For families of Los Angeles Unified School District students, Monday unfolded with growing uncertainty — and, for many, deep anxiety — as it was unclear until the end of the school day whether campuses would close amid a potential strike by three unions.
The two unions representing teachers and administrators reached a tentative agreement over the weekend. As of Monday afternoon, Local 99 of the Service Employees International Union, which represents some of the district’s lowest-paid workers, had not reached an agreement. In a show of solidarity, the three unions have promised to walk out together if any of them do not reach a compromise.
“I’m really worried,” said Tania Rivera, a mother of two disabled children. “We support teachers, and we have similar concerns. We need more allies in school. But the impact on our kids is bigger. Families need to be part of this conversation.”
In the nation’s second-largest school district, families brace for disruption in the delicate balance of work, school and family schedulesS. He struggled to arrange child care. And many people, in a district where more than 86% of students are low-income, are worried about feeding their children.
Rivera, who lives in South Gate, has a 6-year-old daughter who is autistic and has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and a 16-year-old son who is autistic and non-verbal.
Her family has helpers who help around the house during weekends, but they are unable to help during regular school hours and will not be able to assist during the strike. Rivera’s mother-in-law, who had helped care for her youngest child, died six months earlier. Now, the sad girl sometimes sits under a tree and says that she is waiting for grandmother to return.
Rivera said she was deeply concerned about what effect the open strike would have on her emotionally fragile children – and was disappointed to receive less than 24 hours’ notice anyway.
Strike plans continue
SEIU Local 99 said in a Facebook post Monday afternoon that the district is “still expecting that we won’t come. But we have organized. We have built unity. And we are ready. Tomorrow, we will walk.”
The district has posted the list food distribution point and community based “Child supervision” sites A limited number of children can participate in this. But children with moderate to severe disabilities cannot be accommodated, the district said, nor can children under age 4.
The uncertainty has been especially difficult for families of children with disabilities, said Lisa Mosco Barros, founder and chief executive of SpEducational, a nonprofit that advocates for those families. “Strike can be very chaotic and very overwhelming,” she said, especially for children with special needs who depend on consistency and routine.
Disability rights advocate Ariel Herman-Holmes has three children – all with disabilities – in first, sixth and seventh grades in LAUSD schools in the San Fernando Valley. All three have autism, and one has severe attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
On Monday, she was trying to figure out how she would appear in court on Tuesday while still having three children to care for in case a strike was declared, while also preparing for school pick-up when the campus was open.
Herman-Holmes, who lives in the North Hills, said she supports unions and hopes to take her children to the picket lines, as she did during the LAUSD strike in 2019. He said it was poignant to see SEIU 99 fighting for better pay and working conditions. The union represents special education aides who are undervalued, underpaid and overworked, she said.
“Really, the issue is systemic underinvestment,” she said.
A mother of two teenage LAUSD students – who is an East Hollywood street vendor and an undocumented immigrant – said the continued strike threats feel unfair because “they are negotiating with our children’s education.”
“The people who are most affected are our children,” said the woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of her immigration status.
Students took out a rally in support of teachers
Near Downtown LA on Monday, several teenage students climbed into the bed of a Ryder truck, blocking a section of Beaudry Avenue, and joined dozens of other pro-union protesters outside LAUSD headquarters. An orange banner affixed to the trailer read “Angeleno Student Union” – a name they chose to highlight their fight for better funded schools.
Jaime Alvarez, an 11th-grader at Thomas Jefferson High School in South Los Angeles, skipped class in the morning and caught a bus downtown with his friends.
“The district is spending money in the wrong places, including AI,” Alvarez said. He and his friends, he said, “want better pay for our teachers and better programs for our students.”
Kerlin Nunez, a 9th grader at Franklin High School in Highland Park, held a sign that read: “If your voice doesn’t matter… they won’t try to silence you.”
Nunez said he came to advocate for unions — but he also enjoyed the opportunity to get out of the classroom.
“I have come to support my school and also to leave the school,” he said.
