Pasadena Teachers Union: End of Contract Talks In Sight

The United Teachers of Pasadena is preparing for its final scheduled bargaining session, aiming to resolve key contract issues that have remained unresolved since September, officials said during Thursday night’s Pasadena School Board meeting.

The negotiations come amid significant district challenges, including recent wildfire damage and tightening financial constraints.

“We’ve gone the entire school year working under an expired contract despite our efforts to get an early start back in September,” said UTP bargaining chairperson Bethel Lira, a Marshall Fundamental Secondary School history teacher. “UTP has brought several proposals to the table, and we are hopeful that during your closed session tonight, you will guide and authorize your bargaining team to collaborate with UTP in finding common ground that would move us toward reaching an agreement.”

The union said key outstanding issues include:

• Aligning child development teacher salaries with promised degree advancements
• Transitioning from staffing ratios to class size caps
• Establishing clear planning time for elementary teachers
• Resolving special education contract language
• Implementing cost-sharing for the UTP president’s position

UTP President Jonathan Gardner highlighted the breadth of educators’ contributions, noting that the district’s 874 teachers have provided more than 20 million instructional minutes, thousands of hours of counseling, and support for students through significant challenges.

Union officials pulled no punches, claiming District contract violations such as improper vacancy list publication, denial of professional development time and involuntary teacher transfers.

“Teachers were told many years ago to go back to school, get their bachelor’s degree,” Lira said. “They did that, and the district has not fulfilled its commitment to align their salary schedule.”