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LA Unified Braces For Strike By Union With 30K School Staff Members
A custodian at Brainard Avenue Elementary in Lake View Terrace cleans a door handle on April 13, 2021, the campus' first day hosting students since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Kyle Stokes
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LAist
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Officials in the Los Angeles Unified School District say they're getting ready for a possible strike by thousands of cafeteria workers, bus drivers, custodians, special ed assistants and others.
What's the union?
Service Employees International Union Local 99 represents more than 30,000 workers in LAUSD. Those workers announced plans this week to cancel their contract as labor talks over a new deal stall.
The union says the school district was notified Wednesday of the pending cancellation of the contract. Back in February, the workers gave the union the OK to call a strike if negotiations failed.
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What's the district's response?
In a statement on Wednesday, LAUSD said that it is "disappointed" the union is — in its words — "walking away from negotiations with so much on the table."
Why now?
The last long-term SEIU contract ran from 2017-2020, but the pandemic derailed a new one. The contract under negotiation now is actually for 2021 through 2023. Any pay increases would be applied retroactively, and the union wants the increases to be permanent.
What's next
.@UTLAnow and @SEIULocal99
— Luis Mora (@balolalo) March 8, 2023
this is what solidarity looks like
one day longer one day stronger! pic.twitter.com/aBTbYhQhWK
SEIU officials said a joint march with members of United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) is scheduled for next Wednesday (March 15) from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles.
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Adolfo Guzman-Lopez contributed reporting to this piece.
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