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.- 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.- 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.
Who We Are
Our Job is Not Easy
Elizabeth Thomas Parker, Special Education Assistant
Feeding Young Minds One Meal at a Time
Elizabeth Hernandez, Food Service Worker
We Need Them to Recognize Who We Are
Henry Argueta, Special Education Assistant
Living Paycheck-to-Paycheck is a Way of Life
Moises Orellano Patriz, Campus Aide
Short Staffing, Impossible Workloads
Deborah Hamilton, Custodian
Our Job is Not Easy
Elizabeth Thomas Parker, Special Education Assistant
Feeding Young Minds One Meal at a Time
Elizabeth Hernandez, Food Service Worker
We Need Them to Recognize Who We Are
Henry Argueta, Special Education Assistant
Living Paycheck-to-Paycheck is a Way of Life
Moises Orellano Patriz, Campus Aide
Short Staffing, Impossible Workloads
Deborah Hamilton, Custodian
* 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