Los Angeles teachers go on strike

Tens of thousands of teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District went on strike Monday morning after contract negotiations broke down Friday. The teachers rejected the latest offer from the district as “woefully inadequate.” Schools remain open during the strike, with the district hiring hundreds of substitutes to fill in for teachers and other staff, a move the United Teachers Los Angeles union called irresponsible. The union asked parents to consider keeping their children home or joining the marchers.

The district’s latest offer included adding nearly 1,200 new teachers, counselors, nurses, and librarians; reducing class sizes by two students; and capping classes at between 32 and 39 students, along with a previously proposed 6 percent salary increase over a few years. The union wants an immediate 6.5 percent hike, effective retroactively to fiscal year 2017, a demand the district claims would bankrupt the school system.

Teachers postponed the strike to Monday morning after a judge decided to consider whether the union gave proper notice. They had originally planned the strike for Thursday.