In retrospect…
We all agree that workers deserve living wages. Yes, anyone who works should not live in poverty.
However, in light of the large-scale disruption to LAUSD students over the past three years due to the pandemic, labor leaders representing school district workers had to use their imagination and explore other options to promote the interests of its members before they interrupted the education of the students.
The SEIU Local 99 union and its 30,000 workers have reached an impasse with LAUSD. Bus drivers, janitors, food service workers, instructional assistants, teacher assistants and after-school program workers went on strike Tuesday.
Assessment test scores from last year showed that nearly seven in 10 students were unable to meet the state’s minimum standards, and 1 in 2 students failed to meet the English standards. When these scores are compared to the year before the pandemic, the drop in performance should alarm those charged with educating our children.
UTLA and its 35,000 teachers participated in a sympathy strike and joined SEIU Local 99. Schools cannot function without teachers and these essential workers; therefore, they had to be closed. SEIU was demanding a 30% wage increase and wanted $2 an hour for the lowest paid workers.
On the Friday before the strike, LAUSD made a 19% offer, presenting a continuous increase of 19% for three years. The following Monday it was reported that the district had increased its offer to a generous “23%, plus a 3% cash-in-hand bonus, a minimum wage of $20 an hour, and full health care benefits for those who work at least four hours.” up to date”. The district has offered 77% of what is required, but it was insufficient for the SEIU workers union to avoid the strike and the students did not miss instructions for three days of class.
Negotiations require that the parties understand that this process involves give and take and that the negotiating parties must be able to make concessions. Local 99 was not willing to go back to the bargaining table unless they got everything they asked for. This approach led to a dangerous arrogance that could no longer advance the interests of workers.
Student education should never be sacrificed or used as a strategy to help union workers lift themselves out of poverty. Fighting poverty by sacrificing the education of poor Latino and African American students in Los Angeles Unified makes no sense.
LAUSD is the second largest school district in the country, where 73% of its students are Latino living in poverty, according to the district’s website. The recent Covid-19 pandemic affected students immensely; Many reports and articles have been published showing the learning loss that occurred among low-income students. Many students were not only affected academically by the pandemic. They were also affected emotionally, as many lost family members.
During the pandemic, students began taking classes online, and many struggled with access to technology and poverty at home. Other students never enrolled in these classes and wasted months staying at home doing nothing.
Additionally, it was widely reported that half of all LAUSD students were consistently absent in 2022, while experts tell us that 9-year-olds must be literate to avoid falling behind academically. With all the challenges families with children this age face, it is not difficult to extrapolate that many of our children who are woefully behind are clearly, without exaggeration, experiencing an academic crisis of biblical proportions.
Assessment test scores from last year showed that nearly seven in 10 students were unable to meet the state’s minimum standards, and 1 in 2 students failed to meet the English standards. When these scores are compared to the year before the pandemic, the drop in performance should alarm those charged with educating our children.
It’s worse for low-income African American (84%) and Latino (79) students, who were unable to meet this state math standard.
Without taking credit away from LAUSD, district leaders tried to address learning loss by increasing and extending the school day or adding additional days to the active year. But such efforts were surprisingly rejected by the UTLA union, even though the district was willing to pay in full, including other benefits for those who wanted to help students. Many parents were upset and disappointed to see UTLA reject additional learning for students.
In addition, the undue burden placed on the parents in these three days was enormous. A three-day strike affects the poorest resident of Los Angeles. Many parents are completely confused and angry that LAUSD not only provides education for their children, but also childcare and food. Schools are where many low-income students eat breakfast and lunch, and many even receive food for dinner. Closing campuses is devastating for these students in need.
On Monday, the day before the strike, many students brought home packages for school work, not just for the three of them but for ten days. Who will help these children with their homework? A good 80% of LAUSD students live in poverty and their parents have to work long hours, leaving them with no time to help their children.
The students have no one to defend them. It’s no secret that parents of children in the district are often ignored in decisions that will affect their children. The fight for resources and direction for LAUSD is consistent among UTLA, Local 99, Charter Schools, and district leaders. The children’s parents are often cut out of these vital conversations.
It is important that parents come together to more effectively influence decisions that benefit their children’s education.
The main guiding or theme of this strike was to attack poverty in Los Angeles. It is true that the majority of workers represented by Local 99, like millions of other workers in Los Angeles, cannot afford to live in this city.
Many SEIU members actually live in poverty, which begs the question why does your union spend so much money on politics? They should demand more of these officials that they send to the legislature in Sacramento.
About 90% of LAUSD’s funding comes from Sacramento, while UTLA and Local 99 spend a lot of money on politics. Both unions should demand that the state send more money to the district so that LAUSD can pay living wages to workers and better wages to its teachers.
Living in Los Angeles is not easy and surely the workers represented by Local 99 need help. They are not alone; many people who live in Los Angeles also need support. But we cannot be oblivious to the district’s budget constraints.
Pandemic funding for the district is no longer coming or is about to stop, and many parents with school-age children are moving to other cities or states, as enrollment declines will deeply impact state funding.
In the year 2000, the Los Angeles school district had almost 750,000 students. Today’s enrollment is just over 400,000.
No more Los Angeles being a bastion of liberalism! Come on progressives, where’s the outrage? Speak up for poor and struggling students. This strike disproportionately affected poor Latino students: Seven out of ten LAUSD students are Latino students living in poverty and in California, 40% of the population is Latino. There is no future in this city or in this state if Latinos are not educated.
Thanks for reading the article.
Chamba Sánchez is a professor of Politics at LACCD