I had a very exciting morning with teachers, parents and students who were picketing outside Alexander Hamilton High School in Los Angeles.
Teachers and parents walked in front of the majestic exterior building, on the sidewalk where cars could see them. Several people held up signs saying “Honk if you support teachers,” and there was a cacaphony of honking horns as cars and trucks passed by.
As the minutes passed, the crowd grew to be hundreds of people, and they chanted “Hey, hey, Ho, Ho, Austin Beutner’s got to go!” And many other inspiring lines about supporting teachers and public schools.
The UTLA understands exactly what’s going on. Its President Alex Caputo-Pearl and his members understand that the billionaires bought the school board so they could expand the non-union charter presence. Charters now enroll 20% of the district’s children.
A day earlier, the UTLA held a mass rally in front of the California Charter Schools Association, the billionaire-funded lobbyists intent on destroying public schools in the state while prohibiting any accountability for charter schools and fighting any limits on charter school growth.
The billionaire-bought LAUSD has starved the public schools, which helps the charters.
The picketing stopped for short speeches. Parents, teachers, a celebrity (Rock Star Stevie Van Zandt) spoke. So did students, both of whom are seniors at Hamilton. One young man said, “We get it. They are targeting black and brown communities. They are trying to destroy our schools by denying us the education we need and deserve. They are dividing our district into haves and have-nots.” Another senior asked the audience to imagine what it was like to be in classes with nearly 50 students, where there were not enough chairs or desks. She said she took a chemistry class and sat on the floor all year because there was no other place to sit. She couldn’t get into an AP class because there were not enough chairs or desks.
The national media says the strike is about trachers’ pay but they are wrong. No one mentioned salaries except a parent speaker. The really important issues are class size, lack of money for full-time nurses in every school, lack of money for librarians and counselors, lack of money for the arts.
When I had my few minutes to speak, I pointed out that California is probably the richest state in the nation, but the latest federal data show that it spends less than the national average on its schools. California spends about the same, on a per-pupil basis, as Louisiana and South Carolina.
That’s shocking.
The good news today, aspesker said, was that a poll conducted by Loyola Marymount, reported that the strike has the support of 80% of the public.
Even if the national media misses the point, the people of LA understand that teachers are striking for their children and for future generations. They are fighting billionaires like Eli Broad, Reed Hastings, the Waltons, the Koch brothers, and other billionaires, for the survival of public education.
The whole world is watching.
Thank you, Diane! Thank you, L.A. teachers!
it is really so exciting to see so many statements and demands starting to break through the journalism barrier
👍
Hey! I really liked the pictures on Twitter. And thanks, Diane.
Thanks for the pictures. I see you’re wearing your “red for ed” shirt.
Here’s a very real opinion piece on the UTLA strike from PBS. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/opinion-charter-schools-are-draining-las-public-schools-thats-why-im-on-strike?fbclid=IwAR2yUurc0Qxq8Dm1MSgOacrqgBDN19aZ9PoxdTHzCTQ9TvQ73gV_PBCzgTo
I’m wearing a red Chicago Teachers Union shirt from the 2012 strike. I didn’t have the UTLA shirt at that time. I will.
Tou’re right, the strike has the support of the public but as you know, that hasn’t meant much in the political times we are in. My suggestion for the teachers is get the raise, get the supplemental support in the form of counselors and nurses, decrease class sizes and then end this strike. The progression of charters and privatization is not something you alone at utla can stop. It will take concerted effort of several governmental units, teacher unions and org and will take time. Negotiate what you can now, then, go back to school.
Striking teachers in 6 states took the advice to settle too soon for too little after they got the whole teacher corps in their state to walk out. Strikes are powerful b/c this society cannot function unless its millions of teachers care for the 50 mil kids in k-12 daily. Best advice is to stay as long as possible for as much as possible. Best advice for teachers in other states and districts–go on strike as soon as possible and stay out until the private war against public schools foisted on us by the billionaire charterizers is stopped.
Denver teachers may strike. Oakland too.
That’s a silly notion to strike as long as possible. Who will pay people’s bills? Since your reply was simple and not mindful of real issues teachers are facing, i’ll Chalk it up to ignorance. Teachers, no one is telling you not to get what you need but be aware in any negotiation, there’s give and take.
What it’s really all about is fighting for our democracy, period. I go back to pointing out why Canada(where I was born) is so highly rated amongst nations in the world. Canada has NO charter schools. Instead, they fully fund ALL schools and put resources were they are needed the most. This pays off in the long run because helping students who need support leads to less need for support in the future. Canada also pays it’s teacher very well and assures low class sizes. Is it any wonder that there are many applicants for each open position? They also get an excellent pension and don’t have to worry about health care due to the single payer system. And last, but not least, they are highly unionized. This is proof that unions give teachers a platform to push for the best learning conditions for their students. And that’s what you see in every one of Canada’s provinces.
You have the great disadvantage of having lived in a civilized country.
Thank you for supporting the Los Angeles teachers. I’m certain they appreciated your standing with them.
Thank you, UTLA, for putting the charter school issue out there for the whole nation to see (& to get it in The New York Times!).
What’s the L.A. Times reporting about this?
Are you kidding? Utla putting the charter issue out! Plz, some of you people don’t know your history and are operating at a deficit. I would in no way point to utla as a champion of charter exposure. In fact it Sens conflicting messages on charter support. Utla wants it both ways, charters and public schools. Untenable where public monies are concerned.
We don’t need to “put a cap on charter schools” but put a shroud on them and kill every one of them whether for profit on non profit. Finally, someone said this is an “international” movement which it always has been. The intent is to privatize all schools and train children “for the global workforce”. When the unions are destroyed nothing will stand in their way except informed citizens. Cheap, child labor will be the result. Ann Herzer, M. A. Independent Researcher
If only!