Pink slips, or "preliminary layoff notices" went out around the state yesterday. Local districts are are among those who sent off the most, but the Los Angeles Unified School District takes the cake: They sent out 11,700 notices, which is over half of the total sent state-wide. more ›

They call themselves "Two Teachers and a Microphone," and their rap and video about the recent layoffs at the Los Angeles Unified School District caused quite a stir. Now they've got a follow up video, in which the the "angry duo is still demanding the school board rescind the 5,000 preliminary layoff notices sent out to teachers and other school site employees," reports GOOD. more ›

With thousands of pink slips going out to teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District, those educators who are now, or will be, out of a job are pretty angry. One teacher has put together this video about the state of education in Los Angeles and the country, only instead of dry narration, he raps his message. We'll forgive the sometimes quirky pastiche of background images (Justin Bieber!) if only because he successfully works the word "chutzpah," into his clever lyrics. more ›

LAUSD teachers will be taking several unpaid furlough days over the next couple of years as part of a plan approved by the Board of Education and United Teachers Los Angeles, according to the Daily Breeze. The five furlough days this year, and seven next year--which includes two days off for students--is expected to be part of cost-saving measures implemented in hopes of eradicating the need to layoff over 2,000 teachers. Yesterday the Board voted to rescind 1,421 pink slips already sent out, and are expected to rescind another 600 later. "The furlough days and shortened school year are expected to save $147 million." more ›

Just one day after the Los Angeles Unified School District voted in favor of the plan to give control of struggling schools to non-profits, a lawsuit filed against the LAUSD by the ACLU is focused on layoffs at three schools--two of which are operated by Mayor Villaraigosa's non-profit "Partnership" program. more ›

The Bush era of ICE raids are over. That, however, does not mean ICE is on the fritz. In what the New York Times calls "a showcase for the Obama administration’s effort to reduce illegal immigration," companies are being forced to "to dismiss unauthorized workers." more ›

With one day left before the LAUSD Board is due to vote on the postponed motion for thousands of layoffs district-wide at their regularly scheduled meeting, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is expected to meet later this morning with teachers and parents to talk about ways to avoid the ax falling so mightily. more ›

LA's Museum of Contemporary Art may have been saved by Eli Broad and his millions, but their road to recovery will be long and hard. As part of their efforts to curb operational costs, and in what is becoming a disheartening national and local trend, the museum "has announced it will lay off 32 employees as part of an effort to finish the year free of debt," the Daily News reports. The layoffs reflect a 20 per cent reduction in staff, and affect 16 full-time and 16 part-time jobs. In addition to the layoffs, the museum's new Chief Executive, Charles Young, says "other cost-cutting operations would save the museum some $4.4. million annually." more ›

Bad news ahead for employees of Warner Bros. here in Burbank. According to cbs2.com, the studio "plans to lay off scores of studio staffers and outsource jobs to India and Poland to cut costs amid falling entertainment revenues." The layoffs will be focused on back-office workers whose jobs involve "information systems, finance and accounting," from multiple divisions in the studio's operations. Warner Bros. currently employees 8,000 people worldwide; their last major rounds of cuts that hit close to home happened in 2005, when 300 of the 400 jobs cut came from the Burbank lot. No other information about the pending job losses has been made available. more ›