No 4th Term for UTLA President

A referendum that would have allowed Los Angeles teachers’ union President Wayne Johnson to serve an unprecedented fourth consecutive term as head of the organization has been narrowly defeated by union members, meaning that Johnson will be out of office in June.

Johnson led the union through acrimonious contract negotiations with the district last spring, winning them a highly praised contract granting a 24% raise over three years. But his actions also sparked the enmity of district officials, who characterized him as too militant and confrontational.

About 8,000 of the United Teachers Los Angeles’ 24,000 members voted this month on the referendum, which would have amended the union’s constitution to change the term from two to three years and allow current officers to run for another term. It lost by 78 votes.

“It’s not an insult to Wayne,” said UTLA board member Mike Dreebin, who opposed the change. “Wayne’s been the best president this union’s ever had. We just didn’t support changing the rules for whoever’s in office. Part of our responsibility is to let other people have a chance (to lead).”