2019 Los Angeles Unified School District teachers' strike explained

2019 Los Angeles Unified School District teachers' strike
Partof:the 2018–19 education workers' strikes in the United States
Place:Los Angeles, California
Methods:
Result:
  • 6 percent pay raise
  • Reduction in class size by 4 students over three years
  • Guaranteed nurse in every school
  • Guaranteed librarian for all middle and high schools
  • Establishment of 30 community schools
Side1:AFT
CTA
NEA
UTLA
AALA
Side2:Government of Los Angeles
Leadfigures1:Randi Weingarten
Lily García
Alex Caputo-Pearl
Leadfigures2:Eric Garcetti
Mike Feuer
Ron Galperin
Austin Beutner
Howmany1:30,000 teachers

More than 30,000 public-school teachers of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) went on strike from January 14 to 22, 2019.[1] Protesting low pay, large class sizes, inadequate support staffs of nurses and librarians, and the proliferation of charter schools, the teachers went on strike for the first time in the district in 30 years. The strike was authorized by United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA).

In August 2018, under the leadership of progressive UTLA president Alex Caputo-Pearl,[2] 98% of UTLA members authorized a strike following months of contract negotiation disputes.[3] Though teachers were also striking to highlight issues like demands for pay raises, public discussion became predominantly focused on the union's opposition to charter schools.[4] Though one in five LAUSD students attended a charter school at the time of the strike,[5] UTLA argued that largely highly-performing charter schools were siphoning money from underperforming unionized schools.[6]

A fact-finding report failed to resolve matters and UTLA stated that a strike would proceed on January 10, 2019.[7] The school district attempted to stop the strike on legal grounds, but a judge allowed it to proceed.[8] On January 14, 30,000 teachers walked out of class and onto the picket line in what became the first such strike in LA in 30 years,[9] affecting nearly 500,000 students in the second largest school district in the US.[10] Schools remained open during the strike, with skeleton staffs of administrators and employees not on strike; two-thirds of students did not attend.[11]

Following six days of crowded rallies,[12] UTLA and the school district reached a new contract deal on January 22, ending the strike.[13] The contract included teacher pay raises, full-time librarians for middle and high schools, a commitment to provide full-time nurses for every school, and the establishment of 30 community schools in the model of Austin, Texas and Cincinnati; UTLA failed to impose a binding cap on charter schools.

Notes and References

  1. News: Blume . Howard . Kohli . Sonali . LAUSD teachers' strike ends. Teachers to return to classrooms Wednesday . 23 January 2019 . . 22 January 2019.
  2. Web site: Starved of resources and respect UTLA. www.utla.net. en. 2019-12-01. 2019-03-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20190315175112/https://www.utla.net/news/starved-resources-and-respect. live.
  3. Web site: UTLA members vote overwhelmingly to authorize strike UTLA. www.utla.net. en. 2019-12-01. 2019-10-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20191021011228/https://www.utla.net/news/utla-members-vote-overwhelmingly-authorize-strike. live.
  4. Web site: Possible LAUSD Strike Would Be First Since 1989 – Los Feliz Ledger. www.losfelizledger.com. 23 January 2019. 7 January 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190107015850/https://www.losfelizledger.com/2018/09/possible-lausd-strike-would-be-first-since-1989/. dead.
  5. Web site: L.A. teachers union rallies supporters with call for cap on charter schools. 2018-12-22. Los Angeles Times. en-US. 2019-11-30. 2019-11-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20191114024909/https://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-edu-teachers-union-charter-cap-20181221-story.html. live.
  6. Web site: Op-Ed: Alex Caputo-Pearl: Why Los Angeles teachers may have to strike. 2019-01-06. Los Angeles Times. en-US. 2019-11-30. 2019-11-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20191114021835/https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-caputo-pearl-teachers-strike-20190106-story.html. live.
  7. Web site: L.A. teachers strike appears more likely as a key report fails to bring the union and district together. Howard. Blume. Los Angeles Times. 19 December 2018 . 23 January 2019. 18 January 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190118201207/https://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-edu-lausd-fact-finder-report-20181218-story.html. live.
  8. Web site: Judge denies L.A. school district's bid to block teachers strike. 2019-01-05. Los Angeles Times. en-US. 2019-12-01. 2020-03-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20200310202732/https://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-edu-judge-wont-block-teachers-strike-20190105-story.html. live.
  9. News: LA Teachers Go On Strike For First Time In 30 Years . January 22, 2019 . . January 14, 2019 . January 22, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190122031956/https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2019/01/14/first-day-strike-austin-beutner-exclusive/ . live .
  10. Web site: Stokes . Kyle . Aug 29, 2018 . Why LAUSD's 30,000 Teachers Have Gone On Strike . live . Aug 11, 2024 . LAist.
  11. News: Blume . Howard . Kohli . Sonali . 22 January 2019 . LAUSD teachers' strike ends. Teachers to return to classrooms Wednesday . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20190122230438/https://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-edu-lausd-teachers-strike-negotiations-20190122-story.html . 22 January 2019 . 23 January 2019 . Los Angeles Times.
  12. News: Silva . Daniella . Johnson . Alex . 'Escalate, escalate, escalate': L.A. teachers' strike to head into its second day Tuesday . 23 January 2019 . . 14 January 2019 . 22 January 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190122205624/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/l-teachers-strike-tens-thousands-walk-job-los-angeles-n958336 . live .
  13. News: Los Angeles Teachers' Strike to End as Deal Is Reached . Medina . Jennifer . Goldstein . Dana . 22 January 2019 . 24 January 2019 . . 23 January 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190123222420/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/22/us/la-teacher-strike-deal.html . live .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "2019 Los Angeles Unified School District teachers' strike".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.