PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
January 8, 2025
Catie Arbona, carbona@teamsters2010.org, #(510) 460-5130
Los Angeles, CA—Unions representing more than 65,000 Los Angeles Unified School District employees called on District leadership today to close all LAUSD schools on Friday in addition to Thursday as students, families, and employees struggle with the wildfires racing across Los Angeles. Under pressure from Teamsters and other LAUSD unions, District leadership agreed to close schools on Thursday. However a one-day closure does not go far enough to protect the health and safety of students and employees and the unions continue to demand that schools stay closed for the remainder of the week.
The unions that signed this morning’s joint letter to the District include United Teachers Los Angeles, representing 35,000 educators; SEIU Local 99, representing 30,000 food service workers, custodians, teacher assistants, bus drivers and other essential LAUSD workers; and Teamsters Local 2010/AALA, representing 3,000 principals, administrators, and classified managers. The unions’ letter demanded that district leadership protect the health and safety of all district employees and students by closing all LAUSD schools beginning tomorrow.
“LAUSD, as the second largest school district in the country, needs to show leadership and protect the safety of students, workers and the community by closing operations until school can re-open safely,” said Jason Rabinowitz, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 2010.
Students and employees have been heavily impacted by the Palisades, Eaton, and Hurst fires currently blazing around Los Angeles. Despite ongoing evacuations and dangerous air quality levels, LAUSD leadership has only closed 10% of schools at the time of publication, with unclear communications to employees and families as to which facilities are open, which are closed, and which are subject to early dismissal. Many school sites are without power, water, and telephone and internet service, and the danger to the schools that remain open is increasing.
“It is unconscionable that, despite knowing the dangers posed by toxic and hazardous air quality, the district required employees to report to work and students to attend school. The well-being and safety of our community must be LAUSD’s foremost priority, and the district’s handling of this emergency has fallen short of that responsibility,” said Maria Nichols, President of AALA, the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles. AALA members voted overwhelmingly to affiliate with Teamsters Local 2010 in December 2024.
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Teamsters Local 2010 represents 23,000 hard-working employees at the University of California system, California State University system, and the Los Angeles Unified School District. We are affiliated with the 1.4 million members of the Teamsters Union across the United States and Canada. Learn more at: https://teamsters2010.org