While United Teachers Los Angeles and the L.A. Unified School District have reached a deal, fractured relationships between administrators and teachers may sting long after the picket lines disperse.
There are a lot of feelings to unpack here. Unsuccessful bargaining between teachers union members and L.A. Unified lasted for nearly two years before a strike finally happened-- and it was the first LAUSD teachers strike since 1989. And despite the show of good faith at Tuesday’s press conference, it’s the people on the ground in schools, including students, who will have to grapple with the fallout from events in the past two weeks that made national headlines.
When the last strike ended 30 years ago, there was a fear of retaliation that extended past a final union vote. And according to some people who worked in L.A.’s classrooms during the strike of ‘89, those who crossed picket lines faced isolation once unionized teachers came back to the classroom.
Larry asks listeners today for their thoughts on how to heal after the events of the past weeks, and what they remember about the fallout of the strike 30 years ago.
Guest:
Evelyn Aleman, parent of a freshman at Grover Cleveland, a combination charter-magnet High School in Reseda; she was a teacher’s assistant at Rosemont Avenue Elementary School in Los Angeles during the 1989 LAUSD teachers strike