Award-Winning Newspaper of United Teachers Los Angeles ...

[Pages:24]Award-Winning Newspaper of United Teachers Los Angeles ?

Volume XLVII, Number 4, February 8, 2019

WHEN WE FIGHT, WE WIN

Rain or Shine, We Walked the Line!

INSIDE

? Scenes from our strike: Pages 4-8 ? Agreement delivers wins: Page 4

PULLOUT POSTER PAGE 12

United Teacher ? for the latest news:

February 8, 2019

United Teacher President's perspective

PRESIDENT NEA AFFILIATE VP AFT AFFILIATE VP ELEMENTARY VP

SECONDARY VP TREASURER SECRETARY

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Alex Caputo-Pearl Cecily Myart-Cruz Juan Ramirez Gloria Martinez Daniel Barnhart Alex Orozco Arlene Inouye

Jeff Good

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

NORTH AREA: Karla Griego, Chair (Buchanan ES), Mark Ramos (Contreras LC), Rebecca Solomon (RFK UCLA Comm. School), Julie Van Winkle (LOOC Liason)

SOUTH AREA: Maria Miranda, Chair (Miramonte ES), Ayd? Bravo (Maywood ES), L. Cynthia Matthews (McKinley ES), Karen Ticer-Le?n (Tweedy ES)

EAST AREA: Adrian Tamayo, Chair (Lorena ES), Ingrid Gunnell (Salary Point Advisor), Yolanda Tamayo

(Lorena ES), Gillian Russom (Roosevelt HS)

WEST AREA: Erika Jones, Chair (CTA Director), Georgia Flowers Lee (Saturn ES), Noah Lippe-Klein (Dorsey HS), Larry Shoham (Hamilton HS)

CENTRAL AREA: Stacie Webster, Chair (West Vernon ES), Kelly Flores (Hawkins HS), Tom?s Flores

(West Vernon ES), Claudia Rodriquez (49th Street)

VALLEY EAST AREA: Scott Mandel, Chair (Pacoima Magnet), Victoria Casas (Beachy ES), Mel House (Elementary P.E.), Hector Perez-Roman (Arleta HS)

VALLEY WEST AREA: Bruce Newborn, Chair (Hale Charter), Melodie Bitter (Lorne ES), Wendi Davis

(Henry MS), Javier Romo (Mulholland MS)

HARBOR AREA: Steve Seal, Chair (Eshelman ES), Karen Macias (Del Amo ES), Jennifer McAfee (Dodson MS), Elgin Scott (Taper ES)

ADULT & OCCUP ED: Matthew Kogan (Evans CAS)

BILINGUAL EDUCATION: Cheryl L. Ortega (Sub Unit)

EARLY CHILDHOOD ED: Teri Harnik, Cleveland EEC

HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES: Mallorie Evans (Educational Audiologist)

SPECIAL ED: Luc?a Arias (Sub Unit)

SUBSTITUTES: Benny Madera

PACE CHAIR: Marco Flores

UTLA RETIRED: John Perez

AFFILIATIONS

American Federation of Teachers National Education Association

STATE & NATIONAL OFFICERS

CFT PRESIDENT: Joshua Pechthalt CTA PRESIDENT: Eric Heins CTA DIRECTOR: Erika Jones

CFT VICE PRESIDENTS: Arlene Inouye, John Perez, Juan Ramirez NEA PRESIDENT: Lily Eskelsen Garcia AFT PRESIDENT: Randi Weingarten

AFT VICE PRESIDENT: Alex Caputo-Pearl NEA DIRECTOR: Mel House

UTLA COMMUNICATIONS

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Alex Caputo-Pearl COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Anna Bakalis COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALISTS: Kim Turner,

Carolina Barreiro, Tammy Lyn Gann ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: Laura Aldana

EDITORIAL INFORMATION

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2

Together, we made history

By Alex Caputo-Pearl UTLA President

Our strike won an overwhelming victory on the issues. We launched the teacher strike movement in California and accelerated the teacher strike movement nationally. We made history.

But what remains etched in our brains and hearts most indelibly is the togetherness, love, pride, and creative spark we felt on the picket lines and in the rallies. The co-workers at Los Angeles Elementary who got to know each other so much better on the line that they decided to step up and broaden their chapter leadership at the school as a permanent move. The chapter leaders at Augustus Hawkins High School who said that, when it rained the week after the strike, their colleagues missed striking together ("picket line withdrawal"). The parents at Lillian Street Elementary who brought pozole to the line for a collective feast. The entire school community at Arleta High School and Romer Middle School dancing in the rain and contributing to the social media dance contests. The members at Nevin Elementary who made "Thank You" cards for parents, stating, "Thank you for supporting our schools during this historic strike. Together, we will build a better and more equal world for our students and our community. UTLA Strong!" The members at Stagg Elementary and so many sites who said the strike was a tremendous boost in morale. The members at Carpenter Elementary who collectively created a social media phenom with carpool karaoke.

Every one of you on the picket line embraced your ability to be an agent of change in the world. So many of you embraced your leadership--motivating your co-workers, organizing elements of your picket line or the work supporting your picket line and rally attendance. You are incredible.

