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In robo-call, Caputo-Pearl attacks ‘billionaire’ charter efforts
The Los Angeles teachers union, UTLA, attacked a proposed expansion of charter schools in LA Unified with a robo-call to district teachers from union president Alex Caputo-Pearl, vowing to fight the education reform foundations behind the effort. Mentioning Eli Broad by name in the call, Caputo-Pearl told the teachers that these groups, which include the Broad, Keck...
By Mike Szymanski | August 17, 2015
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Caputo-Pearl calls for UTLA dues increase in face of ‘dangers’ ahead
Alex Caputo-Pearl, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, used his state of the union speech Friday night to call for a raise in union dues of $19 a month, an increase he said would enable the union to prepare for future challenges “greater and more dangerous” than those of recent years. Reminding members that UTLA has not...
By Michael Janofsky | August 3, 2015
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Just In: LAUSD board approves teacher deal, valued at $607 million
* UPDATED The 10.4 percent salary increases LA Unified has agreed to in its deal with United Teachers Los Angeles will cost the district $607 million over three years, according to an analysis Superintendent Ramon Cortines circulated to board members today. Later, the board voted unanimously, 7-0, to approve the deal. The final salary figure...
By Vanessa Romo | April 21, 2015
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LA teachers boycott faculty meetings to press for contract demands
Members of the Los Angeles teachers union, UTLA, staged more school site rallies today, these to call attention to contract demands that are now in the hands of an independent mediator to resolve. At one of the rallies, at Dorsey High School, Sharonne Hapuarachy, an English teacher and union chapter chair, said, “The people who are...
By Vanessa Romo | March 24, 2015
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State labor board sets dates to meet with LA Unified, teachers union
Now that LA Unified and UTLA have agreed that they can’t agree, they’re headed for mediation later this month. The state Public Employment Relations Board has assigned a mediator to accomplish in three sessions what the two sides were unable to do in 18 meetings over seven months: negotiate a long-overdue contact for the 35,000-member...
By Vanessa Romo | March 2, 2015
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Thousands of LA teachers rally downtown for new contract
It was dubbed the “Stand at Grand,” and while it may not have drawn as many as the “Thrilla in Manilla,” it was an impressive turnout of thousands of Los Angeles Unified teachers at Grand Park last night as they rallied to demand a new contract. With City Hall behind him and a massive crowd...
By Craig Clough | February 27, 2015
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Analysis: A big week for the teachers to demonstrate what they want
“Most of our early escalation tactics are about building solidarity among members, because a 35,000 member union can’t win a fight against the corporate education ‘reformers’ lined up against us with anything less than 35,000 members active in the fight.” That’s what it says on the UTLA website, which makes this a critical week for...
By Michael Janofsky | February 23, 2015
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UTLA says money is there for teachers; LA Unified not so sure
Fueling the impasse announced yesterday between the teachers union, UTLA, and LA Unified is a dispute over so-called “unaccounted” sources of money that the teachers union says could be used for raises and other demands. “We are bargaining in good faith but when we uncover a $59 million pot of money the district doesn’t know...
By Vanessa Romo | February 19, 2015
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2 LAUSD roles now 1, UTLA president takes case to talk radio
The Associated Administrators of Los Angeles and LA Unified reached an agreement last week to consolidate two positions into one. The role of “assistant principal” and “instructional specialist” as of July 1 will be merged into the role of “assistant principal elementary” or “assistant principal secondary.” The change was explained by AALA in its weekly...
By LA School Report | January 29, 2015
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Teachers drop salary demand again as LAUSD holds on class size
The LA Unified teachers union, UTLA, dropped its salary demand yesterday to an 8.5 percent increase from a 9 percent, the union’s third consecutive lowering of what many teachers consider the most important issue in negotiations for a new contract. As part of the change, UTLA negotiators also asked the district for an annual $1,000...
By Vanessa Romo | January 23, 2015