Los Angeles Unified School District caves into union demands workers getting a 30 per cent pay rise

School workers who shut down education for about half a million students in Los Angeles this week with a three-day strike won a 30 percent pay increase.

Bus drivers, cafeteria workers and special education aides employed by the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest in the United States, stopped work Tuesday to demand an end to what they called ‘wages of poverty’.

With teachers refusing to cross the picket lines, the county’s massive public school system simply ground to a halt.

Following talks between Service Employees International Union Local 99 and the LAUSD board, a tentative agreement was announced Friday that effectively meets the union’s demand for a pay increase by nearly a third.

A tentative agreement has been reached to end a labor dispute involving the Los Angeles Unified School District and tens of thousands of union workers. In the photo, workers are seen during a day of strike action earlier this week.

Tens of thousands of public school employees, including bus drivers, food service workers, custodians and teacher aides, participated in a three-day walkout, demanding fair wages and benefits.

Union members called for a 30 percent wage increase and better working conditions.

LAUSD initially offered a 23 percent pay increase over the next five years. SEIU said its workers earn on average about $25,000 a year.

The union said the pay increase will increase the average salary of members from $25,000 a year to $33,000.

The proposed agreement, which must be voted on by members, also includes a $1,000 bonus for all members who were in the district in the 2020-21 school year.

In its own statement, LAUSD said the agreement “addresses historic pay inequities, creates a massive expansion of health care benefits for part-time employees, invests considerable resources in professional workforce development, all while maintaining stability.” district finance.

An aerial view of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) workers and supporters at the Los Angeles State Historic Park during the last day of their three-day strike against LAUSD

Despite the fact that the strike forced some 400,000 students to walk out of classes for three days, many parents supported the union employees.

“This week, the eyes of our entire nation were on the cooks, janitors and classroom aides who make education possible in Los Angeles, a workforce made up of a majority of women and people of color,” said Max Arias. , executive director of SEIU Local 99. .

‘We came out of this week’s strike stronger than ever and showed the entire nation that unions are the most powerful force for equity and economic opportunity. The sacrifice, courage and strength of the members, and the solidarity of 35,000 UTLA teachers, led to this moment.’

SEIU99 Executive Director Max Arias has led the support staff union into striking, insisting that the strike was the ‘workers’ last resort’, reached only after nearly a year of bargaining for better salaries.

Local 99 represents about 30,000 teacher aides, bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers and other support staff.

Los Angeles is one of the most expensive places to live in America, with high taxes and expensive grocery and utility bills.

Median rent in the city is $3,000 per month, according to real estate website Zillow.

The dispute was the latest labor disagreement to rock the United States, and it comes as Americans grapple with a persistent cost-of-living crisis that has sent prices of everyday goods and services soaring for the past year or so. less.

Figures released last week showed the consumer price index rose 6 percent from a year earlier.