Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner announced that LAUSD has reached an agreement with all of its labor partners, which together represent more than 75,000 employees who work in schools, to extend the existing health benefits agreement until the end of the year. This agreement caps district costs at the same level they’ve been since 2017 and provides additional savings of $225 million which will be invested in school classrooms.

Beutner said the agreement builds on the progress made since 2018 to reduce long-term liabilities for employee health care by more than $6 billion.

“During this crisis we want to keep our employees safe and make sure they have access to great health care,” he said. “We are one of the largest employers in the state and we hope this action will encourage other employers, large and small, to do the right thing for their employees. The savings we are realizing will go directly to help students learn.”

As part of the extension, the district will have the opportunity to bargain with its labor partners on total compensation. Previous agreements provided for separate negotiations on wages and health benefits.

“This agreement recognizes that the safety of Los Angeles Unified students and schools is, more than ever, connected to the health and safety of the dedicated education workers who help our students learn,” Service Employees International Union Local 99 Executive Director Max Arias said. “The extension of benefits especially recognizes the heroic efforts of food service workers, custodians, truck drivers and other front-line essential workers who have continued to provide meals and maintain and disinfect schools even as the pandemic has shut down campuses. We look forward to continuing to work with Los Angeles Unified to ensure that plans for recovery and the safe reopening of schools include equitable access to health care for all who serve our school communities.”

“In these difficult times it is exceptional how the Health Benefits Committee and the District have pulled together to extend the Health Benefits agreement,” Teamsters Local 572 Secretary-Treasurer Rick Middleton said. “Not only does this reflect the good work of the Health Benefits Committee but this extension continues to benefit coverage for our members and employees during these uncertain times. We need to continue this kind of cooperation and work together to keep everyone safe and get our children back to school.”

“It is important, with health care more critical than ever during this pandemic, that employees are assured of continued coverage, with no changes to their plans,” United Teachers Los Angeles President Cecily Myart-Cruz said.

The agreement is subject to ratification by the LAUSD Board of Education.

For more information, visit lausd.org.