Seattle teachers approve 3-year contract

Seattle teachers approved a three-year collective bargaining agreement, ensuring school will start on time next Wednesday, Sept. 4.

The raise that Seattle teachers and classified employees were fighting for is expected to be 11.1 percent. Teachers will see a 5 percent pay raise in the first year, a 2.1 percent increase in the second year and 4 percent in the third year.

The bump would increase teachers’ salaries to between $63,000 and $124,000 by the fall of 2021.

Paraprofessionals, classified and clerical employees are expected to get 5 percent the first year of the contract, 2.1 percent the second, and another 5 percent in the third year.

The contract also includes:

-Expansion of school-based racial equity teams;
-Expansion of social and emotional supports including increased nurses and counselors; and
-Additional professional development opportunities for all of our educators, with a focus on racial equity, addressing implicit bias and disrupting institutional racism, and improving the learning conditions for students of color, those furthest away from educational justice.

Both sides have been bargaining since May.

The teachers union tweeted Tuesday night, “Thank you to the hard-working joint bargaining team.” It said it will post more details about the agreement on its bargaining website in the coming weeks. See the adopted 2019-2020 budget here.

Follow @http://twitter.com/Mynorthwest