The Choice Channel

“Under mounting pressure for major reforms at Los Angeles schools, the teachers union has brought in its tough former leader to help mobilize members for a strike if its demands are not met. United Teachers Los Angeles is hiring a former UTLA president, Wayne Johnson, who organized a successful nine-day strike in 1989 and wrangled a 24 percent pay raise over three years. Johnson later served as the hard-nosed president of the California Teachers Association and is now a consultant. The move bolsters the UTLA’s bid to organize the ranks behind a demand for a 9 percent pay raise, smaller classes and greater local control of schools.” (10/31/06)