Norwalk-area Teachers Expand Strike Picketing

Teachers in the Little Lake City School District widened their strike on Tuesday, picketing outside two school board trustees’ homes after five days without a contract. (whittierdailynews.com) About 40 teachers, students and community members from Jersey Avenue Elementary School demonstrated outside the homes of board President Jasmine Sanchez and Vice President Hilda Zamora, according to the Whittier Daily News. The union and district had bargained for 15 hours on Monday, but no new talks were scheduled as of April 22. (whittierdailynews.com) The strike began on Thursday, April 16, after months of stalled negotiations between the district and the Little Lake Education Association. ABC7 reported that the dispute centers on health care costs, class sizes and support services for students, especially in special education. (abc7.com) Union leaders said proposed midyear health care changes could raise some employees’ monthly costs to as much as $1,400, and they said educators have not received a pay raise since the 2023-24 school year. District Superintendent Jonathan Vasquez said the district must balance employee demands with state reserve requirements and long-term fiscal stability. (abc7.com) Little Lake City School District serves just under 3,700 students across nine schools in Santa Fe Springs, Norwalk and part of Downey, according to district and ABC7 information. The district says schools remain open during the strike with substitute teachers, supervised minimum days and extended-care programs still operating. (abc7.com, llcsd.net, llcsd.net) The walkout is the first teacher strike in the district’s roughly 150-year history, the Los Angeles Times reported on April 16. By the third day of the strike, union supporters were also organizing a recall effort against all five school board members. (latimes.com, presstelegram.com) On April 21, the Whittier Daily News reported that the two sides remained far apart after district officials left negotiations that day, according to the union. The district said then that it was still working toward an agreement while keeping the school system financially solvent. (whittierdailynews.com) The district’s public updates before the strike said factfinding sessions were held on April 2 and April 8, and a report was issued before teachers walked out. Earlier in April, 94% of union members voted to authorize a strike, according to ABC7. (llcsd.net, llcsd.net, abc7.com) For families in Norwalk and nearby cities, the immediate reality is unchanged on April 23: campuses are open, regular instruction is disrupted, and the next bargaining date has not been announced. (whittierdailynews.com, llcsd.net)