UTLA LEADER LOOKS FOR COMMON GROUND.

Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writer

A.J. Duffy really works on maintaining and cultivating his two-toned look.

More often than not, he wears two-toned shoes - wingtips in particular - carefully coordinated with a double-breasted suit, tie and pocket handkerchief. He drives a two-toned Chrysler P.T. Cruiser.

The studied balance he brings to his clothes and car is what he strives to accomplish as president of United Teachers Los Angeles - a tough-talking, wise-cracking union leader, but one with a heart of gold.

He's vowed to fight for the 47,000 teachers in the nation's second-largest school district while building a spirit of cooperation and collaboration with Los Angeles Unified officials - joining with them to fend off a threatened takeover from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

``I have to be two people - even if I'm fighting with them, I have to find ways to continue to work with them,'' said Alistair James Duffy, 61.

``I will continue to do battle with the district, but will always look for common ground and work with them on whatever is necessary to accomplish common goals.''

Superintendent Roy Romer said he respects Duffy and believes he's an effective leader. ``I find him a talented individual and I think we can do a lot of good work together.

``But I'm from the ranch. Duffy wouldn't quite fit in with my ranching culture, but I love him. His dress wouldn't quite fit in, but we all are able to work together.''

At a meeting last fall at John Muir Middle School, the UTLA leader strutted as he explained a new contract to a group of 50 teachers - boasting how he negotiated a 2.5 percent raise in fewer than four weeks compared with the 21 months of acrimony it took his predecessor to secure 2 percent.

``We did the best we could. We're building for the spring and that is the critical thing. The spring is when the real action is going to happen - if the district is really serious to partner with me,'' he said, with an accent few would mistake for anything other than New York, even though he's lived in Los Angeles since 1972.

Carlos Pianelli, a 23-year John Muir teacher, said he was disappointed with the new contract - which he said was less than the cost of living. ``But he's definitely an improvement from the last person, with his aggressiveness,'' said Pianelli, 47, who listened to Duffy go over the new contract. ``He's definitely a go-getter, but he sounds like a typical politician.''

Duffy, promising more militant action, ousted John Perez and was elected to lead the union last March in a huge upset.

The former teacher has had to tighten the belt at a union in severe financial straits - it ran $1 million in the red in 2004 and 2005 and the number is expected to reach a few million in three years - eliminating three positions and 14 part-timers when he took office for a yearly savings of $650,000.

He's even considering permanently raising member dues; without that, the union will be bankrupt in five years, he believes.

In what remains of his three-year term in office, Duffy plans to build on his relationship with the district and to broaden dialogue with the business community to expand on vocational education programs.

The key, he believes, is to make education ``relevant'' to students and to help stem the high dropout rate - estimated by the district now at about 25 percent - by reaching struggling students at the critical ninth and 10th grade levels.

But he's also taking on the powerful charter school movement by publicly stating he wants the district to put a cap on the number of the independent schools it opens. Rather, he's pushing plans to develop small learning communities.

Professor Bill Ouchi said he's never met Duffy, although he's heard a few of his ``intemperate'' comments. But he is encouraged by a proposal by Duffy of a pilot program of local school autonomy, which he calls quite progressive.

``I see some things that tell me there's some new fresh thinking going through the UTLA leadership, even though the president appears to be a fire-breathing monster,'' said Ouchi, a professor in corporate renewal at the Anderson School of Management at UCLA.

Duffy's also working to develop deeper relationships with other local unions, particularly the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles, with whom he'd like to create a joint administrator training program.

More than anything, Duffy's experiences growing up on the streets of Brooklyn have influenced his look, his talk and his work. The man who taught himself to read and write at the age of 25 suffered from a learning disability his successful parents refused to acknowledge. As an adult, he created programs targeted to special education students and taught special education courses.

Duffy, who spent his mid-teens at pool halls, racetracks, playing cards and on the streets until the early hours, also brought his street smarts to difficult classrooms and eventually to his role as dean of discipline at LAUSD.

At the end of the day, it's his relationship with his family that keeps Duffy grounded. His wife, Carol, decorated his office that overlooks Los Angeles, and he has put up pictures of his family, his children and even a framed poem he's written for his wife.

`'Without Carol's presence in my life, I wouldn't be president of the union. She's the real boss in the Duffy household, and she was the only person who truly believed I would win,'' he said, even though he has 2 1/2 closets for his clothes and 40 pairs of two-tone shoes and his wife has 1 1/2 closets.

``She's my best friend and the most beautiful, wondrous and most spectacular tile that is the mosaic of my life,'' he said.

Naush Boghossian, [phone]

naush.boghossian(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

United Teachers Los Angeles Union President A.J. Duffy - here outside John Muir Middle School in Watts - is becoming known for his fashion sense, as well as his leadership.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer