LAUSD strike: Public schools officially closed Tuesday as 60,000 LA teachers and campus workers stage three-day strike – updated

UPDATED with the latest: LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho just confirmed that all schools in the nation’s second largest district will be closed tomorrow and that there will be no movement today in negotiations with the union that represents 30,000 service workers.

Carvalho said at a late-afternoon news conference that he had hoped to have a “transparent, honest talk” on Monday that could lead to an agreement to avert the planned three-day strike, but that never happened.

“We were never in the same room or even in the same building,” he said.

Carvalho said he still hopes some talks can be held overnight or tomorrow, possibly reaching an agreement that would prevent the work stoppage from continuing for the full three days.

The union plans to begin demonstrations at 4am on Tuesday and continue the strike for three days.

Max Arias, Executive Director of Service Representatives International Union Local 99, released the following statement:

As of this afternoon, SEIU Local 99 has agreed to enter into a confidential arbitration process with LAUSD to try to resolve our differences. Unfortunately, LAUSD broke that confidentiality by sharing it with the media before our negotiating team, which makes all the decisions, had a chance to discuss how to proceed. This is another example of the school district’s continued disrespect for school employees. We are ready to strike.

We would like to clarify that we are not negotiating with LAUSD. We remain locked in the struggle with the state.

EARLY at 1:56 p.m: Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho again asked the Service Employees International Union Local 99 today to return to the bargaining table in hopes of averting a three-day strike that begins Tuesday.

“We must not deprive our students of the opportunity to learn,” Carvalho said in a statement on Monday morning. “Even hours before the end, I continue to call on union leaders to return to negotiations. We can find a solution that honors our staff and prevents unnecessary school closings while protecting the long-term viability of the school system.”

But the union pushed on Monday, vowing to stick to its plans for a three-day strike by about 30,000 service workers, including cafeteria workers, bus drivers, supervisors, special education teachers and other workers. The district’s powerful teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles, has vowed to respect the picket lines and include another 30,000 workers in the strike.

Officials said the scope of a strike would force the closure of campuses in the nation’s second-largest school district.

“Despite LAUSD’s misleading statements in the media and threats against employees exercising their rights, our movement is only getting stronger,” Max Arias, executive director of SEIU Local 99, said in a statement Monday. “Teachers, students and parents in the district stand with the school employees and their right to act without fear to negotiate better wages and more staffing in our schools.”

The union plans on Tuesday at 4:30 am. starting at Van Nuys Bus Yard, 16200 Roscoe Blvd. Union leaders have already scheduled a press conference at 7 a.m. Wednesday at the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools, 701 S. Catalina St., followed by a 1 p.m. rally at LAUSD headquarters, 333 S. Beaudry Ave.

LAUSD filed a legal complaint with the state Public Employment Relations Board on Friday seeking a court order that would end the strike, alleging that the strike planned by the union was illegal. However, over the weekend, the PERB denied the district’s request for a cease-and-desist order on the grounds that it “did not find the extraordinary means to seek a cease-and-desist order at this time ,” according to LAUSD. But according to the district, the PERB instructed its Office of General Counsel to expedite the handling of the underlying unfair practices allegation against SEIU Local 99, which alleged that the union and its members participated in an illegal three-day strike .

The union has repeatedly accused the district of unfair labor practices, saying union members were the victims of harassment and intimidation tactics during an earlier vote to agree to the strike and as the potential strike approached.

There was back and forth between the district and the union over the weekend, but it was in vain.

“Even when the school district filed suit, they submitted an updated contract offer to SEIU Local 99,” the union said Saturday, referring to the PERB complaint filed the previous day. “Members of our negotiating team didn’t even have time to review it or consult with other members before the district shared it publicly with the media. We will not negotiate publicly,” adding, “LAUSD does not appear to be acting in good faith.”

Carvalho said LAUSD officials are ready to talk and possibly even sweeten their recent offer of compensation and benefits, but union officials said they are waiting for a state mediator to schedule new talks.

Meanwhile, the district hosted a series of 90-minute Zoom webinars on Sunday and Monday for students and their families to learn more about what’s happening. Session information is available at twitter.com/LASschools.

Carvalho said the union “simply refuses to negotiate” and called it “very surprising and disappointing that there is an unwillingness to do so”.

The expected three-day strike will be the district’s first major work stoppage since UTLA teachers went on strike for six days in 2019. That dispute ended in part through the intervention of then-Mayor Eric Garcetti, who helped advance labor talks at City Hall. and broker an agreement between the district and the union.

Zach Seidl, a spokesman for Mayor Karen Bass, said Friday that Bass is “monitoring the situation closely and working with everyone involved.”

District officials said last week that Carvalho called SEIU Local 99 “one of the strongest offers ever made by a Los Angeles Unified superintendent.”

According to the district, the offer included a 5% salary increase backdated to July 2021, another 5% salary increase backdated to July 2022, and a further 5% salary increase effective July 2023, along with a 4% bonus in 2022-23 and ‘ a bonus of 5%. Bonus 2023-2024.

Carvalho said at a press conference on Wednesday that “15% plus 10% is not the end of the road, we have more resources and we have communicated this to the union.”

The union, which says many of its workers earn a “poverty wage” of $25,000 a year, is pushing for a 30 percent wage increase.

SEIU employees have been unemployed since June 2020. The union declared negotiations deadlocked in December, leading to the appointment of a state mediator.

In addition to wage demands, union officials have also claimed that there are staff shortages caused by “over-reliance on low-wage part-time workers”.

Unions have repeatedly said the district is sitting on an estimated $4.9 billion reserve fund for 2022-2023 that should be invested in workers and efforts to improve education through reduced class sizes and full occupancy on all campuses. Carvalho disputed that number, saying an independent auditor who reviewed the district’s accounts found no such surplus.

The district announced Friday the launch of a website at reach.lausd.net/schoolupdates that will provide “resources for families during the work stoppage” Tuesday through Thursday. According to the district, the site includes information about “learning activities, Grab & Go restaurants, tutoring services, enrichment activities and cultural events in Los Angeles and Los Angeles County parks that offer free youth programs.”

The City News Service contributed to this report.