LA Teachers Union Seeks to Raise Dues As It Fighs a Charter School Push

The Los Angeles teachers union has long been the most powerful player in local education. But with the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and other well-heeled nonprofits pushing hard to fundamentally change the nature of public education in Los Angeles, enrollment in traditional schools is declining and nonunion charter schools are on the rise. The teachers union needs money to fight back. There are, however, far fewer teachers to pay dues to United Teachers Los Angeles. So this week the union asked its 32,000 members — down from 45,000 in 2008 — to raise their dues by nearly a third, to about $1000 per member annually, and also to allow UTLA to pass on to members any future increases in dues owed to state and national parent unions.