LA teachers return to classes after reaching deal to end strike

LOS ANGELES — Tens of thousands of Los Angeles teachers returned to work Wednesday after voting to ratify a contract, ending a six-day strike at the nation’s second-largest district.

“Great! It can’t be better!” said Helen Han, a kindergarten Mandarin language teacher in Chinatown. “I wasn’t really worried because the parents were totally behind us.”

Her colleague, thirdgrade teacher Van Morales, said it was a joy to go back to her students. “It’s missed time that we need to make up,” she said.

The Los Angeles teachers headed back to work a day after Denver teachers voted Tuesday to go on strike after more than a year of negotiations. While Colorado teachers have the right to strike, the state officials could delay the walkout by up to 180 days.

In Los Angeles, teachers and administrators greeted students with smiles, hugs and highfives. The return followed days of marches and picketing and a marathon bargaining session that led to a ratification vote Tuesday.

The deal includes a 6-percent pay hike and a commitment to reduce class sizes over four years.

Mayor Eric Garcetti, accompanied by union and school officials, called it a “historic agreement” that will usher in a “new day” for public education in the city.

As the strike ended, the union and district were named in a proposed class-action lawsuit by a teacher who claims union dues are still being deducted from her paychecks in violation of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

The suit says Irene Seager revoked authorization for dues deductions after the June ruling that government workers can’t be forced to contribute to labor unions, but UTLA contends revocation can only occur during an annual 30-day “window.”

The union and district did not immediately comment on the lawsuit.

Elsewhere, the Denver strike vote was not the only other sign of a restive teacher labor force.

In Oakland, California, some teachers called in sick last week as part of an unofficial rally over their contract negotiations, which hinge partly on a demand for smaller class sizes.

Teachers hoped to build on the “Red4Ed” movement that began last year in West Virginia and moved to Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arizona, Colorado and Washington state.