As the Los Angeles Unified School District

LUSD

strike that has closed campuses

goes to its last day Thursday

stepped with the possibility of future strikes a reality Mayor Karen Bass

in the dispute

Unpleasant

mediate, but few details were available. On a Wednesday

updates, posted on social media,

School officials in Los Angeles

revealed little specific

S

,

and the progress was not enough to prevent the third day of the strike from going ahead. But the talks remained crucial as the underlying issues of the strike have not been resolved and could lead to another strike.

“District officials have been in talks with SEIU Local 99 leaders with the help and support of Mayor Karen Bass,” the update said. “We will continue to do everything possible to reach an agreement that honors the hard work of our employees, corrects historic inequalities, maintains the district’s financial stability, and brings students back to the classroom. We hope to continue these conversations and look forward to looking forward to keeping our school community informed of any resolution.”

the strike

what came first

by Local 99 or Service Employees International Union, which represents the lowest paid workers of the school system and whose members include bus drivers, teacher assistants, special education assistants, janitors and food service employees. United Teachers Los Angeles urged its members to join the strike, a solidarity action that led to the closure of campuses.

Max Arias, the executive director of Local 99, expressed optimism on Wednesday

even as plans advanced to continue the strike through Thursday.

“We are grateful that the mayor has stepped in to provide leadership in an effort to find a way out of our current deadlock,” Arias said.

in a statement.

“Education staff have always been willing to negotiate as long as we are treated with respect and negotiated fairly, and with the mayor’s leadership, we believe that is possible.”

The stakes are high for students and employees, said Pedro Noguera, dean of the USC Rossier School of Education. “This is a lose-lose situation,” Noguera said. “The kids are missing out on their education. Unfortunately, the disruption is occurring just as many had to get used to being back in school” after campuses closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The district loses money every day that schools remain closed, which means they have even less to bargain with. The workers lose both because they are grossly underpaid and because their action could further weaken the district on which they depend for their livelihoods .”

The negotiation process

The union has defined the strike as a three-day protest against unfair labor practices, typically alleging that an employer has legally interfered in protected, union-related activities.

Blanca Gallegos, the union’s spokesman, said violations included illegal messages from district officials, such as alleged threats of firing or retaliation against workers for voting to support or join a strike. The union also alleged that the district had changed job classifications for no reason and had given “poor job performance to negotiating team members because they were negotiating.

District officials have denied wrongdoing or are still reviewing more than a dozen allegations filed with state labor regulators.

In a typical strike, workers begin their strike when negotiations fail and end when a deal is reached.

The formal negotiations between Local 99 and the district have been contentious, but are progressing step by step

is arranged

process. The union has declared a “deadlock”, meaning talks between the two sides have come to a standstill. Then a mediator steps into a process that has already taken place but has not led to an agreement either.

The next step is fact-finding, where experts try to determine what the district can afford and estimate the cost of the contract proposals from both sides. That step has not yet begun.

Arias used the words “current deadlock” in his statement Wednesday, appearing to refer to the formal negotiation process and not the ongoing work action.

But Gallegos

later

added more details, suggesting the dispute over contract issues and unfair practices was on the table to be resolved.

“Mayor Karen Bass is hosting the meeting in an effort to work out a way out of our deadlock with LAUSD, including resolving contract issues and unfair labor practices,” Gallegos said.

She warned against assuming an immediate solution.

“There’s no timeline for how long these conversations can go on,” she said.

Gallegos closed one

back to the picket lines

later if the demands of the workers are not met.

Workers are ready and won’t back down, she said, so we’ll continue that process and [if] it would then be to move on to more such actions [we] want to.

The union wants a general salary increase of 30% plus a $2 per hour surcharge for the lowest paid workers.

The district has offered a 23% pay raise and a 3% bonus

that LA Schools Supt. Alberto Carvalho has called ‘historic’. Only employees who have been employed since the 2020-2021 school year would receive the full pay raise.

Day two of pickets

For ordinary union members, day two brought more protests and rallies.

Bus drivers, joined by other strikers and supporters, began protesting at the precinct bus station in Gardena in the early hours of the morning, shouting, “Don’t cross,” and carrying signs reading: Fair wages NOW! other

Salary is just AHORA

! Crowds of picketers congregated under the often rainy skies on campuses in the 700-square-mile school system and

attended

larger rallies later in the day.

The strike was supported by United Teachers Los Angeles, which represents 35,000 teachers, counselors, therapists, nurses and librarians

,

many of whom stayed away in solidarity and joined picket lines. Striking workers forfeit their wages for time away from the job.

Armando Franco, an AP World History teacher who has been teaching at South Gate High School since 1994, described his Local 99 colleagues as the most critical working force at LAUSD.

Without them, there are many things that wouldn’t happen, said Franco,

add that

it is embarrassing to know that his peers are suffering.

As cars passing South Gate High honked in support of picketers, Franco said he hopes for a show of solidarity among teachers

S

and support staff will help everyone, especially the working class.”

Ultimately, unions are the only mechanism teachers have to ensure that fair and equitable working conditions are available, Franco said.

While a three-day strike isn’t ideal, he said, the lost school days will be worth it if the union can not only deliver but win wage increases, including more full-time staff dedicated to cleaning schools, feeding students , providing after-school programming and support

students with

students with special needs.

If you think about it, three days in a student’s life is pretty insignificant, but those three days will have a significant impact on their lives if we get what we’re asking for, Franco said.

Carvalho has challenged the claim that the lost school days are unimportant or a necessary sacrifice. In a briefing this week, he said that every school day matters and that workers can get the best contract the district can afford without going on strike.

Times staff writer Grace Toohey contributed to this report.