JOIN US AT OUR MEETING ON MONDAY THE 23RD OCT 23

TO DISCUSS HOW TO VOTE AND WHY

JOIN US AT OUR CHAPTER MEETING! 

CHECK YOU EMAIL FOR THE LINK OR EMAIL US IF YOU DON'T SEE IT.

Monday December 4th, 2023 at 5:00pm on Zoom

We are cancelling our November meeting. If you'd like to share issues or ideas, please email us!

Our PK Intake Working Group has been meeting and working hard! If you would like to share ideas with the working group, please use this google form: 

https://forms.gle/VxAmV12Su71cgXUU7

Just a reminder to complete enrollment for our hard won, fully funded healthcare benefits! Enrollment period ends 11/19/23. 

https://www.lausd.org/benefits

Finally, just 86 more days until our UTLA LAS chapter canvasses together for school board elections! Save the date: Saturday, February 3

In solidarity, 

Kyoko, Sally, Leah and Sara

Happy weekend, UTLA SLPs!

Just a quick reminder of our chapter meeting next week - with UTLA updates from special guest, UTLA Treasurer Gloria Martinez.

Chapter Meeting: Monday, October 23 at 5:00pm

We are looking forward to discussing: 

• Healthcare Agreement Voting 10/24-10/26/23 at school sites

• School Board election updates

• Our new Working Group on PK intake

Our first chapter working group was convened in January 2022 to address reduced on site commitment. We had a successful outcome! This time we are focusing on solutions for PK intake. We will get the Working Group started at our Monday meeting.

Here is an introduction from Komal and Leah, who will be leading the working group:

With all the recent changes in intake, we want to start organizing to make sure we all have a reasonable workload, clear guidelines, and a respectful work environment. 

If you are interested in having your voice heard and being a part of making these changes happen, join our preschool intake working group! The initial commitment of this group is two meetings (November 6 and November 27). We will begin at our next chapter meeting on October 23.

For PK intake providers who aren't able to make the Working Group meetings, we have a google form to share ideas: 

https://forms.gle/GANs3ydddGFStuca9

Zoom link will go out via email and GroupMe before the meeting. See you soon!

In unity,

Kyoko, Sally, Sara, and Leah

UTLA Language and Speech chapter chairs

UTLA and the other LAUSD employee unions stayed united in healthcare negotiations, and TODAY WE WON! The two-year agreement delivers on all union goals:

• Maintenance of fully paid healthcare for employees, dependents, and retirees.
   

• A multi-year deal (LAUSD originally offered only a one-year agreement).
   

• Preservation of the union-majority Health Benefits Committee, which has been critical to securing the best plans for union members and retirees at a sustainable cost (LAUSD wanted to dismantle it).

• New equity language to explore potential improvements around gender affirmation care and mental health care.

We won this agreement because after near 100% participation strikes in 2019 and 2023, LAUSD knew we were serious when we said we would fight back against any attempt to cut our health insurance.

Union members will be voting on the agreement later this month. More details on the ratification dates and process will be announced next week.

May 2023

95% YES Vote on CONTRACT Tentative Agreement

Last week, UTLA and SEIU Local 99 reached a tentative agreement with the district on the school calendar and pending Unfair Practice Charges (UPCs).

This week, members voted 95% yes to ratify the agreement with 15,082 voting yes and 810 voting no.

Some of the terms of the agreement include:

• Maintaining the current three-week winter break (rescinding Carvalho's unilateral decision that the school board approved to shorten winter break)

• For the district to reconcile the state penalty for closing schools during the three-day strike, the next two school years will have 183 required contractual work days rather than 182

• The district will not use strike participation as the basis for discipline, negative evaluations, or evidence of excessive absences

• The district will drop their unfair practice charge against UTLA and SEIU 99 alleging that the three-day strike in March was unlawful

• UTLA and SEIU 99 will drop our unfair practice charges against the district

Read the agreement summary and full tentative agreement.

Hi everyone,

What a year! We've worked so hard and had such huge triumphs this year. It's almost time to take some much needed rest (or at least to switch to some shorter days), but we're squeaking one more win in under the wire: calendar bargaining. Join us Monday at 5 to talk through the new Tentative Agreement on next year's calendar. Voting will take place 6/6-6/8!

