After nearly a year of contract negotiations, the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) will give raises to its classified employees—though likely less than half of what those employees demanded.
A State mediator joined the salary discussion last October after LBUSD and the California School Employees Association (CSEA)—a union representing 2,100 classified employees, including instructional aides, nutrition-services workers, bus drivers, custodians and gardeners—failed to come to an agreement before their contract expired.
On March 29, the State mediator released its findings, which align with LBUSD’s proposed raise structure rather than the union’s request of more than twice as much. The LBUSD Board of Education is set to consider approving the recommendations on April 13.
Mediator finds LBUSD salary proposal on par with comparable school districts
Both parties agreed to mediation by the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB), which settles public employee disputes. A three-member PERB panel met in February, consisting of one representative from each side and a mutually agreed upon chairperson—PERB Fact Finder Donald Raczka—who wrote PERB’s recommendation report.
Raczka’s report recommends a 1% salary increase for CSEA members retroactive to July 1, 2019, another 2% salary increase retroactive to July 1, 2020, plus a one-time payment of $1,100 to each member.
Those recommendations align with LBUSD’s proposed salary increases of 1% as of July 1, 2019, another 2% as of July 1, 2020 and a one-time payment of 2% of salary, which is roughly equivalent to the $1,100 one-time payment recommended by PERB.
But PERB’s recommendations are less than half of CSEA’s demands for a raise of 3% retroactive to July 1, 2019, another 4% retroactive July 1, 2020, plus one-time bonuses of $1,250 each for retention as essential workers and $1,000 for hazard pay for working in-person during the pandemic.
“We’re asking for that 7% because our members don’t make that much money,” CSEA Unit Vice President Enrique Chavez told the board on March 16. “Gas is extremely high, groceries are extremely high, and if you want to live in Long Beach, it’s near impossible now to find a studio for under $1,800.”
Raczka said his PERB recommendation report was swayed by LBUSD’s comparison of its compensation with comparable school districts and a 3.26% cost-of-living adjustment given by the State for 2020 and 2021.
“After reviewing all the data presented, the chair [Raczka] found that the district’s on-going salary proposals were consistent with maintaining an above-average comparative rank within the comparable districts,” Raczka stated in his report.
Raczka noted that the additional one-time payment was a “form of acknowledgement of [CSEA] effort and in-person contributions during this extraordinary time.”
Though CSEA wanted higher one-time payments—pointing out that other school districts offered “significant employee compensation for responses to the COVID pandemic,” according to Raczka—he did not accept that as a “valid criterion” for higher payment from LBUSD, “however much he may empathize with the perspective of [CSEA] members who returned to work in person during this time.”
If implemented, CSEA member salaries would reflect an increase of about 3.02%. However, a new contract would also include a potential salary increase for the 2021-2022 school year, LBUSD noted in an April 8 bargaining update.
“The District looks forward to providing CSEA members a competitive compensation package that reflects their hard work and dedication,” LBUSD stated, while also highlighting concerns over its rising benefits costs and declining enrollments that decrease state and federal funding.
CSEA member Heng Lim, who represented the union’s position on the PERB panel, wrote a response to the recommendations, attached to the end of the report, agreeing to the two retroactive salary increases but disagreeing with the $1,100 one-time payment.
Lim said $2,500 would be fairer given higher actual inflation than the State compensates for —6.6%, according to CSEA, compared to the State’s compensation of 3.26%—plus higher health insurance premiums.
“If the District was truly concerned with parity then they would seek to provide a livable wage,” Lim stated.
CSEA is planning a member protest rally outside the board meeting on April 13 at 4 p.m., joining members of the Teachers Association of Long Beach (TALB), which is also in contract negotiations with LBUSD.
“You have a right to demand that district employees get paid livable wages,” CSEA told its members in a rallying call flyer. “You hold the power.”
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