[dropcap size=big]N[/dropcap]egotiators for the Los Angele Unified School District and the union representing its 30,000 educators have failed to break an impasse over a new labor contract after their final session of required mediation ended Friday, with each side blaming the other for bargaining in bad faith.
They’ve taken the last step toward a possible teacher strike: fact-finding.
“The school district claims it can’t afford these very basic student needs,” said UTLA President Alex Caputo-Pearl in a statement. “We are ready to go to fact-finding and force the district to defend its position.” Members of United Teachers Los Angeles have already voted to empower their leadership to call a strike, which would be a first in the city in over a generation. It could also leave some 600,000 kids without a classroom to go to.
But it could take weeks before the district and the teachers union can face off in the street. “Fact-finding can take as many as 40 business days if all the deadlines are maximized,” UTLA announced Sunday over Twitter.
Fact-finding can take as many as 40 business days if all the deadlines (e.g for choosing representatives, etc) are maximized.
— United Teachers Los Angeles (@UTLAnow) October 14, 2018