A guest post from Angela --
#utlastrong #red4ed #schoolbeutner
If you have been paying attention to any national news in the past year chances are you have seen stories about teacher strikes. All across the country educators are taking to the streets to demand fair wages, good healthcare, smaller class sizes, funding for programs and much, much more. The fight for these things and more is currently ramping up in the country’s second largest school district. This week the 30,000 plus members of United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), the Los Angeles public school teachers’ union, will vote to authorize a strike. While I can’t tell you with certainty that the members will overwhelmingly vote to leave the safety of our classrooms and schools, I know that I will vote yes.
This is not an easy decision for myself and my colleagues to make. We know that by voting to authorize a strike, we will have to follow through. We will have to walk the picket lines, go without pay, worry about what our students and families will do for child care. And knowing the ramifications, I will still vote yes.
I come from a long line of union members. I learned early in life that unions help families survive and thrive. When I had knee surgery and when I stayed at an inpatient clinic for migraine sufferers, the union was the reason my parents didn’t have to worry about going broke paying the medical bills. When my dad retired I knew that I wouldn’t have to worry about him and my mom as they grow older because they have pensions and healthcare. I refuse to take the opportunities I have been afforded for granted. I will vote yes.
Over the next few weeks there will be newspaper articles and stories on the television about the outcome of the vote, the mediation that will take place and whether a deal can be struck between the school district and the union. I ask that you understand the entire story. Yes, we are asking for an increase in wages. That is not the entire story. If you want to know more about educator salaries in Los Angeles I am happy to talk to you and share resources that are unbiased. We are also asking for smaller class sizes. School started this week and I know of kindergarten classes with 29 excited kiddos to one teacher. I know of a third-grade class with 37 students ready to dive into math and reading. I know of a seventh grade English class with 40 students who are eager to start their first novel of the year. And let me be clear, these teachers are not complaining, they are simply asking for help. For all of the children who deserve one-on-one time with their teachers every day, I will vote yes.
You will be hearing more from me in the weeks to come about this fight. This past Sunday, at Hollywood United Methodist Church, Reverend Kathy Cooper-Ledesma spoke about “Living a life worthy of your calling”. I, like every member of UTLA , was called to be an educator. We work hard for our students. Unless you are close to a teacher you may not know that we don’t leave our jobs at school. We don’t stop thinking about our students who are struggling at three o’clock on Friday. We worry, we plan, we grade, we take classes, and so much more. We do not do all of this for the accolades, we do not do it for the hope that we will get a salary increase, we do not do it for the breaks. We do it because we are called. Because I want to live a life worthy of my calling, I will vote yes.
I am product of public schools and I am proud to be a public-school teacher. No matter what happens this week or in the coming months I will not stop being proud. I will not stop getting to work early and leaving late. I will not stop worrying. And planning. And taking classes. While I fight for better schools I will ensure that the one I have is the best that it can be. I will vote yes.
