SFUSD Teachers may go on strike

And we continue at two five in the afternoon on the John Phillips Show, mister Randy Weggs in Culver City, John, let.

Me find you another one of these great calls that took place when you were on vacation last week and we had Steve Hilton on the show. Spent the rest of the hour talking about who are you supporting for governor. We had a whole lot of people call in, and I saved two of these calls because they're like, you know what, Johnny's probably going to hear these when he gets back. Here's the other one. Let's go to Lisa in Long Beach. Lisa, Hello, Hi.

Randy, Hi, Steve Hilton all the way, and I'm making my first donation today. And because I'm vegan, of course it's never porker.

Oh my, didn't see that one coming. It sounds like last week was lively eight hundred two two two five two two two. Easy telephone number one eight hundred two two five two two two. Just when you think you've seen it all, after COVID nineteen, when the teachers' unions shut down on campus instruction for over a year, and in the case of LAUSD, a lot longer than that. Now we're getting the post mortems. Now all of the experts are weighing in on our practices during COVID to

Learning from home in front of the computer was just as good as being on campus, So stop asking so many questions. We also now know that enrollment in many K through twelve school districts in the state of California, including some of the biggest ones like San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, it's in free fall. We know that the state is broke, we're upside down, we have a budget deficit, and we're waiting for the may revise to figure out how it is that we're going to pay for it.

San Francisco's teachers' union has announced that they are authorizing a possible strike. In Southern California, UTLA is thinking of doing the exact same thing.

Why we demand higher pay.

All of this, by the way, is going on at the same time that the community college system, cal State, and UC are all complaining that they're having to spend extra money on remedial math and English classes because the K through twelve system isn't doing their job.

For more on the potential strike in San Francisco Unified, here's a report from KPIX in the Bay.

San Francisco teachers have voted to authorize a strike, with nearly ninety eight percent voting in favor of the work stoppage.

Weather Harry spoke with a parent and a teacher about what could happen next.

An overwhelming number of San Francisco Public school teachers have voted in favor of a potential strike, which.

You know, with how expensive it is to raise a kid there, I wonder what the teacher to student ratio is right now? Is it like one to one?

I'll tell you. If you want to talk about a group of people who are overplaying their hand, it's these people. I just read an article about people, I think it was in the Bay Area where they're sending their kids to some kind of AI school where the AI school. In fact, it was Elon Musk who was tweeting about it. The AI school teaches the kids everything that they learn in a full day at a public school in two hours.

Oh I did that? Rap I think I did that one of the times you were gone, yeah it. Now, this school isn't cheap, but believe you me, this technology is only going to get cheaper. But the kids learn everything they could possibly need to know from the AI bod. These jobs are numbered.

That's the way technology always is. Go back to when VCRs first came out. They were like two three thousand dollars per VCR, and at the end they were practically giving them away, and then the technology just became out of date and antiquated, and people moved on to DVDs and streaming and other things in public education. If you want to find an industry that is right to be

An overwhelming number of San Francisco public school teachers have voted in favor of a potential strike, which could result in kids losing time in the classroom.

For children and the families that they are going to be the biggest victims of this strike if it happens.

Marii Rahimi has a kindredgard.

Yeah, but these are the same people that kept the schools closed for in San Francisco a year and a half, in LA two years, keeping it closed for another few weeks, that's fine.

You know. And I'll tell you this, you talk about the AI. I took four years of Spanish in high school. I can't get by when I go to Latin America. I really don't even come close to speaking anything. I can't pronounce the words correctly. It was useless. But you talk to these people who use Rosetta Stone or some of these different techniques to learn a foreign language, and they understand that foreign language in no time.

I'm already learning, so I can go back to Spain. Y'all, quiero vermout poor favor.

Mari Rahimi has a kindergartener in the San Francisco Unified School District. Now he's trying to prepare for the unknown.

It obviously comes with a lot of uncertainty and anxiety about this.

It's a really interesting world. The people that can afford to live and raise a family in San Francisco but are still too cheap for private school.

Yeah, that is a strange, strange type of person.

It obviously comes with a lot of uncertainty and anxiety about disruption to the school year.

