The teachers union of the second-largest school district in the country is asking for a 20% raise over two years and pushing for several green energy initiatives, according to the Los Angeles Times.
United Teachers Los Angeles held a rally on Monday asking for a raise, a decrease of standardized testing requirements, smaller class sizes, the installation of solar panels at the schools and purchasing of electric buses, according to the Times. The union argued the district has not addressed high-pressure working conditions and the cost of living for teachers. (RELATED: ‘I Wouldn’t Be Boasting’: Reports That Los Angeles’ School Lockdowns Didn’t Hurt Learning Are Misleading. Here’s Why)
“When you can’t even afford to live when you work, we got a problem y’all,” Cecily Myart-Cruz, United Teachers Los Angeles president, said at the Monday rally according to the Times. “This district has had seven whole months to address the educator shortage and to make sure that every student has a classroom teacher, every student has a school nurse, every student has a counselor and a librarian and mental health support.”
The teachers union believes the teaching profession has been difficult because the pandemic has left students with emotional needs and falling academic achievement, the Times reported. The last offer from the district was an 8% raise.
In 2019, Los Angeles Unified School District teachers were making on average about $80,000 with a starting salary of about $52,000, according to Los Angeles Daily News.
“The public needs to recognize that teachers are asking for basic necessities, and then to have working conditions be normal — not too many kids in the classroom, not too many administrative things to take care of that prevents them from actually doing their job just teaching kids,” Nekhoe Hogan, a teacher at a California high school, told the Times.
We are out here today for educational justice, we are here for our students, we are here today for basic respect!#UTLAStrong pic.twitter.com/iEYsD9NpeW
— United Teachers Los Angeles (@UTLAnow) December 6, 2022
In 2019, the union went on strike for a week amid contract negotiations with the school district, according to the Los Angeles Times. The teachers union is pushing for a new contract in 2022 amid threats to walk out.
“Los Angeles Unified continues to meet with our labor partners regularly,” the district said in a statement to the Times. “We respect and acknowledge the dedication of our employees and the need to compensate them fairly in this current economic environment. We remain dedicated to avoiding protracted negotiations to keep the focus on our students and student achievement.”
United Teachers Los Angeles and Los Angeles Unified School District did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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