It is so important that we nurture these relationships that developed during the strike. It was our collective power, our togetherness across over 34,000 educators and tens of thousands of parents, and our strengthened relationships to each other that gave us the power to win the strike. It is also what will give us the power to win the next steps in the struggle for educational justice. So, take time to remember the picket lines and be intentional about building those relationships even stronger.

We'll need those relationships, that discipline, that pride, and that energy for our next steps:

? Educate ourselves and parents about the new contract and implement it aggressively.

? Elect Jackie Goldberg to LAUSD School Board District 5.

? Support the possible Oakland teacher strike.

? Pressure the state for a charter cap and additional funding for schools.

What we achieved

We began our contract campaign with member, parent, and community surveys in February 2017. We had three overall goals

for the campaign.

1. Win on key

contract demands.

2. Win on key po-

litical and common

good demands

outside the contract.

3. Build the

movement for

public education.

We achieved all

of our goals.

Over my 22

years of teaching

and community

organizing, and

four and a half

years of being

UTLA president,

I have been a part

of, and closely

observed, many

unions' contract Our collective power gave us the strength to win the strike. campaigns and

many community campaigns to change professionals, ROC/ROP teachers, adult

policies. I have never seen a victory with education, substitute educators, ethnic

the depth and breadth of what we won studies, and expanded chapter chair rights

together in our strike.

regarding budgets, speaking at district

For months between July and Novem- meetings, and more. Read details on page 4.

ber 2018, we blanketed the city with the In addition to the privatization, school

"United, We Act Now" flyer, outlining funding, and Community School victo-

seven of our key demands. We won on ries above, there were additional victories

all of them.

on political and common good demands

Pay: A 6% retroactive increase without outside the contract, including expanding

contingencies and without conditions that green space on school campuses, expand-

undermine healthcare.

ing the number of schools where school

Class size: Elimination of Section 1.5 of safety alternatives to so-called random

the class-size article, leading to the first searches would be used, and creating an

enforceable class-size caps in decades, immigrant defense fund.

along with the first systematic reduction On our third goal of using our contract

in class sizes in decades over the course campaign and our strike to build the move-

of three years.

ment for public education, we scored an

Staffing and school safety: Increased unambiguous victory. Tens of thousands of

staffing, including a nurse in every school parents picketed and marched with us. We

every day, a teacher librarian in every sec- fundamentally shifted the media narrative

ondary school, and a first-time enforceable about public schools in LA and around

student-to-counselor ratio.

the country. The new narrative: We must

Testing: A 50% reduction in standard- invest in our schools, not privatize them; in

ized testing.

the richest state in the richest country in the

Privatization: A School Board resolu- world, it is clearly possible to do this; and,

tion calling on Sacramento to implement a educators will strike for our students. We

moratorium on new charter schools, a first- have helped inspire teacher movements

time article in our contract giving public and possible strikes in Oakland, Denver,

district schools more rights in charter co- Virginia, Texas, Maryland, and more.

locations, and a commitment to remove

unused bungalows.

Lessons from our strike

School funding: An endorsement by the We learned many lessons from our

district and Mayor Eric Garcetti for the strike, and we did our learning on a public

Schools and Communities First statewide stage, so that the US labor movement,

measure in November 2020 that would teacher unions everywhere, and move-

bring $11 billion to schools and social ments everywhere can learn with us.

services, and an unlocking of LA County Strikes work: We live in a period of

monies for mental health services.

history in which the right wing is at-

Community Schools: Investment in 30 tempting to take away the right to strike,

school communities to transform into and liberals are often too scared to utter

Community Schools, as a model for great the word "strike" for fear that it will be

education, and as a proactive alternative too "disruptive." With a massive, ef-

to charter schools.

fective, strategic, and well-organized

There were contractual wins beyond strike, we have helped put striking back

these, including for special education, on the map. And, we have shown that

greater educator voice in magnet con- strikes work. We would not have won

version, early education, workspace for 80% of our contract demands without

itinerants and health and human services

(continued on next page)

United Teacher ? for the latest news:

February 8, 2019

PRESIDENT'S PERSPECTIVE

(continued from previous page)

a strike. We would not have forced the non-contractual political and common good demands onto the table without a strike. We would not have galvanized the movement we did and shifted the media narrative without a strike.

Building systems and structures pays off: All of the work we have done over the past four years to build systems and structures--recruiting chapter chairs at every school, building contract action teams at our schools, building cluster systems for communication--were essential to organizing a successful strike.

Parents, youth, and community are essential: Four years ago, we initiated the Reclaim Our Schools LA coalition of community and civil rights organizations, and we began a process of training our members to do school-by-school parent connection and communication. This paid off in the strike with tens of thousands of parents involved. ROSLA did an amazing parallel set of actions during our strike, including protests in the rain at Monica Garcia and Austin Beutner's homes and a teach-in at the offices of a well-known privatizer. We must double-down on this work to continue to build the movement for our schools.

Collective action is the key to social change: We live in a society that celebrates celebrities and individual leaders. No celebrity or individual leader could have won the victories we did, or galvanized the attention and movement we did. We were able to do that through the collective, organized action of tens of thousands of people.

