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Fighting for Clean, Safe and Supportive Schools for All at LAUSD We’re Fighting For Clean, Safe and Supportive Schools for All

LAUSD Contract Negotiations

Fighting For Clean, Safe and Supportive Schools for All

LAUSD Contract Negotiations

Fighting For Clean, Safe and Supportive Schools for All

We believe excellent public schools are equitable schools where all students have access to a quality education no matter where they live, where they come from, the color of their skin or their abilities.

As frontline school workers who are essential to creating a clean, safe and supportive learning environment, we are committed to working with LAUSD in our contract negotiations to address staffing shortages, improve academic support and ensure safe and healthy classrooms and campuses. We also believe that education jobs should be good jobs and those of us who dedicate our lives to supporting student learning must be rewarded with livable wages and benefits to raise our own children with dignity and opportunity.

To achieve this, we have made these three areas our top bargaining priorities:

Equity for Education Workers

To help retain and recruit skilled and dedicated front line education workers, LAUSD must make significant structural changes. Special Education Assistants, Food Service Workers, Custodians, Bus Drivers, Teacher Assistants, Campus Aides and others providing vital and essential student services are among the lowest paid workers in the school district. To make matters worse, the district relegates much of their work to part time status and offers no real opportunities for professional development.
To improve staffing for student services and support, SEIU Local 99 members propose:
  • Equitable wage increases that truly value the professional work of frontline school workers.
  • Health care benefits equivalent to all other education workers.
  • More full time jobs. Students need full time services.
  • An end to subcontracting of work to ensure consistency, stability and safety for all students.
  • Respect and a stronger voice for frontline workers to improve the student services they provide.

Clean and Safe Learning Environments for All

The pandemic highlighted the critical importance of school cleanliness to the health and safety of the entire school community. The crisis also exposed the dangers of delayed maintenance, the district’s ongoing disinvestment in building and grounds workers and lack of cleaning standards in our schools. For years, LAUSD has operated on substandard custodian staffing levels that are not enough to meet its own minimum levels of cleanliness. Other areas of student safety and campus security are also impacted by insufficient staffing. One Campus Aide is often responsible for the safety of hundreds of students on the playground. Food Service Workers rush to ensure students receive their meals before class. School Bus Drivers transporting students with special needs have no aides to support them.
To address these critical safety and staffing concerns, SEIU Local 99 members propose:
  • Sufficient staff and dedicated funding to ensure all schools are cleaned and sanitized to the same high standards.
  • More food service workers to ensure all students receive hot, healthy meals, including supper, without long line delays.
  • Special Education Assistants on every school bus to assist students and help address health or behavioral issues.

Increased Academic Support for Students and Assistance for Families

Even before the pandemic, achievement gaps were high among Black and Latino students. The gap only worsened after the COVID-19 shutdown as these communities were the hardest hit by the resulting health care and unemployment crisis. The closure of schools for in-person learning also disproportionately affected communities of color and students with special needs, as they struggled to access online courses and stay focused amid uncertainty. The impact on student learning was devastating.

To ensure that students have the full support they need to address learning loss and for LAUSD to begin to build a more sustainable program that addresses the needs of students inside and outside the classroom, SEIU Local 99 members propose:

  • Increased staffing of teacher assistants, special education assistants, after school program workers and others to immediately address pandemic learning loss and begin to build a long-term program to close achievement gaps.
  • More full-time staffing for parent engagement programs to ensure they can more fully support their children with academic and mental health issues.
  • Investment in an educational fund for professional development and job promotion for dedicated education workers, including career ladder programs to grow more teachers from our Black and Brown communities. 

Let’s Move the Table!

TAKE ACTION!

A strong contract isn’t just won at the bargaining table. It takes all of us to win the big changes we need.

Together, we can ensure clean, safe and supportive schools for all. Stay tuned for opportunities to take action.

Take the Lead for a Strong Contract: Join the Contract Action Team!

A strong contract is not just won at the bargaining table. It takes action at our worksites and in the streets to win good wages, benefits, job protections and respect for our work. That’s where the Contract Action Team (CAT) comes in. The CAT is made up of members who take the lead at their work sites. As a CAT leader, you will:

  • Keep your co-workers informed about the progress of negotiations.
  • Attend union meetings to get the latest information and plan our next steps.
  • Organize Wear Purple Days, picketing and other actions at your work site and
    mobilize your co-workers for unionwide actions.
  • Get training on organizing to win, communication tools and more!

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Report an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP)

As SEIU Local 99 members at LAUSD continue to take action on a fair contract, the district is feeling the pressure. Supervisors and other bosses may begin using bullying tactics to discourage participation in your union. Let us know if you experienced or witnessed surveillance, punishment, interrogation or threats that potentially violate our rights.

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Who We Are

0%
are Latinx
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are Black
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are Women
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are Men
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are parents of school-aged children
$0
The average annual salary of LAUSD Classified employees.*
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The average number of hours we work every school day.*
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The number of Grab & Go meals we distributed during the pandemic.**
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The number of meals we prepare and serve every school day.**
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The number of square miles we clean, repair and maintain every school day. This includes 21,000 buildings totaling more than 75 million square feet.***
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The number of special needs students we transport to and from school every day.****
* SEIU Local 99 Membership Data; ** LAUSD Food Services; *** LAUSD Facilities Services Division; **** LAUSD Transportation Programs

News & Bargaining Updates

Latest Purple-up Action Photos

Meet Our Bargaining Team

Max Arias

SEIU Local 99 Executive Director

Conrado Guerrero

SEIU Local 99 President and LAUSD Building Engineer

Elizabeth Thomas Parker

SEIU Local 99 Vice President and LAUSD Special Ed Asst.

Bart Weil

SEIU Local 99 Board Member and LAUSD Special Ed Asst.

Antonio Ahumada

Class “B” Comm Truck Driver

Deborah Hamilton

Buildings & Grounds Worker

Edna Logan

Buildings & Grounds Worker

Haydee Malacas

Community Rep

Jorge Ruelas

Stock Worker, Procurement

Thresa Thomas

Food Service Worker

Ryan Jack

Special Ed Asst.

John Lewis

SEIU99 Executive Board Member and LAUSD Bus Driver

Michael Smith

Garage Attendant

Gilbert Feliciano

Special Ed Asst.

Marisol Aguilar

SEIU99 Executive Board Member and LAUSD Special Ed Asst

Lori Oshiro

Speech Language Pathology

Jesus Bernal

Automotive Mechanic (Bus-Truck)

Santos Robles

IT Solution Tech

Jeanette Verbera

SEIU 99 Executive Board Member and LAUSD Special Ed Asst.

Ken Ng

IT Field Services Tech

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