly at the end of the year?

A: No. The district does not have the authority to give extra pay to staff, including teachers, substitutes, and nurses, who are represented by our labor partners, unless the extra pay is negotiated. The lack of agreement over these COVID-related issues has prevented staff from benefiting from extra pay for taking on extra work related to COVID. Without an agreement, the district cannot assign district training specialists who usually work at the district office to cover classes when there is a vacancy at a school site. Many districts throughout the state use this strategy to address vacancies, and their unions have agreed with this approach. The months-long delay in reaching agreement in our district has made SCUSD’s staffing situation worse.

 

UNDERSTANDING FACT FINDING

Q: What is Fact Finding?

A: Fact Finding is the end of the impasse resolution process mandated by the state’s collective bargaining law. Once labor and management cannot resolve their differences through negotiation, one or both sides declare impasse and ask for the state’s help. During impasse, a neutral mediator is called in to facilitate the talks. If the mediator believes that further negotiations would not be fruitful, they can certify the dispute to go to Fact Finding.

Q: How does Fact Finding work?

A:   In Fact Finding, each side designates one person to serve on a three-person hearing panel and an independent neutral serves as the panel chair. Both sides of the labor dispute submit their last best offers along with supporting data and evidence to the three-person panel at a hearing. This hearing is closed to the public. Both sides have a chance to argue their positions and the panel has a chance to ask questions. Once the hearing concludes the chairperson prepares a report. The report makes recommendations that are not binding on the parties. Once their report is made public, the union has the legal authority to strike and the school district can unilaterally implement its final proposals if it chooses to do so.

Q: What issues are within the scope of the Fact Finding hearing?

A:  In its impasse filing to PERB, the district narrowly defined the issues at impasse as those related to COVID to protect continuity of learning this school year. Since it is now nearly the last quarter of the school year, the district is still eager to resolve these outstanding issues in a way that best serves all students.

During the Fact Finding hearing, the district restated its position that the current impasse concerned only negotiations pertaining to 2021-2022 school year COVID-19 related issues and reopening plans. See the district’s March 4, 2022 letter: Scope of Issues for Fact Finding, and March 11, 2022 letter: Supplemental Issues for Fact Finding. 

 

THE THREAT OF A STRIKE

Q: Are teachers going to go on strike?

A: SCTA and SEIU leaders have been authorized by their members to call a strike. We believe that a strike would be harmful to our students and families. If SCTA and SEIU strike the district will do its best to keep schools open and safe for students. The district is exploring a number of options to provide appropriate adult supervision on school sites in the event of a strike. Because substitute teachers in SCUSD are represented by SCTA the district cannot hire substitutes to fill in for teachers who are out on strike instead of in the classroom.

Q: SCTA says they voted to strike now because the district will impose a salary freeze and cuts to benefits once the Fact Finding report comes out. Is that true?

A: This is false. The district is unable to impose such changes following the release of the Fact Finding report because the district and SCTA are not at an impasse in negotiations over successor contract issues, including salaries and benefits. SCTA has even acknowledged this. The district is prepared to continue to negotiate on successor contract issues. It is unfortunate SCTA’s leadership is now saying something different and talking about striking over salaries and benefits.

Q. SCTA says that the district has a list of staff names on a new layoff and cut list and it has not been shared with them. Is that true?

A:   This is not true. There is no list. The district did not issue any teacher layoffs this year. Therefore, there can’t be a list of cuts and layoffs waiting to be implemented after Fact Finding.