LOS ANGELES — For 24 years, Peniana Arguelles has worked as a special education assistant in Los Angeles public schools. At Menlo Avenue Elementary School in South Los Angeles she feeds children who can’t hold a fork, changes diapers, helps students choose colors for their paintings, doles out hugs when they cry.
Arguelles said she considers herself blessed and “loves her job and her students.” She is part of a corps of specialized workers who do not have teaching credentials but serve as a teacher’s right hand when it comes to the needs of students, including the most vulnerable children with special learning needs and children with disabilities.
And as a member of the Service Employees International Union Local 99 — which represents some 30,000 custodians, food workers, gardeners, bus drivers and others — Arguellas is prepared to strike for three days as part of a push for a 30% pay increase. Joining Local 99 in the strike will be members of the teachers union, a walkout that would shut down schools, beginning Tuesday.
