Teachers OK Strike by Large Margin, Set May 30 as Deadline

Warning that angry teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District will “shut this system down” if their contract demands are not met, the head of United Teachers-Los Angeles said Monday that teachers have voted overwhelmingly to strike May 30 if a settlement is not reached by May 29.

Announcing the results of an April 19 strike authorization vote--the second such vote the union has held since March--UTLA President Wayne Johnson said 17,412 union members voted to reject the district’s last offer and authorize a May 30 walkout, while 2,725 voted in favor of the district offer.

Those 17,412 votes represent nearly 80% of the union’s 22,000 members, who include counselors, librarians and nurses as well as teachers.

‘Very Strong Teacher Strike’

“Unless the contract is settled by May 29, there will be a teacher strike in the city of Los Angeles--a very strong teacher strike,” Johnson said at a press conference at union headquarters on 3rd Street near downtown.

He called on the Board of Education to dismiss its professional negotiator, O’Melveny & Myers attorney Richard Fisher, and commence round-the-clock, face-to-face bargaining with union officers.

A May 30 walkout would come just three weeks before the end of the academic year for most of the district’s 595,000 students and could interfere with graduation, promotions and final grades. It also could disrupt the beginning of classes for 140,000 year-round school students who begin school in early July.

Board President Roberta Weintraub on Monday maintained that the district has made its best offer and predicted that students, unhappy about the prospect of not receiving final grades, will stage more protests similar to those that erupted at more than two dozen campuses in January.

“We have the best offer in the state of California on the table,” Weintraub said. “I am very unhappy that this offer has been vilified and denigrated when it should have been applauded.”

Weintraub also said she does not believe face-to-face negotiations will help break the stalemate in part because the board remains divided on major issues in the talks.

District officials have pledged to keep schools open in the event of a strike, in part by assigning central office administrators with teaching certificates to classrooms. The union has accused the district of trying to use new teacher recruits to replace striking teachers, but the district has denied recruiting for any reason other than to fill routine vacancies.

Salary Offers

The district has offered teachers a 20% raise over three years, retroactive to June, 1988. It would raise the current starting salary of $23,440 to $25,316 this year and to $28,427 by 1990, while the current maximum salary of $43,319 would jump to $46,594 this year and to $52,030 by 1990.

The union is demanding a 21% increase over two years. That would bring the beginning salary to $26,018 this year and $28,620 next year, while top pay would rise to $48,084 this year and $52,892 next year.

District officials say the district wage offer would make Los Angeles teachers the highest-paid among the 10 largest urban school districts nationally. But Johnson, citing recent figures from the Los Angeles County Office of Education, said the district ranks 29th out of 43 mostly smaller county districts in maximum teacher pay but first in the county in superintendents’ salaries. Supt. Leonard Britton earns $141,000 annually.

Shared Decision-Making

The union is also pressing for a “shared decision-making” plan that would give teachers the balance of power on new school governing councils. The district favors the concept of shared decision-making councils but proposes to give teachers, parents and administrators equal authority on them.

In addition, the union has asked for the unconditional elimination of yard duty for elementary teachers. The district wants to reserve the right to pay teachers for yard supervision in emergencies.

The union has also proposed allowing elementary teachers to use 30 minutes before class and 10 minutes after school to prepare lessons, eventually adding one 55-minute preparation period a day for every teacher. The district says that while it favors the concept, adding the additional hour of preparation time would be too costly.

A state fact-finder is now reviewing the district’s financial records, which district officials say will show that millions of dollars in budget cuts will be needed to pay teachers higher salaries. The fact-finder’s report, which is not binding, is expected May 15.