He says, if a strike happens, parents will have to come up with child care plans, and he worries about the disruption to the kids learning.

Yeah, okay, where was he during COVID, especially.

If it's a long strike. Although he does believe the teachers need a fair contract, the kids love.

Wait, are we getting siren in the middle of this rap about schools? Why not we get sirens in every other rap we do on this show.

Although he does believe the teachers need a fair contract.

The kids love that.

What I don't understand is you look at this most recent budget where revenues were higher than expected, so the budget goes up because of a prop ninety eight. Automatically, if more money comes in, more money goes to the schools. Where is that money going?

You know what this is? This is the same mentality that the politicians, the Democratic majority in Sacramento has. They believe they're never going to lose an election. And if you believe that your bulletproof and you're never going to lose an election, then you can behave however it is you want to behave. You can drive drunk, you can do favors for your friends, you can show up, you cannot show up, whatever, it doesn't matter. You're not going

The kids love them, They are fantastic teachers. So it is that it does come to this and we're at this place and are at an impasse.

More than five thousand teachers voted to authorize a strike. Nearly ninety eight percent voted in favor of it, including Roosevelt Middle School pe teacher Vanessa Hutchinson Zachi, we are really hoping not to strike.

The we're helping the threat of it will be enough so they'll give us everything we want and more. And usually that's the case. That's what happened. If you wonder where this drop is from, it's when the LAUSD Union UTLA went on a solidarity strike with the SEIU to get them a raise. And then Cicely, who was asking for a twenty percent raise, ended up getting a twenty two percent raise. Way to bring them to their knees, their ace, my colleagues.

The community. We don't want to strike. We want to stay in our classrooms with our students.

She says.

The United Educator is asking for what they believe is needed to help stabilize their schools, a nine percent salary increase over two years and health. Under state law, they cannot strike until the completion of an independent fact finding process.

The fact finding report is due by the latest February.

Fourth, so that's coming up.

Think about this for a second. As I mentioned before, enrollment is declining. Can you imagine any other scenario where there are fewer customers, a lot fewer customers, and you just go in there and demand more because you can.

So when that, you know, after that a strike could be called potentially, So we are in school on Monday with joy in our hearts.

I don't know about that.

Boy. She really sounds like she's filled with joy, doesn't she.

SFUSD Superintendent doctor Maria Sue sent out a notice to parents.

What is she?

A doctor of.

Probably education?

Kim and I are working hard to reach a fair agreement. That is centered on what is best for the students, while also preparing responsibly in the event of any disruption. I recognize that the uncertainty is stressful. Will provide as much notice as possible in the event of a strike, But for Raheemis, a strike can be avoided.

I would really hope adults to, you know, step up, figure out how they can be adults together.

And you know the kids, Oh, they don't do that. Usually it's these contract negotiations where things get real ugly, real fast.

Oh yeah, they have the picketing going on outside the schools.

And I want you to be all the way, and someone always brings the war drums. Oh yes, kids aren't there.

They can't have a say in this. You're doing it for them. You're all public servants, both on the administration and the strict side, and the teachers. We love y'all, just like sit together and figure it out.

Earlier tonight I spoke with doctor John Logan, who is the Chair of Labor and Employment Studies at San Francisco State University. He added some perspective on the significance of the union potentially striking for the first time in nearly fifty years.

They think that there's a lack of transparency around.

The Wait, this guy's a scott What are you alleging he's Scottish? That's all okay, you're not questioning his sobriety, are you? No, not a not one bit. I'm just getting thanks to Love Island, I'm getting really good at picking out UK dialects.

Do they think that there's a lack of transparency around the budget of the school district? Now, the school district does have a deficit, it does have declining enrollments, as you say.

So where's the money coming from? That's a very good question.

But at the same time, it has a very significant reserves what it calls its rainy day fund, that can be pussed in emergency situations.

And this is usually the fight that you hear at every single teacher strike, whether it's o USD, it's UTLA at San Francisco, it's usually, yes, the school's broke, but they have all this emergency money and we need it now.

Okay, but emergency money is supposed to go for emergencies. Let's just say there's a weather event that destroys the property of the school. You need new playgrounds, you need new gyms, you need new whatever. That's what the emergency money is for. If you use the emergency money to give out raises to your existing employees, that's not an emergency. That's luxury.

Well to the union, everything's in emergency.

And the Union is saying clearly, this is an emergency situation. We have an enormous problem with teacher recruitment and retention in San Francisco. You need to use this new one hundred and eleven million dollars that you have in reserves in terms of a rainy day fund. It needs to be used now to preserve the quality of education and to make sure that you're able to hold on to the teachers that you have in the district.

Otherwise, the teachers are going to take their talents to a town that's less expensive.

Okay, and then what happens if there's an earthquake that destroys the property and you no longer have a fund to pay to replace it.

Eh, Gavin obail us out.

We'll stay up to date with any new developments in this ongoing situation here on air as well as on ours.

There you go. So the strike authorization has happened. The report that has to be done statutorially gets filed later on in the week, and at that point they can either see who blinks first, or there's gonna be no educating going on in San Francisco till they get their raise. And it's not if they get their raise, it's when they get their raise. We know how this game works.

I think part of the strategy here is that no one involved, and I mean no one, from the union to the teachers, to the administrators to the school board, none of them worry about going bankrupt because if they're insolvent due to generous employee contracts, I think the belief is that Sacramento will bail them out because don't forget beat Antonio via Rigosa for governor back in twenty eighteen, because the teachers' unions all got behind Newsom because via

Well, Newsom let them keep the schools closed longer than any other state in the Union.

That's right, and they feel like they have the same relationship with the state legislature.

Two.

So if you can't go bankrupt because you know that you're gonna get bailed out by Sacramento. You're bowling with bumpers. You don't have to worry about failing. And that's where they are. So San Francisco, you may be seeing a teacher strike headed your way very very soon. Eight hundred two two two five two two two is the telephone number one eight hundred two two two five two two two. If you'd like to email the show, you can do so at Johnny don't like show at gmail dot com.

On Friday, we're heading back to Longbeach to Gladstone's in Long Beach, and you're invited come enjoy the great food, good vibes, and a fun afternoon by the water this Friday from noon to three. John Sagmeister will take care of you. We're gonna be there with special guests like Susan Shelley from the Howard Jarvis Taxpay Association. She'll tell you more about your taxpayer rights protecting Prop thirteen. As the courts have made it easier to raise your taxes.

Let's go to Harold and Lakewood. Harold, Hello, Hi John.

A question and a comment. What this is a capitalistic society we live in? Correct?

It is?

Competition is Competition is key to what we do? So why do we have no competition with public schools? They get to do whatever they want. Why don't we get school choice? Let's see what they would do if if there was school choice. I think the competition are the quality of the education would go up quite a bit if we didn't have these people doing things that they shouldn't be doing and getting money for what the they're not really doing. So well comment for.

A crowd of people obsessed with equity, as the teachers' unions are. What's interesting is there is competition, but right now only rich people have access to the private schools

Randy Wang, So, one of the things that the City of Los Angeles promise when it comes to the recovery in the Palisades fire was a report that was commissioned by the City of Los Angeles that would specifically lay out how we're going to rebuild when it comes to infrastructure,

Only on Fox eleven tonight. A critical rebuilding report for Pacific Palisades, promised months ago, is still not public. Some residents now raising alarm, saying it's now stuck in the city Attorney's office. Fox Love is Matthew Sedorf lim in Pacific Palisa to night with this exclusive report for US.

Matt well susan.

This report is crucial for the rebuild and now some are wondering what's taking so long.

Well, it's the city of La.

If the City of La were to come out and say this is us working to the best of our abilities and they're this far behind, they'd be telling you the truth.

This is the same city where Karen Bass last year promised to waive permitting fees for the Palisades rebuilds, and that still hasn't made it through the city council. And this is the exact same City of LA that delayed the LAFD After Action report so it could be doctored to make sure the city didn't look too bad.

Business as usual.

A highly anticipated rebuilding roadmap for fire devastated Pacific Palisades now considered weeks overdue.

