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The strike in the Los Angeles Unified School District will
disrupt education, meals, counseling and other social services
for 565,000 students and their parents. It follows a six-day
teachers' strike in 2019 and the coronavirus pandemic that
closed classroom instruction for more than a year in 2020 and
2021.
The Service Employees International Union Local 99, representing
bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers and classroom
assistants, called the strike to begin at 4:30 a.m. Pacific
Daylight Time (1130 GMT) after last-minute negotiations broke
down on Monday.
The union, which said 96% of its membership had authorized the
strike, is demanding a 30% salary increase plus a further $2 per
hour for the lowest-paid workers, the Los Angeles Times
reported.
The 35,000-member United Teachers Los Angeles is also walking
off the job in support, saying it wants to bring educational
workers out of poverty, reduce class sizes and ensure each
school is fully staffed.
Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Alberto Carvalho told
reporters on Tuesday the district was offering a 23% raise plus
a 3% bonus and that "there are still additional resources to put
on the table."
"We understand the frustration," Carvalho said, acknowledging
that workers had been underpaid for years and offering to remain
on standby around the clock in order to reach a deal to end the
strike early.
Despite the strike, the school district will attempt to provide
food services for hungry students, Carvalho said, advising
parents to identify multiple alternatives in case some meal
stations are overwhelmed.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Bradley Perrett)
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