Here are some key points:

• Keeping the 3-week winter break

• Adjusting the schedule for the strike days (this is a little complicated, but we will go into it in more depth tomorrow): Pupil-free days will become instructional days and one additional instructional day will be added to the coming 2 school years

• Optional days before and after the start and end of school to pack up the classroom (C-basis, because they are losing their only days to prepare and pack up rooms)

• Additional workdays will not be included in the 25-26 year, which will be bargained

• LAUSD, UTLA, SEIU will all drop their Unfair Practice Charges with the Labor Board

• LAUSD will not hold strike participation against any employee

One more quick thing:

• Itinerant Educators should complete the Itinerant Declaration Form for 2023-24 to be on the roster where you work more than 50% of the time and to get assigned to a UTLA Area.

• We have to do this every year to be on the roster at our main school!

In unity,

Sara McDonald, Kyoko Bristow, Sally Machado, Leah Mashian

ATTN: Tentative Agreement Vote from June 6-8

Eligible UTLA members will vote on the tentative agreement reached between UTLA, SEIU Local 99, and LAUSD from Tuesday, June 6 (starting at 8 AM) through Thursday, June 8, (until 11:45 PM) through an online vote. Check your non-LAUSD email on the morning of Tuesday, June 6, for your link to vote.

A summary of the agreement, as well as the full TA document (which has been revised to reflect clarification on the regular rate of pay for additional work days), are available below:

5.14.23

It’s Official! Our Historic 2022-25 Contract Has Been Ratified!

Last week, members voted 94% YES to ratify the ground-breaking agreement we fought for and won. On Tuesday, the school board unanimously signed off on the agreement, putting the 2022-25 contract into effect.

Now that the agreement is ratified, the district will begin working on retroactive paychecks. It is uncertain how long it will take the district to calculate and issue retroactive paychecks but the UTLA member bargaining team is pushing for as soon as possible.

More on the agreement here including the summary and full text, FAQs, and Salary Increase Calculator.

Hi, UTLA SLPs!

This email is going to have WAY too many exclamation points! Because the TA just passed with 94% member approval! 

Which means WE DID IT! Reduced on site is happening!!

We identified the need for reduced on site commitment. 

We started a Working Group.

We researched and wrote proposals.

We got our proposals in the bargaining platform.

We presented our stories during bargaining sessions - twice!

We hung in there when things looked bleak.

We showed up at rallies - and made the news!

We walked the picket lines - with awesome signs!

We kept the faith.

We voted. 

And WE WON!!

The school board has the agreement on their agenda for next Tuesday. Once they vote to approve, it's a done deal!

This contract is a game changer for our program. We're so happy to have done this together!!

Here is a link to tonight's UTLA email with election results:

https://mailchi.mp/utla/all-member-5-5-2023?e=8cb326c507

In joy and gratitude and solidarity!!

Kyoko and Sara

UTLA Members 

Vote 94% YES 

to Ratify Historic Agreement

The results are in! UTLA members voted 94% YES to ratify the 2022-25 tentative agreement. A total of 27,171 members voted — with 25,575 voting yes and 1,596 voting no.

We fought together for more than a year to win our Beyond Recovery demands. With this agreement, we are setting a new standard – not just for LA schools, but for public education nationwide.

“This agreement demonstrates that when we stand together, we can transform our schools for the better. It acknowledges the impact of the pandemic, years of disinvestment and economic hardship, while standing firm on things school faculty need to provide quality education to our students. This contract will set the national standard for all other educators to achieve liveable wages and solidify an equitable future where students are supported in a healthy learning environment.” 

—Cecily Myart-Cruz, UTLA President

On Tuesday, May 9, the school board will vote on final approval of the contract

Hi, UTLA SLPs,

Apologies in advance - you will be bombarded with reminders to vote YES on the TA this week. The wins are so important to our chapter!

In a UTLA survey during the fall of 2021, over three hundred of us identified a reduced on site commitment as our highest priority. In the spring of 2022, nearly 400 of us signed a letter to request this from the district. This issue is deeply important to so many of us - so let's get the vote out!

Monday's task: Find your school site chapter chair and ask about voting times.

Voting starts Tuesday May 2nd and goes through Thursday May 4th. Voting will be in person at school sites. Itinerant staff like us will vote via challenge or provisional ballots - unless you are listed on your school roster.

Non members may not vote on the TA but can fill out a UTLA membership card to become a member and then be able to vote immediately. 

