Arellano: Meet the LAUSD veteran who leads the principals union - BERITAJA

When the heads of 3 Los Angeles Unified School District unions stood broadside by broadside astatine City Hall to denote their caller contracts aft about going connected onslaught hours earlier, 1 of them looked retired of place.

Max Arias was decked retired successful a purple letterman’s cardigan emblazoned pinch “99,” for Service Employees International Union Local 99. United Teachers Los Angeles President Cecily Myart-Cruz wore a tie-dyed T-shirt that publication “Solidarity LA.”

And past location was Maria Nichols, who looked for illustration the schoolhouse main she erstwhile was.

Shiny achromatic shoes. Black slacks. Light makeup. Tight smile. The only flash of colour was her greenish V-neck national T-shirt, the logo peeking retired of a achromatic blazer.

Arias and Myart-Cruz gave impassioned speeches hailing the last-minute deals, which still request to beryllium approved by national members and the schoolhouse board. Nichols, who leads the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles/Teamsters Local 2010, started pinch a joke about her specified twelvemonth and 10 months arsenic a national leader.

“I’m the caller kid connected the block,” the 60-year-old said. “But we made a commitment. It’s not about equality, it’s about equity. … We are each amended coming for our corporate work.”

AALA’s tentative statement calls for raises of much than 11% for the LAUSD’s 3,000 principals, adjunct principals and mediate managers — a little percent summation than SEIU’s 24% and UTLA’s 14%. But the statement besides secured a 40-hour week pinch flex clip disconnected for other hours, addressing long-standing complaints about grueling schedules.

On apical of each that, Nichols has led her members into a caller era.

“For a agelong time, principals person been perceived” arsenic a people isolated from different schoolhouse employees, Arias said astatine the City Hall news convention Tuesday.

Not only are they galore workers’ bosses, but pinch median salaries of $160,139 for simple schools and $174,628 for higher grades, they make a batch much money. When UTLA went connected onslaught successful 2019, AALA stayed connected the job.

This time, AALA and the different 2 unions vowed to each spell connected onslaught together if immoderate 1 of them grounded to get a contract.

“So them coming in,” Arias continued, “really shows our members that it is important to commencement figuring retired really we activity successful solidarity.”

Nichols “called america and said, ‘I cognize that you guys person already been rolling, but I want to subordinate in,’” Myart-Cruz added. “Having the activity to beryllium capable to articulate that connection to her administrators is simply a awesome thing. Solidarity is simply a awesome thing, but we now person unity.”

“I whitethorn beryllium the caller kid connected the block,” Nichols told maine afterward pinch a grin, “but I’ve been fighting for amended schools for 42 years.”

We met a fewer days later astatine AALA’s Echo Park office.

“Excuse the mess,” Nichols cracked arsenic we walked to her area suite. She now wore a agleam reddish pantsuit, national pins connected her lapel. Hundreds of signs reference “Enough is Enough” leaned upside down against desks and cabinets. Chips, h2o and different snacks were piled wrong collapsible carts.

“This was each going to beryllium utilized for the strike,” she said. “You cognize what they opportunity — expect the champion but hole for the worst.”

AALA /Teamsters 2010 President Maria Nichols hugs UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz during a news convention announcing a tentative statement betwixt LAUSD and the unions representing teachers, principals and workers astatine City Hall successful Los Angeles connected April 14, 2026. Above them is SEIU Local 99 President Max Arias.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

A meal of blueberries and yogurt sat untouched arsenic Nichols recounted her life story. She moved to Los Angeles astatine property 5 from her autochthonal Peru to subordinate parents who near aft a subject coup. A prima volleyball setter astatine Fairfax High, she gave up a University of Arizona danasiwa her freshman twelvemonth aft breaking her wrist and uncovering it “too difficult to watch the games and not beryllium involved.”

Back home, she joined LAUSD arsenic a bilingual teacher’s adjunct while pursuing a grade successful beingness therapy astatine Cal State Northridge. Thanks to a succession of bosses she called “angels,” she stayed successful nationalist education. She worked successful San Fernando Valley simple schools arsenic an assistant, a coach and an adjunct main earlier a decade-long tally arsenic main astatine Vena Avenue Elementary successful Arleta, which was designated a California Distinguished School during her tenure.

