The Case for LAUSD Strikers
LAUSD workers on the final and third day of the March 2023 strikes. Photo by SEIU Local 99.
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is the second-largest school district in the nation, with approximately 1,000 campuses and 565,000 students across the region. Just this past March, two unions representing LAUSD teachers and staff, including Service Employees International Union Local 99 (SEIU Local 99) and United Teachers Los Angeles, went on a three-day walkout to demand a 30% salary hike and (at least) a $2 hourly equity wage adjustment. The three-day strike was prompted by the district subjecting workers to “surveillance, intimidation, and harassment” during a negotiation process with the state after LAUSD had rejected the unions’ demands. The unions also argued that LAUSD contributed “misleading statements in the media” about those participating in the strike and thus broke a confidentiality agreement in the negotiations process. Los Angeles politicians have always claimed to respect public education—yet their low profile in response to the strikes speak louder than words.
75% of students in the LAUSD live at or below the federal poverty line, prompting concerns over how the three-day strike would impact the childrens’ access to meals, supervision, safety, and education. Thus these strikes reveal that greater attention on everyone in the LAUSD—including students—is critical, given that public schools are more important than just education. Los Angeles superintendent Albert Carvalho expressed his concern over the various impacts the strikes have on students, calling for union strikers to return to negotiation to work towards rectifying the “degree of historical injustice” in regards to “some of the lowest-wage earners in our community.” Parents with LAUSD students expressed feeling “blindsided” with the suddenness of the strike, leaving them scrambling to find supervision for their children and ensuring they stay on track with their schooling while working their full-time jobs. Some parents blame union leaders for putting parents “in the middle of it,” while others are shifting the blame onto the district for creating the conditions that prompted tens of thousands of LAUSD workers to go on strike in the first place. How are teachers, nurses, custodians and bus drivers supposed to provide for their students if the district can’t properly provide for its employees?
In a negotiation effort to avert the strike, the district offered a 23% salary increase and a 3% “cash-in-hand” bonus, and have framed this offer as “historically generous.” District leaders have expressed concerns on the plausibility of the offer for budget reasons, which SEIU Local 99 does not consider it a problem given the LAUSD’s $4.93 billion budget for the current school year. The district has also encouraged negotiation efforts in the spirit of diplomacy and sobered mediation to keep schools operating while attempting to meet the needs of strikers. For strikers, negotiation is not an option. According to SEIU Local 99, instructional aides make an average of $27,531/year; operations (those working in transportation, food, and custodial services) make $31,825; teacher assistants make $22,257/year; and program aids $14,576/year. For context, in Los Angeles, $25,000 qualifies as “extremely low income.” SEIU Local 99, which represents 30,000 LAUSD staff, stated that half of its members work a second job. Being forced to choose between paying rent, affording health care, and food, should not be a problem faced by LAUSD workers.
Yet this isn’t a recent phenomenon either. In 2019, nearly 30,000 LAUSD educators, counselors, librarians, and nurses went on strike for a week in demand of smaller class sizes, reductions in standardized testing, a 6.5% salary increase for teachers, and more support staff. The strike was eventually met with a 6% salary increase and reduced classroom sizes.
After three days of striking outside district headquarters, an agreement was finally reached upon LAUSD workers. The agreement reached between school workers and LAUSD on April 8th includes a 30% wage increase, $1,000 recognition bonus for essential workers, increased working hours for certain staff members, and the expansion of fully-paid family health care benefits to other staff members. It is a historic step toward improved wages, hours, and treatment for LAUSD teachers, custodians, nurses, and bus drivers. Evidently, this was made possible through the diligence of strikers to “ensure students can learn in a clean, safe, and supportive environment.”
These strikes are not just a matter of increased pay for LAUSD workers. They are a matter of respect for and believing in public education. The strikes are not just a matter of increased pay for LAUSD workers. They are about supporting students and ensuring that workers are able to comfortably and effectively build a positive academic environment. The collective bargaining efforts of these workers in one of the largest school districts in the nation sets a precedent for other unionizing movements to improve quality public education across the country. In a city that overwhelmingly claims to value public education, it must also value and respect the teachers, nurses, custodians, and bus drivers who allow for such an institution to operate. If the Los Angeles Unified School District cares about students, they must meet the demands of its workers.
Julianna Lozada is a Staff Writer at CPR and a third year at Columbia in the dual degree with Sciences Po. She is studying Human Rights with a specialization in MESAAS and a special concentration in Sustainable Development. You can probably find her creating Spotify playlists in Milstein or taking power naps on Butler lawn.