ANTI-ROMER PETITION NOW CIRCULATING UNION PLEDGES 'NO CONFIDENCE'.Byline: Jennifer Radcliffe Staff Writer Concerned that Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Unified Superintendent Roy Romer Roy R. Romer (born October 31, 1928 in Garden City, Kansas, United States) was the 39th governor of Colorado and served as the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District from 2001 to 2006. has neglected a pledge to increase pay for teachers, United Teachers Los Angeles is circulating a petition of ``no confidence'' in Romer
A Romer or Roamer is a simple device for accurately plotting a grid reference on a map. . The Los Angeles Unified School District's largest union hopes the petition will put pressure on the school board during contract negotiations this week. Romer had vowed to develop a raise package by Jan. 18, but he has not come up with an acceptable plan, union officials said. ``I think (Romer) is very hardheaded hard·head·ed adj. 1. Stubborn; willful. 2. Realistic; pragmatic. hard  head and our hope is that this will bolster school board members so they're not as intimidated in·tim·i·date tr.v. in·tim·i·dat·ed, in·tim·i·dat·ing, in·tim·i·dates 1. To make timid; fill with fear. 2. To coerce or inhibit by or as if by threats. by Romer,'' said Steve Blazak, UTLA UTLA United Teachers of Los Angeles (California) spokesman. Board President Jose Huizar said he hears the union's message. ``We feel the pressure. We feel the pressure from all sides. We feel the pressure from the unions. We feel the pressure from our staffs,'' he said. ``I think it's unfortunate for the district that the superintendent and his employees find themselves at this juncture.'' Romer said Monday that he understands that the ``no confidence'' petition is a negotiating tactic and that he stands behind his track record. In 2000-01, Romer said the district increased UTLA members' pay by an average of 12 percent. He said he's also increased incentive plans, substitute teacher pay and health benefits during his tenure. ``I understand the reasoning behind it, but I am proud of what I've done for teachers,'' Romer said. The petition will be collected Thursday and presented at the Feb. 8 school board meeting. Meanwhile, the union and district have three negotiation sessions scheduled this week. Board member Jon Lauritzen said he understands UTLA's viewpoint. The former teacher said he'd be tempted to sign the petition if he were still in the classroom. ``The problem is the teachers don't perceive Romer as being as responsive to the classroom situation as he needs to be. They see his top-down approach Top-down approach A method of security selection that starts with asset allocation and works systematically through sector and industry allocation to individual security selection. as being somewhat oppressive,'' he said. Romer, on the other hand, credits his strong, centralized cen·tral·ize v. cen·tral·ized, cen·tral·iz·ing, cen·tral·iz·es v.tr. 1. To draw into or toward a center; consolidate. 2. leadership for many of the district's recent successes. Lauritzen said he hopes Romer takes the petition as constructive criticism, rather than a reason to get defensive. ``If he just takes the bit in its teeth and just runs with it, it's going to get worse and escalate the situation,'' he said. He said he hopes negotiations will get resolved. ``Nothing else gets done while we're playing games with this. It's one of those things that has to be settled,'' Lauritzen said. Jennifer Radcliffe, (818) 713-3722 jennifer.radcliffe(at)dailynews.com |
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