Jan. 15 marked the first strike amongst teachers in the United States in 30 years. The walkout consisted of 31,000 union members from schools spanning from San Pedro to El Sereno areas. A majority of the families in these areas are low income, meaning parents cannot afford to skip work in order to stay home and watch their kids while schools are shut down. One of the schools suffering from the walkout, Virgil Middle school, reported that 100% of the families at their school are living in poverty. 

In the first day alone, Los Angeles schools lost $15 million due to the teachers on strike. The purpose for these walkouts are that teachers want better pay, smaller class sizes and need more support staff. Teachers are pushing the Sacramento districts to provide more attention and better funding for the education systems. 

Schools in Los Angeles normally have around 450,000 students in attendance on a typical day, and since the walkout, only around 140,000 students have shown up for school. Of the students who did show up, a large majority of them only attended school for shelter from the rain and a ready meal.

The walkout has already made a historical impact in the short amount of time it has been happening. With time, things could get worse or education can finally be made a priority in these areas.