Backing Teachers, Sanders Says LA Strike Exposes National Need for 'Revolution in Public Education'
"What we accept as normal today with regard to education, I want your grandchildren to tell you that you were crazy to accept," said the Vermont senator
Tens of thousands of public school teachers and support staff with the Los Angeles Unified School District—the second-largest district in the country—continued the city's first strike in three decades on Thursday.
The United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) kicked off the long-promised strike on Monday over unmet demands for higher payer; smaller class sizes; more special education staff, bilingual education instructors, nurses, counselors, and librarians; and stricter regulation of the city's many charter schools.
Arleta HS is out strong on the picket line. Here we are, in the richest country in the world, in the richest state in the country, and in a city rife with millionaires – where teachers have to go on strike to get the basics for our students. #LAUSDstrike #UTLAStrong pic.twitter.com/hadiZYxHip— United Teachers Los Angeles (@UTLAnow) January 17, 2019
UTLA charges that district superintendent Austin Beutner—a pro-charter school former business executive with no education background—is unqualified for the job. The district has 640,000 students, and while about 500,000 are enrolled in public schools, Los Angeles has more charter schools than anywhere else in the United States.
As negotiations resumed at City Hall on Thursday, with Los Angeles' Democratic Mayor Eric Garcetti mediating between the district and union representatives, strike supporters and participants shared updates from the streets with the hashtags #LAUSDStrike, #UTLAStrong, #WeAreLA, and #RedForEd.
Day 4 of #UTLAstrike (on Sunset Blvd) #RedForEd #UTLAstrong #MyDayInLA #ShareSocal @UTLAnow @WeAreCTA @CFTunion @NEAToday @UFT pic.twitter.com/mMVxEsrkz3— Sean C. Abajian (@EdTechSean) January 17, 2019
Teachers, parents, students, @IATSE and socialists. We’re all in this together! #RedForEd #UTLAStrong #StrikeReady pic.twitter.com/01AsG6a3Pc— DSA Los Angeles 🌹 (@DSA_LosAngeles) January 17, 2019
This @UTLAnow members explains how he’s striking for his students, not himself. #UTLAStrong #LAUSDStrike https://t.co/Ep1mHO3MUi— Randi Weingarten (@rweingarten) January 17, 2019
Even though California is the world's fifth-largest economy, public schools across the state have struggled for decades to adequately serve students, particularly in communities of color and regions with low incomes.
The strike—which has cast a spotlight on rifts within the Democratic Party in the CONTINUE READING: Backing Teachers, Sanders Says LA Strike Exposes National Need for 'Revolution in Public Education'