Please make a plan to vote on Tuesday. For most of us, the challenge ballot should go smoothly and take just a few minutes. But just in case any of us run in to a snag, it will be great to have a couple of days to try again. Please reach out if you have any problems voting at your school sites and we will help figure it out. 

Kyoko and Sara

Happy weekend everyone!

Let's start out the weekend with some fabulous news! The historic strike is done, but it is already paying off! SEIU achieved what looks like an amazing agreement today! Give yourselves a major pat on the back and a lot of rest this weekend. Well done everyone! We are so grateful to be fighting for better schools and working conditions with you amazing SLPs!

Here is a link to the announcement: https://www.seiu99.org/2023/03/24/breaking-news-agreement-reached-with-lausd/

In unity,

Sara McDonald and Kyoko Bristow, UTLA LAS Chapter Chairs

UTLA SLP UPDATES AND INFO

Hi, UTLA SLPs,

So great to see everyone at Friday's meeting! Grateful for all the information and encouragement and solidarity.

Also, in the meeting recap I forgot a shout out Annie Glenn for her major tech support. We would have been there a lot longer without your help! Thanks so much!

We're holding one more meeting before the strike. Join us if you want to hang out or if you missed the Friday meeting.

•  Monday, 3/20/23 at 5:00pm on Zoom

Zoom info will go out tomorrow.

Finally, thanks again to Leah and Sally for setting up our chapter instagram! 

Please join us: UTLA Speech-Language Pathologists (@utla_slps) • Instagram photos and videos

In unity,

Sara and Kyoko

UTLA SLP UPDATES AND INFO

Hi, UTLA SLPs, 

Thanks so much to everyone who attended and shared information and encouragement! We got this, team!!

Here are the links from the meeting: 

• UTLA webpage for SEIU strike - check here for your picket site:  SEIU 99 Solidarity Strike 3/21-3/23 - UTLA

• FAQ for SEIU strike:  FAQ: SEIU Solidarity Strike March 21-23 - UTLA

• Legal Protections memo:  2023.3.13.Memo_re_Strike_Rights.pdf (mcusercontent.com)

• Notice to district letter:  Microsoft Word - Notification of Solidarity Strike (3-16-23).docx (utla.net)

Aaaaaaand...thanks to Leah Mashian and Sally Machado, we have a UTLA LAS chapter instagram: https://www.instagram.com/utla_slps/

Please follow and share your rally and strike photos!

Keep your eyes open for emails from UTLA and from us - we will share updates as soon as we get them. 

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Hang in there and please reach out if you need anything.

In solidarity,

Kyoko and Sara

45,000 United for LA Schools Sends Message to Carvalho: 

No Time to Lose

Today we took over Grand Park in the first-ever joint rally with our sisters and brothers in SEIU Local 99 and the largest rally since our 2019 strike. UTLA and SEIU 99 education workers stood United for LA Schools alongside students, parents, and the Los Angeles community.

Our massive turnout of 45,000 at today's rally demanded the attention of the media and the whole City of Los Angeles, and succeeded in making Carvalho look weak.

Post your rally photos and videos on social media. Tag @UTLANow and @SEIULocal99, and use the hashtag #United4LA!

On Friday, our member bargaining team goes back to the table with the district. After the largest rally since our 2019 strike and our commitment of solidarity with SEIU 99, the district better come ready with big movement on our core demands.

Solidarity with SEIU 99 — Strike Dates Announced

SEIU 99 members have been working under a contract that expired in 2021 and are among the lowest paid employees in LAUSD — $25,000 a year on average. In December, they declared impasse with the district and in February, SEIU 99 members voted 96% yes to authorize a strike.

Today, SEIU Local 99 announced dates for their Three-Day Unfair Practice Charge strike.

• Tuesday, March 21

• Wednesday, March 22

• Thursday, March 23

A strong contract for SEIU 99 members — who help keep our schools running and students ready to learn — is a win for our schools and communities, and helps us win the contract that we need.

UTLA will strike in solidarity and UTLA’s elected leaders are encouraging all 35,000 UTLA educators to join SEIU 99 in a solidarity strike.

This is our opportunity to demonstrate our collective power as we push to win our Beyond Recovery contract demands this school year.

