L.A .Teachers Vote No Confidence in Deasy and Their Own Union

The Los Angeles times reported that LAUSD teachers “overwhelmingly expressed ‘no confidence’ in superintendent John Deasy last Wednesday, the first time such a vote has occurred in the nation's second-largest school system.

It is certainly significant that a majority of LA teachers voted no confidence in their superintendent—and not at all surprising, considering Deasy’s war on teachers. Under his watch, LAUSD has implemented teacher evaluations based on student test scores. There have been numerous charter school conversions, furloughs and layoffs, as well as ongoing budget shortfalls. There have also been abuse scandals in which the district has covered up misconduct or obstructed investigations and then punished teachers en masse for the wrongdoings of one or two teachers, while trying to redirect blame onto the union.

However, it would be a gross exaggeration to say that teachers overwhelmingly supported the no confidence vote. Only about 17,770 teachers (slightly more than half of UTLA’s 32,000 members) participated in the vote. Of those who voted, a whopping 91% expressed disapproval. Yet, as a percentage of the total membership, this only constitutes slightly more than 50%. Looked at differently, one could say that nearly half of Los Angeles teachers did not feel strongly enough to vote at all.

Low voter turn-out for UTLA is nothing new (see here and here). Poor organizing by the union is one likely explanation. Simply placing “vote no confidence” posters on its website is not enough to get teachers to actually participate in the vote. They should have had organizers talking to teachers at every site and agitating for action, should the vote go their way, because in the end, a vote of no confidence has no teeth. If LA teachers want Deasy out, they’ll have to drive him out. Indeed, Deasy responded to the vote by asserting he was too busy trying to provide quality education to needy children to be bothered with such “nonsense.”

Another likely reason for the low voter turnout is general discontent with UTLA by its members. As bad as Deasy has been, UTLA has been complicit with many of his policies, including evaluation reform and furloughs.

Ironically, another measure on the same ballot that criticized UTLA only won 77% approval (probably because the teachers most frustrated with their union didn’t bother to vote). This resolution explicitly criticized UTLA for “weakening and dividing” its members, and for not organizing and mobilizing its members and community allies. The measure called for a reduction in standardized tests for evaluating teachers and an end to reconstitution of staff at low-performing schools.

The Times reports that UTLA president Warren Fletcher embraced the second resolution, despite its criticism of his leadership. Question is, will he do anything about it?

NewTLA Candidate Upsets Washington, Wins UTLA Presidency

Contrary to most predictions, Julie Washington was beaten by Warren Fletcher in the runoffs for president of the United Teachers of Los Angeles. According to the L.A. Times, Fletcher had 4,711 votes or 53.6% and Washington had 4,247 votes or 47.4%. However, less than 80% of members actually voted.

Washington was the former vice president and considered by most to be an insider who would carry on the legacy of A.J. Duffy. She was the chief negotiator on several occasions in which UTLA gave up significant concessions. Fletcher, in contrast, ran a campaign that was critical of the previous UTLA administration and its weakness in defending teachers’ interests. He had the support of a small opposition movement within the union called NewTLA. According to In My Trends, NewTLA endorsed Fletcher “based on the belief that he would help promote a more respectful, civil environment within UTLA where meaningful reform may be more likely.”

NewTLA has argued that UTLA is an antiquated union, stuck in the old ways (e.g., fighting to protect teachers’ pay, benefits and working conditions), unwilling to collaborate with the bosses to facilitate reforms (i.e., unwilling to accept reforms that would undermine working conditions and labor protections and maybe not even benefit students). (See NewTLA: Voice of Reform or Reaction?) The question is will Fletcher be their man? Fletcher's campaign platform emphasized returning “UTLA to its core priorities" of salary, benefits, retirement and job security, implying that he is not interested in fighting privatization and the proliferation of charter schools, attempts to tie teacher pay to student test scores, or other “tangential” issues also known as top down reforms. Furthermore, he hardly mentioned rank and file organizing during his campaign, suggesting that he does not intend to rule by consensus.

If Fletcher turns out to be a true NewTLA union president, UTLA members will surely suffer, while the billionaire Ed Deformers will have a valuable insider where they need it most: heading the nation’s second largest teachers union.

UTLA Presidential Election Headed to Runoff

Veteran UTLA leader (and Duffy crony) Julie Washington finished first in the race for president of United Teachers Los Angeles, but did not win enough votes to avoid a runoff. Washington, the outgoing vice president, won 44% of the vote. Warren Fletcher was second, with 37.3%. Turn out for the election was abysmal, with only 17% of members returning ballots, perhaps an indication of overall teacher disillusionment with the union.

Washington is seen by many LA teachers as a UTLA insider and part of the problem with the entrenched UTLA bureaucracy. LA teachers are facing a continuation of mass conversions of their schools to private charters, as well as teacher furloughs, mass layoffs, and attacks on seniority and collective bargaining. The Duffy/Weingarten administration, while making militant public statements against these attacks on teachers and students, did very little to mobilize teachers to take effective actions against these attacks. A Washington victory is seen by many as a continuation of UTLA impotence and irrelevance.