Report was due back in mid November to the Mayor's office, and now I don't know where it is.

In June, Mayor Bass announced the city at high.

Isn't this supposed to be like Priority one issues?

She doesn't care and her belief is the Palisades only represents less than one percent of the total population of Los Angeles and Altadena's and unincorporated county of LA, so they don't get a vote in the mayor's race, so it doesn't matter how much she abuses these people.

In June, Mayor Bass announced the city had hired ae COM, tasked with designing new infrastructure, stronger fire protection, and updated evacuation routes.

There's been a lot of work done, but.

After months of public meetings like this, there's still no public report.

We're talking probably close to twenty million dollars in consultant fees that's been paid this report.

Oh that's what this is about. Oh, yes, everyone's making a mint off of it.

How many consulting groups were hired in the wake of all this disaster? No one knew what exactly they were doing, but they all got a whole lot of money. And then what do we find out The LAFD, through their foundation, hires a crisis management firm to deal with all the bad pr they were getting.

How greedy are these people? If you're a consultant, can't you just rob Tom Steyer blind? Why do you have to continue to victimize these people too?

We're talking quite close to twenty million dollars in consultant fees that's been paid.

This report is crucial, critical, But more than anything, what's critical is that we rebuild infrastructure properly.

Restlands say they were told last week by city officials. The documents are now sitting in the city attorney's office.

What's the document doing with the city's attorney's office? I can only question what could possibly require that much investigation?

With ACoM also a consultant for LAP you know, where can we trust anybody in this process?

You can't trust anybody if the reason these reports are taking so long, it's because they're trying to craft a work of fiction.

She is worried about re election and that's it.

The scariest part for me is, right before this report was due, the leadership of a COM quit.

The improved ae comm's contract.

November, Councilwoman Tracy Park said the report would be released in about thirty.

Days and it was not.

Nope, not even close.

It's now February, more than a year since the fire, and still no report or plans for city infrastructure.

Six months too late. These you know this information should have been out there way earlier.

Fox eleven has repeatedly reached out to the Mayor's office, city attorney, and ae COM with questions about the delay so far only.

Counts and who exactly is ae COM friends with? And how did they get this twenty million dollar contract to consult on a report that nobody has seen.

It seems like we've seen this movie before.

So far, only Councilwoman Park has responded with the statement saying Palisades's residents deserve answers. I've pressed every city department and out side partner to treat this with the urgency it demands.

Yeah, but Tracy, you're a small voice in there, and they don't pay attention to you.

Nope, and they can outvote her anytime they want to.

Why would she couldn't? Even even with everyone wanting to support the residents of the Palisades, even Tracy Park doing everything she want to do, the city still is slow walking and dragging their feet when it comes to waving permit fees for rebuilds.

Disgraceful.

Why would the head of a com quit? Something's missing here? Why is it stuck in the attorney's office? Something's missing here?

Gino has showing you live what the whites look like on this block and other blocks. It is dark, and this plan includes things about power lines, water and roads, and without some residents feel like the rebuild truly can't begin here.

Yeah, shouldn't we have started with this? And shouldn't we have had this? How long does it take to craft a report of Okay, here's everything that was bad with her infrastrction structure. Here's how we can make it less bad.

I'm telling you if your home burned down on that fire cut bait, because this is going to be a never ending nightmare In.

Pacific polists important a long time. Matthew Seed or Fox eleven.

News, Matthew, do the residents have a plan on what to do and how to force it out of the City Attorney's office?

Yeah, no, they're demanding these questions too. They don't really have a specific plan. They keep pestering them and asking when it's going to be available, but right now they're really not getting that answer.

Sounds like something for the attorneys. Matthew Sedorf, thank you so much.

So there you go once again. Shang Tao is the soothsayer that we all knew that she was when she.

Said the bureaucracy is real.

Meanwhile, well, Karen Bass's administration is continuing to victimize the fire victims. She is preparing to give the state of the City address.

And she's doing it real early, maybe because this is filing week for who's going to run for MAYORBCLA.

And tomorrow LA Mayor Karen Bass will give her state of the City address, and there's much to discuss, from immigration operations to protest to wildfire recovery and the upcoming sporting events, the major ones that LA is hosting.