Both major political parties need to be aggressively challenged: The Arizona, West Virginia, and Oklahoma teacher walkouts of last year were called "red state strikes" against Republican legislatures. Though Democrats are supposedly more sympathetic to public education and unions, it took our strike for elected officials in Los Angeles and California, overwhelmingly Democratic, to take the underfunding and privatization of our schools seriously. We have to keep on challenging them.

Being bold and pushing political imagination matters: The district refused to bargain school funding, Community Schools, elements of charter schools, and our common good proposals, claiming they were "outside the scope of bargaining." They took us to court saying that we couldn't bargain standardized testing because it is a permissive subject of bargaining, not a mandatory subject. We were bold, pushed through, and reached agreement on all of these. We are imagining a new future in which social movements bargain on more and more issues that matter to people.

There is no textbook way to end a strike: On the Tuesday that was the last day of the strike, the voting on the tentative agreement was very rushed and frustrated some members. We understand this, embrace the criticism, and are reflective. We had three options on how to end the strike: (a) have the Board of Directors end it alone, which would have been unacceptable because our members owned this strike, and that would have been undemocratic; (b) extend the strike through Wednesday, which would have given people more time to read the agreement and vote, but would have added an additional day unpaid; or (c) Use that 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. period on Tuesday to try to rush the voting. In the intensity of the end of a 24-hour bar-

gaining session at the end of a weekend of bargaining, pressure from the media, pressure from elected officials, and trying to balance the centrality of our members being able to read and understand the agreement with the value of minimizing our members' loss of pay to the degree possible, we went with option (c). We apologize for the rushed voting and are reflective about this difficult choice.

Wins must be used as platforms to continue the struggle: We cannot rest on our wins. We must use them as the foundation to aggressively push forward in these and other critical areas.

? Class size: The strike would have been worth it even if our only win had been eliminating Section 1.5 on class size. Class size is that important to working conditions, learning conditions, building coalitions, limiting RIFs, limiting charter co-locations, and so much more. Killing 1.5 will result in reductions in class size at every level next year because the class size caps in the 2017-18 Memorandum of Understanding will be enforced. The 3?-year process to close the gap between the caps in the 2017-18 MOU and the caps in our permanent contract will result in additional reductions of up to seven students. These are huge wins--and, as the civil rights movement of the 1960s and other movements have taught us, sometimes huge victories are implemented gradually. But we will not rest with these wins. Now that we have the win of enforceable class size caps, we can press to lower them even further in future bargaining, from TK-12 and adult school, from core subjects to elective classes.

? Special education: We opened up the special education article in our contract for the first time in 38 years. We should be proud

that we did this, for students and educators who have, for too long, been neglected. We made significant gains on articulating district norms for class sizes and caseloads, getting release time for teachers to do assessments, requiring the district to provide data on caseloads, gaining the ability to bargain on instructional delivery models, addressing for the first time the varied needs of autistic students, and accelerating the response time the district has to address class size and caseload problems. But there is much more to do. We will use the current wins as a platform to fight aggressively for more.

? Psychologists, PSWs, and PSAs: In the past four years, we have won key victories for our members in these groups with regards to beating back RIFs and winning additional hiring. With our strike, we won the guarantee of work space for these members, a contractual workload committee that will drive toward reducing ratios and unnecessary paperwork, and the ability to be a part of the innovative Community School model. We will need to work to aggressively build on these victories.

? Bilingual and multilingual education: We will forcefully work to make improvements in these key areas. This will require deeply educating the district on the needs of our students, and the educators serving them.

I will end where I began. We just experienced something together that very few in life do--an incredible, victorious, and movement-building strike. I couldn't be more honored to have done this with you.

And now we move to our next steps. Every one of us needs to personally involve ourselves in each of these. Reach out and get precinct-walking, text-banking, and informational picketing at your schools on your calendar for these next steps:

? Educating ourselves and parents

Alex on the first day of the strike with his daughter, Ella, an LAUSD student. Many families walked the line together and embraced the strike as a living lesson that people can lead by taking to the streets. As so many rally signs read: "Los maestros luchando tambien est?n ense?ando"-- The teachers who are fighting are also teaching.

about the new contract and implementing it aggressively.

? Electing Jackie Goldberg to School Board District 5.

? Supporting the possible Oakland teacher strike.

? Pressuring the state for a charter cap and additional funding for schools.

You are wonderful. Move forward with pride. You did something so few others have done. You are going to help build on it. You embraced your ability to be an agent of change in the world--and you made a change. I will see you soon, and let's keep moving forward.

In this issue

4 Ground-breaking agreement reinvests in public education Details of the new contract.

4 Strike 2019 timeline Highlights of our six days on the line.

6 My time on the strike line Bell High teacher Lisa Culpepper on the unity, the chants, the honks--and yes, the rain.

7 Accelerated teachers lead first charter strike in the state New contract will help stem extreme teacher turnover at the charter schools.

8 UTLA Leadership: We Are #UTLAStrong

14 Passings

16 Note from the UTLA-Retired president

18 Involvement opportunity: CTA State Council elections

19 WHO awards

20 Committee events

21 STRS preretirement workshops

23 Grapevines

Get connected to UTLA

Facebook: UTLAnow Twitter: @utlanow YouTube: UTLAnow

COVER PHOTO OF VIVIAN ODEGA, MILES EEC, BY JOE BRUSKY

3

United Teacher ? for the latest news:

Ground-breaking agreement reinvests in public education

Details of the new contract.

