Following a three-day strike that shut down the Los Angeles school system, the second largest in the nation, the union representing more than 30,000 teacher’s aides, bus drivers, school cafeteria workers, custodians and other support staff reached a tentative agreement with the district that includes wage hikes, a professional development fund and expanded health care benefits.

The agreement, which is retroactive to July 1, 2020, amounts to a 30% wage hike over four years, according to Service Employees International Union Local 99, the union that represents the workers. It would boost average annual salaries from $25,000 to $33,000 and raise the minimum hourly wage for school support staff to $22.52, outpacing minimum wages in both the City of Los Angeles and California.

Max Arias, the executive director of SEIU Local 99, said he hopes the agreement will set new standards across California. “We cannot continue to rely on people, on a workforce that is basically living in poverty and has to work three jobs, to do this work of educating our children,” he said.

The strike closed Los Angeles schools on March 21. Teachers honored the three-day strike and did not cross picket lines.

NBC News, March 24