August 5, 2020
Inaugural State of the Union speech with UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz.
Inaugural State of the Union speech with UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz. #WeRiseTogetherLA #utlastrong
Inaugural State of the Union speech with UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz. #WeRiseTogetherLA #utlastrong
A conversation with education activists about the current struggles in public education for safe and equitable schools for all.
The atmosphere at the temporary UTLA field office in Van Nuys was electric this past Saturday as more than 75 members prepared for precinct-walking for Scott Schmerelson. Cecilia Cordova Hart, Adriana Garcia, and Christina Medina from Cohasset Elementary huddled together to look at their assigned turf map on their phones. Teams from Blythe Elementary, Winnetka Elementary, Sharp Elementary, Carpenter Elementary, and Beachy Elementary took their sheets of talking points and confidently departed for their assigned turf.
We keep seeing the positive impacts of our strike. Take a moment and feel pride in your days in the rain on the picket line. Lisa Bennett is a special education teacher, UTLA chapter chair, and an LAUSD Teacher of the Year. She teaches at Van Gogh School, one of those closest to the Saddleridge fire. Lisa and others across the San Fernando Valley were incensed by LAUSD’s flat-footedness in responding to the fire. Schools should have been closed and should have remained closed until they were rigorously cleaned and the air quality improved. LAUSD needs a plan, developed with stakeholders, for fire safety in the future.
Alex delivered the following State of the Union speech at the 2019 Leadership Conference in July. "We will never forget 2018-19. An historic strike with unprecedented wins. The largest public sector strike in a single city of the United States in years. The first large strike since Janus, sending a pro-union message nationwide. The first Red for Ed strike in a blue state, challenging Democrats on their terrible record on funding and privatization. A strike being studied internationally..."