The union representing more than 6,000 San Francisco public school employees voted Saturday to authorize a strike to win improvements in compensation and working conditions. The United Educators of San Francisco voted 97.6% to give its negotiators the power to call the first strike by the city’ s teachers in 47 years, the union said. The 1979 strike lasted seven weeks. The San Francisco Unified School District has been negotiating for almost a year with the UESF, which includes teachers, substitutes, paraeducators, counselors, social workers and nurses. The two sides are still apart on union demands for higher pay and fully funded family health care benefits, the district said. The union is also asking to include the district’s existing policies on immigrant rights and homeless families in the contract, the school district said. The two sides jointly declared an impasse and requested arbitration Jan. 23. A neutral fact-finding committee is expected to recommend an offer on Wednesday If the union rejects the deal, that is when a strike could be declared. The district’s latest offer included a 6% raise over three years, spread out at 2% a year and fully paid family health benefits. The schools argue that there is no surplus of funds to pay for raises beyond this without making cuts elsewhere. “SFUSD continues to experience a structural deficit, meaning the district repeatedly plans to spend more money than it brings in,” the district said. The California Department of Education can overrule any financial decision that could put the district at risk, including salary increases, SFUSD said. ...read more read less