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Strike talk emerges on Caputo-Pearl’s first day as union chief
Alex Caputo-Pearl today assumed the office of President of United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), a union battling with LA Unified for a larger salary increase than the two percent the district has offered. UTLA remains one of the last of the district’s labor partners to reach agreement on a contract. The teachers had initially asked...
By LA School Report | July 1, 2014
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JUST IN: SEIU Local 99 and LAUSD reach tentative deal
SEIU Local 99, which represents school cafeteria workers, custodians, special education assistants, campus safety monitors and other school service workers, has reached a tentative contract agreement with LA Unified that includes an incremental rise to a minimum wage of $15 an hour. The three-year phase in brings workers up to $11 an hour for the coming...
By Vanessa Romo | June 30, 2014
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JUST IN: Courtni Pugh, executive director of SEIU 99, steps down*
*UPDATED with response from Courti Pugh The Executive Director of SEIU Local 99, LA Unified’s school workers union, announced today she is stepping down to take a job in Sacramento. Cournti Pugh, who’s been at the helm of the local union for four years, announced her plans today on SEIU’s website and Facebook page. Pugh...
By Vanessa Romo | June 24, 2014
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SEIU rolls out OASIS wellness program at 4 LAUSD schools
Via KPCC | By Annie Gilbertson The union representing Los Angeles school employees — cafeteria workers, custodians, teachers’ assistants and others — is launching a pilot program to help students at four schools get access to counseling and health care. They say their workers can help provide a missing link. “Optimizing Access to Services, Inspiring...
By LA School Report | June 24, 2014
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Labor groups split on support for McKenna and Johnson in runoff
The battle for LA Unified’s open District 1 board seat is playing out not only among voters in the district, but also within the city’s labor unions. Both candidates in the Aug. 12 runoff, George McKenna and Alex Johnson, have drawn considerable labor support. But a substantial split suggests that this is a typical election...
By LA School Report | June 16, 2014
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SEIU endorses Alex Johnson for LAUSD school board in runoff
SEIU Local 99, one of the biggest players in the LAUSD’s political landscape, has endorsed Alex Johnson for school board in the runoff election that will take place on August 12. The union, which represents 45,000 school-related employees including teachers’ assistants, bus drivers and cafeteria workers, made its decision last night after a members-only town...
By LA School Report | June 10, 2014
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Another week, another LA Unified school board meeting
It’s hard to believe after last week’s marathon 10-hour session, but LA Unified school board members will be meet again tomorrow with a full agenda. Most of the issues before the board are much less contentious than those addressed a week ago. They include: Board member Bennett Kayser’s effort to form a task force charged...
By Vanessa Romo | May 19, 2014
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LAUSD school board candidate drops out, replaced by her twin
Barbara Torres, the president of SEIU 99, one of the most powerful unions in the Los Angeles school district, said today she is stepping aside in the 2015 race for school board in District 5, currently held by school board member Bennett Kayser. Torres said she made her decision after a story in LA School Report...
By Vanessa Romo | May 16, 2014
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SEIU Local 99 outlines its contract demands from LA Unified
SEIU Local 99, the union of cafeteria workers, custodians, bus drivers, special education assistants who work for LA Unified announced today it is seeking a minimum of $15 an hour for all workers who currently earn less than that and a 15 percent raise for all workers who earn more. The union thus became the...
By LA School Report | May 8, 2014
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SEIU 99 president ‘still thinking’ about LAUSD board seat
Barbara Torres, president of SEIU Local 99, is “still thinking about running” for a seat on the LA Unified School Board against incumbent Bennett Kayser despite concerns raised by the union’s executive director, says her campaign manager Lewis Myers. “She has not made her decision yet,” Lewis told LA School Report. “There is a lot of...
By Vanessa Romo | April 28, 2014