Los Angeles Unified school principals — saying their workload is too heavy and the pressure to raise student achievement, manage complex budgets and keep campuses safe is too intense — have voted to join the Teamsters union in a rebuke to the leadership of Supt. Alberto Carvalho and the Board of Education.
In an election that concluded last week, 85% of voting members, who include principals and other mid-level administrators, chose to unionize. In essence, the leaders of 1,300 public schools in the nation’s second-largest school system — known for strict adherence to policies and for echoing the district’s messaging — have said their burden is unfair and their voices go unheard.
“What I hear from the field is people want out, people want to retire early, and they don’t feel supported,” said Maria Nichols, president of Associated Administrators of Los Angeles, the union that already represented school administrators and which conducted the election to affiliate with the Teamsters. “It’s task upon task upon task. They’re overworked and on overload.”…