Los Angeles School District workers received approval for $15 an hour wage increases on Wednesday, adding to a series of recent changes in the city's payment structure.
The district's board of education unanimously passed the measure as part of an agreement to up workers' pay 6.5 percent over the next three years. Employees began earning $11 an hour as of July 1, 2014. This pay scale will increase to $13 an hour in 2015, before it rises to the board's ultimate $15 an hour goal on July 1, 2016, according to The Times.
Non-instructional workers within the school district, including 33,000 custodians, cafeteria workers, teaching assistants, bus drivers and security aides from The Service Employees International Union, Local 99 will be elligible for the raise.
The board of education's move marks a shift in the $15 an hour pay fight, which first began when employees from the Los Angeles International Airport and surrounding hotels began negotiating for their own monetary increases, according to The Los Angeles Times.
"This is a wonderful day," stated campus aide Andre Smith. "We've had a struggle for the past years, but today is the good day - to finally have our voices heard."
"What we did was very historic," added bus driver Sandra Lee, a union vice president. "We've spearheaded what other districts and companies can do."
"All workers should be getting this minimum wage," said Board of Education member Bennett Kayser. "It shouldn't stop here at L.A. Unified. Desy also mentioned the agreement was 'philosophically easy, financially difficult.' We still have a lot of belt-tightening to do down the road to honor these agreements."
The deal does not currently affect all low-wage district employees, but when the union negotiations end, it very well could.
