Did you really think LAUSD teachers work for the parents, taxpayers and students?
“United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), the union representing 35,000 district teachers, wants the boycotts to demonstrate the power of members’ collective action and put pressure on the district to meet their bargaining demands.
“As we continue to escalate our contract fight, it makes sense to show that like a faucet, we can turn our labor on and off when we need to in order to get what we and our students need and deserve,” said Ryan Andrews, English teacher and UTLA chapter vice-chair at Bethune Middle School, adding that all UTLA members on his campus participated in this week’s boycott.”
Just a few days ago, in a district with massive enrollment declines, refused a 19% raise—even with the evidence the kids are failing at every level. Sending your child to LAUSD is a priori evidence of child abuse.
LAUSD teachers union will boycott faculty meetings until contract is reached
Union seeks to demonstrate UTLA’s power as it pressures district to meet its demands
By CLARA HARTER. LA Daily News, 4/13/23
Tensions continue to rise between the Los Angeles Unified School District and its teachers union, which this week called on its members to boycott all after-school faculty meetings until a labor contract agreement is reached.
United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), the union representing 35,000 district teachers, wants the boycotts to demonstrate the power of members’ collective action and put pressure on the district to meet their bargaining demands.
“As we continue to escalate our contract fight, it makes sense to show that like a faucet, we can turn our labor on and off when we need to in order to get what we and our students need and deserve,” said Ryan Andrews, English teacher and UTLA chapter vice-chair at Bethune Middle School, adding that all UTLA members on his campus participated in this week’s boycott.
This move comes on the heels of a fiery unfair labor practice charge, filed by the union in response to new instructional calendars and a highly disruptive three-day strike. The district declined to comment on the faculty meeting boycott.
The recent strike was led by SEIU Local 99 — the union representing bus drivers, custodians, instructional aides, cafeteria workers and special education assistants — and resulted in a historic new contract agreement with considerable pay bumps for union members. UTLA members walked off the job in solidarity with the striking services workers, but have yet to reach a contract agreement of their own.
UTLA’s contract demands include a 20% pay raise over time, smaller class sizes, more funding for student mental health services and updated technology for students and staff.
The union argues that the district can afford to meet these demands with its estimated $5.12 billion reserves. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, however, has said the district needs this money available for a rainy day, especially as student enrollment continues to decline and a potential recession looms.
“We’ve been building a lot of momentum for our contract campaign, but unfortunately our bargaining is still at a standstill in many ways,” said Andrews. “The district has moved on some issues, but in terms of salary and class size demands, we need them to come a lot closer. It’s clear we need to keep up this fight, so that’s why we decided to boycott the faculty meetings.”
Faculty meetings take place after the instructional day and provide time for extra professional development, preparation for standardized tests and planning for school community events. The frequency of faculty meetings varies from site to site, with some schools holding them weekly and others only having a handful in a semester.
The boycott began on April 10 and will continue until an agreement is reached or until the school year concludes in June.
Nery Paiz, president of Associated Administrators Los Angeles, the union representing school administrators, said he was not surprised by the boycott.
“It’s not a new concept, they (UTLA) want to cause disruption and that’s what it’s going to do,” said Paiz, adding that the union previously deployed this tactic in the run-up to the 2019 teachers strike.
Paiz said that administrators are essentially powerless in the face of the boycott against faculty meetings, since there is little room within the instructional day to insert programming that was scheduled for faculty meetings.
“There’s not much we can do if they (teachers) are not going to show up. Anything that was planned just cannot happen… and who suffers? The schools, the students, the parents,” he said.
UTLA said in a Q&A for its members that the boycott is not intended as an action against administrators, but rather as a show of power to the district.
“We’ve made very clear to everyone, including admin, that this is a protest directed towards the district and it’s not directed to the admin at school sites,” said Andrews.
Some parents are frustrated by the boycott and the continued escalation of tension between union leaders and the district.
“We share our teachers’ desire to quickly finalize a fair contract between UTLA and the district, but we are exhausted by the frequent strikes, boycotts, and the aggressive nature of UTLA towards the district and our superintendent,” said LAUSD parent advocacy group, LA Parent Union, in a written statement.
“From changes to the school calendar to contract negotiations, the acrimony has become excessive and our children are the ones who suffer the considerable time and attention drawn away from the classroom by these divisive school interruptions,” LA Parent Union wrote.