February 8, 2019

Our contract agreement is groundbreaking in its focus on meeting student needs and its embrace of strategies to foster a thriving, sustainable public school system. For more than 20 months at the table, LAUSD refused to bargain on anything but the most narrow of topics, but our strike forced the district to engage on issues critical to the survival of public schools in LA. By winning on our demands to reinvest in public education, we pushed back on the privatizers' agenda to defund and destabilize our schools. Here are the critical elements of the agreement:

Fair wages

? 6% raise with no contingencies

We fought off district demands to tie the raise to additional work, and we defeated the district's priority to start cutting healthcare (Rule of 87 for future employees), which LAUSD's Hard Choices report claims is 44% too generous. LAUSD only moved to the 6% salary offer in the fall, after our strike prep intensified. For months before that, LAUSD had stuck to its offer of a 2% raise and 2% one-time bonus.

Lower class sizes

? Elimination of Section 1.5, which allowed the district to ignore class-size averages and caps in the contract and unilaterally increase class size. This will impact all grade levels and subjects by creating real, enforceable class-size maximums.

? All English and Math classes reduced to 39 students effective 2019-20 (there are nearly 600 classes this year with more than 39 students)

? Progressive class-size reductions for grades 4-12 over the next three years: reduction of one student per grade level in 2019, two students in 2020-2021, and four students in 2021-22, compared to current levels. The steady reduction of class-size maximums will naturally reduce class-size averages.

? Additional targeted class-size reductions in 75 high-needs elementary schools and 15 high-needs middle schools

? Agreement sets the stage to push class sizes lower in future bargaining, now that Section 1.5 is eliminated (before, any negotiated classsize reductions were meaningless because LAUSD had the power to ignore them).

Getting rid of Section 1.5 is the biggest victory in this contract. We now have hard class-size caps for the first time in 25 years. The elimination of Section 1.5 was the last item we negotiated at the table--LAUSD held onto it until the bitter end because it is such a powerful tool for them. Section 1.5 is why we have more than 800 classes this school year that violate our contract agreement. None of this will be the case at the start of the new school year. With Section 1.5 gone, all class sizes will have hard caps, and those hard caps are enforceable through the grievance procedure.

More nurses, counselors, and librarians

? A nurse in every school every day by 2020-21 (at least 300 new nurses hired)

? A teacher librarian in every secondary school every day by 2020-21 (at least 82 new teacher-librarians hired)

? Contractual guarantee of student-counselor ratios of 500:1 at every secondary school

More than a strike, a movement: Every day we put tens of thousands of people in the streets for huge marches (above), regional actions (below), and daily morning and afternoon picketing at schools.

The contract makes solid progress in fully staffing our schools with the professionals needed to give students the supports they deserve and to build the kind of schools parents want to send their children to.

Less testing & more teaching

? Agreement forms parent, teacher, and administrator task force to create an inventory of tests not mandated by the state or federal government and to analyze their effectiveness and cost.

? Task force will make recommendations to cut up to 50% of standardized tests not mandated by state or federal government

LAUSD took legal action to try to push our testing demands off the table, but our strike forced them to engage on the issue.

Funding for schools

? Formal commitment that LAUSD and the Mayor's office will jointly advocate for increased county and state funding, including additional funding for nurses, mental health, special education, and Community Schools

? Mayor will endorse the Schools and Communities First ballot initiative in 2020 that would bring $11 billion in new state revenue for education and community needs (continued on page 10)

Forecast calls for "picket umbrellas"

Last-minute sign-laminating at Lakeshore

Rain or shine we walk the line!

50,000+ strong, we march to Beaudry

The Daily Show's Trevor Noah calls our demands "the most reasonable ever"

On strike for our students: Prep-Day 1

4

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February 8, 2019

The strike heard 'round the world

Our power in the streets forces reinvestment in our schools and shifts the narrative on education.

Our strike was a watershed moment for public education: In six days, we galvanized the city, dominated national media coverage, won a ground-breaking contract, and learned that in the battle to reinvest in our schools, the public stands with us.

With 34,000 members out, it was one of the biggest strikes in California history and, despite torrential downpours, community support grew as the walkout progressed from its January 14 start, with more students staying home from school and more parents marching with us, topping 60,000 people at our biggest rally.

Our work stoppage drew national attention to how California, one of the wealthiest and most liberal states in the country, spends shamefully little on its public schools and how our students--predominately from communities of color-- are not getting what they need to succeed.

"Teachers tend to be selfless people, and for years we've just dealt with issues such as larger class sizes and a lack of funding and resources that led to less and less of everything that we need for a thriving school," Multnomah Elementary chapter chair Lorraine Qui?ones says. "Our schools have been neglected for too long, and the broader public had no idea what our working and learning conditions were like. Our strike sparked a sense of urgency to demand the changes we know are needed and deserved."

With passion and discipline, UTLA members conducted a strike like the state has not seen in decades. All the joy and creativity that educators bring to their schools were displayed on our picket lines, with intracampus dance challenges, chant competitions, and Instagram-worthy protest signs.

The incredible outpouring of support took myriad forms. A Boyle Heights mother opened her home every day, cooking meals and keeping hot coffee and tea always on hand for the water-logged educators at Mendez High. In Highland Park, strikers at multiple schools were cheered by the anonymous driver who steered his pickup truck around the neighborhood, blasting "We Will Rock You" from a giant speaker aimed out his window. On Day 4 of the strike, parents with the Parents Supporting Teachers Facebook group organized a 4,000-strong Hands Across Colfax human chain that stretched for nearly a mile. And when the strike was over, one Taper Avenue parent welcomed teachers back with gift-wrapped packages of Epsom salt

for their sore feet, with a note thanking them for standing up for students.

Game-changing contract agreement

Our strike accomplished in six days what years of bargaining could not: Force the district to reinvest in our schools. The agreement reached January 22 at LA City Hall, where Mayor Eric Garcetti and his team had been mediating between the two sides, hits all the defining elements of our contract campaign.

The wins include a 6 percent retroactive raise; lower class sizes and the toppriority elimination of Section 1.5, which allowed LAUSD to violate class sizes in the contract; a nurse in every school every day; more funding for librarians and counselors; and a 50 percent reduction in the amount of standardized testing (read full details on page 4). We beat back an attack on healthcare, secured support for a cap on charter schools and additional state funding, and made progress on common good demands around support for immigrant families, expanding green space, and ending so-called random searches.

By withholding our labor, we forced LAUSD to make major concessions on items it had refused to negotiate for months--such as reducing overtesting-- and on top-line priorities like eliminating Section 1.5, the last thing we won at the table. The new contract, which was approved in a membership vote by 81% to 19%, is not a narrow labor agreement but a broad compact that sets us on a path to a sustainable public education system and reflects our game-changing strike that saw the community unite behind reinvesting in public schools, not dismantling them.

"People were made more aware of the challenges we face," says Jee Kang, chapter chair at 186th Street School. "Most of our school's parents didn't know that we didn't have a nurse every day. Now they realize that the state spends more to imprison people than to teach their children, and I think elected officials will keep these newly energized parents in mind when they make funding decisions. It's not just teachers demanding that we reinvest in our schools--it's the entire community."

Striking a blow against privatization

Our strike was the eighth major teacher walkout over the past year as the Red for

#UTLAStrong in the streets of LA.

Ed movement has spread from West Virginia to Oklahoma, Arizona, and beyond. Our walkout in Los Angeles--ground zero for privatization attacks by billionaires like Eli Broad--was the first to highlight the destabilizing impact the unregulated expansion of the corporate charter industry has on public education.

The strike was a wakeup call for elected officials--one that aligns with the new political dynamic emerging around education and the charter industry. State Superintendent Tony Thurmond has called for a temporary ban on new K-12 charter schools in the state, saying the state has reached a "tipping point" with too many charters, and Governor Gavin Newsom is calling for a review of the impact of charter school growth on district finances.

And locally, in an incredible turnaround, the LAUSD School Board voted 5 to 1 in support of board member Richard Vladovic's motion to call on the state to impose a moratorium on charters-- a lopsided result unthinkable before our walkout. Only board member Nick Melvoin voted against the resolution.

Building on our victory

Our victory was more than a year in the making and rests on the essential work of building structures at school sites, engaging parents and the community as partners, and taking escalating actions that built our strike readiness.

"Our expectations were fundamentally raised by this strike," UTLA President Alex Caputo-Pearl says. "Together we said we

deserve better and our students deserve better. We must keep our expectations high and bring the same energy and spirit to our next fights, because the next struggle is right around the corner."

Some immediate next steps: ? A deeper dive into the new contract and implementation issues through chapter meetings and trainings. ? Precinct walking to elect Jackie Goldberg to the open LAUSD School Board seat in District 5 (see page 7). ? Supporting our brothers and sisters in Denver and Oakland as they move toward possible strikes. ? Taking action in Sacramento to push for more school funding and to answer the LAUSD School Board's call for a moratorium on charters in Los Angeles. We move onto these next steps with deeper relationships--with colleagues, parents, the community--forged on the picket lines. Rosa Parks Learning Center teacher Abigail Massey says that the experience of being on strike has been "transformative" for the staff. "We were united in our cause and by the overwhelming support of our local community, the city, and ultimately the teaching profession across the nation," Massey says. "We took a huge step forward in providing our students with the environment they need to become successful learners, as well as what teachers need to be successful educational professionals. Despite the exhaustion, high emotions, and uncertainty of the strike, I would do it all again, and I'm ready to keep fighting for my students."

Two rock stars--Diane Ravitch & Steven Van Zandt--join the picket line at Hamilton High

Survey shows deep community support

Students serenade teachers across the picket lines

50,000+ protest outside charter lobby headquarters

Venice High picket-line dance video goes viral

Dolores Huerta marches with grandsons in Central Area

On strike for our students: Days 2-3

5

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February 8, 2019

In your own words

My time on the strike line

Our passion guides our fight for a better future.

