United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) and Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) are at a crossroads again as teachers and faculty members prepare for another strike due to various reasons. This strike is to date, the biggest one that LAUSD will experience, as close to 70,000 members from UTLA and SEIU Local 99 plan to rally.
“This is definitely to fight for public schools — a fight to make sure that we get the resources that we need at our schools,” UTLA Vice President Julie Van Winkle said. “But it’s also a fight for working people. It’s not OK to live in the biggest city, in the richest state, in the richest country in the history of the world, and to have public educators that can’t even afford to live in the city where we teach.”
Associated Administrators of Los Angeles (AALA), which represents roughly 3,000 principals, assistant principals, and central and regional office middle managers, also plans to participate in the rally.
Union leaders expressed appreciation for the support from local officials, including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
Several groups, including the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, Students Deserve, Inner City Struggle, and Community Coalition, voiced solidarity with the unions at the rally.
“Now, this is what solidarity looks like,” said SEIU Local 99 Executive Director Max Arias. “All of us here together, all colors ready to go: green, red, purple, tie-dye, blue, yellow, ready to go!”
The strike comes after months of negotiation that ultimately went nowhere as teachers and faculty members ask an already stretched district for more help for both students and workers. Negotiations started in June 2023, as the current contract expired in 2025. Almost a year later, no progress has been made.
“For over a year, LAUSD has dragged its feet and shown nothing but disrespect for what educators are dealing with,” said a statement from UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz. “Instead of working with us as partners, LAUSD has put up roadblocks and refused to invest where it matters most: our classrooms. Ten billion to private companies, five billion stowed away in reserves, and LAUSD comes to contract negotiations with UTLA, with SEIU, and with AALA, offering pennies in comparison. Our students are counting on us to be out there to fight for them, for safe schools, and for a bright future. We are the ones who hold the line for the schools they deserve.”
The union groups are demanding a 17 percent wage increase over the next two years, smaller class sizes, increased staffing for mental health and special education students, expanding arts and physical education to all elementary schools, protections against subcontracting and AI replacing educator jobs, and no layoffs.
The district recently announced the 2027-2028 budget, which is on pace for a $191 million deficit if they keep spending at their current pace. The board recently voted on a reduction plan that includes 650 layoffs among teachers and faculty members.
Interim LAUSD Superintendent Andres Chait said, “Nobody wants a strike,” during a morning news conference at the district’s downtown headquarters. “We have a responsibility to our community to provide a quality education to our students and to make sure employees are compensated fairly and equitably,” Chait said. “But we also have a responsibility to be careful stewards of the financial resources that our taxpayers entrust to us.”
The union offered an 8 percent pay raise, plus a one-time 3 percent bonus, over the next two years. The district noted that over the past 10 years, the 20 largest school districts in the state have had an average pay raise of 30 percent, while LAUSD increased 36 percent over the same period.
“We certainly recognize that the cost of living in Los Angeles continues to rise. And in response, we have committed to significant raises for our employees, among the highest offers in the state,” Chait said.
Chait added that the district presented an offer that allowed for the reopening of negotiations if their financial situation were to improve. “We will continue to show up at the bargaining table, and we believe that we can reach an agreement with all of our labor partners.”
The teacher strike is also coming at a terrible time, as Superintendent Alberto Carvalho had his house raided by the FBI on Feb. 25, due to his connection with AllHere, a company the district hired in 2024 to develop a chatbot named “Ed” that was expected to vastly improve communications and information sharing between the district and LAUSD families. The system was never implemented, and the project founder, Joanna Smith-Griffin, was charged with fraud and identity theft. Carvalho has denied any connection to the project or its founder, but he remains on leave. That hasn’t stopped others from accusing him of wrongdoing.
“A lot of people were kind of seduced by [Carvalho’s] charm and his charisma, and now all this is happening, and we’re kind of thinking, ‘I told you so,’ but that doesn’t change what we’re doing,” Van Winkle said. “The focus should not be on him and should not be on the district’s dirty laundry. It should just be on getting this done.” Van Winkle pointed out that Carvalho invested 5 billion in reserve funding in private companies, which has caused drastic financial hardship for the district budget.
Parents are also concerned as they don’t know what to do with the kids once the strike starts. “A lot of families are going to struggle. It’s going to be hard to find childcare. Where do you send your kids?” Carmel Levitan, an LAUSD parent, said.
Shutting down schools means children won’t have access to daily meals that many students rely on, as more than 80 percent of students within the district live at or below the poverty line.
“There are factors and outside pressures that are making it really hard for a lot of families right now, and the last thing we need is to close schools for a few days and be uncertain about how long they’re going to be closed,” Levitan said.
The last strike in 2019 resulted in a six-day rally. More than 30,000 members hit the picket lines, affecting nearly half a million students, while 70 percent of classes were open; students weren’t receiving proper education during the strike. UTLA reported during that time that classroom sizes were 40 to 45 students per teacher, with two-thirds of students not attending class. The contract agreed upon in 2019 included teacher pay raises, full-time librarians for middle and high schools, a commitment to provide full-time nurses for every school, and lower class sizes, including an immediate reduction of seven students in secondary math and English classes.
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