San Francisco Governance

Thousands of San Francisco public schoolteachers walked off the job Monday in the city’s first public‑school teachers’ strike in nearly 50 years, forcing the closure of all 120 San Francisco Unified School District campuses and affecting roughly 50,000 students. United Educators of San Francisco says educators are being priced out by an "affordability crisis," citing family health‑care premiums around $1,500 a month, and is demanding a 9% raise over two years, fully funded family health coverage, and filled vacancies in special‑education and support services, along with policies to better support homeless and immigrant students. SFUSD, which is under state fiscal oversight and projects a $100 million deficit, has offered a 6% wage increase over three years plus either 75% coverage of Kaiser family plans or a $24,000 annual health‑care allowance, and points to a neutral fact‑finder’s recommendation for a 6% raise over two years as evidence of its budget constraints. With all schools closed, the district is offering independent study to some students, and Mayor Daniel Lurie and Rep. Nancy Pelosi have urged both sides to keep negotiating as talks resume Monday, even as the union mounts pickets and plans a rally at City Hall. The strike spotlights how high housing and health‑care costs in major metros are colliding with strained school budgets, a dynamic teachers and parents around the country are watching as similar affordability pressures build in other districts.