Conspicuous by their absence from last week’s school board meeting were representatives from UTLA, the teachers union, discussing a new contract. While many of the labor partners who work with LA Unified have begin contract talks or submitted their opening proposals, UTLA has maintained radio silence. At least, that’s how it appears to the public....

UPDATED* Alex Caputo-Pearl was declared the new UTLA president today as he overwhelmed incumbent Warren Fletcher in the second-round of voting, the LA teachers union announced today. After outpolling Fletcher 2-1 in the first round, Caputo-Pearl beat him by more than 4-to-1 in the runoff, with 5,801 votes (80.18 percent) to Fletcher’s 1,434 (19.82 percent)....

The first round of the UTLA elections produced two stunning results. One: For the first time in recent memory, a political faction within the union — Union Power — has gained near total control of the union. In a field of 10 candidates for president, Alex Caputo-Pearl out-polled his nearest competitor, incumbent Warren Fletcher, by a 2-to-1 margin —...

Alex Caputo-Pearl, the presumptive next president of UTLA,  said today that current president Warren Fletcher made the right decision by expressing a willingness to step aside in the race to lead the second largest teachers union in the nation. “We look forward to the opportunity to expand the base of support behind an approach where...

Within LA Unified’s proposed budget for 2014-2015, Superintendent John Deasy includes a line item for teacher raises. However, in the absence of a contract for the last three years between the district and the teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles, labor talks remain at a complete standstill, raising questions about just how much remains “TBD.” “Neither...

Ballots were dropped in the mail today to the 35,000 members of the Los Angeles teachers union (UTLA), to decide who will win the top job of the second largest teachers union in the country, in a second-round runoff. It’s down to two candidates from the original field of ten: between current president Warren Fletcher, considered...

UTLA is headed in a new direction —  mostly veering to the left. Despite a low turnout, Union Power candidates claimed victory today, with wins in nearly every leadership position within UTLA, the nation’s second-largest teachers union. The progressive group — which plans to call for a strike if a new teacher contract can’t be...

All that criticism of Warren Fletcher as a weak UTLA president and of Alex Caputo-Pearl as a campaign rules scofflaw apparently didn’t make much difference. They emerged as the top two vote-getters for the president of United Teacher Los Angeles in the first round of voting in the union’s 2014 election campaign and are now headed...

The field of candidates for UTLA president may be reduced by one. David Garcia, one of nine men challenging the incumbent, Warren Fletcher, has been dismissed as an LA Unified teacher, putting his candidacy in limbo. Garcia confirmed his firing in an email circulated on Friday and blamed it on his challenging the district on...

LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy said a principal who gave Alex Caputo-Pearl permission to take unpaid time off to campaign for president of the teachers union, UTLA, has been disciplined. The action came in response to accusations that the leave, a violation of district’s contract with UTLA, provided Caputo-Pearl an unfair advantage over other candidates...