You mean the World Cup and how about the Olympics.

It will be her last State of the City before the mayor's race this year.

A NBC for is Tracy Leung joining us live now from downtown LA with what we can expect from the mayor's speech. Tracy, Yeah, Jonathan and Kathy.

Mayor Karen Bass will take the stage tomorrow, an event that always also carries extra political weight. And this is coming three months earlier than her usual State of the City address.

And oh, by the way, was that State of the City address last May when she promised you would waive the permit fees for the Palisades residents?

She should give this speech from Ghana also on.

The same day that candidates can begin filing for the twenty twenty six mayoral race.

LA.

Let's go win.

Oh boy, there she is, mother Goose.

Let's win on the world stage.

She dropped the d whirl.

Let's win on the world stage. Yes, but let's especially when here at home.

During her twenty twenty five State of the City address, Mayor Karen Bass struck an aspirational tone, leaning into a global vision for Los Angeles and a message of unity as a city prepares to host major international events.

This is about pride, It's about choosing to believe in our city again and proving it.

With action now with the FIFA World.

If it's about pride, would she allow the city to deteriorate to the condition that it's in now, where there's graffiti everywhere, there's trash everywhere, there's homeless people everywhere, there's abandoned buildings everywhere. If we had pride, would we live that way.

Now?

With the FIFA World Cup only months away? Mayor Bass is positioning herself as a leader to carry the city forward.

You mean the same lad that let the palisades burn down, and let the ten freeway burn down, and let homeless people start? How many fires every single day? Yeah, she's doing great.

Well.

She had a party to go to that was really important.

Mayor Bass is positioning herself as a leader to carry the city forward by holding the State of the City address on the very day challengers are looking to enter the race for mayor.

The most important one is that the city is going in the right direction under her leadership.

Says, who how drunk is this guy? Or does he say that's what she needs to say in the speech. I don't know anybody that says this city is moving in the right direction, and that is saying something we really didn't think it could get any worse than this guy.

I receive things on both ends.

Let me rephrase that and say this way. You'd have to be drug to believe that.

And she deserves to still be mayor, and this is one of the great positives for someone like mayor of Los Angeles. It is an election year. She is running for reelection.

Loyola Marymount University political professor Fernando Gara says Bess is in campaign mode and during her speech will most likely highlight how sporting events are an opportunity to bring the city together.

That's your big message.

Wait, I thought from her point of view, burning the way Mos was the opportunity to bring the city together.

The mayoral election is June twod, just days before the World Cup kicks off.

She's got to make people feel good in terms of some very directed action on homelessness, the rebuilding of the which.

We have not had.

No she spent a fortune, but we still have a ton of people living on the streets.

It's the rebuilding of the palisades.

What rebuild that's not happening. Public safety, blick safety.

We buy shampoo that's locked up behind bulletproof class.

The major issues that cities are responsible for. That is the job of the mayor.

She is the mayor.

Yes it's an advantage, and yes it's coverage, and yes she gets to control the agenda on this presentation, but it's her job.

Mayor Bass will hold her State of the City addressed tomorrow at three pm.

You can watch Oh great, I get to drive home listening to that.

Have fun.

You can watch the live stream on our website NBCLA dot com or on our YouTube channel NBCLA reporting live in downtown La tayce Ling on pat.

You There you go. Karen Bess's State of the City is about fifteen minutes away.

You think she'll talk about the World Cup.

I think that's the only thing that she'll talk about because it's the only thing that she thinks to make her look good, even though it really has nothing to do with her. And ultimately, we're going to have people from one hundred country trees come visit this place and be like, what the hell, La.

Eight hundred two two two five two two two is a telephone number? What eight hundred two two two five two two two. Let's go to Martha in Rancho Cucamonga. Martha, welcome, Oh.

Good afternoon. Well today's groundhouse date February second, two two no to zero two six. I'm sorry, I apologize that it's.

Okay.

And the groundhog says, if he sees the shadow, then there's more six months of winter. Do you do that's true?

Well, I know that it is something that we pay attention to every single year. I don't necessarily know if the groundhog determines the weather.

