Los Angeles School District Goes on Strike

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Facts

  • Tens of thousands of Los Angeles Unified School District workers went on strike early Tuesday morning as negotiations with the union representing support staff — such as teacher's aides, special education assistants, bus drivers, custodians, and cafeteria workers — failed.1
  • District Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho accused the Service Employees International Union, which represents about 30K support staff, of refusing to negotiate, adding that he was prepared to meet at any moment.2
  • Carvalho, who oversees about 420K students across more than 1K schools, expressed his frustration as the district's roughly 35K teachers said they would join the strike in solidarity with their support staff.3
  • Union members want a 30% pay bump, an additional $2 per hour over the next four years, and increased hours for part-time workers. The District is offering a 23% recurring pay raise, a 3% cash-in-hand bonus, as well as a $20 an hour minimum wage and full healthcare benefits for those working at least 4 hours per day.4
  • The planned three-day strike, which began Tuesday, means all schools will be closed through Thursday, though the District will offer six "grab-and-go: meal locations for children to get breakfast and lunch over the next three days.5
  • While the District has filed an emergency injunction to have the strike stopped, union organizers, have cited the district's alleged breach of confidentiality regarding the mediation process by leaking it to the media as their reason for striking.6

Sources: 1CBS, 2 New York Post, 3 USA Today, 4CNN, 5FOX 11 Los Angeles, and 6Washington Post.

Narratives

  • Left narrative, as provided by Los Angeles Times. What this strike is about is raising the average minimum wage for support staff — the backbone of the district without whom special education, transportation, and lunch services wouldn't exist — from $25K to $36K. LA is one of the most expensive places in the country, and these workers deserve to be paid a living wage. It is clear to anyone paying attention that these workers not only need this raise to live but deserve it for the indispensable work they provide for LA's students.
  • Right narrative, as provided by California Policy Center. The same union that fought to unnecessarily keep students out of the classroom during the pandemic is now asking the District to spend more money so it doesn't have to artificially turn part-time workers into full-time workers. The District is already in over $16B of debt, but the union doesn't seem to care about fiscal responsibility or children losing learning time. It knows it can nonetheless hold classrooms hostage to make taxpayers pay people not to work.