TEACHERS TELL UNION: REV UP RANK-FILE WANTS PUSHIER LEADERS.

Byline: Jennifer Radcliffe Staff Writer

A day after ousting their union leaders, Los Angeles Unified School District teachers said Wednesday that they will demand more aggressive representation for salary and classroom improvements.

Rank-and-file members of United Teachers Los Angeles said they expect their new leaders, who will take office July 1, to fight harder than their predecessors have for better pay and for an end to the kinds of standardized tests and study plans that stifle innovation.

``They're so fed up with the bureaucracy that's run amok,'' said Monroe High School teacher Gregg Solkovits, who won a seat in Tuesday's election as a west San Fernando Valley representative of UTLA, which is the nation's second-largest teaching union.

``Teachers are saying, 'What do I go to school for? They're treating me like an idiot,''' said Solkovits, a 21-year teaching veteran.

With about 11,000 of its 41,000 members voting, the UTLA decided Tuesday to replace its president, John Perez, with teacher A.J. Duffy. Several other officers also were replaced.

Teachers say public officials - from LAUSD Superintendent Roy Romer to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to President George W. Bush - have contributed to the deterioration of the education environment.

Romer said he understands teachers' concerns about federal interference and state budget shortages. But he said the district is spending more than $14 billion to build and improve classrooms, and he has vowed to adopt stronger curricula to improve student performance.

``You carry a lot of challenges when you walk into the classroom. I understand that, and I'm sympathetic with a good bit of that,'' he said. ``We're trying to change those circumstances.''

Despite demands for change, district and union leaders said they hope the UTLA election will not derail the approval of a contract, with at least a 2 percent pay raise, expected to be announced in the next few weeks. The two sides have been negotiating for more than 18 months.

Whether UTLA members approve a proposed contract will be telling of how much power the new officers have. Duffy, who observed a negotiating session last week, has called for a contact with a 7 percent raise.

Board member Jon Lauritzen, a former teacher who got elected with the support of UTLA, said he thinks the contract will be approved before the new officers take over July 1. He doesn't think the more aggressive leadership will hurt UTLA.

``They'll rise to the occasion,'' he said of the new officers. ``I don't think there's going to be a whole lot of difference. For a while, there will be more rhetoric.''

But others aren't as certain.

``It's going to be a whole different union. ... Their orientation is a rank-and-file mobilization,'' said UTLA consultant Steve Weingarten.

The new union officers, most of whom are part of a coalition called United Action, say they will focus more on social issues, such as nutrition, equality at schools across the district and community involvement. They have vowed to mobilize members with rallies and pickets for change in the district.

``People are really tired of it. It's deadening for teachers, and it's equally deadening for kids,'' said Joshua Pechthalt, an incoming UTLA vice president.

Romer said recent efforts, such as those to create what he calls small- learning communities, will help to empower and include teachers.

Incoming Vice President Julie Washington said the new leaders are willing to work with administrators to help children.

``I don't know where the 'militant' is coming from and I don't know where the 'radical' label is coming from,'' she said. ``I don't think it's radical for me to want clean bathrooms and nutritious food for my students.''

Jennifer Radcliffe, [phone]

jennifer.radcliffe(at)dailynews.com