Los Angeles schools shut down as staff strike for better pay

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tens of thousands of workers in the Los Angeles Unified School District have walked off the job over stalled contract talks. Tuesday marked the start of a planned three-day strike by Local 99 of the Service Employees International Union, which represents about 30,000 teachers’ aides, special education assistants, bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers and other support staff. They’ve been joined in solidarity by teachers, shutting down the nation’s second-largest school system. They are demanding better wages and increased staffing. District Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho says the union has refused to negotiate.