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Los Angeles has taken a huge historic first ever anyplace step, with the formation last week of the LA Parents Union. Readers of this space may recall that a few weeks ago, I went off on a tear about how every entity in the LAUSD had power for one reason – they were unionized. And yet the one entity with the most the lose – parents – had no power. We did the math (we were able to because we didn’t go to an LAUSD middle school), and came out with… The Los Angeles Parents Union.

Every player in this multi-billion dollar game (and sadly, for everyone except parents, this is a game) calls themselves a “stakeholder.” Bullfeathers. To be a “stakeholder” in something, you must have something REAL at stake. If things go south, you must be at risk of losing something. No vulture currently picking at the carrion flesh that litters LAUSD – from the teachers unions to the school board – has anything at stake – they can’t even lose their jobs, in spite of LAUSD’s FEMA-level incompetence.

Only one group CAN and WILL lose their jobs – our kids.

The workforce is a competitive place (except for LAUSD where it takes 2 years to fire an actual dead person) and while LAUSD is struggling to learn how to teach 19th-century rudiments, we’re in a 21st century globally competitive economy. The kids in other countries are mocking our kids – and rightfully so – while they eat ourt lunch and prepare to take our jobs and economy.

Make no mistake, the future of your kids – and this country’s economy – lies in a competent education system. We ain’t got one. And while we assume America will continue to dominate and have a rising standard of living, that would be a) wrong and b) more wrong and c) already wrong. The 20th century was the American century, the 21st century is not and will not be. It’s already lost and we can’t get it back….

Unless….

Parent Power.

I’ve had a hand in stirring enough rage in this town that we recently launched the Los Angeles Parents Union. This is not a PTA (ugh), nor a “collaborative”. It is a bona fide UNION. The days when parents begged and pleaded for the chance just to have their voices heard so that the status quo folks could condescend, roll their eyes and dismiss them so they could get back to business as usual — those days are OVER. LAPU is not here to ask, we are here to DEMAND. We demand a seat at the table, and not just A seat, nor even a co-equal seat… but THE DOMINANT SEAT. Hey, LAUSD: This education system isn’t yours. It’s not your property. IT IS OURS. Contrary to your belief and the Kool Aid you’ve been serving us, we don’t work for you, YOU WORK FOR US.

As a Union, LAPU will demand better “working conditions” for our kids, under the credible threat of every possible political action, including:

1. delivering votes to oust – and even recall (more on that in my next blog post) – school board members;

2. delivering votes to install LAPU-supported candidates… it only takes 6000 votes to win a school board election — we’ll have that many menbers in a few months;

3. lobbying our reps; and, if needed…

4. student strikes. Every day a student is absent, LAUSD loses hard cash from the state. These people only understand money and power. They always negotiate with the looming threat of a strike behind them, because they assume we can’t have schools without their union members. Oh yeah? Try having schools without students!

Where is the rage, people? How much longer are we going to let this group of incompetents march our children oh so gentle into a good night of sitting on rooftops as the fetid waters rise, holding up mispelled signs begging for help… and to have no come help?

When your kids ask you one day – and they will, bet on it — “Mom, Dad – why didn’t you fight for me? I have no education, no good job and no future – why didn’t you fight for me? Yes, you were only one parent – but why didn’t you join with others and fight for me?”…whatever you say, what they will hear is that they weren’t worth fighting for.

Go to www.smallschools.org. Join the Los Angeles Parents Union. It’s free.

Then go hug your kids and tell them you’re fighting for them.

A Los Angeles resident, Bill Grundfest is a happily married father of 2 boys, a TV writer/producer with numerous Emmy nominations, a Golden Globe Award, and a card-carrying member of the Los Angeles Parents Union.