Day 2 of a mammoth strike that shut down classes at Los Angeles Unified School District schools dawned on Wednesday, March 22, starting first day — with protesters in rainy day garb rallying amid showers at a school bus yard, this one on South Hoover Street in Gardena.
With schools again closed, scheduled events for the day included a news conference at Polytechnic High in Sun Valley and another rally at the LAUSD Local District Offices in L.A.
Strikers could expect more wet weather. Intervals of heavy rain and intense winds were again forecast for Wednesday as the latest storm system to soak Southern California during this particularly wet winter hovered over the region for a second day.
Related: Here’s where families can get help during LAUSD strike
The rains didn’t deter strikers on Tuesday. SEIU Local 99’s workers — including cafeteria workers, bus drivers, custodians, special education assistants and others — were joined in sympathy by about 30,000 members of the UTLA union. Both unions are seeking new contracts with the LAUSD, although only the SEIU has called a strike.
The district will continue to offer more than 150 student supervision sites in partnership with the City of Los Angeles to help support families who could not afford day care or lack resources for students to stay home. The district distributed three days-worth of free food to families on Tuesday. The county’s parks and libraries also offered activities and food on Tuesday and planned to do so again on Wednesday.
The first day of the projected three-day walkout, on Tuesday, was filled with rallies, chants and protest signs, but no real sign of negotiating progress on a new labor contract.
“We are on strike because we’ve had enough,” said SEIU Local 99 President Conrado Guerrero on Tuesday. “As a building engineer I was called an essential worker by LAUSD during the pandemic. They seen to have forgotten that. Enough of the disrespect.”
Organizers for SEIU Local 99 …
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