Los Angeles Unified principals and administrators will join teachers and school workers on picket lines beginning April 14, after their union announced Friday afternoon that members overwhelmingly approved a strike authorization vote.
The Associated Administrators of Los Angeles, affiliated with Teamsters Local 2010, said 90% of voting members approved a strike authorization, and leaders announced plans to join a “sympathy strike” beginning April 14 alongside United Teachers Los Angeles and SEIU Local 99.
The vote marks the first time administrators have joined a strike alongside other LAUSD unions and aligns all three major labor groups in a coordinated potential walkout, raising the likelihood of widespread disruptions in the nation’s second-largest school district.
“When 90% of us vote YES, it’s no longer a request — it’s a mandate,” AALA/Teamsters Local 2010 president Maria Nichols said in a statement after the vote results were released. “Enough is enough, we are united, we are resolute, and we are ready to stand together for the respect, fairness, and dignity we deserve.”
The union represents around 3,000 principals, assistant principals, classified managers and school administrators across the district. United Teachers Los Angeles, which represents about 37,000 teachers, and SEIU Local 99, which represents roughly 30,000 school support staff, have already set April 14 as a potential strike date if contract agreements are not reached with the district.
The unions have been negotiating with the district for more than a year over wages, staffing levels and working conditions. UTLA and SEIU Local 99 have previously authorized a strike by 94% and 97%, respectively.
In a previous interview, Nichols said the union’s concerns center on pay, workload and job conditions for school administrators, including long hours and limited autonomy. The union is also pushing for more flexibility in school-level decision-making and clearer guidelines around work hours and compensation for extended duties.
“ My members, in particular, administrators, middle managers, are working 50, 60 hour weeks,” she said. “We have an unsustainable workload, and our working conditions are disrespectful in the sense that we have been really stripped of our autonomy.”
LAUSD did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment on the vote.
Earlier Friday, district officials said negotiations are ongoing and that they remain committed to reaching an agreement, adding that planning for April 14 would depend on which groups of employees ultimately participate in a strike.
“Avoiding a strike will require both parties to continue engaging in good-faith negotiations and working toward a solution that is fair and sustainable,” a district spokesperson said in a statement. “We have reached agreement with five of our eight labor partners and are willing to work around the clock to come to agreement with our teachers, administrators, and service workers.”
The district is also scheduled to meet with AALA again on Monday, the spokesperson said.
If no agreement is reached, the coordinated walkout could affect tens of thousands of employees and more than 500,000 students across the nation’s second-largest school district.