COVID: San Francisco Unified, Unions to Continue Negotiations Over COVID Safety as Cases Soar
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) -- Bargaining over COVID-19 safety protocols between the San Francisco Unified School District and its labor unions will continue next week after they failed to come to an agreement this week.
The district and the unions have an agreement through July 31 that includes measures aimed at keeping schools open for in-person instruction for all grades.
The unions include United Educators of San Francisco; the International Federation of Professional Technical Engineers Local 21; Service Employees International Union Local 1021; and the United Administrators of San Francisco.
Union officials requested to meet with the district last week regarding amendments to health and safety measures, according to district officials. The unions are asking the district for high-quality masks for all students and staff, continued weekly testing, and extended paid sick leave due to COVID-19.
According to UESF officials, the district, which is currently facing a $125 million deficit in the upcoming budget cycle, gave pushback about providing sick leave for staff that has to quarantine and asked for more time to consider the cost.
The district has said it's willing to provide five extra paid sick leave days for employees for COVID-19 related issues, in addition to weekly testing during work hours and a supply of N95, KN95, and KN94 masks for all staff.
"It is our number one priority to make sure our students and staff are safe at school," SFUSD Superintendent Vincent Matthews said in a statement. "We are committed to working with labor partners to ensure in-person learning can safely continue."
"Hundreds of educators and staff are out sick due to this highly contagious variant, and this health and safety agreement is crucial in combating the spread, keeping everyone safe and our schools operating," said UESF president Cassondra Curiel. "Taking days to run numbers on a sick leave you have been offering to staff for the last year is unacceptable. We expect the district and city to treat this like the crisis that it is and provide the most basic mitigation strategies."
The new round of bargaining comes as the city is experiencing an unprecedented surge in COVID-19 cases related to the omicron variant.
On Tuesday, some 620 educators called in sick. So far, there have been 122 confirmed COVID-19 cases between students and staff, according to UESF officials.
© Copyright 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. and Bay City News Service. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