Carvalho and the district have been dragging their feet in our contract negotiations for TEN MONTHS. But now, our solidarity with SEIU 99 and the threat of both an SEIU 99 strike and a UTLA solidarity strike have pushed Carvalho into panic mode, trying to wrangle any support he can get. 

On Monday, Carvalho alerted all employees, parents, and the media that he will likely choose to close schools during SEIU 99’s anticipated strike. Reducing the number of days in the school year puts LAUSD at risk of significant financial penalties from the state and, as we saw in October, any changes to the calendar to avoid those financial penalties must be negotiated with UTLA.

No more delays. No more deceit. No more disrespect. Carvalho and the district tried to cover up the educator shortage crisis and have continuously stalled and delayed bargaining. They are amassing nearly $5 billion in projected reserves and refuse to invest in us and our students. They refuse to act while we struggle to get by.

Standing together with SEIU 99, we will use our collective power to fight for the schools we deserve.

MARCH 15 UNITED FOR LA SCHOOLS

Our next bargaining session is scheduled for March 17, making it essential that we send a message to the whole city at our United for LA Schools Rally on March 15. Carvalho wants the public to believe that education workers are to blame for "disruption to instruction." The reality is Carvalho and the district's inaction is creating the crisis that we and our students are facing.

The district is stockpiling billions of dollars in unused funds. Over the previous two school years, the district took more than $1.3 billion of unspent funds and moved it to the reserve. By the end of this school year, the district is projected to add another nearly $1.6 billion in unspent funds to the reserve, raising the total to nearly $5 billion.

Meanwhile, Carvalho and the district have —

REFUSED to pay salaries that attract and retain educators

REFUSED to reduce class sizes so we can give students individual support

REFUSED to invest in what students, their families, and communities have said they need for success

On March 15, we show the city what the real problem is. UTLA and SEIU Local 99, LAUSD's two largest unions, will stand together in a citywide rally for our demands. Tens of thousands of education workers, who are in schools working directly with students every day, rallying outside City Hall will make it clear that Carvalho is out of touch with what our schools and our city need.

December 5 Regional Rallies made it clear that we are strong and have the power of students, parents, and communities standing with us. 

11.28.22.

The pattern at the bargaining table has stayed the same for the past seven months. LAUSD refuses to work with our proposals or bring any real solutions because they know that delaying an agreement works to their advantage. But we cannot spend another year underpaid, understaffed, and overworked.

So December 5, we remind them of our power.

Regional Rallies

Monday, December 5

at 4 PM:

1. LAUSD Local District NW

6621 Balboa Blvd. (Corner of Balboa & Haynes)

Lake Balboa, CA 91406

2. LAUSD Headquarters

333 S Beaudry Ave.

Los Angeles, CA 90017

3. Mas Fukai Park

15800 Brighton Ave.

Gardena, CA 90247

Pick a location and sign up at utla.net/dec5

10.05.22

98% YES on Calendar Agreement

UTLA members have overwhelmingly approved the agreement on the calendar and optional days, with 98% Yes ballots (17,758) and 2% No (359). Voting was conducted October 2 to October 4.

Under the terms of the agreement, the school year will not be extended by any days, and the four optional days will be moved to the winter and spring breaks instead of being on four randomly scheduled Wednesdays. October 19 will now be a regular instructional day instead of an optional day for students and staff, and the boycott action has shifted to school-site picketing before school.

9.27.22.

Huge Win: LAUSD Backs Down on Calendar

In April, LAUSD Superintendent Carvalho announced, without talking to UTLA members or LAUSD families, that he would be unilaterally adding 4 days to the school year by adding 4 optional “accelerated days” in the middle of four educational weeks.

UTLA members demanded that LAUSD roll back this plan and keep our regular school calendar intact.  When Carvalho refused, UTLA members voted by 93% to boycott the first optional day on October 19.

Today, LAUSD backed down in the face of our unity. They agreed that the school year will not be extended by any days. They are moving the optional days to the winter and spring breaks. Educators who want to participate can, but the days will no longer interfere with instruction on randomly scheduled Wednesdays, disrupt lesson plans, or extend our 2022-2023 contractual school year.

UTLA members will vote on the tentative agreement on the calendar this Sunday through Tuesday. Pending member ratification of the agreement, October 19 will revert to a regular instructional day.

This victory is due to our collective readiness to stand against a PR stunt that wasn't going to move the needle on student learning. Now we double-down on fighting for long-term solutions that will.

