LA Teachers Union To Join 1-Day Strike

LOS ANGELES, CA —In a show of support for the Los Angeles Unified School District service workers, the teacher's union announced plans to join the workers' one-day strike next week.

It remains to be seen which Los Angeles schools teachers will walk out of on May 15 to join the service workers' picket line. The United Teachers Los Angeles told its members to be prepared to strike at campuses with picket lines while working a normal day the schools that don't have picket lines. The move aims to add to the pressure on the district to reach a deal with the Service Employees International Union Local 99, which represents custodians, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, teachers' assistance, truck drivers and other support workers.

"This means that we are calling on our members to withhold service for the entire day on May 15 at every worksite at which there is a SEIU Local 99 picket line," according to United Teachers Los Angeles.

"We are urging our members at the affected schools, instead of providing service that day, to join the picket lines at their school/worksites as we build solidarity and power to confront the unfair labor practices of LAUSD," according to UTLA. "We are urging all at affected schools to participate -- probationary employees, substitutes, etc. We all have the legal right to do so."

The SEIU Local 99 announced alleges the district fosters unfair labor practices. The union represents about 30,000 workers.

LAUSD officials issued a statement Sunday confirming that after 16 months of negotiations, an impasse was declared in the labor talks, "which means that the differences between our position and SEIU Local 99's position are too large to resolve through further negotiations."

"While the parties have made great progress in many areas, we remain unable to reach agreement on certain economic components," according to the district. "L.A. Unified values and affirms the importance of the work done by SEIU Local 99 members and all employees. We believe that our economic offer is just and fair, especially considering the district's fiscal realities and obligation to maximize limited resources to meet the needs of school communities."

A spokeswoman said Tuesday that district had no further comment or response to the UTLA's planned sympathy strike.

City News Service. Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report. Photo: Shutterstock