STUDIO CITY/SHERMAN OAKS—A three-day strike – which began Tuesday, March 21 and will continue until Thursday, March 23 – being carried out by tens of thousands of Los Angeles Unified School District union workers, has left schools closed and over 500,000 students and families impacted. The Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks will provide a Special Edition After School Club Program free to students in the first to fifth grades.
From 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, 30 recreation centers – Studio City Recreation Center at 12621 Rye Street and Van Nuys Sherman Oaks Recreation Center at 14201 Houston Street included – will assist students with school assignments, recreation activities, lunch and snacks for the duration of the strike.
“Schools are so much more than centers of education – they are a safety net for hundreds of thousands of Los Angeles families,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in a statement Monday, March 20. “We will make sure to do all we can to provide resources needed by the families of our city,” Bass added.
Registration for the Special Edition After School Club Program began on Monday, March 20; Slots are first registered, first served. Due to limited space, students must be checked-in by 8:15 a.m. or will lose their registration space for the day.
Grab and Go lunch locations will also be provided as part of a relief effort. Families may pick up meals for their students at Grab and Go sites starting on Tuesday, March 21 from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m.daily. Six meals per student will be provided at pickup, to cover breakfast and lunch over three days.
The Los Angeles Zoo is offering free admission to LAUSD students and the Los Angeles Public Library will remain open during normal business hours for students.
The three-day strike commenced before dawn on Tuesday, as a result of failed negotiations (which began in April 2022) between Local 99 of Service Employees International Union and LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Caravalho. The union is demanding a 30 percent wage increase plus a two dollar per hour additional raise for the lowest paid workers. No agreement was reached by Monday and as a result, thousands of cafeteria workers, bus drivers, custodians, special education assistants and other essential workers walked out on their jobs and took to the streets in the rain. United Teachers Los Angeles union is also marching in solidarity.
The Union says district workers earn, on average, about $25,000 per year and many live in poverty because of low pay or limited work hours while struggling with inflation and the high cost of housing in LA County.
The strike is set to end on March 23, but the threat of a longer strike is being echoed by Union workers if their needs are not met. “We want to be clear that we are not in negotiations with LAUSD,” said Union Executive Director Max Arias. “We continue to be engaged in the impasse process with the state.”
For more information about Department of Recreation and Parks events, activities, services, programs, and facilities, visit laparks.org or call 311, or (213) 202-2700.
