Teachers in America’s second-largest school district began to strike Monday, pushing this city into the nationwide wave of growing educator activism and raising the pressure on a district already under financial strain.
The strike comes after nearly two years of contract bargaining between the Los Angeles Unified School District and the United Teachers Los Angeles union, including recent interventions from city, county and California officials who unsuccessfully sought to avert the first such walkout in 30 years.
Though the two sides are close on how much pay should rise for teachers, they remain far apart on a host of other issues related to how Los Angeles spends its K-12 education dollars. The district says it is just a few years away from insolvency and can’t afford to meet all the union’s demands related to support staff and other resources, while the union accuses it of sitting on funds.
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