More than 35,000 public school teachers in Los Angeles are members of the union known as United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA). They use collective bargaining to advocate for the needs of school classrooms and communities.

Teachers in Los Angeles have reached a tentative agreement with the city to have a 21% increase in pay. This agreement was reached surprisingly fast and demonstrates the urgency of the situation. As a direct result of the Covid pandemic, teachers have been working to work against issues that children have been facing such as poverty and falling behind in class. All of this comes with more hours, effort, and further exhaustion in their job. Due to the length of time teachers go to do their job, the Union of Teachers Los Angeles, or ULTA has worked to put together a formal agreement to increase their pay.  Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho shares, “I am grateful that we reached an agreement with UTLA in a manner that reflects the dedicated work of our employees, provide a better academic experience for our students, and raises the standards of compensation in Los Angeles and across the country.” This agreement covers the 2023-2025 school years and helped  UTLA avoid a strike.