“They are seeing the bargaining table as more than just about pay and benefits, but what is needed to make education work for students and meet the broader needs of parents and the community,” said Ken Jacobs, chair of the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education.

“We know they’ve been affected by the crisis more than any other group,” Lozano said. Latinos hold over half of front-line worker jobs in California, according to a 2018 report from UC Berkeley Labor Center.