On Tuesday evening, the education workers’ union and Seattle Public Schools reached a tentative agreement, but until then, uncertainty remained about the first day of the school year. About 485 district employees, most of them full-time workers, are not members of the Seattle Education Association. They include school principals, custodians, cafeteria workers and administrators. In the event of a strike, they would have been expected to report to school buildings, although it was unclear how they could carry out their duties without thousands of teachers and students.
The union, which represents roughly 6,000 teachers, instructional assistants, secretaries, counselors and other employees, approved a strike last week. It could have begun Wednesday — the day nearly 50,000 Seattle Public Schools students were due to return to school. The decision came after negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement, which began about two months ago, reached an impasse.
The main dispute centered on the district’s special education policy; about 7,000 students receive such services. On Sunday, the district released its proposal, saying it would expand support for most children with special educational needs. The union responded that the statement contained “half-truths” and argued that the plan would instead lead to fewer aides and qualified specialists working with these students.
Based on: Who will still work if Seattle teachers strike? Hundreds