Los Angeles schools close, district workers go on three-day strike
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According to the claims, SEIU members have been working without a contract since June 2020 and the teachers' contract expired in June 2022, so that there is an urgent need to establish better working conditions
Tens of thousands of service workers from the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) will begin a three-day strike starting Tuesday that will cause the closure of hundreds of schools in the second largest district in the country.
Demonstrations are expected at schools across the city by members of the Service Employees International (SEIU) Local 99 union, which represents nearly 30,000 employees, including teacher aides, special education aides, bus drivers, buses, custodians, cafeteria workers, and other support staff.
🚨📢Tomorrow is the start of our 3 day UPC Strike! We are striking to protest @LASchools unfair practices. Picket lines will be set-up at #LAUSD schools & facilities through Mar. 23. @UTLAnow will be joining in solidarity!#LAUSDStrike #United4LASchools pic.twitter.com/LM8Nijcc2e
— SEIU Local 99 (@SEIULocal99) March 21, 2023
The district has more than 500,000 students from Los Angeles and all or parts of 25 other cities and unincorporated areas of the county.
Superintendent Alberto M. Accusing the union of refusing to bargain, Carvalho said he was willing to meet at any hour of the day or night, and when ignored, said he missed a “golden opportunity” to move forward.
“I think this strike could have been avoided .But you can't do it without people actually talking to each other,” he said.
In response, SEIU Local 99 Executive Director Max Arias noted that the union had entered into a confidential mediation process with LAUSD to “try to address our differences.”
However, said LAUSD broke confidentiality by announcing the mediation process to the press before the union's bargaining team had a chance to discuss how to proceed.
School workers have made it clear that we will not put up with the district's disrespect and abuse anymore. We are proud to be going on a solidarity strike with @SEIULocal99 tomorrow through Thursday.
— United Teachers Los Angeles (@UTLAnow) March 21, 2023
We will be out on the streets every day. Learn more: https://t.co/tJtoHUrPsK pic.twitter.com/6bsDqIxtei
“This is yet another example of the school district's continued disrespect for school workers. We are ready to attack,” Arias said.
Furthermore, he accused LAUSD of issuing “misleading statements” and threatening workers who exercise their right to “take action.”
He added that teachers, students, and parents in the district were “supporting school workers and their right to act, without fear, to negotiate for better wages and more staff in our schools.”
During the strike, about 150 of the district's more than 1,000 schools are expected to remain open with adult supervision, but no instruction, so students have somewhere to go.
Dozens of libraries and parks, plus a few places “to go” for students to get lunches, they also planned to be open to children to take the pressure off parents now struggling to find care.
We continue to work around the clock, doing everything we can to minimize disruption to student learning. Please see the District’s latest, increased salary proposals to SEIU and UTLA here: https://t.co/w9y5Sd2yJh— Los Angeles Unified (@LASchools) March 21, 2023
“Schools are much more than centers of education – they are a safety net for hundreds of thousands of Los Angeles families,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. “We will make sure to do everything we can to provide the resources that families in our city need.”
The union says district support staff earn, on average, about $25,000 a year and many live in poverty due to low wages or limited work hours as they battle inflation and the high cost of housing in Los Angeles County. The union is asking for a 30% raise. The teachers want a 20% salary increase in two years.