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TIK TOK TEACHERS: Parents fume as teachers seen dancing during LAUSD strike amid school closures

'The children of Los Angeles aren’t leverage for political agendas or wage negotiations,' said one angry parent on Facebook

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Worried parents have slammed the officials of the Los Angeles Unified School District for not coming to an agreement as they are struggling to figure out what to do with their children due to a three-day strike. As most of the children were forced to stay out of school yesterday, March 21, one video of teachers dancing in the rain during the first day of the strike triggered many parents who have expressed their anger and frustration on various social media platforms. 

Moms and dads called out the faculties and employees who said they are using nearly 500,000 students as "leverage" in their own interest for better pay and other benefits. The strikes have affected the lives of so many families that places like the Los Angeles Zoo have offered free entry for students and lowered admission costs for parents looking for something to do with their children as they are not in school.  

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Angry parents react on social media

"What about those parents who work at restaurants, warehouses, retail etc…who don’t allow children [at work]? Trying to juggle kids while not being fired is stressful to many," wrote Helen Yesenia Ramos on Facebook. "Working parents should not be struggling," added Ramos, who identifies herself as a parent of LAUSD students. 

The teachers and even some of the children were seen dancing in the Twitter video in which they were seen wearing ponchos and holding umbrellas. While some applauded at the video, others were not pleased. "Dancing around while children sit around unsupervised at home. Definitely on the right side of history!" said one person on Twitter. "Or, you could go back and teach the poor kids who lost out on 18 months of education in your district," wrote another user. More than 1,000 public schools are closed across the area. 

The bitterness over the strike was carried over to Facebook where parents burst out in anger and sadness over children losing out on days worth of schooling. "Do your job and get to the negotiating table. You are the ones failing the families that attend LAUSD Schools," wrote one commenter on SEIU 99's post about the strike. A man, identifying himself as a California resident in his Facebook profile said he is "disgusted" by the strike. 

"I’m disgusted by this LAUSD strike starting Tuesday. This was supposed to be the first “normal” school year since the 2018-2019 school year…" Dustin Bowen said. "The children of Los Angeles aren’t leverage for political agendas or wage negotiations. The kids have been through enough the last three years," he continued. "I agree that the school district should pay school staff members more, but not at the expense of children," Bowen wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday. 

Rachel Elder, a mom told NBC 4 she felt that she had no other choice as she took her son to an Echo Park rec center for the day. "It was either working from home with my son playing video games and not have anything to do or it was finding some pod of people that might be in the same boat," Elder said.

In the US, LAUSD is the second largest school district, coming just after New York City Public Schools which has more than one million students. Some parents have been forced to take advantage of free and reduced admission to places like the Los Angeles Zoo, the  Natural History Museum in Exposition Park and the La Brea Tar Pits, and the Petersen Museum. But there are many parents who are still struggling with childcare and some with meal coverage for students who rely on LAUSD for food throughout the week. 

SEIU 99 reported that the union alongside UTLA are working toward better pay and fighting against concerning practices.  After SEUI workers voted to authorize a strike last month, the district allegedly subjected employees to "surveillance, intimidation, and harassment" as the negotiation process was scheduled to begin. 

"This afternoon, SEIU Local 99 had agreed to enter a confidential mediation process with LAUSD to try and address our differences. Unfortunately, LAUSD broke that confidentiality by sharing it with the media before our bargaining team, which makes all decisions, had a chance to discuss how to proceed," SEIU officials said. 

LAUSD's superintendent speaks out

Alberto Carvalho, the LAUSD superintendent, said he has tried to negotiate with the union in good faith. "Under California law, we cannot drive the school system into a bankruptcy position. We cannot drive the school system into a red position. And if we were to acquiesce to all the demands, that is exactly where we would be, that is not legally allowable," Carvalho told CNN. He added that he is "eagerly awaiting" SEIU's counter proposal and that administration officials are looking to bring back children to school. "We should not be depriving our students of an opportunity to learn," Carvalho said.