Long Beach : Teacher Union Talks Stalled

Dues for nonmembers and length of contract are among the major issues preventing a settlement between the Long Beach Unified School District and the association representing the district’s 3,000 full-time teachers.

The district, said Felice Strauss, president of TALB (Teachers Assn. of Long Beach) called an impasse last week and then three days later asked the teachers to come back to the negotiating table. Talks last Tuesday, however, failed to resolve the situation so TALB has joined the district in asking the state for a mediator, Strauss said.

A three-year contract between the teachers and the district expired Aug. 31. TALB, Strauss said, wants a three-year contract that includes a provision that teachers who are not members of the association must pay some fee to cover TALB’s cost for representing them in negotiations. Members pay $48.80 a month for 10 months.

If TALB has to give up the fee provision for nonmembers, Strauss said, it is willing to accept only a one-year contract. Other unresolved issues, she said, include salaries and class size.