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LA Teachers' Union Pushes Back On Push To Reopen Schools
United Teachers Los Angeles held a briefing to explain why the board and bargaining team are calling for campuses to remain closed in August. (UTLA via YouTube)
Amid pressure from the Trump Administration to fully reopen schools this fall, the union representing L.A. Unified School District teachers is calling for campuses to remain closed and for online learning to continue when classes start again in August.
"The safety and well-being of our students is and will always be our priority," UTLA vice president Gloria Martinez told KPCC's Larry Mantle. "And because of the unknowns, it would be reckless for us to say, 'let's reopen schools and let's put students in danger, and see what happens.' We're just not ready to make that call."
Martinez was speaking on behalf of the UTLA's Board of Directors and bargaining team, which released its stance on Friday morning. Throughout the rest of the day on Friday, the union conducted an informal poll of its more than 30,000 members for their views on re-opening schools.
On Friday night, the union said more than 18,000 UTLA submitted responses and 83% agreed that campuses "should not physically reopen" on August 18.
UPDATE, 5:30 p.m.: This post was updated to reflect a change in the deadline for the membership poll. UTLA has extended the polling until 7 p.m.
UPDATE, June 11, 9:40 a.m.: This post was updated to reflect the results of the poling.
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