LA Unified substitute teachers protest over job losses

Adolfo Guzman-Lopez/KPCC

L.A. Unified substitute teachers protest a deal between their union and district administrators that gives laid off teachers priority for substitute jobs.

Dozens of long-time substitute teachers protested outside Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters Tuesday. They're angry about a deal struck a few months ago between teachers union leaders and district administrators that gives priority for substitute teaching jobs to about 2,000 beginning teachers the district had laid off.

John Walsh led the "die-in" protest in the shadow of the 29-story L.A. Unified headquarters building. "The teachers in California are dying. We are the first group to die."

The massive district’s need for about 2,000 substitute teachers each day meant near-permanent employment for many subs, including Amy Linker. She said the deal between United Teachers Los Angeles and administrators is killing her livelihood.

"We’re already pretty low on the totem pole, we don’t have a lot of total respect because we’re just substitutes. But now this is really a blow to our self-esteem – we have benefits we’re losing."

Those benefits will run out for many at the end of the year. Linker said she’s gone into debt to pay her bills. The president of the teachers union has moved to renegotiate the deal after an internal union vote a few weeks ago. L.A. Unified’s superintendent has said he isn’t interested in reopening the issue.