Los Angeles, January 15 (RHC)-- In the U.S. city of Los Angeles, over 30,000 public school teachers went on strike Monday, many of them braving the pouring rain alongside their supporters as they marched through downtown Los Angeles. 

Teachers are demanding smaller class sizes, higher pay, the regulation of charter schools and more nurses, counselors and librarians.  The strike is the first such action in nearly 30 years. 

The strike, organized by United Teachers Los Angeles, has effectively shut down the nation’s second largest school district. 

One teacher, Toby Smith, told reporters that he teaches up to 200 students a day.  Saying that "it's do or die," he said students are being crammed in classrooms like sardines, and that teachers have no choice but to go on strike.