On February 26, thousands of educators protested in downtown Los Angeles. The reason for the rally was to publicize the fact that Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has stalled contract negotiations with workers for more than six months.

United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) is demanding an 8.5% increase in salary for educators who have not had a pay raise or a cost of living adjustment in the last eight years. UTLA is also focusing on fixing issues such as class size and counselor-to-student ratio.

“Teachers haven’t gotten a raise in LAUSD seven years and every time the districts say they are out of money, teachers voluntarily take a pay cut,” said Venice teacher David Silberman. “The districts acts like this never happens. A pay raise is long overdue.”

On average, educators in Los Angeles earn about $2,148 less in pay per year than teachers in surrounding educational districts, according to dailynews.com.

Another of the most prominent issues UTLA is aiming to fix is the lack of full-time nurses on school campus. This is an issue of concern due to the current measles outbreak that has hit 11 counties in and around Los Angeles. For the 651,000 K-12 students enrolled in LAUSD schools, their campuses are extremely understaffed with nurses. Tonya Ross, LAUSD’s director of Nursing Services, admits that the inadequate amount of nurses is a barrier in tracking students’ immunizations.

To emphasize how upset UTLA educators are with the lack of compromise from LAUSD, there have been discussions of a district-wide strike.

“I think that if we go on strike for a pay raise, the district will find a way to take it back. I think it’s a lose-lose situation for both sides.” says Venice administrator Sharon Davis, who opposes going out on strike.

UTLA is still steps away from declaring a strike. But educators refuse to back down from their fight to improve benefits to the second largest school in the district.

On February 26, thousands of educators protested in downtown Los Angeles. The reason for the rally was to publicize the fact that Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has stalled contract negotiations with workers for more than six months.

United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) is demanding an 8.5% increase in salary for educators who have not had a pay raise or a cost of living adjustment in the last eight years. UTLA is also focusing on fixing issues such as class size and counselor-to-student ratio.

“Teachers haven’t gotten a raise in LAUSD seven years and every time the districts say they are out of money, teachers voluntarily take a pay cut,” said Venice teacher David Silberman. “The districts acts like this never happens. A pay raise is long overdue.”

On average, educators in Los Angeles earn about $2,148 less in pay per year than teachers in surrounding educational districts, according to dailynews.com.

Another of the most prominent issues UTLA is aiming to fix is the lack of full-time nurses on school campus. This is an issue of concern due to the current measles outbreak that has hit 11 counties in and around Los Angeles. For the 651,000 K-12 students enrolled in LAUSD schools, their campuses are extremely understaffed with nurses. Tonya Ross, LAUSD’s director of Nursing Services, admits that the inadequate amount of nurses is a barrier in tracking students’ immunizations.

To emphasize how upset UTLA educators are with the lack of compromise from LAUSD, there have been discussions of a district-wide strike.

“I think that if we go on strike for a pay raise, the district will find a way to take it back. I think it’s a lose-lose situation for both sides.” says Venice administrator Sharon Davis, who opposes going out on strike.

UTLA is still steps away from declaring a strike. But educators refuse to back down from their fight to improve benefits to the second largest school in the district.