LA Teachers Set January Strike Date

LOS ANGELES, CA — The union for Los Angeles teachers says its 33,000 members will strike Jan. 10 if no deal with the district is reached by then. It would be the first by LAUSD teachers since 1989.

The announcements comes as the State of California Public Employment Relations Board issued a complaint against United Teachers Los Angeles for refusing to bargain in good faith, the Los Angeles Unified School District reported Wednesday.

The Public Employment Relations Board is the state authority overseeing the fraught contract negotiations between Los Angeles Unified and United Teachers Los Angeles. It said the teachers union had twiced altered its positions.

The complaint, a copy of which was released by the LAUSD, emerged one day after the release of a fact-finding report that recommended adoption of a 6 percent salary increase, with 3 percent retroactive to July 1, 2017, and the other 3 percent retroactive to July 1, 2018. The LAUSD issued a statement Tuesday morning saying the teachers' union "has agreed to the 6 percent salary raise" and suggesting the agreement on that issue "can provide the basis for a reasonable settlement of the remaining items."

But on Tuesday afternoon, United Teachers Los Angeles issued a response insisting "no agreement -- salary or otherwise -- has been reached between UTLA and LAUSD."

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City News Service and Patch staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report. Photo: Shutterstock