Sylmar Protest : Teachers Stage Hunger Strike Over Contract

Teachers at Herrick Elementary School in Sylmar staged a 1-day hunger strike Monday to protest stalled contract talks between the Los Angeles Unified School District and the union representing the district’s 36,000 teachers.

The 1-day fast by 21 of the school’s 24 teachers is also a show of support for a Los Angeles first-grade teacher who has been on a protest fast since Nov. 16, said Jane Gebers, a special-education teacher at Herrick. Teachers in the district have worked without a contract since June.

“We wanted to support the teacher who has been fasting by herself and to let the district know that we would like a contract,” said Susan Elmes, a second-grade teacher.

Union Demands

United Teachers-Los Angeles, the union that represents most of the district teachers, has asked for a 1-year, 12% pay hike and elimination of several non-teaching duties. The district has offered a 17% raise over 3 years.

Teachers who gathered in the Herrick school’s faculty lunchroom resisted the smells of the adjacent cafeteria and instead drank juice, soda and bouillon. Most said they were not hungry enough at the lunch hour to break the voluntary liquids-only fast that began at midnight Sunday and was scheduled to end 24 hours later.

“We’re not doing this to make anyone ill, just to make a point,” said Betsy Strassner, a sixth-grade teacher.

Three members of the Herrick faculty did not participate in the hunger strike. One was pregnant, one cited health problems and one declined for personal reasons, Gebers said.

Protesting Colleague

The Herrick teachers said they got the idea from news reports of Annya Bell, a teacher at 42nd Street School who has been on a protest fast for the past 13 days. Bell said she is encouraged by the Herrick teachers but does not want others to join her protest. She has lost 8 pounds, she said.

“This is a personal endeavor,” said Bell, a 19-year veteran who is continuing to teach. “As long as I feel good, I will continue.”

Catherine Carey, a teachers union spokeswoman, said the union is discouraging teachers from staging hunger strikes.

“We don’t condone fasting because it’s a health risk; but we understand the frustration and anger that teachers have with the district for dragging on the negotiations,” Carey said.

Herrick Principal Allen Sussman said the teachers’ fast “is fine as long as it’s not affecting the children.”

“They may get hungry, but they’ll continue teaching because they are a very dedicated group,” Sussman said.

A district spokeswoman said the district “has no position” on the Herrick teachers’ protest.