May 15, 2014
—For Immediate Release—
Contact: Blanca Gallegos; 213-500-9594
Terry Carter; 213-700-5617
Hundreds of LAUSD School Workers to Rally!
They launch fight for improved services for students and $15 minimum wage to end poverty in schools.
WHAT:
Hundreds of Cafeteria Workers, Custodians, Bus Drivers, Special Education Assistants and other members of SEIU Local 99—joined by parents, students and community leaders—will rally to highlight their contract bargaining priorities for upcoming negotiations with the Los Angeles Unified School District. The proposals call on the District to ensure Quality Schools and Better Lives by lifting families out of poverty and improving services and supports for students and families.
WHEN:
Saturday, May 17, 2014
10:00 a.m.: Media Availability; 10:30: Rally
WHERE:
Lafayette Park
601 S. Lafayette Park Place, Los Angeles, CA
WHY:
Nearly 20,000 SEIU Local 99 members working at LAUSD earn less than $15 an hour. At the same time, nearly half of them are parents or guardians of children in our schools. We know that when their families lack economic stability, their children only have a 10% chance of completing a four-year college degree by age 24. By providing better jobs in our communities, LAUSD—the second largest school district in the nation—would also give thousands of its students much more hope for their academic future.
The proposals were drafted over seven months in a process that included meetings at hundreds of school sites throughout the District. From October 2013 through April 2014, thousands of SEIU Local 99 members brainstormed together on their contract priorities and how to restore student services aft¬er years of devastating cuts.
Highlights of the proposals include:
- $15/hour minimum wage and 15% increase for workers earning more than $15
- Increased work hours to ensure full support for student success
- Expansion of OASIS program to create more good jobs and provide better services for students and families
SEIU Local 99 members are also asking for the expansion of the OASIS program. OASIS (Optimizing Access to Services, Inspiring Success) was spearheaded by the union and will bring available city, county, and private services directly into our local schools to help address many of the social and economic challenges that impact students and struggling working families. The program will keep school campuses open longer hours with coordinated after school programs offering health care, academic support, arts education, and financial planning and work force development for parents.
WHO:
Hundreds of school workers, parents, children, community groups, State Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra, L.A. County Federation of Labor Executive Secretary-Treasurer Maria Elena Durazo.
VISUALS:
Picket signs with numerous slogans, giant pledge card that union members will sign, carnival atmosphere, balloons, banners
###
SEIU Local 99 represents 45,000 education workers throughout Southern California, including more than 35,000 cafeteria workers, custodians, special education assistants, bus drivers and other workers who provide essential student services and supports in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Nearly half of SEIU Local 99 members are parents or guardians of school-aged children.
