LAUSD strike prompts outrage amongst parents who ‘have nowhere else’ to send their children

Parents who are struggling to figure out what to do with their children due to a three-day strike in the Los Angeles Unified School District are slamming officials for being unable to come to an agreement.   

Angry parents whose children were forced to stay out of school Tuesday expressed outrage at one video of teachers dancing in the rain during the first day of the strike.

Other moms and dads on social media called out the educators and employees who said they are using nearly 500,000 students as ‘leverage’ in their own battle for better pay and other benefits. 

‘What about those parents who work at restaurants, warehouses, retail etc…who don’t allow children? Trying to juggle kids while not being fired is stressful to many,’ wrote Helen Yesenia Ramos. 

 ‘Working parents should not be struggling,’ Ramos, who identifies herself as a parent of LAUSD students, said on Facebook. 

The strike has caused ripples in the lives of so many residents that venues like the Los Angeles Zoo have offered free entry for students and reduced admission for parents looking for something to do with their child. 

In the video posted to Twitter Tuesday evening, teachers and even some young children are seen wearing ponchos and holding umbrellas as they dance. 

Along with the school support staff, the United Teachers Los Angeles union is striking out of solidarity. 

The large groups came together to strike in the rain over the wages earned by some school support staffers – such as janitors and bus drivers. On average, these employees make just $25,000 per year. 

While some applauded at the video, others did not view it with kind eyes. 

‘Dancing around while children sit around unsupervised at home. Definitely on the right side of history!’ said one person on Twitter. 

‘Or, you could go back and teach the poor kids who lost out on 18 months of education in your district,’ wrote another user.

More than 1,000 public schools are closed across the area. 

According to a union representative with Service Employees International Union, Local 99 (SEIU 99), the strike will end Thursday and classes will resume Friday. 

The sentiment carried over to Facebook where parents expressed their outrage and sadness over children losing out on days worth of schooling. 

‘Do your job and get to the negotiating table. You are the ones failing the families that attend LAUSD Schools,’ wrote one commenter on SEIU 99’s post about the strike. 

One man who identifies himself as a California resident in his Facebook profile said he is ‘disgusted’ by the strike. 

‘I’m disgusted by this LAUSD strike starting Tuesday. This was supposed to be the first “normal” school year since the 2018-2019 school year…’ Dustin Bowen said. 

‘The children of Los Angeles aren’t leverage for political agendas or wage negotiations. The kids have been through enough the last three years,’ he continued.

‘I agree that the school district should pay school staff members more, but not at the expense of children,’ Bowen wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday. 

Rachel Elder, a mom who took her son to an Echo Park rec center for the day, told NBC 4 she felt that she had no other choice. 

‘It was either working from home with my son playing video games and not have anything to do or it was finding some pod of people that might be in the same boat,’ Elder said.

LAUSD is the second largest school district in the United States, just behind New York City Public Schools which has more than one million students. 

Some parents have been forced to take advantage of free and reduced admission to places like the Los Angeles Zoo, the  Natural History Museum in Exposition Park and the La Brea Tar Pits, and the Petersen Museum. 

Many parents are still struggling with childcare and some with meal coverage for students who rely on LAUSD for food throughout the week. 

According to SEIU 99, the union alongside UTLA are working toward better pay and fighting against concerning practices. 

Last month, after SEUI workers voted to authorize a strike, the district allegedly subjected employees to ‘surveillance, intimidation, and harassment’ as the negotiation process was slated to begin. 

‘This afternoon, SEIU Local 99 had agreed to enter a confidential mediation process with LAUSD to try and address our differences. Unfortunately, LAUSD broke that confidentiality by sharing it with the media before our bargaining team, which makes all decisions, had a chance to discuss how to proceed,’ SEIU officials said. 

The group says LAUSD has a history of ‘continued disrespect of school workers’ and the strike was their clear and only option. 

Protests involving thousands of educators and school employees took place across the greater Los Angeles area Tuesday as some 65,000 workers did not have to go into LAUSD schools. 

In the rain, members of SEIU 99 and UTLA arched around while showing off signs with messages that decried the district for not adhering to their demands. 

‘I voted to strike for quality schools, better lives!’ one of many messages plastered on the numerous protesters’ signs read, with another insisting the non-teacher school workers ‘keep schools safe.’

‘Respect us!’ the picket sign added.

Among their major requests, SEIU are asking for a 30 percent pay raise, increased employment hours for part-time workers, a $20-an-hour minimum wage, and full health care benefits for those working at least four hours a day.

LAUSD’s superintendent, Alberto Carvalho, said he has tried to negotiate with the union in good faith. 

‘Under California law, we cannot drive the school system into a bankruptcy position. We cannot drive the school system into a red position. And if we were to acquiesce to all the demands, that is exactly where we would be, that is not legally allowable,’ Carvalho told CNN.

The superintendent says he is ‘eagerly awaiting’ SEIU’s counter proposal and that administration officials are focused on bringing kids back to school.  

‘We should not be depriving our students of an opportunity to learn,’ Carvalho said. 

SEIU officials fought back against Carvalho’s statements, however, saying they had no choice but to strike in order to force change. 

‘If the district doesn’t realize that our members are valuable … once they stop working, then nothing’s really gonna change,’ a union rep said. 

‘Ultimately, what we’re seeking is improving the schools – equity in schools. That’s what we’re seeking,’ the rep continued.