On Tuesday, April 14, most teachers and staff prepared to go on strike for multiple reasons.
Mr. Carranza stated he thought that preparing to go on strike forced the district to meet union workers’ demands because if LAUSD did not agree by Tuesday, union workers would have gone on strike.
The strike would have meant that none of the Union workers would have gone to work that day, and for however long until they got their demands.
At around 2:00 AM on April fourteenth, LAUSD sent out emails stating that they had reached an agreement with teachers, staff, and schools, ultimately canceling the strike.
Gaven Flores, sixth grader, stated he thought that the strike wasn’t that important and wouldn’t have affected students; he thought teachers did it just because they wanted more pay.
UTLA planned to go on strike for more social workers, arts, physical education, and more resources for special education. They also wanted better pay for teachers and staff, and more support for immigrant families.
Sofia Eguia, eighth grader, said that she felt happy the strike didn’t happen because the teachers met their demands without having to ruin the normal class schedule.
How could these changes help out students, though? Some people, like Mr.Carranza, said that with the better pay teachers are getting now, more people might want to become teachers, and they will be willing to put up with all the hard work and stress of teaching.
Others stated that having smaller classes will be better for learning because it allows teachers to be more connected with students, allowing them to be able to help students more independently, since the more students in a class, the harder it is for a teacher to help and understand every student.
AALA, SEIU, and UTLA were all a part of the strike. SEIU is the union of the janitors, teachers aides, and cafeteria workers. AALA represents the admins. All three unions wanted to go on strike so their demands would be met, and they were met. Firstly AALA got their demands, secondly UTLA, then lastly SEIU.
