Hundreds of Los Angeles schools could close next week as workers plan to strike

It is Friday. A three-day strike scheduled for next week could shut down the Los Angeles Unified School District. Plus, a powerful new exhibit at the de Young Museum in San Francisco.

About half a million students in California could stay home next week if employees of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest public school system, go on a planned three-day strike beginning Tuesday.

Stating negotiations with the district have stalled, the union which represents 30,000 cafeteria workers, bus drivers, guards and other school employees announced that the workers intended to walk off the job the week next. And the teachers’ union, which represents about 30,000 other LAUSD employees, said its members, in solidarity, would not cross the picket line.

That means more than 1,000 Los Angeles Unified Schools may have to close Tuesday through Thursday, according to District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho.

SEIU Local 99, the union that represents employees who plan to strike, is demanding a 30% raise and other pay increases. Its members “know that a strike will be a sacrifice, but the school district pushed workers to take this action,” Local 99 executive director Max Arias said in a statement.

The district is offering a 5% pay raise for the current school year and another 5% raise for the next, as well as one-time bonuses and additional raises for certain positions, officials said this week.

Carvalho called it a “historic offer” and said the district was working to reach an agreement with union officials that would avoid a strike. But in a sign that the walkout was becoming more likely, he urged parents to start making arrangements with their employers and childcare providers to prepare for school closures. The contract dispute comes at a time when school children are only beginning to recover from the academic setbacks they suffered during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I want to personally apologize to our families and our students,” Carvalho wrote on Twitter this week. “You deserve better. Know that we are doing everything we can to avoid a strike.

Public support for organized labor is at its highest level in 50 years in the United States, and unions have recently made major inroads at top companies like Amazon and Starbucks. Strikes, particularly by teachers and education workers, have become increasingly common over the past six years, reflecting widespread frustration over low pay, poor working conditions and growing gender inequality. income, according to Kent Wong, director of the UCLA Labor Center.

“There’s huge dissatisfaction among workers that it’s not working for them,” Wong told me. “The rise of worker organizing and the rise of labor strikes is absolutely a sign of the times.”

More American workers were on strike in 2018 than in any of the previous 30 years, according to Jane McAlevey, senior policy researcher at UC Berkeley Labor Center. The pandemic temporarily halted the trend of more strikes, but workers’ anger continued to mount, she said, as they dealt with the unsafe work environments and personnel issues caused by the pandemic. “I think it’s all boiling over now,” McAlevey told me.

Teachers went on strike in Oakland last year to protest school closings, and classes were canceled for more than a week in Sacramento during a teachers’ strike last spring.

And in November, about 48,000 college workers on University of California campuses across the state went on strike in what was the largest and longest running college labor action in American history. . It ended nearly six weeks later with big pay rises for workers – an outcome that will likely continue to inspire others to leave, Wong said: “Nothing encourages workers to take action more than the hit.”

In 2019, when the LA Unified teachers’ union staged a six-day strike, school campuses remained open but attendance was low. Eric Garcetti, who was mayor of Los Angeles at the time, stepped in to help broker a deal to end the walkout.

This strike marked a turning point, because of the way the public rallied around the teachers, Wong told me. He said the success of that strike was the reason the teachers’ union decided this week to stand in solidarity with blue-collar workers in the district, which he called “extraordinary.”

If you read a story, make it this one

A UC Irvine Ph.D. The candidate was denied a Fulbright-Hays scholarship under a rule that penalized candidates if they grew up speaking the language of the country proposed for research.

what we eat

Asparagus, goat cheese and tarragon tart.

where we travel

Today’s tip comes from Bruce Christie, who recommends Shelter Cove, between Fort Bragg and Eureka in Humboldt County:

“Shelter Cove is the only coastal community in the 75-mile stretch of California’s Lost Coast where engineers gave up on extending Highway 1 due to steep terrain. Twenty-six miles west of Garberville on Highway 101, it’s a town of about 600 full-time residents with a handful of lodgings and restaurants.

We started visiting 30 years ago when we lived in Los Angeles, drawn to the beauty of the mountains and the sea. We learned to love the dark nights, the days when the sound of the surf is all you can hear and an environment that seems only lightly touched by human hands.

Shelter Cove is a great place to relax, go fishing, hike or take advantage of the tide, or just watch spectacular sunsets.

Tell us about your favorite places to visit in California. Email your suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We will share more in future editions of the newsletter.

And before leaving, some good news

Richie Henderson is an iconic figure in Ukiah, the largest city in Mendocino County. For two decades, he warmly greeted customers and cleaned tables at the popular downtown Schat’s Bakery and Cafe, reports the Ukiah Daily Journal.

Now, Henderson’s face smiles on a billboard along the 101 freeway — a tribute by bakery owner Zach Schat in honor of his longtime employee. “Thank you Richie! proclaims the sign.

The gesture moved locals and prompted hundreds of comments online about Richie, which many people seem to be fans of. One commenter wrote: “I was there when it started. From cameo performances at Christmas parties to his jolly good mornings on his walk to work, Richie is one of the best parts of this community.

Thanks for reading. I will be back Monday. Have a good week-end. — Soumya

PS Here today’s mini crossword.