Keep Up the Momentum: School-Site Pickets October 19

This is an early victory in a longer fight. The district is not off the hook for their flawed priorities and refusal to meaningfully bargain over the broad needs of our students and the need to attract and retain educators during a historic shortage crisis. Carvalho sits on $3.4 billion in reserves and refuses to offer a decent pay raise, class-size reduction for all students, more mental health staff, or other essential improvements. 

October 19 will be a day of action for our contract demands! While October 19 will be a regular school day and therefore not subject to a boycott, UTLA members will instead unite across LA in morning school-site picketing to focus attention on building a foundation of educational supports in every school, 180 days a year, as called for in the UTLA Beyond Recovery Platform.

Bargaining Team Recommends YES Vote

UTLA members will vote on the tentative agreement on the calendar from Sunday, October 2, to Tuesday, October 4. Look for the link in your non-LAUSD email account.

The UTLA Bargaining Team recommends a YES Vote. The agreement:

• Achieves our ultimate goal of keeping the school calendar intact with no extension into summer break

• Limits the disruption of the optional days by moving them to existing breaks

• Reflects our power when we organize. Now we double-down on organizing to win a 20% raise, districtwide class-size reduction, and other better ways for LAUSD to spend its $3.4 billion surplus.

Itinerant staff - that means you!

Do you work at multiple LAUSD sites? 

The UTLA Itinerant Assignments Declaration Form is for all members who are not assigned to a single site, including:

• Substitute Teachers

• Itinerant Health and Human Services Professionals

• Traveling teachers and some other teachers on special assignments who are assigned to more than one site

Info on where you work is needed for UTLA membership rosters and the upcoming UTLA elections for Officers and Board of Director members.

If you want to run for UTLA office, the form must be completed by September 30. Read more about being a candidate here.

If you want to vote for Area Directors representing the UTLA Area where you work,

the form must be completed by December 16. 

Coalition victory: LAUSD employees secure healthcare for 2022 and 2023

After six months of negotiations, the LAUSD employee unions have reached an agreement with the district that preserves healthcare for calendar years 2022 and 2023.

“Unity among all eight unions was the key to winning an agreement that upholds healthcare as a key driver for recruiting and retaining employees,” said UTLA Treasurer Alex Orozco, UTLA’s representative on the Health Benefits Committee.

The agreement delivers on all of our shared priorities:

• We won the current health plans for calendar years 2022 and 2023 by securing increases in funding levels to current market pricing. The district had tried to freeze healthcare funding rates at 2017 levels, which would have led to cuts to coverage and/or higher out-of-pocket costs to employees.

• We won a multi-year agreement that expires on December 2023. The district had wanted only a one-year extension for 2022 so they could come back for cuts next year.

• We won the protection of healthcare reserves to better position us for negotiations in 2024. The increased funding levels help ensure that reserves are healthy at the end of the term, when healthcare will be negotiated again.

Carvalho sent out a statement last night, claiming support for the agreement. Nowhere in Carvalho’s disingenuous statement does he admit that his district team pushed for six months for substantive cuts that would have forced families to pay more for healthcare.

It was a collective struggle to move the district from its original position. All labor partners have committed to stay engaged and continue organizing together to make sure that our next healthcare fight is also a successful one.

The final, signed copy of the agreement will be posted at utla.net when it is received from the district.

5.28.22.

What will it take to keep you in LAUSD?

What are the drivers of the historic educator shortage? What is motivating you to stay in the profession or leave the profession?

Click the link below and fill out the UTLA Educator Shortage Survey ASAP if you haven’t already. The survey takes less than 5 minutes to complete.

Bargaining update: LAUSD fails to offer counterproposals on Beyond Recovery package

The Expanded UTLA Bargaining Team met with seven district representatives again yesterday, and LAUSD still did not have a response to our Beyond Recovery package of proposals after 3 weeks. They had more questions, which we answered, but no counterproposals on the package.

The district did respond to our proposal on the calendar issue from May 19 with a counterproposal that still includes a longer year, four randomly scheduled “accelerated” Wednesdays, and a requirement that unit members not on C Basis work an extra day to make up for the 2021 Juneteenth holiday. We responded by again rejecting this ill-thought-out plan being pushed by Carvalho, which is about nothing but getting headlines. Our position was clear: no extension of the school year, no “accelerated” days, and no UTLA member being required to work or use benefit time to make up for the 2021 Juneteenth holiday.

