Posts tagged Los Angeles
Op-ed: Unions are acting as a toll booth on the road to unaccountable single-party power
May 8, 2026 // Unions do not write personal checks. They collect dues from membership — teachers, construction workers, public employees — then steer voluntary PAC contributions through ActBlue, the Democrats’ preferred fundraising apparatus. The tilt is so extreme it would embarrass a slot machine. The National Education Association’s PAC raised nearly $27 million in the 2024 election cycle, virtually every dollar aimed at electing Democrats. The four largest government unions — the NEA, the American Federation of Teachers, AFSCME, and the Service Employees International Union — spent more than $700 million on election-related activity in the 2021–22 cycle alone, with 96 percent flowing to Democratic candidates and organizations. That is not grassroots democracy — it is a toll booth on the road to single-party rule.
Commentary LAUSD avoided a strike and now wants a state taxpayer bailout to avoid fiscal disaster
May 1, 2026 // Caving to union demands is easy, but paying for them might prove difficult. LAUSD spends more money than it receives each year from federal, state, and local governments. They project a $1.3 billion budget deficit this year and a $1.5 billion hole in fiscal year 2027. A big reason for the deficits is that the district has too many non-teachers on its payroll. Despite losing about 75,0000 students since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, LAUSD has reduced staff by only 321 employees. Birth rates are down, families are moving out of the region, and parents are seeking other options, such as private and charter schools.
‘Blue Power’ and the Rise of Police Union Politics
April 18, 2026 // "Everybody else can indulge in politics—every black group, every political party group, every church group," groused Carl Parsell, then president of the Detroit Police Officers Association, in 1969. "Why are police officers so different?" The question goes to the heart of Stuart Schrader's Blue Power, a new book charting how police unions accreted and cemented power in the decades following Parsell's query. It's a ripe subject for review: Police officers' savvy use of public sector unions and lobbying to largely immunize themselves from oversight is one of the greatest political coups in recent American history. In under four decades, police unions evolved from beer-drinking clubs to organized bargaining units to potent political forces at the local, state, and national levels.
Workers at LA stadium threaten World Cup strike amid anger over ICE
April 15, 2026 // Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11, outlined a slew of union demands in a letter addressed to Fifa president Gianni Infantino and Stan Kroenke, the billionaire sports mogul who built the stadium
Opinion Editorial Board: There is no right to strike against public schools
April 14, 2026 // Government also can’t go out of business. Demands, no matter how exorbitant, can always be paid through higher taxes, which is what’s certain to now happen in Los Angeles. A 2021 paper found that school districts under pressure from collective bargaining raise spending with no improvements in student outcomes. It’s not as though LAUSD is a cheapskate district. The average teacher earns six figures, and the district covers 100 percent of teachers’ health insurance premiums. Teachers’ starting pay for the district is higher than teachers’ median pay for the country as a whole. Average spending per student has risen from $17,798 in 2020-2021 to $29,616 in 2024-2025.
LAUSD strike averted after tentative deal reached with 3rd union; schools to open Tuesday
April 14, 2026 // - A 24% wage increase that will make a significant difference in workers' livelihoods; - Increased work hours that will ensure health care benefits for thousands of workers and their families and increase services and support for students; - Rescinding layoffs of hundreds of IT technicians; - Expansion of health care benefits for teacher assistants, after-school workers, community representatives and others; - No subcontracting of work to outside vendors with a pathway to bring more work into the district.
Teachers earn whopping pay raise as under-fire LAUSD folds to avert strike
April 13, 2026 // The pay hike comes even as the district’s roughly 390,000 students perform below both state and federal literacy averages. The agreement, expected to cost at least $650 million, also includes a plan to hire 450 additional support staff, including counselors, psychologists and social workers. The deal follows months of tense negotiations after the union’s contract expired last June, and is aimed at heading off a strike planned for Tuesday. But the threat of walkouts has not been fully eliminated. Service Employees International Union Local 99, which represents custodians, cafeteria workers and other service staff, has yet to reach a deal with the district.
LA hotels face financial strain exacerbated by city policy shifts: report
April 13, 2026 // Increasing labor expenses are a major concern for hoteliers nationwide, as total salaries, wages and benefits paid by U.S. hotels are projected to increase approximately 3% year over year in 2026 amid a weakened performance cycle. In Los Angeles, however, local legislation is exacerbating this challenge, hoteliers reported. Last year’s passage of the Citywide Hotel Worker Minimum Wage Ordinance, in particular, has forced local hoteliers “to make serious changes to maintain business operations,” according to the report. For example, 88% of hotel stakeholders said they have reduced staffing or hours in the past year as a result of LA city council policies, per the report.
Commentary: A teacher strike would hurt kids, but LAUSD can’t afford to give in to the union’s demands
April 13, 2026 // The bottom line is that LAUSD can’t afford the union’s demands. A lengthy teachers’ strike would harm students, but giving in to UTLA risks weakening the district’s ability to serve those students for years to come. For their part, teachers and other union employees could come to regret whatever concessions UTLA manages to squeeze out of the district. LAUSD has already approved a plan to lay off 3,200 employees, and they’ll need to cut more if UTLA gets its way.
Talks Resume Today Ahead of Potential LAUSD Strike Next Week
April 9, 2026 // Even a partial agreement may not be enough to keep schools open. If one or more unions fail to reach a deal, district officials have indicated that maintaining normal operations would be nearly impossible. Right now, union leaders are projecting unity across roles that don’t always align. In a statement, UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz emphasized that educators and school staff are “ready to act” next Tuesday, if meaningful progress isn’t made.