UTLA President Alex Caputo-Pearl addressed a crowd of teachers and children through a bullhorn in front of Marshall High School on Monday morning, raising his voice over chants and honking cars as the first teachers strike in 30 years kicked off.

Caputo-Pearl called on federal and state leaders to increase funding for schools, including the sources identified in Gov. Newsom’s proposed budget. He also urged the Los Angeles Unified School District to spend its reserves.

“Here we are on a rainy day in … a state as blue as it can be and in a city rife with millionaires, where teachers have to go on strike” to get basic needs met for children, Caputo-Pearl said. He called on Supt. Austin Beutner: “Do not hoard LAUSD’s reserve in order to move your cuts and privatization agenda.”

1 / 78 Teachers and their supporters fill Grand Park during a rally after a tentative agreement wath LAUSD on smaller classes, new community schools, nurses and a raise. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 78 Erin Payne holds her daughter Olivia Johnson during a rally at Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles. LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner and United Teachers Los Angeles President Alex Caputo-Pearl announced a tentative deal today that could send teachers back to the classroom tomorrow, ending the first Los Angeles teachers strike in 30 years. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 78 Maida Salido, Aurora Mireles and Stephanie Flores, left to right, celebrate during a rally at Grand Park in Los Angeles. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 78 LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner and United Teachers Los Angeles President Alex Caputo-Pearl announced a tentative deal today that could send teachers back to the classroom tomorrow, ending the first Los Angeles teachers strike in 30 years. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 78 Mallorie Evans, center, celebrates after an agreement between the teachers union and the LAUSD was reached Tuesday in downtown Los Angeles. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 78 Teachers celebrate after an agreement between the teachers union and the LAUSD was reached Tuesday in downtown Los Angeles. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 78 LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner, right, and United Teachers Los Angeles President Alex Caputo-Pearl, left, with Mayor Eric Garcetti announced a tentative deal that could send teachers back to the classroom, ending the first Los Angeles teachers strike in 30 years. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 78 () 9 / 78 () 10 / 78 () 11 / 78 Thousands of teachers attend a UTLA rally in Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 78 Tom Morello, center, with guitar, is joined on stage by Perry Farrell, of Jane’s Addiction, and Wayne Kramer, with MC5, with tan jacket, as members of the UTLA Marching Band perform, “This Land is Your Land,” in Grand Park. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 78 From left, Lisa Ynfante, Iris Marin, Janis Nuno and Mireya Gutierrez, all LAUSD teachers join thousands at a rally in Grand Park. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 78 Ignacio Gordillo, Dean at Gage Middle School, shouts to the lawmakers at Los Angeles City Hall as thousands of educators rally in Grand Park. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 78 Xavi Moreno, center, gets ready for a rally in Grand Park. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 78 Jackie Goldberg, teacher, former school board member, who also served on the L.A. City Council and in the state Legislature visits with teachers attend rally in Grand Park. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 78 UTLA president Alex Caputo-Pearl, left, introduce himself to 5th grader Aryana Fields from Playa Del Rey Elementary School at the rally in Grand Park. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 78 Austin Beutner, LAUSD Superintendent, right, and Monica Garcia, LAUSD President, provide an update on the UTLA strike in Los Angeles on Friday. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 78 Thousands of educators with the United Teachers Los Angeles attend a rally on the fifth day of the teachers strike in Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 78 From left, teachers Rosa Martinez, Maricela Chaidez and Lillian Garcia chant and cheer with fellow teachers preparing for a rally in Grand Park in front of Los Angeles City Hall Friday. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 78 Kimberly Barrera, a 6th grade teacher, joins fellow teachers preparing for a rally in Grand Park in front of Los Angeles City Hall Friday. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 78 Thousands of educators with the United Teachers Los Angeles attend a rally on the fifth day of the teachers strike at Grand Park in front of City Hall in downtown Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 78 Anavelia Valencia, left, and Courtney Moore, right, teachers at 99th Street Elementary school, perform a “rain dance” on the picket line in South Los Angeles. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 78 Teachers picket in the middle of Sunset Blvd., at Gordon Street in Hollywood. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 78 Antonio Solis, right, a teacher with Hollywood Primary Center, and Kevin Savage, center, a teacher at Vine Street Elementary, join fellow educators on the picket line along Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 78 Louisa Stiles, 4, eats a slice of donated pizza on the picket line at Elysian Heights elementary school in Los Angeles. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 78 School attendance fell again in the fourth day of the LAUSD teachers’ strike. Oscar Garcia, left, and Yacob Eyob work on their iPads at Burroughs Middle School. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 78 The hallways of Elysian Heights Elementary were uncrowded on Thursday; outside, teachers and parents picketed. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 78 Westminster Elementary kindergarten teacher Jessica Dunn makes her case to passing motorists on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice on the third day of the LAUSD teachers’ strike. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 78 LAUSD teachers, parents and others protest in front of school board President Monica Garcia’s home in El Sereno. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 31 / 78 A police officer clears the road to allow a car to pass during a protest Wednesday night outside L.A. school board President Monica Garcia’s home. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 32 / 78 Kindergarten teacher Beth Clark is among picketers on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice during Day 3 of the teachers’ strike Wednesday. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 78 Student counselor Sandra Santacruz-Cervantes, center, pickets in a crosswalk outside Hollywood High School on Tuesday. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 78 Educators and supporters pack San Pedro Street in downtown Los Angeles at a rally outside the headquarters of the California Charter Schools Association. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 78 Janette Duran, from left, Lauren Maucere and Stephanie Johnson, all specialists at Marlton School for the deaf, cheer at a rally at the California Charter Schools Assn. in downtown Los Angeles. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 78 Student counselor Edwin Deleon, on a bicycle, joins parents, teachers and students in a crosswalk to picket outside Hollywood High School during the second day of the United Teachers Los Angeles strike. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 37 / 78 Students from Main Street School hold signs as teachers and supporters make their way through downtown Los Angeles to attend a rally at the California Charter Schools Assn. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 78 Parents, teachers and students picket outside Hollywood High School during the second day of the United Teachers Los Angeles strike. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 39 / 78 On the second day of teachers strike, the United Teachers Los Angeles rally outside California Charter Schools Assn. offices in Los Angeles. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 40 / 78 On the second day of teachers strike, the United Teachers Los Angeles rally outside California Charter Schools Assn. offices in Los Angeles. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 41 / 78 On the second day of teachers strike, the United Teachers Los Angeles rally outside California Charter Schools Assn. offices in Los Angeles. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 42 / 78 Elisabeth Mitchell, right, a kindergarten teacher at the Accelerated Schools, a community of public charter schools in South Los Angeles, joins fellow teachers as they picket outside the school on the second day of the teachers strike. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 43 / 78 Los Angeles Unified Supt. Austin Beutner addresses the media at LAUSD headquarters on the second day of the United Teachers Los Angeles strike. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 44 / 78 Stephanie Grace, center, and Lilly Diaz, right, teachers at The Accelerated Schools, a community of public charter schools in South Los Angeles cheer to passing vehicles as they join fellow teachers as they picket outside the school on second day of the teachers strike. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 45 / 78 UTLA President Alex Caputo Pearl, center, joins teachers on the picket line at The Accelerated Schools in South Los Angeles. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 46 / 78 Teachers at The Accelerated Schools, a community of public charter schools in South Los Angeles picket outside the school on second day of the teachers strike. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 47 / 78 UTLA teachers gather at city hall in downtown Los Angeles for a march and rally Monday, as they walked off the job in their first strike in 30 years. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 48 / 78 Corianne Cook, a teacher from Webster Middle School with her children, Ryn, 9, left, and Liam, 12, march to LAUSD district headquarters during the first day of the UTLA strike in Los Angeles. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 49 / 78 Mallorie Evans, center, an educational audiologist at Marlton School for the deaf, signs along with the speaker while Los Angeles Unified School District teachers and supporters gather at LAUSD headquarters in Los Angeles. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 50 / 78 UTLA teachers marched from downtown Los Angeles to LAUSD headquarters Monday, January 14, 2019, as they walked off the job in their first strike in 30 years. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 51 / 78 A supporter for the UTLA strike sports a Superman cape in Los Angeles. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 52 / 78 Mari Enyart, 42, helps her son Was Enyart, 7, with school work while they spend their morning at a Starbucks Cafe in South Los Angeles on the first day of the strike. (Silvia Razgova / For The Times) 53 / 78 Reseda High students Roosevelt Jimenez, 17, left, and friend Kimberly Aquino, 17, right, sit in the school auditorium as UTLA teachers are out on strike in Reseda. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 54 / 78 Dr. Frances Gibson, Chief Academic Officer at the L.A. Unified School District, serves as a substitute teacher leading a language arts class at El Sereno Middle School. (Silvia Razgova / For The Times) 55 / 78 Teachers in a sea of umbrellas block 3rd and 4th streets over the 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles as they marched to LAUSD Headquarters from City Hall on first day of the UTLA teachers strike. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 56 / 78 Aleida Aguilar, a first grader at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Los Angeles, is guided by her mother through the picket line formed by teachers on first day of the Los Angeles school teachers strike. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 57 / 78 Counselor Leah Zeller leads teachers as they chant in the rain on the picket line at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Los Angeles. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 58 / 78 Teachers in a sea of umbrellas march up 3rd street over the 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles as they marched to LAUSD Headquarters. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 59 / 78 UTLA President Alex Caputo-Pearl organizes Los Angeles Unified School District teachers before marching from City Hall to LAUSD headquarters in Los Angeles. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 60 / 78 Los Angeles School Superintendent Austin Beutner, right, with School Board President Monica Garcia, met with Geri Guzman, left, and family members of students before holding a press conference at LAUSD Headquarters. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 61 / 78 UTLA teachers arrive at Los Angeles to LAUSD headquarters near the 110 Freeway Monday, as they walked off the job in their first strike in 30 years. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 62 / 78 Reseda High School vice principal Phyllis Castaneda clicks through a slide presentation in the campus auditorium as students at the school are in the school auditorium and gym as UTLA teachers are out on strike in Reseda. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 63 / 78 Students picket at the entry of Carson Senior High School in Los Angeles. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times) 64 / 78 Students at Reseda High are in the school gym as UTLA teachers are out on strike in Reseda. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 65 / 78 Students join the picket line with striking teachers in Los Angeles. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 66 / 78 Teachers march towards LAUSD district headquarters during the first day of the strike in Los Angeles. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 67 / 78 Olivia Cali Gomez, 5, spends Monday morning learning what it means to go on strike, outside of Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 68 / 78 Los Angeles Unified School District teachers and supporters march from City Hall to LAUSD headquarters in Los Angeles. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 69 / 78 Irma Torres, center, teacher from Heliotrope Ave. Elementary School, attends a UTLA rally at Los Angeles City Hall. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 70 / 78 Teacher Shari Sakamoto, left, joins teachers marching on a picket line Monday morning at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Los Angeles on first day of the strike. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 71 / 78 Los Angeles Unified School District teachers and supporters gather at City Hall before marching to LAUSD headquarters in Los Angeles. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 72 / 78 99th Street Elementary School Principal Marissa Borden, 43, fist bumps 5-year-old Samantha Carlos, while she and her two brother arrive at school in South Los Angeles on the first day of the strike. (Silvia Razgova / For The Times) 73 / 78 UTLA President Alex Caputo-Pearl, left, kicks off the LAUSD teachers’ strike at John Marshall High School in Los Angeles. <strong>More: <a href="https://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-edu-los-angeles-teachers-strike-utla-president-20190114-story.html">UTLA president calls for more money for teachers ‘in a city rife with millionaires.'</a></strong> (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 74 / 78 Members of UTLA picket in heavy rain outside 99th Street Elementary School in South Los Angeles. (Silvia Razgova / For The Times) 75 / 78 Students join the picket line in support of the UTLA strike in Los Angeles. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 76 / 78 Mars Khan, 5, a transitional kindergarten student, carries a sign to support his mother, teacher Stefany Khan during a march in downtown Los Angeles. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 77 / 78 Teachers wave at passing vehicles on the 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles as they marched to LAUSD district headquarters. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 78 / 78 Reseda High School students Jania Garcia, 16, left, and classmate Dennis Miguel, 16, work on a college prep app on laptops in the school gym in Reseda, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)