We also reviewed our proposal on Shared Decision Making and School–Based Management, which includes expanded LSLC purview over PD and all budgetary items not covered by the SSC, and we reviewed our proposal on autonomous schools, which includes a more democratic process to become an autonomous school and to leave autonomous school status..

We are meeting again with the district on Thursday, June 2

5.23.22.

Contract campaign update: UTLA rejects extended school year

• Last Thursday, the expanded UTLA Bargaining Team met with LAUSD and answered their questions about seven of the 23 articles in our package of proposals. We provided responses and explained the need for each of the proposals discussed. LAUSD has not yet provided a response to our proposals.

• The UTLA Bargaining Team also made a formal proposal rejecting the district’s extended school year idea. Our proposal on the calendar does not include a longer year, does not include any “Accelerated Days,” and protects our Thanksgiving, Winter, and Spring Breaks. The district did not respond to the proposal yet.

• From Bargaining Team Member Beth Clark, Westminster MTES ES: “We are all exhausted and traumatized from the last two years. We see it in educators, our students, and our families. So many of our students have suffered COVID trauma in their families; some have had to say goodbye over Zoom or behind glass. LAUSD should invest money in supporting their mental well-being, not laying on more work. These extra days will do nothing to improve academics. Our concrete proposals will do that and more.”

• Special Education teachers provided an in-depth review of our proposals to improve the working and learning conditions in Special Education. We described in great detail our proposals to provide more time for IEPs, implement enforceable class size and caseload caps, protect baseline assistants from reassignment, ensure the necessary supports for educators and students in expanded inclusion schools, and more.

• From Bargaining Team Member Debby Schneider Solis, Arminta ES: “As a special education teacher, I think it is important for LAUSD to hear directly from those of us who have been struggling under the severe underfunding of our program. We told them clearly that LAUSD has to do better for special education teachers and students. All students have individual needs. Our proposals ensure that teachers will be given the tools and supports they need for students to succeed inside and outside of the classroom and not to be excluded because of those needs.”

• We are scheduled to meet with the district once a week for the next two weeks. Our next bargaining session is Thursday, May 26. Proposals are posted on utla.net under Current Bargaining.

5.12.22.

UTLA members lay out ground-breaking demands for Beyond Recovery contract campaign

Three years after the historic UTLA strike in 2019 where educators marched with parents and the community in the streets of LA, we have officially launched our new contract campaign with parent leafleting at school sites and the official start of negotiations.

Today, May 12, the expanded UTLA Bargaining Team of 80-plus UTLA members presented our ground-breaking package of demands to the district. The proposals were shaped from the Beyond Recovery platform endorsed by a 96% Yes vote of UTLA members.

This is UTLA’s most ambitious bargaining platform to date, built to meet the needs of students, educators, and communities beyond recovery.

The demands include:

• 20% salary increase over two years for all UTLA members so the district can find educators willing to work in the most expensive city in the country

• universal class-size reduction across grades and school types to offer students more personalized instruction

• increased staffing and reduced caseloads for counselors, PSAs, PSWs, and school psychologists to meet the social-emotional needs of students

• tangible commitments from the district to help address food and housing insecurity and environmental issues that impact LAUSD families and students’ readiness to learn

and more — read the summary and full package for proposals on Co-Location, Overtesting, Ethnic Studies, Community Schools and the Black Student Achievement Plan, Bilingual Education, Special Education, Early Education, Adult Education, CTE, Teacher, Physical Education, Arts Education, Itinerants, Secondary Counselors, Health & Human Services, Substitute Educators, and Pilot/ESBMM/LIS Schools. One important note when reading the summary and full package: Where current contract articles and/or language are missing, that means we’re not making proposals to change those articles and/or language.

“These past few years have fueled the growing demands by educators to be treated with respect,” UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz said. “Educators are underpaid, overworked, and provide a social good for young people, yet our calls for change are ignored. It’s time for LAUSD to use its $3 billion in reserves to invest in future generations and in the people who teach and support them. As educators, we know we will have to fight for our demands, and we are ready to double down on building the collective power to win.”

Healthcare negotiations: District presents list of cuts instead of commitment to fund healthcare

All eight LAUSD employee unions met with the district yesterday for ongoing healthcare negotiations.

