From the eastern corner of the San Fernando Valley to the port town of Wilmington, about 420,000 students and 65,000 workers returned to LAUSD schools on Morning morning following a mammoth 3-day strike that shuttered America’s second-largest school district.
The result of such a historic action? Unclear for now.
Union and district leaders have said that negotiations are continuing, but by the time the school bell rang on Monday there was still no word of a deal.
At 135th Street Elementary in Gardena, students ran inside to escape the Friday morning wind, while Principal Sherree Lewis-DeVaughn said “welcome back” to parents walking their children along the crosswalk, down the sidewalk and up the steps.
“We’re happy to be back,” she said, and the Friday return to school, Lewis-DeVaughn added, “feels like Monday.”
Third-grade parent Chydell Lawson said that the failure to come to a resolution after a three-day strike is unfair to the entire school community.
“They didn’t get anything done, so it’s a waste of time. They deserve the money more than anybody,” Lawson said of teachers and other school staff. “It’s not fair to them, and for the kids to have to miss school.”
District leaders, for their part, expressed hope Monday morning that a deal could be within reach.
“We remain hopeful that we will reach an equitable agreement that recognizes the hard work of our employees and maintains the financial stability of the district,” stated the district on Monday morning. “We know that our students, families and employees are counting on us to reach a resolution.”
Similarly, representatives of SEIU Local 99 — the union representing 30,000 bus drivers, custodians, instructional aides, cafeteria workers and special education assistants — struck an upbeat tone while reflecting on the conclusion of their three-day strike.
“This strike is a huge step forward for every school worker in LAUSD, for our students, our parents and our community,” said food service worker Thresa Thomas in a Thursday evening statement. “We won the respect we’ve been demanding, and it feels like the whole world is finally listening.”
SEIU Local 99 led the strike, marking the first time its union members have walked off the job since 1969. They are demanding higher pay, more reliable hours for part-time workers and a harassment-free work environment.
They were joined on the picket line by members of the teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles, who last staged a strike in 2019 and chose to walk off the job this time in a show of solidarity.
The unions’ collective action shut down schools district wide, attracting both national headlines and the support of politicians at a city, state and federal level.
On Friday morning Superintendent Carvalho had nothing to say on the subject of ongoing bargaining. Nor did Mayor Karen Bass, who stepped into the fray on Wednesday in an attempt to help the two parties reach a labor contract agreement.
The normally Twitter-happy superintendent had but one simple tweet to share on Friday morning.
“Welcome back to school,” he stated. “It’s a great day of instruction and learning.”
Many parents were eager to get their kids back in the classroom after three days of lost learning on the heels of significant learning disruption among LAUSD children during the pandemic.
In lieu of classroom teaching during the strike, the district sent kids home with instructional packets and continued access to their Schoology online learning accounts. The district also set up 150 student supervision and food distribution sites in partnership with the City of Los Angeles, that offered a resource to parents.
Keanna Elee, whose daughter is in 4th grade, said that although the district provided student resources during the three days they missed, it doesn’t make up for not giving teachers what they are asking for.
“I know the schools were still open (in some capacity) and we had access to supervision at parks, but I feel the teachers and everybody did what they were supposed to do,” Elee said, “They were fighting for the students.”
Elee said she was frustrated that the district wouldn’t use existing funds to meet the union demands, and left parents to pay the consequences of a three-day strike.
The district has almost $5 billion in reserves, and union leaders are calling on Carvalho to dip into the reserves to cover their requested pay raise. The superintendent, however, has expressed the importance of saving money in reserves for a rainy day, especially with signs of a recession looming.
Isela Estrada, meanwhile, said that she’s glad to bring her 1st-grader back on campus, but is disappointed that employees still don’t have a deal.
“The kids need the school, you could tell that they missed school, they need to be in that environment, but at the same time the teachers need their resources,” Estrada said. “They need to get paid. They’re the ones taking care of (children) while we’re at work or doing what we need to do.”
“If they feel they’re not being treated fair, then we, as parents, have to support the teachers,” she added.
Andrea Hayes, who has a transitional kindergartener, said she’s glad about the return to school, yet sad the situation isn’t resolved. She hopes teachers don’t have to go on strike.
“I feel if (an administrator) was able to get a raise I don’t see why it’s hard for (workers) to get one,” Hayes said, “I don’t see why it’s up for discussion.”
When Carvalho took over the superintendent job from Austin Beutner in February 2021 he successfully negotiated for a 25% raise, securing an annual salary of $440,000. This makes him higher paid than Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass or President Joe Biden.
SEIU workers have an annual salary of $25,000 and many work part-time hours. They are seeking a 30% raise over time and an additional boost for their lowest paid workers.
According to the district, LAUSD last week made an offer that included a 5% wage increase retroactive to July 2021, another 5% increase retroactive to July 2022 and another 5% increase effective July 2023, along with a 4% bonus in 2022-23 and a 5% bonus in 2023-24.
On Monday, March 20, Carvalho said the district sweetened the offer to an overall 23% salary increase, along with a 3% “cash-in-hand bonus.”
Carvalho was frustrated that the labor leaders, despite his offer, chose to strike instead of remaining at the bargaining table.
SEIU workers have been without a contract since June 2020. The union declared that negotiations had reached an impasse in December, leading to the appointment of a state mediator. In February, the union voted to authorize a strike with 97% of members in favor. On March 15, union leaders announced their intent to strike at a massive rally in front of Los Angeles City Hall.
“Despite our invitation for a transparent, honest conversation that perhaps would result in a meaningful solution that would avoid a strike, we must formally announce that all schools across LAUSD will be closed to students tomorrow,” Carvalho stated on Monday, on the eve of the three-day strike. “We continue to be available to have a conversation tonight, early morning and all throughout the day tomorrow.”
Labor leaders, however, said district leaders broke their trust by sharing news of confidential bargaining sessions taking place on Monday.
“This afternoon, SEIU Local 99 had agreed to enter a confidential mediation process with LAUSD to try and address our differences,” stated SEIU Executive Director Max Arias on Monday evening. “Unfortunately, LAUSD broke that confidentiality by sharing it with the media before our bargaining team, which makes all decisions, had a chance to discuss how to proceed. This is yet another example of the school district’s continued disrespect of school workers.”
SEIU also complained that in the lead up to the strike the district was threatening workers and it filed multiple unfair labor practice charges with the Public Employee Relations Board.
There is hope that a potential deal could begin a new chapter in tense relations between labor leaders and the district.
“It’s a real opportunity for district leadership to lean into their relationships with their unions, with UTLA and SEIU, and demonstrate to the public that they care about their workers,” said John Rogers, an education professor at UCLA, “many of whom are parents of students in the district, almost all of whom are community members in greater Los Angeles.”