Late into the night on April 13, 2026, the fate of nearly 400,000 Los Angeles students and their families hung in the balance as tense contract negotiations continued between the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 99. The outcome would determine whether the nation’s second-largest school system would open its doors the next morning or shut down entirely in a citywide strike, impacting not just students and teachers, but also the essential workers who keep schools running every day.
By Monday night, LAUSD had managed to reach tentative agreements with two of its three major unions: United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), representing about 35,000 teachers, and the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles (AALA), which encompasses roughly 3,000 principals and administrators. These deals, which included significant pay increases and other improvements, were announced as hard-won victories after months of bargaining. Yet, the looming threat of a strike persisted, hinging on unresolved talks with SEIU Local 99—the union representing the school staff who cook meals, clean classrooms, drive buses, and assist the district’s most vulnerable students.
“Los Angeles Unified and SEIU Local 99 are still in negotiations and talks may continue throughout the night. We will notify families by 6:00 AM on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, if schools will be open,” LAUSD said in a late-night statement, according to KABC. The message underscored the uncertainty facing hundreds of thousands of families, who would learn at dawn whether their children would attend school or stay home.
At the heart of the dispute were wages and staffing. SEIU Local 99’s 30,000 members, who earn an average of $35,000 a year, had been pushing for a 30% raise for over three years, citing the soaring cost of living in Los Angeles County. Many staff members, including special education assistants and food service workers, reported struggling to afford even a one-bedroom apartment in the city. “What they’re offering continues to keep us below the poverty line. So we’re asking for wages that put us a little slightly above the poverty line. As you know, cost of living just continues to increase, especially living in Los Angeles County. It’s almost unlivable,” said Jazmin Araujo-Vargas, a mother of two LAUSD students and a special education assistant, in comments to Eyewitness News. “Most of our members can’t afford a one-bedroom home or a one-bedroom apartment in L.A., so we’re not keeping up with cost of living.”
LAUSD, for its part, had offered a 13% raise, according to NBC Los Angeles. The gulf between the union’s demands and the district’s offer remained a sticking point, with neither side willing to budge as the clock ticked toward the strike deadline. The stakes were high: if SEIU Local 99 walked out, both UTLA and AALA had pledged to honor the picket line, effectively shutting down all district schools and early education centers. “From the start, all three unions agreed to walk out together, and if one goes, the others follow,” reported ABC7 and NBC Los Angeles.
The district’s tentative agreements with the other unions were not insignificant. The two-year contract with UTLA included an 11.65% salary increase, raising the starting salary for new teachers to $77,000 per year. The deal also promised more student mental health counselors, four weeks of district-paid parental leave, and smaller class sizes for special education students. “It’s been a long road to get here, so I feel pretty good about today,” said Armaghan Khan, a science teacher and member of the UTLA bargaining team. The Associated Administrators of Los Angeles (AALA) secured a similar 11.65% raise over two years, with a reopener in the third year of the agreement.
Despite these victories, the prospect of a strike remained all too real. “The flexing of our collective power forced LAUSD to direct significant funding into critical priorities identified by UTLA members in the Win Our Future contract demands,” UTLA said in a statement after the tentative agreement. Yet, as UTLA chapter chair Gary Fraigun emphasized, the unions viewed this not just as a labor dispute, but as a fight for the well-being of students. “I want students to know that the unions are fighting not only for the unions but also for the betterment of the students,” Fraigun told ABC7.
For many students, the strike threatened to upend daily routines that go far beyond academics. LAUSD serves as a lifeline for families across the city, providing not only education but also meals and child care. In anticipation of a possible shutdown, district officials launched a dedicated website to keep parents informed and offer resources. These included lists of food distribution sites, mental health and learning resources, alternative child care options, and tech support for students needing devices or connectivity. In lieu of regular school meals, LAUSD planned to open grab-and-go food centers at select campuses, with information about locations and hours posted online.
The City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks also stepped in, preparing to offer free programming at 30 recreation centers from April 14 through April 16, from 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., for elementary school students in grades one through five. These programs, available on a first-come, first-served basis, aimed to provide some relief for working parents suddenly faced with unexpected child care needs. Families could register online and were encouraged to contact locations directly to confirm availability.
Still, the district acknowledged the limits of these contingency plans. LAUSD noted that its partners could not accommodate students with moderate-to-severe health issues or children under the age of four, citing staffing constraints. For students hoping to keep up with their studies, the district posted 10-day lesson packets online to support continued learning during any closure.
Superintendent Alberto Calvarho, notably absent from the negotiations, was on administrative leave amid an ongoing FBI investigation, according to multiple reports. In his absence, district leaders faced the challenge of balancing fiscal responsibility with the urgent needs of their workforce and the families they serve.
The specter of a strike was not new for LAUSD. Just three years earlier, in March 2023, teachers and service workers joined forces in a three-day walkout that shuttered schools across the city. That strike had also centered on demands for better wages and working conditions for custodians, bus drivers, and special education assistants. This time, the stakes felt even higher, with the possibility of an indefinite walkout if a deal could not be reached.
As the city waited for word in the early hours of April 14, the message from all sides was clear: this was about more than paychecks. “I think what students should know is that they deserve adults on their campuses who are not just educated and driven and smart, but also who are paid well, and they are paid in a way that is reflective of what our students deserve,” said history teacher Robert Docter. The coming hours would reveal whether LAUSD and SEIU Local 99 could find common ground—or whether the city’s schools would once again fall silent, leaving families and staff in limbo.