Unfortunately, not having enough money for retirement is a reality for far too many family child care providers. Without savings or a retirement plan, providers who dedicate years teaching and caring for our children are forced to spend their senior years in poverty.
Henry Plasencia, a Maintenance Worker at Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District reflects on the day his life was nearly taken by COVID-19 back in March 2020.
Conrado Guerrero has been a building engineer with LAUSD for 23 years. In his more than two decades on the job, he’s never seen so much attention paid to air filters in schools.
Lead Custodian Eric Martin has been providing cleanliness inside and out of classrooms at Santa Monica Malibu Unified (SMMUSD) for almost 24 years and he feels like his crew does not get the credit they deserve.
Andrea Quiroga has been a building & grounds, custodial worker, with LAUSD for six years now. She says she understands how important being an essential worker during the pandemic is to the health and safety of students and the community. But it has added extra tasks to her day and caused more stress.
It's been a challenging year for education workers across the country. Beginning with the COVID-19 pandemic, we were thrust onto the front-lines of this crisis to support our communities in need, keep students learning, while fighting for our jobs and to keep ourselves and our families safe. Check out this video of SEIU Local 99's year in review.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 5,000 family child care providers have closed their doors. Los Angeles alone has seen 982 closures impacting an estimated 9000 children and their families. On Oct. 1, providers are poised to face a pay cut due to lack of federal funding. Enough is enough!
Luis Graciano is Child Center Assistant at Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District. This is his story of working with students at Santa Monica Malibu and why he's urging the board not to cut this vital program.
Enga (right) at the 2016 SEIU Convention in Detroit. Enga Chatman, Security Officer, Lynwood Unified School District “I miss being on the campus, interacting with students. You build a bond with them,” says Enga Chatman, who works as a Security Officer at Cesar Chavez Middle School, part of Lynwood Unified School District. [Read more]
Gloria Murrietta, Food Service Worker, Los Angeles Unified School District Gloria Murrietta doesn’t want to hear it. Don’t talk to her about being worried or scared about the pandemic. Of course, she’s concerned, she says. She sees worry in the faces of the hundreds of children and families who come to Dorsey High [Read more]
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