LOS ANGELES -- Tens of thousands of Los Angeles teachers returned to work Wednesday after voting to ratify a contract, ending a six-day strike at the nation's second-largest district.
"Great. It can't be better," said Helen Han, a kindergarten Mandarin language teacher in Chinatown. "I wasn't really worried because the parents were totally behind us."
Her colleague, third-grade teacher Van Morales, said it was a joy to go back to her students. "It's missed time that we need to make up," she said.
The Los Angeles teachers headed back to work a day after Denver teachers voted Tuesday to go on strike after more than a year of negotiations. While Colorado teachers have the right to strike, the state officials could delay the walkout by up to 180 days.
In Los Angeles, teachers and administrators greeted students with smiles, hugs and high-fives. The return followed days of marches and picketing and a marathon bargaining session that led to a ratification vote Tuesday.
The deal includes a 6 percent pay increase and a commitment to reduce class sizes over four years.
Mayor Eric Garcetti, accompanied by union and school officials, called it an "historic agreement" that will usher in a "new day" for public education in the city.
Besides the pay raise and class-size reductions, the Los Angeles contract adds more than 600 nursing positions over the next three years. Teachers had complained that some schools only had a nurse on campus one day a week.
District Superintendent Austin Beutner said he was delighted the deal was reached. But he hinted financial challenges remain.
"The issue has always been how do we pay for it?" Beutner said. "That issue does not go away now that we have a contract."
The district maintained that the union's demands could bankrupt the school system, which is projecting a half-billion-dollar deficit this budget year and has billions obligated for pension payments and health coverage for retired teachers.
As the strike ended, the union and district were named in a proposed class-action lawsuit by a teacher who claims union dues are still being deducted from her paychecks in violation of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
The suit says Irene Seager revoked authorization for dues deductions after the June ruling that government workers can't be forced to contribute to labor unions, but the union contends revocation can only occur during an annual 30-day "window."
In Colorado, Gov. Jared Polis said Wednesday that he is seeking to prevent Denver teachers from walking off the job next week.
Polis, who took office this month, said he would meet with representatives of the school district and teachers union to see if he could "play a role in bringing them together." But the Democrat who has vowed to increase school funding declined to elaborate.
The teachers union announced late Tuesday that 93 percent of members voted to strike after contract talks broke down last week.
In a statement, Denver Superintendent Susana Cordova said the school district will ask the state to step in, but it was unclear what the labor department would do.
The main sticking point is increasing base pay, including lessening teachers' reliance on one-time bonuses for achievements such as high test scores or working in a high-poverty school. Teachers also wanted to earn more for continuing their educations.
Elsewhere, the Denver strike vote was not the only other sign of a restive teacher labor force.
In Oakland, Calif., some teachers called in sick last week as part of an unofficial rally over their contract negotiations, which hinge partly on a demand for smaller class sizes.
Information for this article was contributed by Brian Melley, John Antczak, John Rogers and Colleen Slevin of The Associated Press.
A Section on 01/24/2019