SFUSD, Unions Reach Agreement Over Health and Safety Conditions

San Francisco (January 13, 2022) - The San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) reached an agreement today with unions including the International Federation Professional Technical Engineers (IFPTE), Local 21; Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Local 1021; United Administrators of San Francisco (UASF); United Educators of San Francisco (UESF) over health and safety conditions. 

The agreement affirms the district’s ongoing commitment to provide high quality face masks to students and staff who wish to use them and surgical grade masks for all others. Consistent with health and safety guidelines from state and local authorities, the district has provided masks for all students and staff since the return to in-person learning in the spring of 2021. 

At the table, the unions recognized that the district is making its best effort to procure the necessary quantity of high quality masks in the face of global supply chain issues. SFUSD has been distributing PPE, including tens of thousands of surgical and cloth masks as well as some KN95s, to all schools since reopening for hybrid learning last spring, and this week SFUSD is distributing over 73,000 KN95 masks for school staff, equal to more than a one month supply. 

Per this agreement, SFUSD has agreed to offer an additional 10 days of sick leave for employees to be taken for COVID-19 related reasons. Last year the state of California provided school districts with additional funding to provide COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave; the state did not continue this funding for the current school year. 

“We remain committed to putting into place the highest safety standards and protocols at every campus,” SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews. “I’m grateful to our labor partners for their work in ensuring we can continue to support students where we know they learn and thrive best -- in school. We are glad to be able to provide additional sick leave in recognition of our employees’ ongoing commitment to the health and safety of our school communities.”

The agreement also affirms that the district will continue to offer weekly testing and high quality face masks. SFUSD has been providing weekly testing for all students and staff at every site, even after the previous health and safety agreement between the parties had expired and the district was no longer contractually required to do it. Color PCR testing continues to be available for all students and staff at school sites. Last week SFUSD delivered more than 46,000 Color PCR tests to school sites, with even more being distributed to schools this week.

In addition to the Color testing program, SFUSD partnered with Safer Together to make rapid testing available to the community at select school sites and district offices throughout January. SFUSD is working on continuing rapid testing into February and possibly adding additional sites. Also this week SFUSD is distributing over 60,000 at-home test kits. By the end of this week every student and classroom teacher will have a take home test kit for use in the event they are symptomatic or have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive. 

Today’s agreement continues the testing regimen. In addition, the district will increase pick-up dates and times to include every site every day.

SFUSD and the district’s unions have an agreement through July 31, 2022, which is intended to keep all schools and district facilities open for safe, full in-person instruction at all grade levels. In October 2021, the district and union representatives agreed to amend the Health and Safety Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and to further meet and confer on health and safety matters, at either party’s request, by Jan. 7, 2022. On Dec. 29, 2021 a representative from the unions requested to meet.

Throughout the week of January 10, the district has been working to reach agreement on health and safety terms. The district passed proposals to all the unions on Tuesday, January 11 and Wednesday, January 12. The parties met at the bargaining table today, January 13.

Read the agreement here.

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