Hundreds of schools throughout Los Angeles were closed Tuesday as thousands of employees began a scheduled three-day strike amid a push for new contracts.
Los Angeles United School District staffers who congregated for public demonstrations claim their campuses have suffered due to low wages and insufficient staffing.
“There’s not even anybody applying because you can make more money starting at Burger King,” said instructional aide Marlee Ostrow. “A lot of people really want to help kids, and they shouldn’t be penalized for wanting that to be their life’s work.”
Ostrow, 67, says she earns $16 per hour, up from an $11.75 rate when she started with the district nearly 20 years ago.
At the center of the strike is the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) representing 30,000 staffers including teachers aides, custodians and bus drivers. The union claims employees average about $25,000 per year and deserve a 30% raise.
LAUSD teachers are also seeking a 20% raise. Their contract with the district ended last June — two years after the SEIU’s deal ran out.
“We want to be clear that we are not in negotiations with LAUSD,” the SEIU said in a statement. “We continue to be engaged in the impasse process with the state.”
The district’s superintendent, Alberto M. Carvalho, claims the union refused to negotiate.
“I believe this strike could have been avoided,” Carvalho said Monday. “But it cannot be avoided without individuals actually speaking to one another.”
LAUSD, the second-largest school district in the U.S., enrolls nearly 430,000 students, according to its website. The district planned to keep about 150 of its campuses open with adult supervision Tuesday to offer students a place to go, but it closed hundreds of others.
With News Wire Services
