San Francisco's largest teachers union has ended its sit-in at district headquarters after striking an agreement with officials over months of missed payments.
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Union and district officials said Thursday the district has agreed to mail checks to educators who were not fully paid by Friday, with the San Francisco Board of Education set to vote on the amendment in Tuesday's meeting.
The San Francisco Unified School District agreed to make any union employee whole within three business days if they're underpaid due to errors moving forward. If the district doesn't pay within three business days, the union said the district would also "pay 15% interest for each day owed."
"We are excited to announce today that our efforts have paid off," UESF President Cassandra Curiel said in a release on Thursday. "And while we would have preferred to sleep in our own beds the last few nights, we can rest easy tonight at home knowing that we have an agreement that fixes past payroll errors and provides a clear timeline for any future mistakes."
Educators and supporters began staging a sit-in at the district's City Hall headquarters on Monday night. The district's transition to a new payroll system earlier this year resulted in "1,003 reports of underpayment" through March 15, San Francisco Unified officials said in a release on Thursday.
Some educators haven’t been paid all year, according to the union. District officials said only 25 underpayment claims filed before March 15 remain unresolved.
"We remain committed to ensuring every staff member receives all of the pay they are owed," Superintendent Vincent Matthews said. "I want to again extend my deepest apologies to every employee who has been impacted in any way as a result of our transition to a new payroll system."
The district agreed to reimburse any union members who missed payments or incurred late fees on credit cards, mortgages or bank overdrafts retroactive to Feb. 1 because of the payroll problems. Employees can also start entering COVID-19 sick leave, including leave that was already taken, beginning on Monday.
"I am grateful to the district and our labor representatives for working together to reach this agreement," Board of Education President Jenny Lam said. "Every hard-working staff member in our district must get paid. We are working tirelessly to ensure that this happens in the most timely and transparent way possible."
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