Comments on: ‘Union Power’ wins big but most UTLA members didn’t vote*

By: Janet Davis

Janet Davis — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 16:37:18 +0000

I’m not sure what John Lee, Senior Executive Director of Teach Plus in Los Angeles, meant when he was quoted as saying, “And even Alene Inouye, the incumbent treasurer who had the most votes (4,231) in her race, received only 13.5 percent of the total votes cast. In the UTLA Presidential Race 7, 096 Ballots were cast. In the race for UTLA Treasurer 6,701 ballots were cast. Arlene Inouye received 63.14% of the votes cast for treasurer. Each UTLA member who voted could only vote once for Arlene.

By: M. Crabtree

M. Crabtree — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 13:08:26 +0000

This just isn’t a logical comparison. The city council or school board does not actually, directly negotiate my contract. The fact that only 23% of teachers voted for the leadership of our union is a problem. Also, the city races actually involve millions of potential voters, whereas UTLA has approximately 35,000 members. We have a lot more control over electing our officers then we do in electing city leaders, and yet obviously members are not stepping up and taking control for their leadership elections. It’s time to ask why. It’s time to look for other options to make voting more accessible. The lack of voter turnout in the second largest teacher’s union is a problem that weakens our position with Deasy and our ability to re-open contract negotiations in the first place. When everyone knows only 4,000 (15% of all members of the union) votes are needed to win UTLA president, it doesn’t send a statement of strength and unity. Also, Union Power “organized” nearly the exact same number of people to vote as in the last two elections. Just sayin’. Where’s the so-called “organization” in this?

By: Jose Lara

Jose Lara — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 21:50:57 +0000

23 percent turnout is actually a VERY good turn out for elections. In many local elections, turnout is about the same. This is not abnormal.