The district did not present a good-faith counteroffer to our proposal for a multiyear agreement with the funding necessary to maintain high-quality healthcare. Instead, the district stuck to their original offer of freezing healthcare funding at 2017 levels.

In place of a commitment to adequately fund our current healthcare, the district suggested a list of cuts, such as higher co-pays, higher deductibles, changes to dependent coverage, and increasing the years of service and age required to qualify for retiree health benefits

District officials claim they want to be the “employer of choice” in the region, yet they refuse to acknowledge how important decent healthcare is to recruiting and attracting the staff our students need in our schools and worksites.

All eight unions stand in solidarity. We will present a unified front at the next LAUSD School Board meeting to demand that our healthcare be fully funded and that the health and well-being of employees and families be prioritized.

5.6.22.

Happy Friday! As Educator Appreciation Week comes to a close and Nurse Appreciation Week begins, on behalf of UTLA leadership, we would like to extend our appreciation for you and all you do. Our job as educators often is a thankless one. This week is the one week where we are celebrated at our schools and worksites, where businesses extend discounts and freebies, and where social media is sprinkled with memes thanking educators. And after the two years we have had navigating COVID and beyond, appreciation is very much welcome.

Appreciation, though, comes in many forms. For UTLA members, true appreciation from our employer needs to go beyond candies and treats in the staff lounges. It must be appreciation centered on respect and collaboration, where educators are brought into decision-making — such as on a change in our school year or other working conditions. It means a salary and healthcare package that is reflective of our professional worth and the countless hours we devote. It also means being able to afford to live in the communities we serve.

As we end this week and look onward, it is more critical than ever that we continue to organize and strengthen our Beyond Recovery platform.

We begin bargaining with the district May 12. We have expanded the bargaining team and have been making preparations to submit solid proposals that uplift all of us and the students we serve.

So we hope you enjoy your Friday and have a restful weekend. We have much work to do together, and our collective strength will get us through.

Your UTLA Officers,

Cecily, Alex, Juan, Gloria, Julie, Alex O., and Arlene

Healthcare bargaining update

Unions demand three-year agreement with increased investment; LAUSD sticks to funding freeze

In response to the district’s proposal to freeze healthcare funding at 2017 rates, the eight LAUSD employee unions presented a counterproposal this week for a three-year healthcare agreement with increased funding.

With the cost of healthcare going up every year, LAUSD’s freeze would mean that there would not be enough money to maintain current healthcare plans without monthly premiums from employees or cuts to healthcare coverage.

During the negotiation session, district officials gave lip service to the critical importance of recruiting and attracting staff and said they want to be the “employer of choice,” yet they refuse to acknowledge how important sustainable health care is to employees or give a rationale for their attempt to underfund employee coverage.

Because the LAUSD School Board votes on employee healthcare, the stakes just went up higher in the School Board races on June 7. See below for how in this critical moment you can help elect an ally — Dr. Rocío Rivas — to the board.

The next negotiation session on healthcare is May 11.

4.1.22.

Expanded bargaining team to power Beyond Recovery negotiations

In February, culminating after months of dialogue and meetings, UTLA members overwhelmingly approved the Beyond Recovery platform. The platform is ambitious in our demands for a significant salary increase, lower class sizes, increases in staffing and student supports, and addressing community issues that affect education.

The UTLA bargaining team is working to turn that platform into proposals, with a goal of beginning negotiations with LAUSD in May.

A newly expanded UTLA Bargaining Team of up to 140 UTLA members — the first of its kind for UTLA — will be negotiating our proposals with the district.

Membership on the Bargaining Team has been opened to all UTLA Board of Directors and UTLA Area Steering Committees members. This strategy builds a bargaining team that is representative of UTLA members’ diverse job categories and creates a direct line of communication between Chapter leaders and the Bargaining Team.

Look for more information on how this will work in the coming weeks, as well as a plan of escalating actions to support our demands. We know that we will have to fight for our platform, and we know that we will have to build our collective power in each step of that fight.

03.12.22.

LAUSD budget update: Record-setting $2.5 billion-plus in reserves

This week, the LAUSD School Board approved the second interim budget with the highest level of reserves in its history: well over $2.5 billion by the end of this school year.

The record-setting surplus paves the way for a new path — a path for investment in Los Angeles public education and communities. LA educators voted 96% Yes to unite behind the Beyond Recovery Platform, a roadmap to deliver on both immediate necessities and long-term structural improvements that educators, families, and community have said they and their students need to recover from the pandemic and thrive beyond it. That path includes significant improvements to pay and working conditions to attract and retain educators amid historic staffing shortages.

Now that our democratically developed bargaining goals in the Beyond Recovery platform have been approved, we shift toward the next phase: Turning those goals into formal contract proposals and building the campaign of collective action that it will take to achieve them.

The numbers are in on where our fight is headed

After three days of voting, UTLA members across Los Angeles have voiced their overwhelming support for the Beyond Recovery platform — 96% of voters said YES to a commitment to fight for:

• pay increases and economic issues that UTLA members need addressed

• working and teaching conditions

• student learning conditions and needs

• community needs that impact LAUSD students

Within the seven pillars of the platform is our shared vision for addressing the issues that as educators we know were only worsened by the pandemic. These are the demands we are rallied around for what our school communities need to fully recover and move forward beyond that.

“This is the first time we embarked on this democratic process to form a platform, collectively identified and voted on by UTLA educators across Los Angeles, before negotiations with LAUSD begin,” said UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz. “Our platform reflects common good priorities to win the conditions inside and outside the classroom we know our students deserve, we deserve, and LA deserves.”

The next step will be the development of the formal proposals, shaped directly from the framework of this platform, that together we stand behind as United Teachers Los Angeles.

02.12.22.

February 16-18: Vote YES to go Beyond Recovery

After hundreds of meetings between you and your colleagues and your communities, we developed the Beyond Recovery Platform.

The Beyond Recovery Platform reflects the things that we need to address now to ensure our success as educators and our students’ success inside, and outside, the classroom. The platform represents broad goals that will be developed into contract demands for negotiations beginning in the spring with LAUSD.

This collective effort is why this platform has been endorsed by:

• 100% of our Board of Directors

• 97% of our Chapter Leaders during last month’s Citywide Leadership Meeting

Next week, UTLA members will be engaging in the next step of this democratic process and voting on the Beyond Recovery platform.

With your YES vote, you are saying:

• YES to fighting for higher salaries and improved working conditions

• YES to fighting for wifi for students and updated tech for all

• YES to fighting for smaller class sizes and caseloads

• YES to fighting for support for student mental health and social needs

Check your personal email on Wednesday morning, February 16, for the voting email for Integrity Voting Systems and cast your ballot by Friday, February 18, at 5 pm.

We will not accept temporary band-aids. We are demanding sustainable support for COVID recovery and the recovery of our public education system.

Instructions for Voting

The vote will be handled by Integrity Voting Systems. All LAUSD employees who were UTLA members as of 12:00 pm Thursday, February 10, and who have a non-LAUSD email on file at UTLA, will receive an email from Integrity Voting Systems with a PIN and instructions for voting. The link to vote will not be active until Wednesday, February 16 at 8:00 am. 

If you do not receive an email to vote, read the information below and follow the steps to resolve any issues: 

If you were an LAUSD-employed UTLA member as of 12:00 pm Thursday, February 10 and do not get an email:  

1. Make sure you have a non-LAUSD email on file at UTLA. Integrity Voting Systems will not email voting PINs to LAUSD emails. If you do not have a non-LAUSD email on file, go to #4 below. 

2. If you had given a non-LAUSD email to UTLA, wait until 10:00 am Wednesday morning for your voting PIN. The Integrity Voting Systems emails are going out in stages and your email might still arrive later on Wednesday morning. 

3. Check your spam/junk folder. The email is from Integrity Voting Systems. Check other email accounts you may have, in case that is the email address we have on file for you. 

4. If you still have not found your Integrity Voting Systems email, contact them at this link https://www.ivsballot.com/utla (this link will not be active until 8:00 am Wednesday morning) and follow the directions. You will be asked to click the Find My PIN link and enter your Employee Number and the last 4 digits of your Social Security number. You will then be able to vote.

If you were not an LAUSD-employed UTLA member as of 12:00 pm Thursday, February 10, you will not be able to participate in this vote.

Questions regarding membership or eligibility to vote should be directed to UTLA at https://www.utla.net/resources/replacement-online-ballots-webform

01.26.22.