Hi All,

This summer has been called the “summer of strikes” or “hot labor summer” here in Los Angeles. It started heating up in March with the Los Angeles Unified School District’s bus drivers, custodians, special education assistants, and other low-paid workers going on strike. In April, the Flying Food Group Inc., whose workers provide in-flight meals for international airlines at Los Angeles International Airport, walked out. Lately, Amazon has begun picketing some of their local California facilities, the Screen-Actors have been on strike since May 2nd (click here to support the WGA https://www.wgacontract2023.org/strike-hub) , and the Hotel Workers went on strike at the beginning of the month. We have adopted the Universal Sheraton and will support the picket lines as hotel and hospitality workers continue their rolling strike this month. Stay tuned for updates on how you can support our union siblings in their fight for a fair contract!

All these actions show that we are not alone in our fight for a fair contract. The common thread through all these actions is the ability to afford to live in Los Angeles and live near our work sites.

Our contract has expired and our Bargaining Team is working diligently to wrap up before the end of the summer. However, we need your help. We will be holding a district-wide virtual town hall next Thursday, July 13th, at 5:00 PM to inform our membership of the status of our contract and have a collective discussion on what we need to do to win a strong contract!

Please register for next week’s union town hall as well as Friday’s negotiations using the link below: https://linktr.ee/facultyguildbargaining

In Unity,

A. James McKeever PhD
AFT 1521 Faculty Guild President