The Latest: Los Angeles teachers ratify deal by large margin
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Latest on the end of the Los Angeles teachers strike (all times local):
9 p.m.
Los Angeles teachers have overwhelmingly ratified a new contract that ended a six-day strike.
United Teachers Los Angeles announced Wednesday that 81 percent of union members who voted approved the deal. More than 20,000 educators said yes and fewer than 5,000 voted no.
Voting began Tuesday and continues into Friday but most teachers already voted.
Educators also returned to classrooms on Wednesday, a day after the tentative contract was announced following a marathon bargaining session.
The contract calls for reduced class sizes, a pay hike and hiring of more nurses and other staff in the nation's second-largest district.
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10:41 a.m.
The Los Angeles teachers union and school district are being sued by a teacher who claims union dues are being deducted from her paychecks in violation of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
Irene Seager seeks class-action status for the lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court against United Teachers Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Negotiators reached a contract agreement the same day that resulted in the end of a teacher strike, with educators heading back to classes Wednesday.
The lawsuit states that the union says Seager can only revoke dues authorization deductions during a 30-day annual period.
The lawsuit also says Seager signed a dues authorization card on April 6, 2018, when it was a condition of employment to either join the union or pay union fees as a non-member.
The Supreme Court ruled in June that government workers can't be forced to contribute to labor unions that represent them in collective bargaining.
In July and August, Seager notified the union in writing of her resignation from UTLA and that she no longer consented to dues deductions.
The union and district did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment on the lawsuit.
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7:45 a.m.
Los Angeles public school teachers are back on the job after a six-day strike.
The hundreds of Los Angeles Unified School District campuses are back to normal Wednesday after teachers ratified a contract deal hammered out in marathon bargaining over the past weekend.
The deal includes a 6 percent pay hike and a commitment to reduce class sizes over four years.
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10:11 p.m.
Los Angeles teachers will go back to work Wednesday after voting to ratify a deal between their union and school officials, ending a six-day strike in the nation's second-largest district.
Although all votes hadn't been counted, union officials said preliminary balloting showed the 30,000 members of United Teachers Los Angeles overwhelming approved the agreement reached Tuesday.
The deal includes a 6 percent pay hike and a commitment to reduce class sizes over four years.
Wendy Perez says she voted for the deal and is pleased that under the new contract all schools district-wide will get more nurses, librarians and counselors.
The Board of Education is expected to move quickly to OK the agreement, which would expire at the end of June 2022.
