UTLA URGED TO ALLAY PUBLIC DISTRUST
An L.A. school board member tells UTLA activists that the union must fight public perceptions that it protects bad teachers.
BY TERESA WATANABE, LOS ANGELES TIMES | L.A. TEACHERS UNION URGED TO IMPROVE TRAINING FOR BAD TEACHERS - LATIMES.COMHTTP://LAT.MS/15ZPEKE
United Teachers-Los Angeles members gather at a Los Angeles hotel for a weekend of workshops, speakers and political campaigning for new union officers. The weekend’s events were attended by more than 400 mostly activist teachers who represent the union on their school campuses. (Anne Cusack, Los Angeles Times / August 4, 2013)
August 4, 2013, 9:41 p.m. :: The Los Angeles teachers union must combat public perceptions that it protects bad teachers and should help them improve with better training, a city school board member told union activists in a wide-ranging speech Sunday.Monica Ratliff, a fifth-grade teacher who pulled off an upset win in May for the Los Angeles Board of Education, told more than 400 leaders of United Teachers Los Angeles that the public likes teachers but distrusts labor unions.
"People have a fair amount of affection for teachers," said Ratliff, who drew a standing ovation of cheers and chants. "People have a fair amount