Escalating Tensions Leading to a Possible Strike

A strike from LAUSD workers will be happening. Again.  

The approved strike on its way is not the first that several teachers and some LAUSD workers have participated in, some have occurred very recently, but this strike is uniquely focused on Local 99. This time, the movement has been supported by several of the union workers and not just teachers. From the janitorial staff to the lunch ladies working on campus, they all agree that the union must fight. 

Several job groups are represented by Local 99, which is about 30,000 workers. This includes bus drivers, janitorial staff, groundskeepers, secretaries, some office workers, maintenance workers, teachers assistance, special education assistants, and more. All of these people contribute to the educational system in their own ways, whether it be driving students to school in a bus or ensuring that everyone is safe on campus.

Of these workers in Local 99, most make about $25,000 a year. The low income has led to a shortage of quality staff and has caused issues within the schools. A majority of these quality staff don’t get eight hours of work a day.  

These workers are asking for about a thirty percent increase in wages and a two dollar equity wage adjustment. They are also asking for better working conditions and more respect. 

The district did not agree to these standards, and Local 99 has ninety-six percent approving the strike as of late January. The dates of this strike are still to be determined and planned out all the way.

If the strike proceeds, John F. Kennedy High School will not be able to go through its usual routine. This is especially true because of the teachers who are willing to support this strike as long as it may go on, and will not be entering the classroom. 

This is the case with not only high schools but with middle schools and elementary schools within the system. 

LAUSD is feeling the pressures of this strike and not providing students with the quality of education that students expect from them. Some parents active in the education system for their children have already started to express concerns. 

The district has been judged negatively by its workers for its slow action to negotiations that started back in April of 2021. This is what has caused the strike to become more planned and urgently pushed forward.  

Some of the staff at John F. Kennedy High School are also involved in this and are speaking on what they believe. 

Teacher’s assistant Alex Posito has expressed his opinion on the strike as both a member of Local 99 and a literature teacher’s son. He clearly and simply stated, “I support the union’s strike.” 

Thousands agree. 

The district has had short responses or no responses to the union and it has discouraged them. Students and parents get even less information on the issue. The strike for Local 99 is almost guaranteed, but if the district continues in its ways then it will be met with UTLA’s possible strike as well.  

UTLA is still in its negotiations and decision making stages with the district, but prepared to follow in the footsteps of Local 99. Everyone in education is ready to stand up for themselves and the respect they are looking for.