LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles teachers union is pressing its demands for a 20% raise over two years, smaller class sizes and a steep reduction in standardized testing — the latest stress test for the nation's second-largest school district and Superintendent Alberto Carvalho as the system struggles to address students' deep learning setbacks and mental health needs in the wake of the pandemic.
For United Teachers Los Angeles — which staged three simultaneous rallies Monday across the vast school system — its contract platform speaks to the intense pressures that members say are pummeling their profession, leading to dire teacher shortages in California and throughout the nation. Ongoing economic uncertainties and the high costs of living and housing in Los Angeles have intensified their focus on contract talks as teachers worry about career sustainability and increasing workloads.
"When you can't even afford to live when you work, we got a problem y'all," UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz said in impassioned remarks that closed the rally outside district headquarters just west of downtown. "This district has had seven whole months to address the educator shortage and to make sure that every student has a classroom teacher, every student has a school nurse, every student has a counselor and a librarian and mental health support."
