Getting Out the Strike Vote: LA Fed Organizing & Community Outreach Team Up with SEIU Local 99
In a resounding rebuke of Los Angeles Unified School District leadership, 97% of SEIU Local 99 members voted to authorize an Unfair Practice Charge (UPC) strike in response to the district’s retaliation, bad faith bargaining, and unlawful conduct.
This decisive vote comes after LAUSD approved layoffs, cutting essential services that will impact Los Angeles’ highest need communities.
“Our members are the backbone of this district,” said Max Arias, Executive Director of SEIU Local 99. “Instead of investing in our school personnel, LAUSD is retaliating against them for daring to demand better wages and respect on the job.” The union has filed multiple Unfair Practice Charges against the district, alleging bad faith bargaining and retaliation against union members. The strike authorization empowers union leadership to call a UPC strike if LAUSD refuses to correct its unlawful behavior.
This decision to approve a strike comes at a time when education funding in California is at historic highs. Yet the average SEIU Local 99 member earns just about $35,000 a year in one of the most expensive cities in the country. Many workers struggle with rent, food insecurity, and rising healthcare costs — despite working every day to serve students. In fact, there are over 3,000 workers who have reported being homeless while working at the district.
Meanwhile, more than 160 LAUSD executives whose compensation exceeds the Governor of California’s salary.
“You cannot claim there is no money for the workers who serve children every day while sitting on billions in reserves and handing executives thousands in raises,” Arias said.
“That’s not a budget problem — that’s a priorities problem.” Union leaders say the LAUSD Board’s decision to move forward with layoffs is a direct attack on classified workers and the students who rely on them.
“Our members do not take strike votes lightly,” Arias added. “But when the district breaks the law, retaliates against workers for organizing, and pushes layoffs instead of solutions, we will fight back.”
The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor dedicated the Organizing and Community Outreach Departments for two weeks to assist the strike vote. The team helped achieve over 80% member participation, with the 97% vote demonstrating the near-unanimous unity across job classifications and worksites.
The strike authorization does not immediately trigger a walkout but sends a clear message: LAUSD must end its retaliation, bargain in good faith, and stop attacking the very workers who make public education possible.
