Reformers Sweep in Los Angeles

In an unprecedented election upset, a coalition of militant, social justice oriented teachers are slated to take control of United Teachers-Los Angeles (UTLA), the second largest teacher union in the U.S. The incumbent officers were beaten in large part due to their unwillingness to mobilize membership to win a contract over the last 20 months.

The victory was fueled by the emergence of a rank-and-file caucus - Progressive Educators for Action (PEAC) - that over the last year was able both to push a reluctant union leadership to take action at times and to expose the leadership for its timidity and excessive reliance on elected school board members. PEAC's success put it in position to forge United Action -- a coalition and a slate with other
progressive-minded union leaders throughout the district, including A.J. Duffy, the newly elected president.

The United Action candidates and those it endorsed made a clean sweep, winning every race entered. It now controls 85 percent of the 45-member incoming Board of Directors, as well as five out of seven full time officers. Three of the seven are active PEAC members, while almost a majority of the Board of Directors members are also from PEAC.