Two unions representing more than 68,000 LAUSD teachers and employees will strike starting on April 14, unless they reach an agreement with the district beforehand. 

The announcement was made at a “Fight for LA” joint rally on Wednesday afternoon with members of United Teachers Los Angeles, representing roughly 38,000 teachers, and SEIU Local 99, which represents more than 30,000 workers, including cafeteria workers, bus drivers and special education assistants. 

UTLA and SEIU Local 99 authorized a strike by 94% and 97%, respectively.

“This is definitely to fight for public schools — a fight to make sure that we get the resources that we need at our schools,” UTLA Vice President Julie Van Winkle said. 

“But it’s also a fight for working people. It’s not OK to live in the biggest city, in the richest state, in the richest country in the history of the world, and to have public educators that can’t even afford to live in the city where we teach.” 

Associated Administrators of Los Angeles, which represents roughly 3,000 principals, assistant principals and central and regional office middle managers, also participated in the rally. 

Union leaders expressed appreciation for the support from local officials, including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

Several groups, including the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, Students Deserve, Inner City Struggle and Community Coalition, voiced solidarity with the unions at the rally. 

“Now, this is what solidarity looks like,” said SEIU Local 99 Executive Director Max Arias. “All of us here together, all colors ready to go: green, red, purple, tie-dye, blue, yellow, ready to go!” 

Demands and negotiations

UTLA union leadership has pointed to the high cost of living in the Los Angeles area and a 40% increase in inflation. Currently, 20% of UTLA members are housing insecure, according to Van Winkle. 

A union social media post also said that 56% of its members have acquired credit card debt, and 30% have worked a second job. 

UTLA’s demands include:

  • Salaries that make Los Angeles livable 
  • Equitable wage increases
  • No layoffs 
  • More hours and staffing for student services
  • Protections against subcontracting and the use of AI to replace jobs 
  • Smaller class sizes 
  • Increase in mental health, special education staff and counselors 
  • Expanding physical education and the arts at all elementary schools 

UTLA members are working under a contract that expired in June, and the union’s latest proposal would lead to a 17% wage increase over the next couple of years. Under the proposal, according to the Los Angeles Times, early-career teachers would earn $80,000. 

By contrast, LAUSD has proposed an 8% increase and a one-time 3% bonus over the next two years, according to a statement released Wednesday. 

The district said its current proposals for 2025-28 with UTLA would cost $901 million beyond what they currently spend. The union won a 21% raise during the previous cycle. 

LAUSD also said it met with a state mediator on Feb. 2 regarding bargaining with SEIU Local 99, and the proposal sent ahead of time included a 13% wage increase over three years. 

They have been in negotiations with the district for 2 1/2 years. Arias claims 99% of its members are unable to afford a one-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles, arguing the district’s proposal would amount to a “pay cut.” 

LAUSD maintains, however, that it has adjusted its offers multiple times in response to union demands, and it has agreed to forgo subcontracting for work traditionally and exclusively performed by those in bargaining units. 

“Los Angeles Unified is actively engaged in negotiations with our labor partners and remains committed to reaching agreements that balance the needs of students, families, and staff while ensuring long-term fiscal stability,” the district said in a statement Wednesday. 

“Our offers are among the highest in California,” the district said. “We continue to work through the formal bargaining process, including fact-finding and collaborative discussions, and will provide updates as agreements are reached or next steps are confirmed.” 

A rocky time for LAUSD 

The negotiations and possible strike come at a turbulent time for the district, which is anticipating a $191 million deficit in the 2027-28 school year, if it keeps spending at its current pace. The board voted last month in favor of a potential reduction in force that could result in roughly 650 layoffs. 

The union has countered the district’s fiscal argument, pointing to its $5 billion in reserves. Van Winkle also claimed Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, who is on administrative leave, had rerouted billions of dollars in funds toward contracts with private companies, adding that “it’s not a question of the district not having the money; it’s a question of the district not having the right priorities.” 

Meanwhile, Carvalho was replaced by acting Superintendent Andres Chait in late February after the FBI raided both his San Pedro residence and LAUSD’s headquarters. 

Chait addressed union leaders and members during a board meeting earlier this month, saying he holds “deep respect” for teachers, staff and administrators, describing their work as the “backbone of the district.” 

But UTLA leadership maintains that despite the shakeup in district leadership, the union’s mission remains the same. 

“A lot of people were kind of seduced by [Carvalho’s] charm and his charisma, and now all this is happening, and we’re kind of thinking, ‘I told you so,’ but that doesn’t change what we’re doing,” Van Winkle said. “The focus should not be on him and should not be on the district’s dirty laundry. It should just be on getting this done.” 

The UTLA strike doesn’t come with an end date. The union last went on strike in 2019 for six days, which led to a historic agreement that included a 6% pay raise, investments in community schools and smaller class sizes.

Four years later, SEIU Local 99 also went on strike and secured a 30% wage increase over three years. 

Gina Gray, an English teacher at Middle College High School, said nobody wants to strike. But if left with no other option, “we are going to stand and hold the line until our demands are met,” she said. “We know, when we fight, we win.” 

She and Monica Caballero, a special education teacher at Dodson Middle School, were young teachers during the 2019 strike. Then, they were more nervous and unsure. 

Now, however, they say they’re ready. 

“We constantly hear the district saying that ‘we don’t have enough money, we don’t have this, we can’t do that,’ ” Caballero said. “And then, all of a sudden, that narrative changes when we … are willing to strike.”

Quinae Austin, a member of the California Student Journalism Corps, contributed to this reportEmail