Los Angeles Teachers’ Strike Takes Aim at Wall Street

When an estimated 30,000 Los Angeles teachers and other school personnel went on strike Monday, improved wages and benefits were the least of their demands.

Yes, the United Teachers of Los Angeles, which represents educators in the nation’s second-largest school district, are seeking a 6.5 percent wage increase retroactive to 2016. They’re also looking for smaller class sizes and more nurses and social workers for schools where more than 80 percent of the students are at or below the poverty line. The union also wants teachers and parents to have a greater say in both school spending and academic decisions, including the number of standardized tests students are required to take. (The district demands a battery of assessments in addition to state-mandated tests, with some elementary students taking as many as 18 standardized tests a year, according to the union.)