L.A. teachers union leader Caputo-Pearl links activism to strike
| L.A. teachers union leader Alex Caputo-Pearl has told members to get ready for a possible strike. Chicago teachers union leader Karen Lewis sits to his right at the weekend convention. (Howard Blume) |
The new leader of the Los Angeles teachers union signaled a more militant stance toward the school district, including the possibility of a strike, at a national teachers union convention held downtown this weekend.
Alex Caputo-Pearl, who took office July 1, characterized a work stoppage as a potentially effective part of broader social action to benefit students as well as their instructors.
Ruling on teacher job security is an attack on students, unions say
Ruling on teacher job security is an attack on students, unions say
Stephen Ceasar, Howard Blume
His remarks drew cheers at the weekend convention of the American Federation of Teachers; in an interview, L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy also sought to reach teachers, urging them to agree to terms similar to those achieved by other employee unions in the nation’s second-largest school system.
Caputo-Pearl, 45, spoke at a Saturday-night panel with other teachers union leaders, including Michael Mulgrew from New York City and Karen Lewis from Chicago. Lewis, who sat to the right of Caputo-Pearl, led Chicago teachers on a 2012 strike, an experience for which she was celebrated at the convention.
The new L.A. union leader framed his remarks around defining “social movement unionism,” which he said is “explicit about fighting for racial and social justice. It’s explicit in fighting against privatization. It’s explicit in taking people on who need to be taken on, including a lot of Democrats.”
He added: “It’s a unionism that is willing to strike. It’s a unionism that is willing to build to a strike and strike if that’s what we need to do.”
Caputo-Pearl added that he’d already advised members by letter to begin putting aside savings for a possible strike. He also announced a major internal reorganization within United Teachers Los Angeles and signaled his intention to seek higher member dues to make the union a more effective political force.
UTLA is seeking a 17.6% raise over “multiple years.”
Teachers have not received a raise for seven years, several of which included temporary pay cuts and layoffs.
Deasy and L.A. Unified have settled with most other unions; the terms typically include a 2% bonus and raises that would increase pay by about 6.6% over three years. The first 2% L.A. teachers union leader Caputo-Pearl links activism to strike - Los Angeles Times: