(AP Photo)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A strike by thousands of Los Angeles school teachers entered its second week Tuesday following a long weekend of marathon contract bargaining, and officials on both sides of the dispute planned to issue an update on where the talks stand.
Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office said in a statement that Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner and United Teachers Los Angeles President Alex Caputo-Pearl would join him at City Hall to give reporters an update on the negotiations.
Garcetti’s office said earlier that the most recent talks lasted 21 hours and ended shortly after 6 a.m. Tuesday.
Garcetti had said Monday that he was “optimistic that we have the momentum to take those final steps toward bringing our teachers and young people back into their classrooms.”
The mayor does not have any authority over the school district but the latest round of negotiations began at his urging.
Teachers walked off the job and onto picket lines Jan. 14 for the first time in 30 years following 21 months of unsuccessful negotiations.
The union and school district are at odds over issues including salary, class size and the numbers of nurses, counselors and librarians.
Teachers have complained about overcrowded classrooms where students sit on window sills or on the floor.
The district has about 600,000 students in K-12. Schools have stayed open during the strike with a skeleton staff.
The district is the second largest in the U.S. after New York City.
