Seattle teachers strike; start of school delayed

(The Center Square) – Students from Washington’s largest school district will not start classes on time as negotiators from Seattle Public Schools (SPS) and the Seattle Education Association (SEA) could not reach an agreement.

Members of the teachers union rallied outside of the John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence in the Industrial District of Seattle on Sept. 6.

The union seeks a contract that its leadership says ensures support and no cuts for special and multilingual education; creates accountability around reasonable workload, caseloads and class sizes; and better pay to retain teachers.

About 40% of the district’s 3,227 full-time teachers made $100,000 or more in 2020-21, according to SPS data. According to the U.S. Census, the median household income in Seattle was $97,185 in 2020.

Inside the building, negotiators for SEA were working on an agreement with SPS. When negotiators looked out of a second-story window, supporters cheered.

SEA Center for Racial Equity Director Joaquin Rodriguez came down to say the union’s bargaining team told SPS what it wants for students but has “fallen on deaf ears.”

Rodriguez and other members of SEA presented the district negotiators’ stories of multiple SPS teachers having over 40 students in each of their classes.

Supporters at the rally showed their frustrations with the district as SPS announced in an email that the start of school would be delayed until further notice “because of a planned work stoppage by [SEA].”

SEA President Jennifer Matter said for an agreement between the union and SPS to be reached, there needs to be collaboration and respect.

“Right now, we’re not getting the level of respect that we need at the bargaining table for our educators … and that’s why we’re standing here strong with our bargaining team,” Matter said at the rally.

SPS is the latest district to delay the school year as unions across the country have gone on strike. In the nearby City of Kent, the Kent Education Association has been on strike since Aug. 25, the day school was scheduled to start for students at the Kent School District.

The two sides reached a tentative agreement on Wednesday, Sept. 7, with school expected to start Thursday.