In the LA teachers' strike, teaching families picket and pinch pennies

LOS ANGELES - By Wednesday, the Vargas family had fine-tuned an intricate dance, choreographed so that both parents and all three kids could support the Los Angeles teachers' strike.

That morning, from about 6:30 to 9, parents Arnoldo and Maricela Vargas protested outside Banning High School, where Arnoldo is an art teacher and the picket captain, leading fellow strikers. Then they drove the five minutes home. By then, Ameyalli, their oldest daughter, had fed Maricela's diabetic parents, made sure they took the right medicine and dashed their attempts to sneak bacon.

Back home, Maricela, who used to teach at Banning too, took