Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images
As expected, Service workers from the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) began a three-day strike on Tuesday, a movement joined by the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) teachers union.so schools will remain closed during the work stoppage.
This Monday night bargaining talks between LAUSD officials with representatives of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 99 failedas a last effort to avoid the strike.
Related: Schools close in Los Angeles, district workers begin three-day strike
SEIU Local 99 represents nearly 30,000 district workersamong bus drivers, cafeteria workers, janitors and special education assistants, among others.
From 4:30 am the SEIU Local 99 workers protest on the first day of a work stoppage, joined by the United Teachers Los Angeles union.
The strike affects the more than 400,000 students of the second largest school district in the United States. With no new negotiations in the offing, LAUSD schools will most likely remain closed until Friday, when classes are expected to resume.
Related: Stop! Parents tell unions in the Los Angeles Unified School District
This Monday, the LAUSD superintendent, Alberto Carvalho, expressed during a press conference that he hoped to maintain an honest and transparent dialogue with the workers to reach an agreement and thus avoid the planned three-day strike, which did not happen.
Carvalho expressed his confidence in having a rapprochement with the union to prevent the strike from lasting three days.
SEIU Local 99 accuses LAUSD of breaching confidentiality
SEIU Local 99 agreed to hold confidential negotiations with the district to address their differences, but union representatives revealed that dialogue failed after LAUSD breached confidentiality.
“Unfortunately, LAUSD broke that confidentiality by sharing it with the media before our bargaining team, which makes all the decisions, had a chance to discuss how to proceed. This is yet another example of the school district’s continued disrespect for school workers. We are ready to attack,” SEIU Local 99 executive director Max Arias said in a statement Monday afternoon.
It is the first major labor dispute for LAUSD since 2019., when the UTLA went on strike for six days. The stoppage was ended by the intervention of the then mayor, Eric Garcetti, to get the district and the union to reach an agreement.
LAUSD offer on the table
LAUSD officials claimed last week that Carvalho presented SEIU Local 99 with a strong offer ever made by a superintendent.
According to the district, the offer included a 5% salary increase retroactive to July 2021, in addition to another 5% increase retroactive to July 2022as well as a 5% increase from July 2023, in addition to a 4% bonus for the 2022-2023 cycle and a second 5% bonus for the 2023-2024 cycle.
This Monday, Carvalho improved the offer to an increase of 23%plus a 3% cash bonus.
SEIU Local 99 He assured that many of his union members earned “misery wages” of $25,000 dollars a year, for which they demanded a 30% increasewith an added boost for lower-paid employees.
Since June 2020, SEIU Local 99 workers work without a contract.
In support of LAUSD families, the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks offers 21 recreation centers to serve the district’s food distribution program; In addition, there will be a free after-school program at 30 recreation centers for elementary students.
All public libraries will remain open, while the Los Angeles Zoo will offer free admission to school district students.
Keep reading:
· Imminent, 3-day strike by teachers and workers of the Los Angeles school district
· Three-day strike for Tuesday in the Los Angeles School District
Los Angeles school district schools could close if workers’ strike breaks out