The Militant (logo)  

Vol. 72/No. 25      June 23, 2008

 
(front page)
Teachers strike against
budget cuts in California
 
Militant/Pedro Vasquez
Teachers and students walk picket line at Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles June 6

BY VIRGINIA GARZA
AND NAOMI CRAINE  
LOS ANGELES—Tens of thousands of teachers walked off the job for an hour June 6 and picketed hundreds of schools throughout Los Angeles to protest severe cuts proposed in the state budget.

At the Franklin Elementary School, more than 100 teachers and parents rallied along with dozens of students. Many passing drivers honked in support of the spirited picketers, who chanted, “What do we want? Stop the budget cuts!” Some of the parents had taken part in the recent 14-week strike by the Writers Guild.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed cutting $4.8 billion from public school budgets. According to the United Teachers of Los Angeles, which organized the June 6 job action, this could mean layoffs of up to 107,000 teachers statewide and increasing class sizes by up to 35 percent. Striking teachers said the plan would likely result in the elimination of some programs, such as dance and language studies.

School superintendent David Brewer tried unsuccessfully to get a restraining order to prevent the walkout. Parents received recorded messages from school officials beforehand stating that he agreed with the teachers’ demands, but did not support their action. Administrators said 75 percent of the 48,000 teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District participated in the job action.  
 
 
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