LAUSD, Teachers Return To Bargaining Table At Mayor's Office After Negotiating Past Midnight
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — As the City of Angels entered into the fifth day of a teachers strike, there was hope that the mayor could bring the teachers union and the Los Angeles Unified School District together to make an agreement.
Bargaining teams from United Teachers Los Angeles and the district returned to the bargaining table at the Los Angeles mayor's office Friday after negotiating past midnight.
Bargaining teams from UTLA and LAUSD had a productive day of contract negotiations. The discussions concluded at 12:04 AM. Negotiations will resume Friday at 11:00 AM, facilitated by the Mayor's Office.
— MayorOfLA (@MayorOfLA) January 18, 2019
The lengthy discussions and change in tone from the teacher's union are a hopeful signal that a bargain could soon be reached.
We expect to continue bargaining tomorrow. No more details can be given since the parties have agreed to confidentiality. #UTLAStrong #LAUSDStrike #WeAreLA #Strike4Ed pic.twitter.com/XLEhKsnRgL
— United Teachers Los Angeles (@UTLAnow) January 18, 2019
The teacher's union – which represents more than 30,000 teachers -- is wrapping its first full week of being on strike, the first the district has seen since 1989. Besides pay raises, teachers say they want the district to make a bigger investment in reducing class sizes by hiring more teachers, staffing schools with more support personnel like nurses and counselors, and a cap on resources that go to the growing number of charter schools.
The district, which serves 694,000 students at more than 1,000 schools, says the strike has so far cost $97 million due to the steep drop in attendance.