That led to a promotion arsenic a location head for Valley schools, a occupation she loved contempt the difficulties of shrinking budgets and enrollment. Nichols credited then-LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner pinch granting autonomy to principals successful the district.

“We were each administrators from the section that had served clip successful this territory and gone up the ranks,” she said. “That vanished pinch [current Supt. Alberto] Carvalho. Gone. Gone.”

She pointed to a travel floor plan connected the wall, titled “Ready for the World,” that Carvalho’s squad distributed aft he arrived successful 2022. He brought successful his ain group alternatively of empowering existing administrators, she said.

“It’s a awesome plan,” Nichols said pinch nary sarcasm while reference its goals aloud. “Because that is what we want. But we don’t put successful unit because we person a shortage. ... We can’t person joyousness and wellness if your group are drying connected the vine because they’re exhausted.”

Friction betwixt principals and teachers complete budgets and acquisition strategies increased. Frustrated, Nichols attended her first AALA gathering about 2 years ago.

“There were for illustration 20 group there. And I thought, ‘This is it? This is wherever we are?’” she recalled.

Some principals urged her to tally against the union’s incumbent president. One of them was Kathie Galan-Jaramillo, whom Nichols had hired to lead Sylmar Leadership Academy.

“Our national was very small, and it was very difficult for america to guidelines for what we judge in,” Galan-Jaramillo said. “But Maria knew each of the things and hurdles that we [administrators] had to do and spell through, and the expectations.”

To hole for negotiating a caller contract, Nichols studied the existing one.

“It was truthful weak. The connection was truthful antiquated,” she remembered thinking, particularly erstwhile it came to making judge members weren’t being overworked. “And past I looked astatine UTLA’s statement and I said, ‘Holy crap. No wonderment they get everything.’”

At the extremity of 2024, 85% of AALA members approved a Nichols-backed merger pinch Teamsters 2010, which represents higher acquisition workers successful California, to statement up their resources and effort a different, tougher mindset.

“She has what’s lacking among galore leaders — she has the judgement and humility to say, ‘I person things to study and I’m up to it,’” said Teamsters 2010 Secretary-Treasurer Jason Rabinowitz, who sat pinch Nichols successful statement negotiations. “And she’s a learner and speedy study. That’s not ever easy to do, because labour leaders person ego.”

After statement talks deed an impasse successful February, Nichols reached retired to Arias and Myart-Cruz to stock investigation and strategy. They sold her connected a agreed front. But initially, not each AALA members embraced the move, pinch immoderate questioning why the national would still onslaught aft getting a caller contract.

“I was getting a batch of push backmost from members — ‘But if we get a TA [temporary agreement], why would we strike?” Nichols said. “But it wasn’t about the TA anymore. It was about the coalition. It was about sticking together. It was about powerfulness and unity. ... My folks were not utilized to that.”

Nichols expects that AALA members will ratify the agreement.

“We’ll beryllium done, and successful May, we [Arias and Myart-Cruz] will spell retired and person immoderate dinner, and, you know, big beverages,” she said pinch a large laugh.

Maria Nichols, caput of the LAUSD principals union, AALA/Teamsters 2010, astatine her AALA agency successful Echo Park.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Then comes what she describes arsenic the caller alliance’s “heavy lies the crown” moment.

LAUSD plans to bankroll the contracts pinch money from Sacramento that whitethorn aliases whitethorn not travel through, moreover arsenic it plans to cut much than 600 jobs and schoolhouse enrollment keeps dropping. SEIU’s caller statement includes other hours for members — who see custodians, autobus drivers and cafeteria workers — truthful they could suffice for wellness benefits, Nichols pointed out.

“They merit it,” she said, citing her respect for them because her begetter was a dishwasher and her mother cleaned houses. “But that effect of wellness benefits, it’s going to beryllium directed astatine schoolhouse budgets. OK, great. We sewage each of these wins, but really is that going to effect our fund astatine schools? Where’s the money going to travel from?”

But these were issues for different day.

The convention room array was now covered successful stacks of the aforesaid greenish T-shirt Nichols had worn astatine City Hall.

“We were going to springiness them retired during the strike,” she said arsenic her unit busied for a flurry of meetings. “But we’ll still springiness them out. We’ve sewage a occupation to do.”