{"id":701364,"date":"2022-12-14T11:01:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-14T16:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/?post_type=article&p=701364"},"modified":"2023-03-21T10:05:03","modified_gmt":"2023-03-21T14:05:03","slug":"heroes-to-zeroes-l-a-school-staff-plans-strike-vote","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/heroes-to-zeroes-l-a-school-staff-plans-strike-vote\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Heroes to Zeroes\u2019: L.A. School Staff Plans Strike Vote"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The staff members who keep Los Angeles schools running \u2014 and prepared them to reopen during the pandemic \u2014 say they are on the verge of walking off the job. They held a rally Tuesday in front of the district\u2019s headquarters as a step toward authorizing a strike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Superintendent Alberto Carvalho and the school board met inside the downtown building, custodians, cafeteria workers, bus drivers and classroom assistants \u2014 arriving on buses from across the district \u2014 waved placards and chanted, \u201cno justice, no peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI installed air filters to make sure students and staff would be able to breathe clean air in their classrooms while they were there working and studying,\u201d SEIU 99 President Conrado Guerrero said from the flatbed of a truck. \u201cWe’ve gone from heroes to zeroes.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Edna Logan, who works as part of the buildings and ground staff at Manual Arts High School, addressed the crowd. Some restrooms on the campus, she said, have been closed for two years because the toilets don\u2019t work. (Linda Jacobson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The two sides have been bargaining since 2020, when the pandemic interrupted negotiations. The 30,000-member SEIU 99 says the district is offering no raise for the 2020-21 school year, a 5% raise for 2021-22 and a 4% increase for 2022-23. Amounting to about $1,000 additional per year for most workers, that\u2019s insufficient, said Max Arias, the union\u2019s executive director. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese were the essential workers\u201d in the district, he said. A strike authorization vote would take place in January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arias wants minimum wages for members increased from $18.50 per hour to $24. The union\u2019s demands also include more eight-hour days and paid training for bus drivers and those in other positions. \u201cWe\u2019re at an impasse,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement, the district said, \u201cLos Angeles Unified continues to engage in respectful negotiations with our labor partners. We are committed to compensating our employees fairly in this current economic environment, while also preserving our ability to provide services to our students in a sustainable manner that promotes lasting student achievement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The rally took place after school as the district\u2019s board met inside the building. (Linda Jacobson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Talk of a strike is the latest conflict the district has faced with one of its labor unions. United Teachers Los Angeles opposed Carvalho\u2019s original plan to spread four learning \u201cacceleration days\u201d for students throughout the school year. The district rescheduled them for winter and spring break, even though students are now less likely to participate because they\u2019re on vacation. About 15%<\/a> of the district\u2019s more than 420,000 students have signed up for the first two days, Dec. 19-20, according to the district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEIU 99 wanted the district to stick to the original schedule because it would have provided members additional work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The teachers union isn\u2019t close to a strike vote yet, but members are increasing pressure on the district. Earlier this month, they held rallies<\/a> at multiple locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The union went on a six-day strike<\/a> in January 2019, with many of the same demands<\/a> it is making now, such as smaller class sizes, less standardized testing and more nurses, librarians and counselors. The union wants a 20% raise and argues that the district has over $3 billion in budget reserves to cover it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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United Teachers Los Angeles President Cecily Myart-Cruz, left, with SEIU Executive Director Max Arias (Linda Jacobson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But on Tuesday, teachers union members were on hand to support SEIU 99 members. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been negotiating for seven months. They\u2019ve been negotiating for three years,\u201d said UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz. \u201cIt\u2019s about solidarity.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The staff members who keep Los Angeles schools running \u2014 and prepared them to reopen during the pandemic \u2014 say they are on the verge of walking off the job. They held a rally Tuesday in front of the district\u2019s headquarters as a step toward authorizing a strike. As Superintendent Alberto Carvalho and the school […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":701369,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[190],"tags":[1340,954,1103,1562,5722,895,1910,3073,5342,5315],"series":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/701364"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/701364\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":701370,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/701364\/revisions\/701370"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/701369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=701364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=701364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=701364"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=701364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}