LOS ANGELES _ The Los Angeles teachers union is expected to postpone the start of its strike until Monday because of uncertainty over whether a judge could order the union to wait.
The union has scheduled a news conference to make the announcement, according to sources. And the word already has gotten out among some union members, including at least one who posted the news on Twitter.
In Superior Court in downtown Los Angeles, a judge is expected to rule on whether the teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles, gave 10 days' notice, in proper legal form, to the L.A. Unified School District that its members would no longer work under its existing contract. Such notice is, under state contract law, one required step on the way to a strike. In this case, the contract actually expired more than a year ago, though union members were still working under it.
At school district headquarters west of downtown, meanwhile, teams from the union and the L.A. Unified School District were meeting to negotiate, to see if they could settle differences that would otherwise lead to a strike _ either on Thursday, as originally scheduled, or later.
UTLA publicly announced a Jan. 10 strike weeks ago, which is why its leaders believe they have given everyone ample notice. But the district asserts that the union did not give formal notice to the school system as required. The union had hoped for a ruling on the matter Tuesday, but a judge would not proceed then because the union had not filed its papers electronically by 10 a.m. on the previous day, as new court rules require.
Logistical problems in court continued first thing Wednesday morning either because of glitches in the court's new electronic filing system or further problems with the union's filing or both.
The attorneys for both sides were ready to go. But instead of moving quickly to a hearing on the merits of the case, the court had trouble tracking down the case within its system. A court clerk said the union papers might have been submitted with the wrong box checked. As a result, the paperwork had landed incorrectly in a long line of pending class-action lawsuits.
Lawyers for the union were looking into their options, including seeking an exemption from the rules governing the court's new filing rules.
A negotiated settlement, of course, would make the legal jockeying and courtroom glitches irrelevant.
L.A. Unified students came back from winter break on Monday. That day, negotiating teams from the teachers union and the district met to try to avert a strike.
That bargaining effort fell short, although the two sides agreed to meet again Wednesday morning.
The negotiations on Monday included new proposals from each side.
After the Monday session, the school district team, led by Superintendent Austin Beutner, said it had upped its previous offer by $75 million to add staff to schools and decrease class sizes. The district did not change its wage proposal. It has offered teachers a 6 percent raise spread over the first two years of a three-year contract. The union wants a 6.5 percent raise that would take effect all at once and a year sooner.
UTLA has pressed for "fully staffed" campuses, framing its activism as a fight for the future of public education.
On its side, the union removed a demand to give teachers more control over standardized testing and budget decisions at schools. The union also dropped its demand to have a say on when the district starts a new magnet program.
Talking separately to each side by phone, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti said there was reason for optimism.
"Both sides made serious offers," Garcetti said. Beutner showed the seriousness of his commitment to issues important to the union, and the union took real steps to narrow its demands "to focus on the issues we all agree on: smaller class sizes, more support staff, decent pay and improving existing schools instead of opening new ones."
Garcetti's last point referred to the growing presence of privately run charter schools, which are mostly non-union and compete with L.A. Unified for students. The union wants a moratorium on new charters and has accused charter backers of wanting to dismantle traditional public education. Garcetti carefully avoided criticizing charters by name or targeting charters that already exist.
Beutner has offered to create a committee to examine issues raised by charters. So far, that has not been nearly enough for Alex Caputo-Pearl, president of the teachers union.
Both leaders have stuck to their messages. Caputo-Pearl said the union would strike, if necessary, to improve students' educations. Beutner said a strike would harm students and families. Some of the union's proposals, while worthy, said Beutner, would immediately push the school district into insolvency.