By Lisa Napoleon Culpepper English teacher Bell High School

A man I don't know offers me a tamale. I'm hungry, so I say, "Sure." I take off my gloves, reach into the cooler, and pick one. I can tell it has been made with love because the shells are tied by hand with skinny strings of husks. I unwrap it just wide enough to see the tamale. I don't hesitate and I begin eating--slowly, though, because I am still cold and don't want to drop it from shaking. As I eat, I stand facing north and gaze at the teachers from underneath the protection of the tent. The rain hits my face and drips profusely from the covering's edges.

I see the same Bell High crews leading the intersection marches. The traffic light turns green, and hordes of teachers begin walking from one side of the street to the

Bell High, feeling the community love on the picket line.

When more than

30,000 teachers

picket in the rain

for days, they are

telling the world that

something is terribly

wrong with the

educational system.

other. Mr. Soars carries a UTLA flag, Ms. Wilson's ringlets of soaked red hair are no longer bouncing, and Mr. Moreno is wearing a construction helmet with "UTLA" written on it in capital letters; he blows two whistles while holding a large sign that reads: "I Got 99 Problems and A Lying Superintendent Is One." I see a migration of defiant whistle blowers, sign- and flag-carriers, five-gallon water bottle drummers, and boom-box holders--they're chanting to keep themselves and those around them fired up. They turn to the cars that are passing by and look at the drivers and passengers straight in their eyes. Other teachers walk along the middle

dividers carrying signs that read: "Honk if you support teachers." A symphony of horns--high, low, short, long, puttering, and cacophonous--spray the air. I hear the rhythmic intonations of "We are the teachers, the mighty, mighty teachers, standing for students and for education." The groups begin to walk through the intersections again, and underneath the Conroy's flower shop sign, I see a group of teachers dancing in yellow, red, and white rain ponchos.

T hose standing along the sidewalks that enclose Atlantic and Florence raise their fists and chant, "What do we want? A new contract. When do we want it? Now!" The voices and the honking overtake the plummeting rain. The harder it rains, the louder Atlantic and Florence becomes. My senses are overwhelmed.

I 'm finishing my tamale, quietly observing the making of history, and a black SUV turns out of an adjacent parking lot with a girl standing up and leaning out of the sunroof. The car holds a mother, daughter, and two younger brothers in the backseat. The SUV stops. All of them get out of the car and they too chant, "UT-LA!" They raise their fists in solidarity, and the crowd next to them goes ballistic. It seems like a scene right out of the movies.

This was Day 4, when neighboring

schools gathered at this central location after morning picketing to plead our case to the people. We took over all four corners of the intersection and amplified our cause by walking relentlessly in a storm, rallying for social justice, and moving as one. The waves of honks made a statement: The community understood what we were doing.

As I stood under the tent that provided very little protection, I felt supported. I felt it in my heart that we, the LAUSD public school teachers, were being heard, but more importantly, that the community was standing with us.

Teachers are very passionate people. We have to be. Whether that passion is perceived as dry and brittle or overboard, it is there. And when more than 30,000 teachers take to the streets in protest, when

more than 30,000 teachers picket in the rain for days, they are telling the world that something is terribly wrong with the educational system and they are damn tired of being blamed for it.

For six days in January, educators for the Los Angeles Unified School District fought back. We won the strike on so many different levels: for ourselves, our students, our communities, and for education as a whole. It was work that had to be done because our future depended on it. On Wednesday, I was proud to walk back into my classroom. Teachers returned to their work as passionately as they had stomped the pavement the previous week. The consistent theme was, "I'm glad to be back." This work is our passion, and it is this passion that guided our collective action to fight for a better future.

Air your opinion

We welcome submissions to "In Your Own Words," which is an open forum for members and the community. "In Your Own Words" columns state the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of UTLA, its officers, or UNITED TEACHER.

By mail: Editor, UNITED TEACHER, 3303 Wilshire Blvd., 10th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90010.

By email: UTnewspaper@

Benjamin Bratt tweets support (one of dozens of celebs in solidarity)

Parents with Reclaim Our Schools LA hold protest outside Monica Garcia and Austin Beutner's homes

Video of LAUSD fifth-grader Aryana Fields singing "Strike Song" goes viral

Alex gets standing ovation on the Real Time With Bill Maher show

60,000+ Let the Sunshine In at Grand Park rally

On strike for our students: Days 4-5

6

United Teacher ? for the latest news:

Accelerated teachers lead first charter strike in the state

Eight-day work stoppage results in big wins.

February 8, 2019

One day after UTLA members hit the picket lines, nearly 80 educators from The Accelerated Schools walked off the job, setting off the first charter teacher strike in California and only the second in the nation.

The strike ended after eight days on the line, with an agreement reached with the support of parents and the mediation of Los Angeles City Councilmember Curren Price.

The new contract includes several improvements aimed at reducing teacher turnover by providing increased job security and improvements to teachers' healthcare benefits. Newly negotiated provisions include:

? Three months' severance package, including salary and benefits, for any teacher who is not offered an employment contract from one year to the next.

? An improved arbitration process that requires a unanimous vote of the Accelerated Board of Trustees in order to reverse any decision made by an arbitrator.