Speaking to the children in the crowd, which included his daughter, Caputo-Pearl said: “The next time someone tells you that you are the future, tell them to prove it to you by investing in you.”

To teachers, he said: “Feel your power. Feel your organized power, feel your pride. ...Until we get the district to reinvest in our kids, chant on that picket line with pride.”

State and national union leaders, including Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, joined Caputo-Pearl at the news conference to express support as people continued to chant and drum in front of the school.

“The eyes of the nation are watching, and educators and nurses … all over the country have the backs of the educators in L.A.,” Weingarten said. “We need the conditions to ensure that every child … gets the opportunity he or she or they deserve.”


Los Angeles teachers’ strike: 5 things you need to know »

At one point during the news conference, a police officer pushed through the crowd of picketers, journalists and students, escorting inside two students trying to enter Marshall High School.

Watching the speakers shortly before 8 a.m., three seniors debated whether they should go inside, too. Reese Navarrette, 18, said his father told him he didn’t mind if he came home early. Navarrette said he was considering going in to check out the scene; he thought he could be marked down for attendance and then come back outside to join the picketers before heading home.

The group of seniors were told they would be in the arts building on campus on Monday and would receive lectures. But they doubted it would happen.


Navarrette said he supported the teachers: “They need to get paid more.”

He noted he had 47 kids in his music class — and that’s too many, he said.

The latest on the LAUSD teachers’ strike »

UTLA president Alex Caputo-Pearl arrives to join the picket line at Marshall pic.twitter.com/74V1rtmjU2 — Sonali Kohli 🙆🏾 (@Sonali_Kohli) January 14, 2019


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