San Francisco teachers went on strike, closing schools for nearly 50,000 students

San Francisco public schools were closed Monday as teachers went on strike to demand improved health benefits and pay raises, leaving the families of about 50,000 students struggling to find childcare and food.

Members of United Educators in San Francisco walked off the job for the first time since 1979 after union leaders and the San Francisco Unified School District failed to reach an agreement during weekend negotiations.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie called on both sides to keep schools open for three more days while negotiations continue, to “allow kids to stay in class and adults to keep talking.” Negotiations resumed on Monday afternoon, a union spokesman said, but no strike date had been set.

The district announced that schools will be closed Tuesday and urged parents to check the district’s website “for learning resources, food, child care and district support resources.”

In one of the most expensive cities in the country, “the problem of not being able to cover our costs for those of us dedicated to the next generation of San Francisco is real,” Cassondra Curiel, the president of the teachers’ union said in a statement.

Also, rising health care premiums are “pushing quality teachers and support staff out of our district,” which now has hundreds of teacher vacancies, Curiel said.

“This week, we said enough is enough,” he wrote.

In school grounds across the city on Monday, the recording teachers marched, rang cowbells, beat drums, and held up signs that read: “On Strike for Safe and stable Schools” and “We Can’t Wait / Invest in the Schools Our Students Deserve.”

San Francisco USD Supt. Maria Su told reporters on Monday that “every day this strike continues to have real consequences.”

“Students lose time to teach. Families are busy to take care of their children, to arrange childcare,” he said in a press conference. “Many of our most vulnerable students are losing access to food, mental health support and connection to their school community, their friends, their favorite teachers, their support system.”

LA, San Diego teachers authorize strikes

The strike by San Francisco teachers may signal an increase in labor unrest in California, where teachers in other major districts, including Los Angeles, have signaled they are ready to strike for higher wages, smaller classes and more resources.

Last month, members of United Teachers in Los Angeles voted overwhelmingly to authorize their leadership to call a strike, increasing pressure as negotiations stall and as the Los Angeles Unified School District plans layoffs and budget cuts.

In San Diego, the teachers’ union voted before winter break to authorize a one-day unfair labor strike on Feb. 26 if the San Diego Unified School District does not develop special education staff.

The labor tensions come as funding for COVID aid has run out and public school enrollment in California has declined in recent years, leading to a decrease in state funding.

Last year, the California Teachers Assn., the national teachers union, launched the “We Can’t Wait” campaign, urging union chapters to come together to gain leverage in labor negotiations.

San Francisco’s budget is struggling

The San Francisco school district said it was grappling with “long-term budget challenges made worse by having fewer students and temporary COVID aid funds that are now gone.”

Other prominent lawmakers have called on union leaders to keep classrooms open, including U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Scott Wiener, a Democratic state senator from San Francisco, who joined Lurie in calling for a 72-hour recess before the strike.

The union said it has been very clear about its timing. A spokesman for the union told The Times newspaper on Monday that “these are not people who are happy about the strike,” adding that it has been almost 50 years since the teachers’ strike that lasted for more than six weeks.

SFUSD is facing a $102 million budget deficit and is under federal financial supervision due to a long-standing financial crisis. The district said if layoffs are needed to fill the gap, workers will be notified this spring.

Supt. Su said Monday that the district “doesn’t have unlimited money” but that, despite the financial constraints, it has made a “effective gift” to the union that “can afford.”

“We will be at the table and we will stay as long as it takes to reach a full agreement,” Su said. “I don’t want a long strike.

What do teachers want?

Negotiations began in March 2025.

The teachers’ union asked for a 9% salary increase in two years and said that the money may come from the reserved funds. On Saturday the district promised to give union members 6% over two years.

Rising health care costs for teachers with families has been a major sticking point. The union said its teachers receive lower contributions to their health care costs from neighboring counties, resulting in many members going to work elsewhere.

Family health care premiums have risen to $1,500 a month, according to the union, which said that’s up to 40% of what other low-wage workers in the class make in a year.

Teanna Tillery, the union’s vice president and representative for teachers — who work one-on-one with students, often part-time — said rising health care costs and the district’s high cost of living have eliminated the $9,000 permanent wage increase the union has made since contract negotiations began two years ago.

“We have to go to other cities just because we can’t be here,” said Tillery. “Most of us work more than one job to make ends meet, and one job should definitely be enough for all teachers.”

With one dependent, Tillery said her health care premiums have reached $900 a month, which, for part-time teachers, takes up 40% of their biweekly pay.

“For our employees in the category with two or more dependents, they pay $1,500 a month for their share of health care, and that’s a small amount taken out of their paychecks if they’re not full-time employees.”

The union was asking the county to pay all medical bills for members and their dependents “or the lion’s share,” a spokesman said Monday.

The Associated Press reported that Su said the district offered two options: Pay 75% of the family’s health care costs to insurance provider Kaiser or give teachers $24,000 a year to choose their own health plan.

The district and the union on Saturday reached a partial agreement on a sanctuary school policy, symbolic of the city, aimed at protecting immigrant and refugee students.

Cindy Castillo, a social studies and ethnic studies teacher at Mission High School, told the crowd at Monday’s rally that sustainability, to her, means fully caring for students with special needs and retaining students and teachers of color, as well as the full operation of campus security teams to prevent violence.

“In my class, we talk about how we make change for the benefit of all,” said Castillo, noting that he was a SFUSD student. “I’m standing here to talk.”