LOS ANGELES, Calif.—More than 30,000 Los Angeles Unified School District workers will hold a 24-hour
strike May 15, SEIU Local 99 announced May 5. The union, which represents bus drivers, cafeteria workers, custodians, and teachers’ aides, said the walkout would protest “unfair labor practices” such as cutting employees’ hours and discouraging union activity. “We didn’t want to create a major, open-ended disruption,” Local 99 executive director Max Arias told Southern California Public Radio. “We think this is a gradual way to show the district that our members are serious about being respected.” The union has been in contract talks with the district for more than 16 months, and L.A. Unified officials declared an impasse May 4 after the Local 99 did not accept its “last, best, and final” offer. If the state labor agency approves that declaration, it would send the negotiations to mediation. Arias said wages are the biggest area of contention, and that with the district having had two new superintendents since the talks began, “it doesn’t feel like they have stable leadership to actually address these issues.” Read more
