More than 60,000 bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria employees, campus security, teaching assistants and educators from the Los Angeles Unified School District say they’ll strike from March 21 to 23, a move likely to shut down hundreds of schools.
The labor unions representing the support staff announced the dates during a lively rally on Wednesday afternoon at Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles.
Represented by labor union SEIU Local 99, about 30,000 school support staff are demanding LAUSD pay for a 30% raise and $2 per hour equity wage increase. About 35,000 teachers represented by the United Teachers of Los Angeles plan to join them. The school district has offered, in part, more than a 15% raise, retention bonuses and to bring its minimum wage up to $20.
In a letter to families on Monday evening, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho told parents the district is trying to work with the union to come to an agreement before kids are severely impacted by the closures. And he and district negotiators are prepared to work around the clock to come to negotiations before the strike, he told news reporters on Wednesday morning.
“We are committed to continue good faith bargaining with our labor partners around the clock to reach an agreement before a strike occurs. I have invited union leaders to have a direct conversation with me to negotiate day and night to reach an understanding to spare our children from the avoidable disastrous consequences of a strike. Our students should not be victims,” his letter reads.
In an interview with USA TODAY on Tuesday, Local 99 Executive Director Max Arias said he doesn’t see the district budging and in turn doesn’t anticipate a compromise before the planned protest.
He said education workers will continue to “bargain to improve the conditions of schools and the people who work there” until the district meets their demands. Many of the district’s support staff are living below or near the poverty line due to low wages or the limited hours of work the district currently offers them, he said.
“This is a lawful strike to protest the district’s unfair practices, including threats, interrogation, and surveillance of members who participated in last month’s strike vote,” the SEIU Local 99’s website reads. “Over three days we can show the district that we are fed-up with their disrespect and not afraid to take strong action to demand respect for our work.”
More:Los Angeles education workers poised to announce strike that ‘likely’ would close hundreds of schools
How would school closures affects students and families?
LAUSD hasn’t officially announced school closures, but Carvalho told parents the disruptions will “likely” lead to shuttering schools on the dates of the labor unions’ strikes, adding to an already grueling year for the district.
On Wednesday morning, he told news reporters, “If in fact a strike is declared between two of our most significant labor partners, it is virtually impossible to keep schools open. On a basis of supervision, safety and security; virtually impossible. On a basis of getting kids to school because buses will not be running; virtually impossible.”
And he listed the imminent consequences of school closures: “leaning loss, depravation of safety and security that schools provide to our kids, deprivation of food and nutrition that many of our kids depend on.”
“I know that we focus our attention on the needs of the workforce. I need to focus my attention on also primarily on the needs of our kids,” he said.
Carvalho went on about the challenges his district has faced this school year.
“It has not been an easy school year. We’ve dealt with a cyberattack. We’ve dealt with the issues of learning loss facing many of our kids. We began the year with a significant deficit in terms of student attendance, chronic absenteeism, kids expressing and manifesting serious woes regarding their social and emotional well-being; their mental health needs.”
Arias said fair wages are critical to ensuring student safety and well-being.
More:Los Angeles school district hit by cyberattack
It’s not the first time the district has grappled with wage negotiations amid labor frustrations.
In 2019, LAUSD teachers went on a six-day strike. District negotiators and the labor union ultimately agreed on a 6% raise for teachers, added nurses and school counselors and a change in how the school system handles class sizes.
More:Los Angeles’ striking teachers reach ‘historic’ settlement with school district
Contact Kayla Jimenez at kjimenez@usatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter at @kaylajjimenez.