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Strike ends as L.A. teachers overwhelmingly approve deal

UPDATE (Jan. 23, 2019) — Teachers overwhelmingly approved a new contract on Tuesday Jan. 22 and planned to return to the classroom after a six-day strike over funding and staffing in the nation’s second-largest school district.


LOS ANGELES (Jan. 17, 2019) — More than 33,000 educators in the Los Angeles Unified School District are on strike to reduce class sizes and improve public education in the second-largest school system in the nation. This is a critically important fight for teachers and students not just in Los Angeles, but also around the country as public schools are starved of proper resources and privatized.

The labor movement in the greater Los Angeles area is stepping up to support the strike. Local unions in the area are adopting schools in support the teachers, parents and students who are joining picket lines by coordinating every activity at that particular school, helping build events, feeding picket lines, and coordinating parking. Hundreds of schools have been adopted by local unions not directly involved in the conflict.

But unions and rank-and-file members here in Washington state and throughout the country can also support this critical strike. Here’s what you and your union can do to show your solidarity:

► Contribute to the strike fund — Funds go directly to providing help with resources like child care and meals, among many others. The AFL-CIO has made an initial donation of $25,000 to the cause and all unions are urged to to give as well. You can contribute directly to the Los Angeles Teacher/Parent Strike Solidarity Fund by clicking HERE or HERE.  If you prefer to send a check, please make the check payable to “ACCE Action” and in the memo line reference “LA Teacher/Parent Strike Solidarity Fund.” ACCE is a community organization working in coordination with United Teachers Los Angeles. Please mail checks to:

ACCE
3655 Grand Avenue
Suite 250
Los Angeles, CA 90007

► Support the strike on social media — You can access the American Federation of Teachers’ social media toolkit HERE. The toolkit includes handles, hashtags, key online actions, sample messages for social media, retweets of members’ stories, graphics, links to media coverage, background information and other resources. We especially ask that you reach out to your members in Los Angeles, who may have school aged children, to take action on social media to support the strike.

► Stay informed — Continue to follow the LA teachers’ strike news in The Stand’s Daily News (to subscribe to get The Stand each day via email, click here) or by checking the UTLA’s webpage for daily updates on the strike.

Take action — Please sign — and encourage your friends, family, co-workers and unions’ members to sign — AFT’s petition HERE, telling LAUSD superintendent Austin Beutner to quit stalling and reach an agreement with LA’s teachers.

Thank you for supporting Los Angeles teachers and students!

CHECK OUT THE UNION DIFFERENCE in Washington: higher wages, affordable health and dental care, job and retirement security.

FIND OUT HOW TO JOIN TOGETHER with your co-workers to negotiate for better wages, benefits, and a voice at work. Or go ahead and contact a union organizer today!