UPDATE 4:40 PM: In a message to families, Seattle Public Schools has announced the first day of school is on hold, citing a “planned work stoppage” by the teachers union. In the message, the district directs families to its website to learn more about available childcare options. Student meals will also be provided at several school sites.

“Seattle Public Schools respects our educators and staff. We are optimistic the bargaining teams will come to a positive solution for students, staff, and families,” the district announcement said, calling negotiations with the union “ongoing.”

Original report: Seattle public school teachers and educators are ready to strike. CHS stopped by Judkins Park this week during a Labor Day work party to prepare for a possible walkout including lots of sign making.

CHS reported here on the latest in the negotiations as around 6,000 Seattle Education Association union members gave landslide approval Tuesday for a possible strike. The approval sets the stage for union leaders to launch a strike if no deal can be hammered out before Wednesday’s planned first day of school. Issues around pay, special education, and the pandemic at the core of the contract talks.

The district says a “delay” in the start of school is likely.

Some 49,000 students attend public schools in Seattle but enrollment in private and religious-backed campuses is growing. Nearly 22% of kids attended a private school in Seattle as of 2020 — the third highest rate of major U.S. cities trailing only San Francisco and Milwaukee and a total that is likely to have grown during the pandemic.

Recent labor deals for the district including a one-year agreement reached to narrowly avert a strike in 2018 included significant pay raises and increased family leave. More recently, the union and the district butted heads before the start of the school year in 2021 over COVID-19 protocol and policies.

The district is now led by Superintendent Dr. Brent Jones who stepped up from his interim post earlier this year.

Nearby, teachers have already begun a strike in Kent over similar issues around pay and resources for teachers.

Beyond the questions of labor and the district’s policies in Seattle, any instruction days lost to a work stoppage will need to be made up during the school year. A loss of more than a few days could mean additional days of instruction added beyond the currently planned last day of school on June 26, 2023 and two “potential snow makeup” dates on June 27th and 28th.

The last SEA strike took place in 2015 and was reportedly the first walkout in 30 years. It lasted five days and ended with an agreement on raises as well as guaranteed recess time for students, and new testing policies. In 2018, the union authorized a strike but a deal was reached before picket lines could form.

PLEASE HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE!
Subscribe to CHS to help us pay writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for as little as $5 a month.