Hundreds of thousands of children across Los Angeles face an uncertain week as schools brace for a potential shutdown.
A massive teachers strike Tuesday could halt classes across the Los Angeles Unified School District, leaving families scrambling for childcare and students locked out of their classrooms as three major unions prepare to hit the picket lines, the Los Angeles Times reported.
SEIU Local 99 — the union representing essential support staff such as bus drivers, custodians and cafeteria workers — remains the lone holdout without a deal. While unions representing teachers and administrators reached tentative agreements over the weekend, all three have pledged to strike together in a show of solidarity.
Hundreds of thousands of children across Los Angeles face an uncertain week as schools brace for a potential shutdown. CHRIS TORRES/EPA/Shutterstock That all-for-one approach means that unless Local 99 reaches a last-minute agreement during Monday’s mediation talks, tens of thousands of employees could walk out, effectively shutting down the nation’s second-largest school district.
“We continue to be open to the mediation process with the school district,” Max Arias, executive director of Local 99, said in a statement. “Just as we work together every day in our classrooms and campuses, we are proud to be united with teachers and principals in the fight for our schools, students and communities.”
In contrast, United Teachers Los Angeles and the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles have already secured tentative agreements addressing long-standing demands over pay and working conditions.
The teachers union deal includes an average pay increase of nearly 14% over two years, along with a significant raise in starting salaries and commitments to expand student support services, including more counselors and mental health staff.
Meanwhile, the administrators’ agreement provides a roughly 11.65% raise and introduces a 40-hour workweek framework with flexible time off — an effort to rein in the often unlimited hours expected of principals and assistant principals.
If the strike moves forward, it would impact roughly 398,487 students attending TK–12 schools, along with more than 151,000 others enrolled in adult education, independent charter schools and early education centers, according to LAUSD.
The district relies on a massive workforce of 73,304 regular employees — a number that climbs to 83,307 when substitutes are included. That staff supports a sprawling network of 1,535 schools and education centers, with tens of thousands of teachers, aides and support personnel keeping daily operations running.
