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Whittier Elementary Teachers Put Off Strike

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Times Staff Writer

An 11th-hour decision means that Whittier elementary school teachers will be in the classroom Monday, while union leaders and the school district renew settlement efforts, representatives said late Friday.

In a joint statement released by the 265-member Whittier Elementary Teachers’ Assn. and the Whittier City School District, Supt. Neal J. Avery said, “The teachers will be in the classrooms on Monday. The parties have reached a sensitive point in the bargaining. Any comment would jeopardize that.”

The longest contract dispute in the history of the 5,800-student district was still unresolved after nine hours of what was called a “last-ditch bargaining session” over wages and fringe benefits. Teachers have been working without a contract since June 30, 1988, and last Monday, more than 80% of them authorized union leaders to call a strike if Friday’s negotiating session failed to produce a settlement, said union President Marilyn Stapleton, an eighth-grade teacher.

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The strike vote came after an arbitrator’s fact-finding report generally agreed with the district’s position that it cannot afford the union’s latest demand for a two-year contract with a 7% salary increase per year. The district had offered a 5% increase before talks broke down a month ago.

The dispute has had heated moments, including school board meetings where teachers have called board members “thieves” who should be “tarred and feathered.”

The 5,800-student district is made up of 12 elementary schools and two intermediate schools. It is one of six elementary and intermediate school districts feeding into the larger Whittier Union High School District.

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