How to Feed Los Angeles’ Outstanding Teachers
More than 30,000 Los Angeles public school teachers are currently on strike, demanding changes that include dramatic reductions in class sizes and higher wages.
“It is not acceptable for teachers to come and then leave because the conditions are too harsh and the pay is insufficient,” Alex Caputo-Pearl, director of United Teachers Los Angeles, a teachers’ union, told CBS Los Angeles . …
While the average teacher salary at the Los Angeles Unified School is $ 75,000, higher than the national average of $ 59,000, the extremely high cost of living in the area is unacceptable for Los Angeles teachers. (According to Payscale.com , the cost of living in Los Angeles is 43% higher than the US average, and home prices are also an astonishing 127% higher.)
Meanwhile, class sizes in Los Angeles public schools are large and could jeopardize the learning environment for students who cannot receive equal attention.
There are currently nearly half a million students enrolled in the Los Angeles Unified School District, many of whom picket with parents and teachers, seriously impacting school attendance .
And if you can’t join them at the front line of the picket, you can still do your part and help send heartfelt support.
A GoFundMe campaign called “Tacos for Teachers ” was launched, in which tacos, burritos and coffee are distributed to schools throughout Los Angeles, where teachers and students are picketing.
The campaign, sponsored by the International Socialist Organization and the Democratic Socialists of America, is being carried out in partnership with Zingo Tacos, a local taco store that send their trucks of tacos throughout the city.
The campaign has surpassed its current goal of $ 15,000, with over $ 32,000 already raised, but donations are still being accepted. Any funds not used on tacos or coffee will also be donated to the Californians Alliance for Community Empowerment , a grassroots organization dedicated to social and political issues in California.
“This is Los Angeles,” Victor Fernandez, one of the taco truck operators, told the LA Times . “What else are you going to bring?”