LOS ANGELES (NEWSNet/AP) — Tens of thousands of staff members in the Los Angeles Unified School District will strike for three days next week over stalled contract talks, and teachers will join them, union leaders announced Wednesday.

Schools would likely close, with no student access to virtual learning, under those circumstances, Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho said in an email to parents.

The strike, which is expected to start Tuesday, was announced by the Service Employees International Union. That group represents about 30,000 teachers' aides, bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers and other support staff.

The dispute involves pay rates in light of inflation and the cost of living in Los Angeles County. While the district has offered wage increases, the union says the proposal is not enough.

The district has more than 500,000 students in Los Angeles and its nearby communities.

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