Teachers in 2 Areas Protest Salary Offers

Teachers in Inglewood and Compton, again protesting salary offers they regard as inadequate, returned to the picket lines Thursday.

For the Compton teachers, it was the 14th one-day strike since the beginning of the school year; in Inglewood it was the second straight day of a walkout. Teachers’ union officials in both districts said their members planned to return to work today.

An estimated 87% of the 627 teachers in Inglewood’s 19 schools were off the job Thursday. Schools remained open, staffed by administrators, substitutes and volunteers, but absenteeism among students was about three times the usual rate.

In Compton, the latest walkout occurred one day after mediated contract negotiations broke down. No further talks are scheduled. About 85% of the district’s 1,400 teachers were on the picket line Thursday. As in Inglewood, the district kept schools open.

In the Orange County city of Placentia, meanwhile, where a contract dispute has not yet reached the strike stage, teachers began a “slowdown” Thursday by refusing to grade papers and prepare lesson plans at home, insisting that the work be done on school time.

In Los Angeles, where teachers staged a one-day walkout last week and hinted at possible further job action if the contract dispute is not resolved, a state-appointed mediator met with school district officials in an effort to get negotiations resumed. A news blackout has been imposed on the negotiations, so there was no indication whether any progress was made.