LAUSD hit a new low in bargaining on December 1, failing to offer any proposals and instead serving up disrespect across the board.
UTLA: A daily cleaning regimen of classrooms and workspaces creates safe, healthy schools.LAUSD: All we can say is that we looked into it and they are not getting cleaned daily now.
UTLA: Reduce class size at every grade level in every school. Reduce secondary counselor caseload. Hire elementary teacher librarians. Add caseload caps for PSAs, PSWs, school psychologists, and college/career counselors.LAUSD: We reject your proposal in its entirety.UTLA: It’s not the job of itinerant educators to hustle every day to secure an appropriate space to work with students. And students should have confidential space when they need it.LAUSD: That’s unreasonable to expect. Use the appeals process to solve your issue.UTLA: ECE teachers with a BA and credential should be paid like K-12 educators.LAUSD: If Early Ed folks don’t like the pay, they can teach somewhere else.
The Bargaining Team also pressed LAUSD on co-location issues. Our platform proposes that Community Schools be protected from co-location, that LAUSD create outreach teams to promote LAUSD neighborhood schools, and that no student be prevented from attending their local neighborhood public school because of space taken up by a charter school. Our demands include requiring a co-located charter school to give up space if the public neighborhood school is growing and returning all unused space at a co-located school to the public neighborhood school.
Also last night, LAUSD brought a rep to “collect information” about UTLA proposals. At this stage in bargaining, the district is still “information-gathering,” asking us to repeat what we have already shared about proposals that were introduced seven months ago. It’s clear the district feels no urgency to reach an agreement and is doing all it can to protect the $3.4 billion in reserves and not share power with educators and parents.
With a huge turnout at the three regional rallies on December 5, we will send LAUSD into the winter break with a message that they better come back in January with real proposals to settle this contract unless they want a full escalation from 34,000 UTLA members.
“Our early childhood educators were shown nothing but disrespect at the highest level in last night’s session. Why would someone from LAUSD discourage EEC educators from staying on their jobs in the centers? We love our students and jobs and shouldn’t be forced to leave them if we want the higher pay we deserve.” Brenda Brown, Park Western EEC Teacher & Bargaining Team Member
“Our early childhood educators were shown nothing but disrespect at the highest level in last night’s session. Why would someone from LAUSD discourage EEC educators from staying on their jobs in the centers? We love our students and jobs and shouldn’t be forced to leave them if we want the higher pay we deserve.”
”We have six community schools that are co-located under Prop 39, and one is the only colocated Gifted High Ability Magnet elementary in the district and serves 75% African-American population. We need the Office of the General Counsel to go in their office and shut the doors and don’t come out until they have legal language that defends our district students’ right to learn on their campus.” Marie Germaine, Baldwin Hills Elementary Teacher & Bargaining Team Member
”We have six community schools that are co-located under Prop 39, and one is the only colocated Gifted High Ability Magnet elementary in the district and serves 75% African-American population. We need the Office of the General Counsel to go in their office and shut the doors and don’t come out until they have legal language that defends our district students’ right to learn on their campus.”
