Teachers Begin Voting on 8% Pay Restoration

For new teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District, an 8% pay raise sounds generous. For veteran teachers, who suffered a stinging 10% pay cut two years ago, the offer is adequate at best.

Against that backdrop, teachers throughout the Los Angeles Unified School District began voting Tuesday on whether to accept an 8% pay restoration or to strike next week. Union leaders have recommended that teachers accept the contract offer, crafted by a state mediator during three days of negotiations last month.

“No one is walking around in a state of elation--everyone is still very angry because of the pay cuts,” said Marty Baer, the teachers union representative at Ranchito Avenue Elementary in Panorama City. “But I don’t think we’d win a strike. It would not be the tactical thing to do.”

Feelings are similar throughout the district.

Many teachers who took the 10% pay cut say they believe the district could afford to restore the full amount but that the current offer is the best they could get.

“Do teachers feel we’ve won?” said Jeanne Spira, the union representative at Carson High School. “No, but we’ve made some progress.”

The 28,000 members of United Teachers-Los Angeles will continue voting today, and results will be made public Thursday evening. UTLA leaders said they believe the contract will be approved by a substantial margin.

“The (union) Board of Directors has recommended that they accept it because it’s the best possible offer we could get,” said John Perez, a UTLA vice president. “That doesn’t mean that I like it or that I think it’s fair and just.”

In meetings before most schools opened, UTLA President Helen Bernstein warned teachers that they had better be prepared to walk out and stay out if they vote to reject the offer. “It is a very difficult strike to win,” Bernstein said. “We might as well get everything we can without going on strike and losing money.”

While a 1989 teachers strike resulted in 8% raises each year for three years, Bernstein said she believes times have changed. “A strike is not always the answer,” Bernstein said. “But the best way to avoid a strike is to prepare for one.”

The union set up a “war room” where teachers from all parts of the city began strike preparations. In meetings attended by about 840 teachers last weekend, union officials said they discussed the possibility of a massive walkout next week if teachers reject the offer.

If the offer is accepted, however, Bernstein said teachers should be prepared to begin contract talks again--soon. “Don’t think I won’t be back here telling you to get ready for a strike--I will,” she told teachers.

For the 5,181 teachers whose salaries were not affected by the pay cut, the contract offer represents a significant boost in their wages. These teachers, along with others who have worked for the district less than a decade, also receive salary step advances and pay increases for advanced education units.

“This is very pleasant for the new teachers--they’ve never experienced having anything taken away from them,” said Cliff Harris, the union representative at Maclay Middle School in Pacoima. “But for the teachers who have been here a long time, they’re still working in the hole.”

Dick Crowell, the union leader at San Fernando High, said he voted to strike because he believes the money is available in the school district’s $4.5-billion budget to repay teachers the full amount. “I think a strike would let the community, the district and everyone know that teachers are very, very discouraged,” Crowell said. “I think most teachers--me included--have just had it. We’re just tired of being last in priority.” But district officials and Board of Education members say they could not afford to reimburse teachers the full 10% cut from their salaries.

“I think . . . this is the best proposal possible under the circumstances,” said Mark Slavkin, the Board of Education president. “I’m hopeful teachers will accept it.”

Supt. Sid Thompson agreed. “We are committed to restore fully the salary reductions made two years ago, and the 8% restoration represents a significant step in that direction,” Thompson said.

Slavkin said he believes the district and the union scrutinized the district’s finances and both sides agreed that the current offer is the highest possible. But Slavkin acknowledged that some teachers still believe more money is available.

“Historically, the district has not had the highest credibility,” he said.

The offer, good for one year, was crafted by a state mediator after three weeks of labor talks failed to produce a settlement. The district’s first offer, presented to teachers nearly a month ago, called for a 7% increase--3% this year and 4% that would carry over to next year.

But union leaders, who hired an accounting firm to comb through the district’s books, rejected that proposal. They said it would be a guaranteed strike and that the district was holding back money and promises of repayment.

While the majority of teachers probably will accept the offer, they certainly aren’t pleased with it. And some said they simply couldn’t afford to strike.

“The feeling is, ‘Let’s get on with it,’ ” said Harris of Maclay Middle School. “We’ll probably be at this again in another few months.”