PACT SPLITS UTLA LEADERS TEACHERS URGED BY SOME TO REJECT 2 PERCENT RAISE.

Byline: Jennifer Radcliffe Staff Writer

Amid signs of growing division, newly elected leaders of Los Angeles Unified's teachers union opted to delay members' vote on a proposed contract they say is inadequate.

They also decided to call off ``work-to-rule''job actions until United Teachers Los Angeles' 43,000 members vote April 18-20 on the contract, which includes 2 percent pay raises and fully paid health premiums.

Incoming UTLA leaders, considered more progressive than the current leadership, are urging teachers to reject the deal. They also forced the vote to be pushed back a week to allow more time for review.

``I think we can do better,'' said A.J. Duffy, who will take over the UTLA's presidency July 1.

The contract, which took 20 months to negotiate, includes a 2 percent pay raise, retroactive to July 2004. But UTLA's incoming leadership is pushing for 3 percent raises and tighter language regarding teacher evaluations.

``We were looking for reasons to support the contract, but bottom line is ... The contract is terrible,'' said Gregg Solkovits, a Monroe High School teacher and West Valley area chairman-elect.

The UTLA board - in a contentious, closed-door meeting that ran late Wednesday night - voted 21-17 to support the proposed contract. UTLA's House of Representatives, however, voted 142-83 to reject it.

They also demanded that UTLA send members a balanced analysis of the contract terms and change the ballot language to remove any references to a strike. Voting against the contract doesn't mean teachers will be walking the picket line, UTLA leaders said.

``We wanted to make sure people weren't voting in favor of this based on fear,'' said Joshua Pechthalt, an incoming UTLA vice president.

Board members also opted to put ``work-to-rule'' on hold until after the election. The job action, which started in March in the West Valley, asked teachers to cancel clubs, tutoring and other duties that they weren't specifically paid to do.

While the dissension adds uncertainty to the union-wide vote, many educators said they doubt rank-and-file members will follow the more outspoken union leaders.

Many teachers probably will not be willing to strike over a 1 percent pay increase, said Grant High School teacher Linda Gordon, area chairwoman for the East Valley.

``The contract, I think, really truly is a membership decision. It's whether they believe anything was left at the (negotiating) table or not,'' she said. ``I've heard teachers say they'd like to take what we can get right now and look to the future for more.'' LAUSD board member Jon Lauritzen said teachers should accept the deal.

``It may be an insult, but it's a 2 percent insult that could buy groceries,'' Lauritzen said. Teachers across Los Angeles Unified will discuss the contract at eight area UTLA meetings April 13.

Rank-and-file members have split with leadership in the past. In 2003, both UTLA boards endorsed not approving a contract that included 3 percent pay raises. In the union-wide election, teachers overwhelmingly supported the contract.

But, Pechthalt said, ``There's no precedent for the membership to reject an offer that the leadership supported. I think everything's sort of up in the air now.''

If they reject the contract, UTLA and LAUSD will head back to the bargaining table. If no agreement is reached, an impasse could be declared and teachers would either vote to strike or accept the current offer.

``I don't think a strike at this time would be beneficial to us. I think it would play into the hands of Arnold Schwarzenegger,'' current UTLA President John Perez said. ``You can only fight one battle at a time.''

Jennifer Radcliffe, [phone]

jennifer.radcliffe(at)dailynews.com