"The Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) and the Berkeley Federation of Teachers (BFT) have declared an impasse in their contract negotiations, adding to the number of school districts in the Bay Area and California where labor talks have broken down. Since Nov. 20, the district and BFT have met 17 times to negotiate a new contract, without success, according to the union. BFT is asking for higher salaries and more robust benefits to reduce teacher turnover."
"Declaring an impasse will trigger a state-mediated process with factual findings from a neutral third party; if no agreement is reached, the path is clear for the teachers' union to give the district notice of a strike. It's uncertain whether BUSD teachers will strike in the near future. Our educators felt that we had limited options given that BUSD has not engaged with us around compensation and benefits, BFT President Matt Meyer said in a statement to Berkeleyside on Tuesday. Our contract responds to real issues. We care about our schools but are driven to take this action."
Berkeley Unified School District and the Berkeley Federation of Teachers declared an impasse after 17 negotiation meetings since Nov. 20. Educators began the school year on an expired contract that ended June 30; the previous contract was ratified in 2022. The union seeks higher salaries and stronger health benefits to reduce teacher turnover and proposed a 5% salary increase this year and next. Declaring an impasse triggers a state-mediated process with a neutral third party and could lead to a strike notice if no agreement is reached. The district reports tentative agreement on 13 of 21 items, while several compensation and benefit issues remain unresolved.
Read at www.berkeleyside.org
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