Though, Okay, it was born in Pennsylvania, and yes, I was just wanting at Elver John with Bill Jelpia. Freedom is listening to.

The ground.

Thank you for the call.

That was her, wasn't it.

I think so different name, different city. Every time she calls.

I feel like one of the times before she's called herself as Martha. But this is the what was it three four years ago now when she called it and started talking about Madonna.

I do have to say I enjoy the calls.

It's always fun.

Keep calling Martha. We'll put you on all right. We know that times are tough right now in the city of Oakland to be a business owner, but Randy, there's at least one business in Oakland. It's still operational, and in fact it's operating illegally after a police raid. It is a smoke shop that does not have a permit, that's been selling all kinds of things that you shouldn't be selling, like what I happen to think happens at most smoke shops. And the same day they got busted,

Here's KTVU Fox two.

Twenty four hour smoke shop in Oakland is continuing to operate.

Really twenty four hours for that well, sometimes you need your fixed late at night.

Twenty four hour smoke shop in Oakland is continuing to operate even after it was raided by police. KTVUS crime reporter Henry Lee's joining us now a lot from our newsroom after talking with concerned neighbors near that business.

Henry Well Alex residents tell me there's stun that despite this Oakland police raid, the smoke shop is still open all day, every day, right around the corner from a middle school.

Great neighborhood.

This twenty four hour smoke shop that opened a month ago in the heart of Oakland's Diamond district is un licensed, accorded to police and city officials.

But it's still operating.

And appears so that they have no intention of shutting down.

Well, and this is the thing, this is the same thing that's going on in La where apparently it's impossible to shut down illegally operating pot stores, so the city wants to figure out how to tax them.

And less than two weeks ago, Oakland police converge on the shop at MacArthur and Maple, arrested a suspect and sees this illegal AR fifteen as well as marijuana, mushrooms, ecstasy, and flavored tobacco products.

Oh my goodness, and an AR fifteen.

But that didn't seem a phase store officials, because just hours.

Now, I know when you do ecstasy, you want to hug everything. Don't hug the gun.

No, no, no.

But that didn't seem a phase store officials, because just hours after the police raid.

There were guy is out front high fiving and reopening and walking back in and it's been open ever since.

And again, this establishment does not have a business license, they do not have a permit. They're pretty much squatting. You think they'd buy ad time on this show. Hey, give us an email, We'll connect you with the right people.

This woman, who lives in the area, did not want to be identified. She says the shop has no business being in the neighborhood. Brett Hart Middle School is just around the corner.

Wait why wait wait wait wait wait wait wait. They named the middle school in this neighborhood after the excellence of execution Brett the hitman.

Herd might be a different Brett Hart. But I'm going to have to check.

Brett Hart Middle School is just around the corner.

There's just a lack of understanding. Is how this could still be open? A legal activity should not be allowed to continue seemingly unabated.

I spoke to a store clerk who did not want to go on camera and profess no knowledge of the police rate the smoke shop with.

What I didn't know we got busted. I thought the mushrooms were still in the back.

How high do you have to be? Did not know that the cops raided your shop?

Giants. Sign and Arrow was once home to high Hat cleaners until it closed during the COVID outbreak. A man who answered the phone on a four lease sign that once hung on the building told me. The suspect arrested was a handyman who had the rifle for protection.

Okay, I can understand why you'd need to be armed up if you're working in that neighborhood.

Police declined to release more details.

There's also been connections between this shop and side shows that have been.

Going on the smoke shops.

Janani Ramachandran, why can't you shut this down?

The smoke shop sits in council Member Johnni Ramachandran's district, and when.

You're selling things illegally under the guise of whatever you're trying to be, you are impacting our most vulnerable community members, which are Oakland youth.

We spotted Rina Moyle working as a nanny.

I was really surprised to hear that they opened over there.

Now, I'm kind of really worried that you stated what they found.

Very concerned. I just walked in, you know, asked them, you know about some uh, you know, black personal stuff like black and miles and everything.

Darren Cesser says he's a regular customer and that the store fills a demand.

I'm sure they do in more ways than one.