? Annual signing bonuses of $10,000 for teachers who return to their positions at the beginning of each school year.

? The formation of a Collaborative Consensus Committee for stakeholders to discuss issues and create and implement improvements to schoolwide processes

and practices. ? Annual increases in the employer's

share of healthcare costs. The contract, which extends to the 2020-

2021 school year, was approved by a 77-1 vote of Accelerated teachers.

"This contract was hard fought, and we are thrilled to have reached an agreement that will work to combat the 40% to 50% teacher turnover that's plagued our schools and that will allow teachers to focus on providing the very best for our students," Wallis Annenberg High School teacher German Gallardo said. "We went on strike for the schools that our students deserve, and we couldn't be more proud of them and the families who have showed such incredible support and commitment to our schools during the strike."

The agreement capped more than 20 months of negotiations between the unionized charter school teachers and The Accelerated Schools. In November 2018, the parties reached impasse and entered into a state-mandated fact-finding process. Talks following that process stalled, and teachers at the charter schools voted 99% to approve a strike.

"Our strike was critical for our profes-

Accelerated teachers held the line for eight days, fighting for measures to address the huge turnover at the schools.

sion, and unfortunately this dispute was a long time coming here at our schools," TAS third grade teacher Amanda Martinez said. "But now it is time for our community

to heal. Having this agreement in place provides teachers solid ground to stand on as we work toward building the school that this community deserves."

Building on our victory: Elect Jackie Goldberg March 5

The progressive leader we need on the LAUSD School Board to fight for public education.

During our six-day strike, Jackie Goldberg was a constant presence, speaking at rallies, talking with teachers huddled under umbrellas in the rain, and giving fire-up talks to picketers. She was on the line because she knows our fight was not just for a fair contract but to push back against the wealthy privatizers--like Eli

Broad--who want to defund our schools in favor of an unregulated system of privately operated charters.

Informed by her decades of experience--from classroom teacher to assembly member--Jackie has concluded that "the billionaires have stacked the deck against district public schools."

Ad paid for by Students, Parents and Educators in Support of Jackie Goldberg for School Board 2019, Sponsored by Teachers Unions, Including United Teachers Los Angeles.

Committee major funding from: Political Action Council of Educators, Sponsored by Teachers Unions,

Including United Teachers Los Angeles American Federation of Teachers Solidarity Committee California Teachers Association/Association for Better Citizenship

This ad was not authorized by a candidate or a committee controlled by a candidate.

On March 5, we

can flip the District

5 seat away from

the privatizers,

who spent millions

to elect criminally

indicted board

member Ref Rodri-

guez, and we can

elect a public edu-

cation defender to

the board.

VOTE: Vote by

mails ballots have

already dropped.

If you live in Dis-

trict 5, mail your

ballot in today or Jackie on the first day of the strike on the picket line at Marshall High.

go to the polls on

March 5.

16 and 23 and March 2 and 3. Sign up at

VOLUNTEER: Precinct walking February news/elect-jackie-goldberg

Strike makes SNL monologue

Carpenter Avenue teachers' carpool karaoke series keeps spirits high

Bargaining team pulls marathon 24-hour session

1,000 firefighters march from DTLA to Contreras LC

50,000+ cheer contract victory in Grand Park

On strike for our students: Weekend-Day 6

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United Teacher ? for the latest news:

February 8, 2019

UTLA leadership team: We are #UTLAStrong

Inspiration from the picket lines.

"I saw hope, I saw joy, and I saw a belief in the future of teaching"

In the long runup to our strike, I had the chance to visit many schools and to talk with the members about what was on people's minds. I remember distinctly one small school where the chapter chair texted me to visit because four of her newer teachers were saying they weren't going to strike. I came out to a lunch meeting and listened to what was going on. I heard fears about the credentialing program, about being probationary, and about what would happen to the special needs students they serve. It was a small group discussion, about real fears and issues. Flash forward to Wednesday of the strike, and under a rain-soaked popup tent, I saw the entire staff together at Sycamore Grove park for one of the regional rallies. I recognized the faces of those same new teachers who now didn't have a lick of fear in their eyes or an ounce of doubt in their hearts; I saw hope, I saw joy, and I saw a belief in the future of teaching and learning. That's a big thing that we did together. We build those big things when we put small pieces together, patiently, thoughtfully, and methodically.

--Daniel Barnhart UTLA Secondary Vice President

"We are renewed, reenergized, and ready for the fight ahead"

In 1989, I was an 11th-grade student at Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies, affectionately known as (LACES), when my teachers went on strike. I defied the rules and I jumped the fence to walk with those teachers. I knew without a doubt that they were fighting for me.

On January 14, 2019, in the torrential downpour, I walked the line at my old high school with friends, former teachers, students, parents, and community members. It was an overwhelming feeling to be back and on strike where I began as a youth advocate and activist.

I felt a deep sense of connection while walking, singing, chanting, talking to reporters, and FaceTiming with my mom, Mary, and my son, Giovanni, on that old familiar 18th Street. I am proud to be a LACES Unicorn.

Before we left the school and headed downtown for the first march, we gathered on the auditorium stairs, 400 people strong. We listened for guidance and inspiration given to us by chapter chair Crystal Dukes, and then a student, a parent and I spoke. This was the first time I had spoken in front of a crowd on those steps since 1990, and it was powerful to come full circle.

