This week, education workers’ unions in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) and UCLA are bargaining for new contracts. Both units, belonging to SEIU Local 99 and AFSCME 3299 respectively, represent education and service workers. Parents and students have joined the locals at their rallies and school board meetings to signal support for the workers’ demands.

SEIU Local 99 continues talks in Santa Monica-Malibu Unified

SEIU Local 99 is bargaining for a new contract with Santa Monica-Malibu United (SMMUSD). SEIU Local 99 represents 50,000 education workers throughout Los Angeles, Ventura, and San Bernardino counties. Local 99 represents education workers including teaching assistants, custodians, gardeners, special education assistants, and bus drivers — staff that keeps up daily operations and provides specialized care. They have been bargaining with SMMUSD for higher wages, more hours, and health insurance. They returned to the table yesterday to continue negotiations with the district.

While their current contract won a guaranteed minimum wage for new employees, Local 99 wants their new contract to provide a liveable wage to all SMMUSD workers. The average salary for classified SMMUSD workers is $47,671. According to the California Department of Housing and Community Development, this salary is just above the very low-income limit and well below the low-income threshold of $70,650 for single adults in Los Angeles County. For adults with children or other dependents, the current salary places them squarely in the very low-income bracket. In a press release summarizing the state of the negotiations, SEIU said the low pay, coupled with the district’s propensity for part-time positions, ensures that SMMUSD workers struggle to find adequate housing in their district.

After two years of bargaining with Local 99, the district’s current offer is a four percent wage increase. Citing inflation and cost of living expenses, Local 99 said the district’s offer is insulting. On behalf of the workers who help SMMUSD students learn and keep their schools safe and clean, Local 99 said, “Enough is enough! Respect us! Pay us!”

SMMUSD has faced budget shortfalls in recent years, and districts across the state have braced for leaner times ahead. Education received significant emergency funding to address crises caused by COVID-19, but districts like SMMUSD are still struggling to balance their budgets. In 2020, community members raised alarms about the SMMUSD’s spending priorities. During public comment for the district’s board meeting, speakers questioned the necessity of impending staff layoffs in light of other unexamined expenditures, some of which they considered “pet projects” of district administrators. This year, Local 99 has once again been battling with the district over proposed layoffs. SMMUSD is on track to meet its financial obligations for the next two years thanks in part to community donations. In a letter to families, SMMUSD Superintendent Antonio Shelton promised that no cuts to the budget would be made if they raised enough in donations. SMMUSD officials also noted that the district’s decrease in expenditures for salaries, overtime pay, and benefits to classified employees – those same workers who belong to Local 99 – was not indicative of layoffs. 

Local 99 has been staging pickets and speak-outs in recent months to draw attention to their fight for a new contract. Last month, they rallied at the district office and attended the district’s board meetings to vocalize their demands. After this week’s bargaining session, they have one more scheduled with the district on May 1. 

Bargaining session at UCLA has students’ support

Today is the second day that AFSCME 3299 is meeting with UC representatives at UCLA to negotiate their new contract. Local 3299 is the University of California’s largest union, comprising 30,000 workers across the UC campuses, medical centers, and research laboratories. They represent service and technical workers in the UC system. The Student Labor Advocacy Project (SLAP) at UCLA, with the support of other student coalitions, called for the community to rally in support of the union on campus this week. 

Yesterday morning union members, students, and the wider UCLA community picketed inside Ackerman and outside of Kerckoff Hall, where the bargaining session is taking place. Carrying signs with the slogans “No housing, No peace,” and “Divest from Blackstone, Invest in Community,” the sizable crowd rallied into the afternoon. They plan on bringing the same momentum to UCLA’s campus today. 

This collaboration from UCLA students and staff not represented by Local 3299 is necessary, they say because the union’s problems are theirs as well. The union is asking for an immediate and retroactive raise of the minimum wage to $25, affordable healthcare, and affordable housing. In a call to join the protests this week, SLAP said the UC Board’s current proposals are “embarrassing.” “These workers do all the essential labor,” SLAP said, “And yet the Regents cut costs whenever they can – especially for their most undervalued workers.” 

In February, UC announced they would offer a minimum wage of $25 in 2026, equal to a 26 percent wage increase for workers. They have offered none of their own proposals on affordable housing or the union’s proposed five percent wage increase to counter inflation. Missy Mattela, UC’s associate vice president of Employee and Labor Relations said, “While the University is experiencing financial constraints, we are thrilled to be able to offer these significant wage increases to these employees, who bring invaluable support throughout the system.”

In their negotiations with UC, Local 3299 is also pushing for the university system to divest from Blackstone, the world’s largest private equity firm. Last year, UC invested $4.5 Billion in the firm’s real estate trust. Unions roundly opposed UC’s decision, citing Blackstone’s predation on housing markets that drive up costs and exacerbate the crises affecting all Californians, but particularly the students and workers that UC houses. Critics of the investment in Blackstone say UC’s relationship with the firm undermines their credibility as landlords. 

Local 3299 says the issue of affordable housing is one head of the hydra UC workers are facing. Last year, they published a study highlighting the growing gap between wage increases and rent increases. Since 2017, the number of UC service workers spending one-third to one-half of their income on rent each month has increased by more than 20 percent. Hiring managers at UCLA said low wages make it harder for them to fill service positions. A research study cited by Local 3299 found that undergraduate workers at UCLA were significantly more likely to face housing insecurity than their peers at other colleges in L.A. County. 

UC is the largest landlord in the state. Local 3299 wants the University system to address the housing crisis head-on, starting with its own portfolio. A divestment from Blackstone and a commitment to affordable housing would not only benefit the rank-and-file, they say, but everyone who crosses paths with the UC system. 

Many UCLA students also believe that the wins and losses of Local 3299 during these negotiations will affect everyone in the UC system, including themselves. They hope their show of solidarity with Local 3299 sends a message to the Board of Regents: the students are educated, organized, and ready to agitate for all UC workers.

UPDATE: Wednesday morning, SLAP informed the author that UC had canceled Tuesday’s bargaining session with AFSCME 3299 over “health and safety concerns.”

Photo by Chantapat Kolkijkovin on iStockphoto.com