LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Latest on a possible teachers strike in Los Angeles (all times local):
12:05 p.m.
The union representing teachers in Los Angeles has postponed the start of a possible strike until Monday because of uncertainty over whether a judge would order a delay.
United Teachers Los Angeles previously said its 35,000 members would walk off the job Thursday. But a judge is considering whether the union gave proper notice in announcing the possible strike, and could have ordered teachers to wait.
Negotiations continue Wednesday over issues such as higher pay and smaller class sizes in the nation’s second-largest school district.
UTLA says it believes it would have prevailed in court. The union decided to postpone the walkout to avoid confusion and allow teachers, parents and community members time to prepare. LAUSD didn’t immediately comment.
It would be the first strike in the district in three decades.
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12:01 a.m.
Teachers in Los Angeles are ready to strike Thursday over a contract dispute that follows teacher walkouts in other states that emboldened organized labor.
United Teachers Los Angeles says its 35,000 members would walk off the job for the first time in 30 years if a deal isn’t reached on higher pay and smaller class sizes in the nation’s second-largest school district.
The Los Angeles Unified School District says the union’s demands could bankrupt the school system. It’s projecting a half-billion-dollar deficit this budget year and has billions obligated for pension payments and health coverage for retired teachers.
Negotiations are continuing, but little progress is evident.
If a strike happens, schools will remain open. The district has hired hundreds of substitutes to replace teachers and others who leave for picket lines.
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