On Thursday, January 16, SEIU 1021 members and Dixon Unified School District ratified a tentative agreement in their reopener negotiations. Members voted by 98% in favor of the agreement, which includes a 6% raise retroactive to July 1, 2024, and a 1% raise retro to July 1, 2023. 

They won the new agreement following overwhelming strike authorization votes from both classified staff and educators. They voted to authorize strike after district administration failed to make serious movement on addressing the low pay that has led to understaffing — which has prevented schools from addressing Dixon students’ needs. 

In addition to the raises, the district will also pay for a class and compensation study to determine how far behind the market Dixon staff are paid. Importantly, they agreed to speed up the hiring process for new staff. 

“We’ve made great progress, but we have to stick together if we are going to continue to win,” said SEIU 1021 DUSD Chapter President Andrew Rathjen. “We’re going to do whatever it takes to win the schools our staff and students deserve.”

Significant progress continues to be made in collaboration with the new administration at DUSD. However, the entire Dixon USD contract expires on June 30, 2025. Wages, healthcare costs, and staffing will be central to upcoming negotiations.