Los Angeles, CA – At 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday March 21, over 30,000 school workers in the Los Angeles Unified School (LAUSD) including food service workers, custodians, special education assistants and many more job titles will walk off the job on a strike. The workers are members of SEIU Local 99, also known as Education Workers United.

LAUSD and SEIU Local 99 have been in contract negotiations since 2020. After three years of bargaining, they decided to call a strike to show the boss they are serious about winning a contract with significant wage increases, expanded health care benefits and sufficient staffing and resources to keep schools clean and safe.

On Friday, March 17 LAUSD filed charges saying that a strike by the school workers would be against the law. However, those charges were quickly found to not have merit and dismissed. The union members say they are ready to move forward with the strike as planned.

David Huerta is the president of SEIU California and SEIU United Service Workers West. Huerta released the following statement about the strike.

“Workers’ right to take collective action – free from threats or intimidation – is what binds us together as a labor movement. We won’t stand by while a powerful employer like LAUSD bullies and harasses workers to gain leverage at the bargaining table. SEIU members in California – 700,000 strong – stand united with SEIU Local 99 school workers who are striking to demand the district respect their fundamental rights. School workers have our unwavering support as they bargain in good faith for wages that allow them to put food on the table for their own children and for the staffing and support that matters to all students in LAUSD.”

The strike is set to run from 4:30 a.m. Tuesday through the school day on Thursday.

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