Three unions unite in massive LAUSD strike threat: What’s at stake for workers, families

The looming strike next Tuesday at Los Angeles public schools brings together three unlikely allies that, together, plan to bring the nation’s second-largest school system to a standstill and exert formidable pressure to reach a favorable settlement.

The three unions are United Teachers Los Angeles, Local 99 of Service Employees International Union and Associated Administrators of Los Angeles — all with contracts that stalled well short of an agreement.

Together they represent about 70,000 of the school system’s 83,300 employees and they hold nearly all key positions at campuses — principals, teachers, food workers. There is no question that schools would be closed if any two of the three unions walk out, district officials have confirmed.

“This type of alliance is very rare and it greatly enhances the bargaining power of all three unions,” said Dan Schnur, who teaches political communications at UC Berkeley and USC. “The potential downside is that it obligates each of them to stay out even if their own needs are met, but if they maintain solidarity, they will put the district in a much more difficult position.”

UTLA comprises teachers, counselors, nurses and librarians; Local 99 workers include bus drivers, teacher aides, cafeteria workers, tech support and custodians; AALA members are principals, assistant principals and middle-management supervisors.

These unions, whose members have different priorities and separate contracts, are betting that their powerful triumvirate will benefit all.

Dr. Sikivu Hutchinson, of Students Deserve, speaks at the Reclaim Our Schools LA news conference and rally to voice parental support for educators and school staff as a UTLA strike date looms.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

A central objective for all three unions is significantly higher pay, but the details vary widely between the proposals. They all assert L.A. Unified has enough money hoarded in reserves to reach a desired agreement.

“With over 5 BILLION dollars in reserves, we know that LAUSD can absolutely provide all of its employees with a fair contract,” said Jessica Rodarte, an incoming UTLA vice president. “We will continue to negotiate with the district in good faith, and we hope that they do the right thing. If they don’t, we are ready, willing and able to strike to fight for a just contract.”

“We don’t want to strike,” said Charmell Lee, a special education assistant and a member of Local 99. “But we will if that’s what it takes to ensure our families can survive, and our students have all the support they need — inside and outside the classroom.”

“We are close,” an AALA bulletin said about negotiations, “but salary must reflect the value of our work.”

United front at LAUSD is new

Union alliances are not new within the broader labor movement, said Tia Koonse, policy director at UCLA Labor Center.

“While this appears to be historic for the unions that represent LAUSD workers, it’s common for unions or locals to coordinate contract termination, negotiation, and strike activity where there’s a common employer or actor,” Koonse said.

“Support sometimes manifests as a ‘sympathy strike’ or ‘solidarity action,’ such as when Teamsters refuse to cross a picket line and logistics are disrupted,” Koonse added. “It is, obviously, quite effective.”

It’s especially unusual that administrators are joining with rank-and-file unions. In the 1990s, the administrators and teachers were akin to warring political parties who, in school board elections, supported candidates despised by the other side.

UTLA strikes in 1970 and 1989 had left long-term residual bitterness between some administrators and those they supervised.

As with earlier strikes, during the 2019 teachers walkout, administrators crossed teachers’ picket lines to keep schools open and hold things together — overseeing food distribution and student supervision during the six-day work stoppage.

Elena Jordan, who has two children in a LAUSD school, joins a Reclaim Our Schools LA news conference and rally as a UTLA strike date looms. .

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Administrators are typically deferential to their own superiors, with whom they often identify. At district events, such as the superintendent’s annual address, they tend to rise and applaud on cue.

The previous AALA president, Nery Paiz, cultivated a warm, collegial relationship with Supt. Alberto Carvalho — with the goal of getting better treatment and terms for members. But Maria Nichols unseated Paiz by recognizing deep discontent among administrators. The status quo was saddling administrators with long hours without extra pay amid increasing bureaucratic compliance demands as well as heightened pressure to raise test scores.

Once elected, Nichols led a drive to affiliate her union with the Teamsters — a linkage that brought a more combative approach as well as higher dues. The AALA leadership is motivated to show tangible gains.

Nichols captured the changed perspective in remarks at a March 18 downtown rally attended by members of all three unions.

“We all matter,” Nichols exhorted the gathering of thousands. “I don’t care about your title. As a principal of 11 years, I’m relying on SEIU to make sure that my schools worked.”

“We all matter,” she repeated. “Everybody out at the school: the teachers. I tell my folks: Principals, you need to support your teachers. You need to work in collaboration” with “the ones that are with the children six hours a day, five days a week.”

Historically, both UTLA and AALA tended to overlook Local 99. For its part, Local 99 generally endorsed incumbent board members for reelection — a safe bet most times — in hopes of being rewarded at the bargaining table.

All the district unions relied on UTLA to win raises that were frequently passed on to all employees at the same levels or close to it.

Determined to exert power and raise its profile, Local 99 went on strike against L.A. Unified for the first time in 2023. UTLA joined the union in its three-day walkout — and also accepted Local 99’s goal to win a higher percentage raise than UTLA — because Local 99 workers earned much less. It helped that the raises at the time were huge for both unions — ranging from around 20% to 30% over the three-year contracts.

To pay for these raises, the district was buoyed by pandemic relief aid and, also, never hired many of the employees budgeted under this aid. So there was more money left for the employees already in place — at least until one-time funding ran out.

It would be unwise for the district to give into union demands, said Lance Christensen, vice president of government affairs and education policy for California Policy Center, a conservative think tank whose projects have included persuading public employees to drop their union memberships.

“Yes, the district has a large budget and some liquidity and they are still benefiting from some of the federal and state COVID funding policies, but most of that money is drying up,” said Christensen, whose organization publishes its own dashboard on fiscal health. “This should be a time of fiscal prudence, not extravagant spending on a menagerie of union requests.”

A San Francisco precursor

When asked about the collaborations, UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz cited the four-day February strike at San Francisco Unified as a model.

In that strike, all the district’s unions honored the teachers’ picket lines, said Cassondra Curiel, president of United Educators of San Francisco.

The collaboration was effective, shutting down that system’s 130 schools. However, only the teachers’ contract was at issue. As soon as the teachers had their deal, the strike ended — even though other unions remained in negotiations. Within the next month or so, these remaining unions also settled, Curiel said.

She added that the administrators union honored the teachers’ walkout even though their contract had already been agreed on.

It’s not clear what would happen in L.A. if one of the three unions settled before another — which, logistically, is likely because the district essentially has one negotiating team that is bouncing from union to union.

The district’s public message has been conciliatory.

It’s challenging to gauge the quickly evolving negotiations. The administrators have won a key non-wage concession: a recognition of a 40-hour work week, with flex time off to compensate for weeks of more than 40 hours.

Counter-offers could shift by the hour, but at midweek, the teachers were seeking an average 17% pay increase. Local 99 wanted job security provisions, increased work hours and a raise higher than an approximately 13% district offer. Administrators want a 13% increase over two years.