L.A. Teachers Strike Is About More Than a Fair Contract, Teacher Says
*By Carlo Versano*
With Los Angeles public schools ending a third day without their striking teachers, a deal between the union and the district remains elusive, according to Joseph Zeccola, a 2018-19 L.A. County Teacher of the Year and one of more than 30,000 educators currently protesting in the country's second-largest school district.
"We're at a standstill," Zeccola told Cheddar from the picket line on Wednesday. "The offers right now have not been good."
Los Angeles public school teachers are demanding, in addition to salary increases, that the district provide more support staff and smaller class sizes. Classes in L.A. County routinely have headcounts numbering 40.
The L.A. Times [reported](https://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-edu-lausd-teachers-strike-endgame-20190116-story.html) early Wednesday that both sides are close on a salary deal, and the district has proposed hiring more nurses, librarians, and social workers for a year ー all the district said it can afford. The union had rejected that offer as insufficient.
For Zeccola, the strike is about more than a fair contract. He said L.A. teachers were inspired by other teacher strikes in states like Kentucky, Oklahoma, and West Virginia, and that in the end ー whether it's a deep blue state like California or a deep red state like Kentucky ー it's about "setting the tempo" for public education in the U.S. by allocating more resources to improve the quality of education for students.
"Our kids deserve the best we can afford to give them."
Public schools are currently being staffed by substitute teachers and some administrative staff, though in many cases that has meant one or two adults for every couple hundred students.
More than 90 percent of district teachers are out on picket lines across the county, according to Zeccola, despite rainy and severe weather across in the region. And 98 percent of unionized teachers voted to authorize the strike. The job action has drawn support from politicians like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), as well as celebrities like Jamie Lee Curtis. And the vast majority of Los Angelenos say they support the teachers ー nearly 80 percent, according to the [most recent polling](https://lmu.app.box.com/s/i6jtszzmyocea8uiudibb7pxutrlngtb/file/384025745117).
ThoughBut as the strike drags on and parents contend with mounting childcare issues, it is unclear if the levels of support will drop. Less than 30 percent of Zeccola's students went to school this week, in his estimation, while the rest stayed home in solidarity.
The district and union have not met face-to-face yet this week.
Zeccola said the teachers' demands are reasonable.
"No teacher is going to get rich," Zeccola said. "We're not looking for that."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/la-teachers-hope-for-a-deal-after-3-days-of-protest).
Fold CEO & Co-founder Will Reeves joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he discusses what his company's augmented reality metaverse involves and elaborates on Fold's goals surrounding the new initiative.
President Joe Biden's "Build Back Better" bill could mean cheaper electric bicycles and scooters as the nation attempts to shift away from gas-powered cars. Noa Banayan, the director of federal affairs at PeopleForBikes, joined Cheddar's "Closing Bell" to provide some background on the E-Bike Act included in Biden's reconciliation bill that would provide tax credits for qualified purchases. "We want to make sure, from the bike industry's perspective, that this is a technology and a product that is available to the majority of Americans who want to lower their carbon footprint and get around town faster and do everything that they would normally do in a short car trip but by bike, because it's healthier, it's fast, it's efficient, you're not in traffic," she said.
It's being called the next big trend in crypto. A decentralized autonomous organization, or DAO, is an internet community of different types of groups and businesses. The purpose is to allow people to commit funds to a specific cause in a safe way. Now, one social platform is creating a do-it-yourself kit for those who want to step into the space. Upstream Collective just launched the beta mode of its platform with the goal of putting all facets of running a DAO in one place. Alex Taub, co-founder and CEO of Upstream, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Walmart and Zipline have teamed up to launch a drone delivery service in Pea Ridge, Arkansas. The service delivers products to customers within a 50-mile radius of the store. Liam O'Connor, COO of Zipline, joins Cheddar News to talk more about the partnership.
A NASA spacecraft that will deliberately crash into an asteroid is preparing to launch this week. The goal of the DART mission, or the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, is to hit the smaller of the two asteroids, Dimorphos, with the spacecraft at about 15,000 miles per hour and see how the impact changes the asteroid’s trajectory. Joey Roulette, space reporter at The New York Times, joins Cheddar News to talk more about it.
After a pandemic pause where the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was closed to the public, the annual tradition is returning to the streets of New York with some new, yet familiar, faces. In addition to 10 marching bands, dozens of floats, 30 heritage balloons, and five other newcomers, one creature from a galaxy far, far away is joining the festivities, courtesy of toy manufacturer Funko. Coming in at 41 feet tall, 29 feet long, and 37 feet wide, the Funko Pop!-inspired Grogu balloon, from "The Mandalorian," will make his debut this year. Cheddar's Michelle Castillo reports.
AAA is expecting 80% more airline passengers and almost 10% more road trips in the pandemic’s biggest holiday travel surge. Melanie Lieberman, senior travel editor at The Points Guy, joins Cheddar News to detail what travelers are up against.
