LA Teachers Union Hustles to Victory

United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) went on strike in January 2019 to demand higher teacher pay, smaller class sizes, and more resources for guidance counselors and nurses. Thanks to several communication tools including Hustle, UTLA was able to coordinate thousands of teachers, parents, and community members to attend the strike lines and win a historic contract!

“We’ve been using Hustle for over a year now. [For the strike], we used Hustle to reach even more members. It was a useful tool and a real contribution in our ability to communicate with people.” — Brian McNamara, Field and Organizing Director

Background

The United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) represents educators and school staff at the 2nd largest school district in the country. After negotiating with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) for almost two years, UTLA authorized to take direct action and go on strike. They were fighting for smaller class sizes, additional funding for school counselors and nurses, and higher teacher salaries to cover LA cost-of-living increases. Thousands of educators and community supporters geared up to join the picket lines and attend rallies throughout the city. UTLA needed a way to communicate updates with everyone in a quick, easy way with organizers and members spread throughout the city. Hustle became the obvious choice to supplement other communication channels!

How UTLA used Hustle

To keep momentum up and reach members and activists quickly, UTLA used Hustle in various ways to text:

• Union activists, leaders, and parents about ways to support educators
• Bargaining updates leading up to the walkout
• Additional details to strike captains/chapter chairs on prep for the next day and field questions from the ground
• Evening wrap-up of the day’s activities with instructions for the following day
• Rapid response details on the winning contract
• Specific instructions including locations on where to vote on the winning contract that ended the strike

UTLA successfully utilized Hustle to reach their goals and found it a useful tool to make a lean operation and keep momentum going throughout the strike!

The Outcome

UTLA won a historic contract with the LAUSD that gives teachers their much-deserved raises, additional funds for school nurses and counselors, and a path to smaller class sizes. UTLA coordinated with many other Unions and community organizations throughout California to win this historic contract. The Union saw amazing results with Hustle and sent out almost 250,000 to tens of thousands of members, supporters, and parents. They saw an impressive 34.4% engagement rate (or reply rate) over the course of their campaign and an 11.6% action rate!