LOS ANGELES — Cafeteria workers, bus drivers and other workers for the Los Angeles Unified School District will go on a three-day strike next week, and their union says tens of thousands of teachers have vowed not to cross picket lines.
The strike at the country’s second-largest school district is scheduled from next Tuesday through Thursday, the Service Employees International Union Local 99 said.
The SEIU said in a statement that the teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles, which represents around 30,000 teachers, has promised not to cross picket lines.
District Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho said in a letter to parents Monday that if a strike were to occur the district would likely have to close schools, without virtual education, until the strike ends.
The SEIU wants wage increases, more full-time work and more staffing for student services. In addition to cafeteria workers, bus drivers and custodians, its members are also special education assistants.
One the aims of the three-day strike is “to show the district that we are fed-up with their disrespect and not afraid to take strong action to demand respect for our work,” the union said over the weekend.
The Los Angeles teachers union went on a strike in 2019 that lasted seven days. The strike ended with an agreement for pay raises and promises to reduce class size, among other issues.
The school district has over 600,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade at over 1,000 schools, it says on its website.
Carvalho, who was hired in late 2021 and took office in February 2022, called on the service workers union to come back to the negotiating table in a statement Wednesday.
“SEIU is simply refusing to negotiate,” Carvalho said. He said the district had made a “historic offer” to the union designed to address its demands.
Carvalho said in the letter to parents that the district’s offer included “a more than 15% increase in our minimum wage (to more than $20 per hour)” and other…
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