L.A. teachers union postpones strike until Monday

Arlene Inouye, Co-Chair UTLA Bargaining Committee and UTLA President Alex Caputo-Pearl walk down the front stairs to an area where they hold a press conference in front of the LAUSD offices.

Arlene Inouye, Co-Chair UTLA Bargaining Committee, speaks at a press conference in front of the LAUSD offices.

Anastasia Foster, center, and Timothy Hayes right and join supporters of LAUSD teachers for a rally in front of Venice High School.

Michael Rothhammer gives a fist bump to Jayden Arriaga, center, and Emely Herrera, kindergartners in an after school program at Reseda Elementary School.

Thousands gathered in downtown L.A. in December at a march held by the teachers union, which has scheduled a strike for Jan. 14.

Michael Fono, a teacher at Thomas Edison Middle School in South Los Angeles, holds a strike sign at a planning meeting on Jan. 5.

Jasper Anderson, 15, participates in what could be one of his last pre-teachers’ strike baseball practices on Jan. 8 at Crenshaw High School.

Merwinn Rojas, a Foshay Learning Center sixth-grader, works on his homework on Jan. 8. His mother worries he might regress if teachers go on strike.

Kweisi Gharreau, center, parent of two kids at Canfield Elementary School in Beverlywood, speaks to the media in support of teachers following a Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education meeting on Jan. 8.

In addition to its wage proposal, the L.A. teachers union has pushed for fully staffed campuses with smaller classes and more support staff. In talks this week, the district upped its offer by $75 million to increase staffing. Above, students at Cleveland High in Reseda.

Shannon Stoller picks up her children Presley and Cooper from Pacific Palisades Charter Elementary School. Soller backs the teachers union but is concerned that keeping kids out of class costs schools money.

Alex Caputo-Pearl, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, speaks at a news conference about negotiations with the school district Wednesday.

Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. Austin Beutner speaks at a news conference about negotiations with the teachers’ union Wednesday.

School psychologist Fabiana Lamm gets ready to go to work at a San Fernando Valley campus on Jan. 8. She’s hoping a strike will lead to the hiring of more psychiatric social workers.

Students depart Belmont High School in Los Angeles after classes on Jan. 9, the first day of school of 2019, while last-ditch bargaining efforts continued to avert a Los Angeles teachers’ strike.

Maria Espinoza, picking up son Michael from an after-school program at El Sereno Middle School, is concerned that a strike might ground school buses. Luis Sinco Los Angeles Times

A group supporting the United Teachers Los Angeles gathers at a news conference on strike negotiations Jan. 7.