UTLA statement in response to LAUSD letter demanding furlough days and pay cuts or threatening extensive employee layoffs

November 16, 2009 - Once again, the District, which claims it wants collaboration, has acted unilaterally. On Friday November 13, Superintendent Cortines sent a letter to LAUSD union presidents and, at the same time, to all LAUSD employees, knowing that it would be quickly picked up by the press, demanding that LAUSD employees take four furlough days and also a 12% salary reduction in the 2010-2011 school year.

The District chose to negotiate in the media, rather than reaching out to and collaborating with UTLA, circumventing the clear process required for bargaining. 

UTLA is willing to talk with LAUSD, but we are demanding the following:

• An immediate presentation of LAUSD’s financial records, to ensure that the District makes cuts away from the classroom before any further cuts to educators are even considered.
• Information on all programs and purchases and justification for their existence, in the face of this fiscal crisis.
• Justification for the unreasonable December 8 deadline of less than 3 weeks to bargain on an extremely complex issue which would seriously impact thousands of District employees.

LAUSD has a responsibility to scrutinize every expenditure to make sure that it is absolutely necessary, including purchases of programs such as Response to Intervention (RTI), District periodic assessments and related costly preparation materials, and ongoing operation of mini-district offices.  

LAUSD’s proposals for layoffs would be devastating to the quality of education, but so would pay cuts to our members, throwing them into financial crisis.  Threats of layoffs and class size increases should not be put in competition with threats of pay cuts and furlough days as long as other district cuts are possible and new funding alternatives, such as a parcel tax, are attempted.

Teachers and their students have already felt the impact reductions in budgets, 2,000 teacher layoffs, increased class sizes and a host of other serious challenges caused by LAUSD actions.  The gravity of this budget crisis demands that the District, UTLA, and the other bargaining units fight together for proper funding of our schools. Asking for disastrous cuts in employee pay before engaging in that fight makes collaboration and unity very difficult. 

Contact Marla Eby, UTLA Director of Communications at 213-368-6247 for additional details.