United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) is widely expected to announce a strike date today, Wednesday, at a massive downtown rally — a move that could disrupt the education of nearly 390,000 students in the nation’s second-largest school district.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the union’s board of elected member leaders met Wednesday morning to determine a strike date. The announcement is expected to coincide with a large rally at Gloria Molina Grand Park, across from City Hall in downtown L.A. Two other unions — Local 99 of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles (AALA) — are also taking part in the rally.
Setting a strike date does not guarantee a walkout. A strike can still be avoided if the two sides reach a deal before the date arrives. If a work stoppage does happen, it would be open-ended, meaning it would continue until a new contract is agreed upon. The last such strike lasted six days in January 2019.
UTLA represents more than 30,000 classroom teachers, psychologists, attendance counselors, guidance counselors, nurses, and secondary school librarians. The union’s members have been working under a contract that expired on June 30. Their latest proposal calls for an average 17% salary increase over two years, with early-career teachers seeing their pay raised to $80,000 and experienced educators topping out at $133,972.
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has countered with an 8% raise over two years, with the possibility of a higher increase in the second year — but only if district reserves hold steady. District officials have warned that ongoing financial commitments and declining revenue are on track to drain those reserves within three years.
UTLA Vice President Julie Van Winkle pushed back on the district’s position during a Board of Education meeting on Tuesday.
“And now the teachers have the audacity to ask for more,” Van Winkle said. “So I’m here to tell you today that, yes, we do have that audacity. And the reason is that, even though we got a significant raise a few years ago, our wages have not kept pace with inflation.”
Van Winkle also addressed the cost of living in Los Angeles, saying, “Our members aren’t trying to buy one house in San Pedro and six houses in Florida. They’re just trying to afford rent in the district in which they teach. We’re being priced out of the district we serve.”
The remark was a pointed reference to LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, whose real estate holdings recently drew public attention. Carvalho has been on paid administrative leave since February 27, after the FBI raided his San Pedro home and downtown Los Angeles office. Carvalho has denied any wrongdoing and has said he wants to return to work. Sources familiar with the investigation say it centers on AllHere, a failed startup that LAUSD hired to build an AI chatbot called “Ed.” The chatbot was never fully deployed and was shut down after three months. The FBI has not issued a public statement.
Local 99, which represents more than 30,000 support staff — including teacher aides, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, custodians, and computer technicians — is also rallying Wednesday. Its members’ contract expired on June 30, 2024, and they have authorized their leaders to call a strike. Spokesperson Blanca Gallegos said in a statement, “Our bargaining team is currently discussing setting a deadline for the district to reach an agreement or call for a strike. LAUSD can avert a strike by coming to the bargaining table and ensuring respect for frontline school workers and resources for our students.”
Wednesday’s rally also marks the first time AALA — which represents about 3,000 principals, assistant principals, and middle managers — has joined a joint union action of this scale. AALA recently affiliated with the Teamsters, signaling growing labor unrest among school administrators as well.
As reported by the New York Post, the labor unrest in Los Angeles is part of a broader wave of educator strikes across California. Last month, San Francisco teachers staged their first strike in nearly 50 years, closing all 120 district schools and keeping roughly 50,000 students home. Teachers in San Diego and the Sacramento area have also recently authorized strikes.
LAUSD is already facing serious financial strain. The school board narrowly voted on Wednesday (February 18) to issue layoff notices expected to result in 657 job cuts. Unions strongly opposed the move, calling it unnecessary and harmful to students. The district entered the school year with a $5-billion reserve as part of an $18.8-billion budget, but officials say that cushion is shrinking due to the end of pandemic aid, declining enrollment, and a wave of costly sexual misconduct settlements.
If no agreement is reached before the strike date is set, hundreds of thousands of L.A. students could face a significant interruption to their school year.
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