Our strike is one for the history books. I am moved by our members' resolve. I am grateful for the UTLA officer team, UTLA staff, and all the support we received from our affiliates. I am so proud of our union. We are renewed, reenergized, and ready for the fight ahead. Most importantly, I am profoundly changed by our 2019 strike. When we strike, we win!

--Cecily Myart-Cruz UTLA NEA Vice President

"This strike changed the public narrative about who we are"

I have experienced many emotions over the past months and especially over the past two weeks. I was moved to tears walking with you on the picket line. Your joy and empowerment was so vibrant and alive in the singing, dancing, and chanting that reflected a newfound sense of community. Some of you told me that this was the first time you felt appreciated as an educator and teacher ... that it was the first time that parents and the community personally thanked you for being a teacher.

8

The fact that this strike changed the public narrative about who we are and what we do is so exhilarating. That was indeed a high point.

The low points have been the frustration felt in negotiations for over 21 months when there was no movement, with the district giving out misinformation and attempting to scare and confuse our members. Contrast that with what we felt on the second day of negotiations on Friday morning, January 18, when we heard your cheers from the third floor of City Hall where we were working day and night to get an agreement. When we opened the window, we saw you in all of your beauty and glory, blocks and blocks of

members, parents, students, community in red. It was truly a thrilling sight to behold.

Then there was the intensity of the final hours of negotiations when we were racing against the clock and quite sleep deprived. But the 17 members of the Bargaining Team knew the seriousness of what we had been called to do, and we felt the heavy responsibility and weight of getting a fair contract. I'm so proud of how hard the Bargaining Team worked, and the discipline and focus we maintained throughout the 70-plus hours of negotiations.

Just as the UTLA strike of 2019 is changing the state of public education in this nation, it has changed me, and UTLA will never be the same.

--Arlene Inouye UTLA Secretary

"We can take pride in holding the line"

Building our successful strike took years of organizing, and that paid off with tight, energetic picket lines across the city. Our lines were strong because everyone was on them--amped-up chapter leaders, brand-new teachers, veterans from the 1989 strike, and folks who weren't known for union activism.

When I marched at my former school, I was moved to see a retired colleague on the picket line. She said that, retired or not, she wanted to be part of the struggle, and having her out there inspired all of us.

Many members have told me that their school community has been strengthened by the bonds built on the picket line--with colleagues, with parents, with the community--as they stood together in the rain, fighting for students and for public education.

We can take pride in holding the line. We are part of this transformation and the movement that will change the direction of LAUSD.

--Juan Ramirez UTLA AFT Vice President

"We had to win, because losing would have meant the beginning of the end of public education in LA"

Being part of this historic movement is absolutely life changing. A month before our strike, I was in New Orleans at the Parish School Board meeting where I witnessed a vote to turn the last remaining public school in New Orleans--McDonogh 35--into a charter school. Being in that room was surreal, and as my heart went out to the wonderful people of New Orleans, my heart also ached for our own city. The thought of our district being broken up tortured me as I flew back home.

I knew we had to win, because losing would have meant the beginning of the end of public education in Los Angeles. What we did collectively was nothing short of amazing. We defended public education for all of our students--the ones who have their lives completely planned out, the ones who have yet to figure it out, the disenfranchised students--we did this for them. Our strike forced the very people who were put into power to break up our district to do exactly what we demanded: reinvest in our schools. I could not be more proud. Our power changed the narrative around privatization, our power brought teachers and parents together, and our power now stands with us, the educators of Los Angeles. Let's revel in that power, let's continue to build on our victory, and let's never let that power escape us again.

--Gloria Martinez UTLA Elementary Vice President

"Being on strike with your brothers and sisters changes you"

This strike was not a strike, it was a movement--a movement that we built with community, students, and parents. Being on the picket lines with my colleagues, family, and complete strangers was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

As a history teacher and union organizer, I relish these moments. When I was teaching, two of my favorite units were on MLK and Cesar Chavez. These two historical figures allowed me to educate our students about these amazing civil rights leaders, their strategies, organizing, and love for humanity. Being on the picket lines and at the rallies and marches made me feel a part of this awesomeness. Knowing that figures like Dolores Huerta and other leaders were out marching and chanting with us only added to this amazing and surreal experience.

My feelings as a union organizer were also at an alltime high. Not only were we able to consistently bring 50,000-plus people to rallies (often in the pouring rain) but I now understand what my union brothers and sisters felt in 1989.

As officers, we visited hundreds of schools, organizing and preparing to have the most successful strike in UTLA history. And at every site visit, I would ask for and acknowledge folks who struck in '89. And every time, without question, they stood up with such pride and confidence. Now I understand why.

Being on strike with your brothers and sisters changes you. It is an unexplainable experience that everyone in the labor movement should one day be able to experience. I was lucky to share these moments with my wife, who is also an LAUSD teacher, and my daughter, who walked the line with us. We should all feel proud of what we accomplished and proudly retell this story to our grandchildren and beyond. ?Si se pudo!

--Alex Orozco UTLA Treasurer

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