Alex Caputo-Pearl today assumed the office of President of United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), a union battling with LA Unified for a larger salary increase than the two percent the district has offered. UTLA remains one of the last of the district’s labor partners to reach agreement on a contract. The teachers had initially asked...

By Ron Taw I came to education out of the business world. Before entering the classroom, I was making my way up the corporate ladder at a Fortune 500 company. But then, over 15 years ago, I realized that I wanted a job where “success and advancement” would mean changing more lives, not just earning...

The LA Unified board meeting on June 17 might be more crowded than usual. UTLA, the teachers union, is planning a noon press conference outside the district’s downtown headquarters and handing out leaflets to call attention to the board’s demand for “a fair pay raise” for the coming years. The union’s activities come at a...

*UPDATED The LA teachers union, UTLA, voted last night to endorse George McKenna for LA Unified’s District 1 board seat in the August runoff election. McKenna, a retired administrator, had no direct ties to the union and in his winning primary campaign struck a note of independence in assessing various issues. But in the end, said Marco...

In a show of unity, UTLA‘s current and incoming presidents waved the prospect of a teachers strike in the coming school year if LA Unified offers anything less than an eight percent raise for the next school year, building to 17.6 percent in years to follow. Appearing together at an afternoon news conference yesterday, Warren...

*UPDATED While UTLA, the Los Angeles teachers union, has endorsed three candidates in next week’s District 1 school board race, one has emerged as first among equals. Sherlett Hendy-Newbill has won the endorsement of the Network for Public Education, a public education advocacy group led by Diane Ravitch, one of the strongest voices in the...

LA Unified has opened contract negotiations with the teachers union, UTLA, offering a 2 percent raise for all teachers for the current school year, and another 2 percent increase next year. The union immediately dismissed the offer in a news release, calling it “far short of what educators deserve after seven years without a pay...

* UPDATED With an overwhelming majority, members of the Los Angeles teachers union (UTLA) have approved an online voting ballot initiative that will change how the Los Angeles teachers union elects its own leadership. The initiative was launched last year by two teachers who were fed up with the low turnout among the union’s rank and...