Sen. Smallwood-Cuevas Stands in Solidarity with SEIU Local 99 Impending Strike
SACRAMENTO – Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Los Angeles) announces her full support of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 99 in their planned three-day strike tomorrow to protect them from the unfair practices of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). SEIU Local 99 – that represents thousands of cafeteria workers, bus drivers, custodians, special education assistants and other essential school workers employed by the LAUSD – are joining United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) to lead the strike to publicly demand that the school district’s essential workers be respected with living wages and improved working conditions.
“I stand in solidarity with SEIU Local 99 and UTLA to move forward with their strike to protest LAUSD’s disrespectful treatment of their frontline workers,” said Senator Smallwood-Cuevas. “The average annual salary of LAUSD school workers is $25,000, which is below poverty wages. LAUSD has continued to devalue their essential workers, preventing them from a livelihood to care for their families. This strike will give these workers a voice to demand fair and meaningful wages.”
Although SEIU Local 99 has been in negotiations with LAUSD since last April, many school workers have reported that their bargaining requests were met with surveillance, intimidation and harassment by the school district. These retaliatory tactics are further issues that prompted the planned strike.
“No worker should be subjected to harassment or intimidation simply because they use their right to collectively bargain,” said Senator Smallwood-Cuevas. “All workers deserve the right to collectively bargain and should be safeguarded from retaliation as a result of exercising that right.”
A former labor organizer, Senator Smallwood-Cuevas believes in the power of unions because they empower workers. She praised the Michigan Legislature’s vote to pass legislation that will repeal the state’s decades-old right-to-work laws. “The Michigan Legislature’s vote to revoke the state’s right-to-work laws was a real win for organized labor and all workers who benefit from union membership,” said Senator Smallwood-Cuevas. “This ruling inspires and validates the rights of workers to have dignity and respect on the job and in our working communities.”
Senator Lola Smallwood Cuevas represents the 28th Senate District, which includes the communities of South Los Angeles, Culver City, West Los Angeles, Century City and Downtown Los Angeles. Senator Smallwood-Cuevas spent more than two decades serving as a labor organizer, civil rights activist and community advocate before her election to the State Senate. She resides in the View Park community of Los Angeles with her family.
# # #