Both Sides Expect L.A. Teachers to Authorize a Strike : Schools: Union leaders say the potential grows because Nov. 6 checks will reflect latest pay cuts.

With ballot results expected to be announced late today, top Los Angeles Unified School District leaders and teachers union officials predicted that a majority of teachers, confronted by a stinging pay cut next month, will vote to authorize a strike.

United Teachers-Los Angeles President Helen Bernstein said Wednesday that an extremely high numbers of teachers turned out to vote and she is “absolutely confident” that they are angry enough about an impending 9% pay cut this year and the potential for future reductions that they are prepared to strike.

The union’s 28,000 members voted Tuesday and Wednesday on whether to authorize a strike or accept the district offer. While negotiations continued Wednesday, Bernstein would not say when a strike could begin but has suggested that the potential grows greater as the next payday on Nov. 6 approaches. The teachers’ checks will reflect the 3% pay cut all district employees took last year as well as the 9% cut the board ordered last month, decreasing their salaries 12% below two years ago.

“It doesn’t seem to me to be very fruitful to negotiate beyond the 6th,” Bernstein said.

The union is pushing for the district to reduce teacher salary cuts through cost-saving measures such as improving teacher absenteeism, and is seeking a commitment from the district to not slash salaries next year.

Board members have been receptive to the proposals but have been reluctant to commit undetermined amounts of savings to teacher salaries. Further, confronted with at least a $95-million budget shortfall next year, they are strongly against making any contract guarantees to avert future salary cuts.

Before a strike can legally begin, a state mediator must be called in and an impasse declared, a process that the district and the union have not completed.

In the event of a strike, two school board members said Wednesday that they will push for a shutdown of the school system, in part out of fear that intense frustrations among employees could lead to violence.

“Frankly, my concern is that since the budget situation is not going to change, since there is no more money to give teachers, the only thing that can happen in our schools is a lot of potential for violence,” said school board President Leticia Quezada. “It is something that will not only hurt the kids in schools, but certainly the people who work in the schools.”

School board member Roberta Weintraub, who was board president during the tumultuous nine-day teachers strike in 1989, said that this time “we are dealing with a hopeless situation. And a lot more frustration.”

Weintraub suggested that the board has a moral obligation to shut down the district in the event of a strike because instruction would be halted.

“We learned a lesson in 1989,” when schools remained open, she said. “You can’t say you are offering schooling when in fact you are not.”

Other school board members, including Barbara Boudreaux and Warren Furutani, said they would be opposed to such a drastic measure because of the havoc it would bring to families, especially working parents who would have to scramble for day care.

Also, such a shutdown could be financially damaging. Officials with the state Department of Education said that it would be up to state Supt. of Public Instruction Bill Honig to decide whether to reimburse the district for missed student attendance.

Typically, school districts are closed for unforeseeable emergencies that endanger students, such as bad weather and earthquakes. Despite strong statements Wednesday by union and district officials about their bargaining positions, both sides emphasized that they are continuing negotiations in good faith and are working to avert a walkout.

“There are all kinds of areas for negotiation,” said Bernstein, who has acknowledged that some pay cuts must be taken. However, she said, “it is clear that teachers are as concerned about next year as this year.”

She said the threat of a strike might move board members to change their stance against making future salary commitments.

Furutani said that the union must consider what, if anything, will be achieved by walking out, given the bleak finances.

“There is no question in my mind that the union is very strong and can go on strike,” he said. “But my big question is: ‘What will bring them back?’ Every possible idea is currently being discussed.”

Boudreaux, who called on all district employees to “pull together,” said teachers would be striking “for an empty pot” if they walk out.

Union representatives at many schools reported that nearly 100% of their memberships had voted by Wednesday afternoon.

According to a report from the teachers union, which was confirmed by the Los Angeles County Office of Education, the 9% pay cut would make teachers the second-lowest paid in the county. A Los Angeles Unified teacher with 25 years’ experience would plummet from ninth to 42nd place among the 43 unified school districts.

Unlike some other districts, Los Angeles school board members chose to cut salaries across the board rather than order widespread layoffs, especially of clerical and service workers. The district grappled with an unprecedented $400 million deficit this year.

Union officials have called for cutbacks and a restructuring of administration to cushion their salary cuts, an issue that will come to the forefront when the school board is presented with a sweeping district reform package.

The district’s two highest-ranking leaders, Quezada and acting Supt. Sid Thompson, said they are prepared to support plans that will be presented to them by the Los Angeles Alliance for Restructuring Now.

The broad-based coalition of business, education and community leaders is calling for a new system that would shift power from downtown bureaucrats to the schools.

Bernstein, who serves on the LEARN board, said that although the union has not endorsed the plan, it is similar in intent to school-based management issues that the union fought for in 1989.

SALARIES COMPARED

L.A. district teachers will be among the lowest paid in the county, a listing shows.

Comparing Teachers’ Salaries Los Angeles Unified School District teachers with 25 years experience are the ninth-highest-paid teachers in Los Angeles County’s 43 unified school districts . After the board-approved 9% pay cut this year, the ranking would drop to 42, from the current top salary of $51,631 to $47,536.

SCHOOL TEACHER DISTRICT SALARY 1.Montebello $56,260 2.Glendale $55,238 3.Pomona $54,953 4.Alhambra City $53,090 5.La Canada $52,290 6.Pasadena $52,074 7.Beverly Hills $51,985 8.Norwalk-La Mirada $51,638 9.Los Angeles $51,631 10.Baldwin Park $51,312 11.Temple City $51,240 12.Duarte $51,078 13.Bassett $51,071 14.Walnut Valley $51,041 15.Bonita $50,881 16.Paramount $50,817 17.Rowland $50,814 18.Lynwood $50,698 19.Las Virgenes $50,634 20.Burbank $50,536 21.S. Pasadena $50,523 22.Long Beach $50,501 23.Compton $50,482 24.West Covina $50,331 25.Arcadia $50,274 26.Claremont $49,778 27.Azusa $49,622 28.Torrance $49,542 29.Downey $49,457 30.Charter Oak $49,290 31.Bellflower $48,918 32.Monrovia $48,564 33.P.V. Peninsula $48,530 34.Covina-Valley $48,470 35.S. Monica-Malibu $48,455 36.San Marino $48,389 37.El Rancho $48,370 38.HaciendaL.Puente $48,366 39.ABC $47,926 40.Glendora $47,880 41.Culver City $47,820 42.Inglewood $47,753 43.El Segundo $45,038

Source: L.A. County Dept. of Education