Los Angeles Unified School District Teachers Strike for Fair Payment and Better Working Conditions, 2019

In early 2018, the United States experienced a series of educators' strikes in several states, during which 485,200 workers participated in stoppages, marking the highest participation since 1986, when 533,000 workers went on strike. The state government’s budget cuts to public schools after the Great Recession of 2008 and growing class sizes since the 1990s worsened the working conditions of public school teachers, leading to massive strikes. he Economic Policy Institute reported that, as of 2017, teachers’ pay had decreased by 18.7 percent compared to the mid-1990s. 

The first statewide strike began on 22 February 2018 in West Virginia, led by the state branches of the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association. This strike inspired several other statewide educators’ strikes in Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Arizona, as well as some local strikes. The movement soon spread to Los Angeles, California.

United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) is the main trade union of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the second-largest employer in Los Angeles County. The union is dedicated to ensuring the equality of public education, as well as protecting educators’ rights and students’ well-being. Representing 33,000 members in the district, UTLA had been negotiating a contract with LAUSD for 18 months without reaching a clear outcome.  UTLA demanded a 6.5% salary increase for teachers, along with more funding to improve working conditions and school facilities, such as smaller class sizes, more counselors, nurses, and libraries. Beyond financial demands, the union also sought to increase teachers' decision-making power, such as having control over the school's discretionary fund and allowing teachers to create their own exams, aside from federal and state-mandated tests. UTLA also emphasized its opposition to charter schools, which they argued could divert resources from traditional public schools and could increase class sizes in the public school system.

On 1 September  2018, UTLA officials claimed that 98 percent of its members voted to authorize a strike during contract negotiations. Then, on January 14, 2019, UTLA sent the official strike letter “for a fair contract and for the schools our students deserve.” On the same day, 30,000 teachers walked out of class and carried protest signs on the picket line in downtown Los Angeles, marking the first L.A. teacher strike in three decades. 

Because of public concern over the strike’s impact on students, school district officials chose to keep schools open during the strike with the help of substitutes, credentialed district staff, and administrators who had formerly been teachers. Schools also promised to provide meals and a safe environment for students in need. Generally, parents expressed support for the union’s decision, but  some argued that keeping their kids at home would disrupt the parents’ daily and working routines and that they couldn’t afford childcare. However, others chose to keep their children at home and even joined the teachers' picket lines. During the strike, the Facebook group “Parents Supporting Teachers” gathered nearly 12,000 members online to decry the lack of funding for teachers.

The strike soon attracted support from public figures in the entertainment industry and politics. On 18 January, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders tweeted that he "stands with [teachers] in their struggle" and posted a donation link to support the strike. On January 20, Oscar nominated actor Sean Astin joined the pickup lines in support.

The strike lasted for six days, ending on January 22 when UTLA reached a new contract deal with the district. The district met most of UTLA's demands, including a 6% pay raise for teachers, a reduction in class sizes by four students over three years, and 50% less testing. The contract also established additional funding for nurses, mental health specialists, and thirty new community schools. During the six-day strike, two-thirds of students did not attend school, which resulted in more than $100 million in lost revenue for the district, as California's public school system receives government funding based on student attendance. A poll conducted by the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University indicated that, at the end of the strike, 49.5 percent of Los Angeles County residents expressed strong support for UTLA, while 34.4 percent expressed some support.

The United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) strike gained broad support from district residents, achieved a successful outcome and highlighted the systemic and unequal distribution of resources in the public school system. However, this campaign victory was only a small part of the larger movement of educators’ strikes across the United States. In their official report on the strike, UTLA stated that, next, they would support the teachers' strike in Oakland, California and pressure Sacramento City Unified School District to increase funding for public schools and communities.