LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tens of thousands of workers in the Los Angeles Unified School District walked off the job Tuesday over stalled contract talks, and they were joined by teachers in a three-day strike that shut down the nation’s second-largest school system.
Demonstrations began at a bus yard by members of Local 99 of the Service Employees International Union, which represents about 30,000 teachers’ aides, special education assistants, bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers and other support staff.
The workers joined picket lines in a steady rain before dawn, demanding better wages and increased staffing. Some held signs that read “We keep schools safe, Respect Us!” The district has more than 500,000 students from Los Angeles and all or part of 25 other cities and unincorporated county areas. Nearly three-quarters are Latino.
Parent Danielle Peters rallied with union members outside Hancock Park Elementary School, along with her children, Jack, 10, and Ella, 7. She said it’s wrong that school workers earn as little as $15 an hour, a wage Peters remembers earning for babysitting.