San Francisco schools close after teachers strike over failed negotiations with union

San Francisco's public schools are closed after the school district and union failed to agree to a new contract over the weekend, affecting roughly 50,000 students.

The United Educators of San Francisco went on strike before school began. This marks the first strike of San Francisco educators since 1979. 

"We will walk the picket line on Monday February 9 and then rally at Civic Center at 1pm for an agreement that meets the needs of our students and our educators. Last night we spent a lot of time at the table negotiating with SFUSD [San Francisco Unified School District]," a statement from the union reads.

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"We were ready to finally hear from the district that they are ready to come to an agreement that will finally bring stability to our students. But the proposals the district came with to address special education, healthcare, and salary just didn't go far enough. We did see some movement from the district last night-and are happy that we came to an agreement on Sanctuary Schools," the labor union said.

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Educators were expected to strike on Monday unless they reached a deal. The San Francisco Chronicle obtained emails last week showing that negotiations between the United Educators of San Francisco and San Francisco Unified School District were initially planned for Friday evening, but the union officials were not pleased, saying, "given the proposal we received last night it was clear the district needed more time to prepare a serious offer."

"Families received text messages and phone calls Friday afternoon saying that schools would close Monday. United Administrators of San Francisco leaders announced later that day that principals and administrators would stage a sympathy strike, as did custodians with SEIU Local 1021," according to the San Francisco Examiner.

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The district said that SFUSD and United Educators of San Francisco had been negotiating an agreement since March 2025. SFUSD is "grappling with a dire fiscal reality," the district said.

The district's panel recommended a 3% wage increase effective July 1, 2025, followed by an additional 3% increase on July 1, 2026.

Cassondra Curiel, president of the United Educators of San Francisco, in a statement late Thursday said that members were disappointed in the district.

"We are incredibly disappointed in the district's continued lack of urgency here," Curiel said. "All week, we have been bombarded with the message that the district was prepared to come to the table and give us a serious proposal."

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie had promised last week that the city's departments would offer free meals and some extended child care services in the event of closings.

San Francisco Unified School District and the United Educators of San Francisco did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.