The looming strike next Tuesday at Los Angeles public schools brings together three unlikely allies that, together, plan to bring the nation\u2019s second-largest school system to a standstill and exert formidable pressure to reach a favorable settlement.<\/p>\n
The three unions are United Teachers Los Angeles<\/a>, Local 99<\/a> of Service Employees International Union and Associated Administrators<\/a> of Los Angeles \u2014 all with contracts that stalled well short of an agreement.<\/p>\n Together they represent about 70,000 of the school system\u2019s 83,300 employees and they hold nearly all key positions at campuses \u2014 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThis type of alliance is very rare and it greatly enhances the bargaining power of all three unions,\u201d said Dan Schnur, who teaches political communications at UC Berkeley and USC. \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n These unions, whose members have different priorities and separate contracts, are betting that their powerful triumvirate will benefit all.<\/p>\n A central objective for all three unions is significantly higher pay, but the details vary widely<\/a> between the proposals. They all assert L.A. Unified has enough money hoarded in reserves to reach a desired agreement. <\/p>\n \u201cWith over 5 BILLION dollars in reserves, we know that LAUSD can absolutely provide all of its employees with a fair contract,\u201d said Jessica Rodarte, an incoming UTLA vice president. \u201cWe will continue to negotiate with the district in good faith, and we hope that they do the right thing. If they don\u2019t, we are ready, willing and able to strike to fight for a just contract.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t want to strike,\u201d said Charmell Lee, a special education assistant and a member of Local 99. \u201cBut we will if that\u2019s what it takes to ensure our families can survive, and our students have all the support they need \u2014 inside and outside the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are close,\u201d an AALA bulletin said about negotiations, \u201cbut salary must reflect the value of our work.\u201d<\/p>\n United front at LAUSD is new<\/p>\n Union alliances are not new within the broader labor movement, said Tia Koonse, policy director at UCLA Labor Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile this appears to be historic for the unions that represent LAUSD workers, it\u2019s common for unions or locals to coordinate contract termination, negotiation, and strike activity where there\u2019s a common employer or actor,\u201d Koonse said.<\/p>\n \u201cSupport sometimes manifests as a \u2018sympathy strike\u2019 or \u2018solidarity action,\u2019 such as when Teamsters refuse to cross a picket line and logistics are disrupted,\u201d Koonse added. \u201cIt is, obviously, quite effective.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n UTLA strikes in 1970 and 1989 had left long-term residual bitterness between some administrators and those they supervised. <\/p>\n As with earlier strikes, during the 2019 teachers walkout, administrators crossed teachers\u2019 picket lines to keep schools open and hold things together \u2014 overseeing food distribution and student supervision during the six-day work stoppage. <\/p>\n Administrators are typically deferential to their own superiors, with whom they often identify. At district events, such as the superintendent\u2019s annual address, they tend to rise and applaud on cue. <\/p>\n The previous AALA president, Nery Paiz, cultivated a warm, collegial relationship with Supt. Alberto Carvalho \u2014 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. <\/p>\n Once elected, Nichols led a drive to affiliate her union with the Teamsters \u2014 a linkage that brought a more combative approach as well as higher dues. The AALA leadership is motivated to show tangible gains.<\/p>\n Nichols captured the changed perspective in remarks at a March 18 downtown rally attended by members of all three unions.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all matter,\u201d Nichols exhorted the gathering of thousands. \u201cI don\u2019t care about your title. As a principal of 11 years, I\u2019m relying on SEIU to make sure that my schools worked.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe all matter,\u201d she repeated. \u201cEverybody out at the school: the teachers. I tell my folks: Principals, you need to support your teachers. You need to work in collaboration\u201d with \u201cthe ones that are with the children six hours a day, five days a week.\u201d<\/p>\n Historically, both UTLA and AALA tended to overlook Local 99. For its part, Local 99 generally endorsed incumbent board members for reelection \u2014 a safe bet most times \u2014 in hopes of being rewarded at the bargaining table. <\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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 \u2014 and also accepted Local 99\u2019s goal to win a higher percentage raise than UTLA \u2014 because Local 99 workers earned much less. It helped that the raises at the time were huge for both unions \u2014 ranging from around 20% to 30% over the three-year contracts. <\/p>\n 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 \u2014 at least until one-time funding ran out. <\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n \u201cYes, 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,\u201d said Christensen, whose organization publishes its own dashboard<\/a> on fiscal health. \u201cThis should be a time of fiscal prudence, not extravagant spending on a menagerie of union requests.\u201d<\/p>\n A San Francisco precursor<\/p>\n When asked about the collaborations, UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz cited the four-day February strike at San Francisco Unified as a model. <\/p>\n