Monica Ratliff won by the same margin of victory as Steve Zimmer, 52-48.
Zimmer had the full support of the UTLA.
Ratliff did not.
UTLA gave her a contribution of $1,000, but endorsed both candidates.
On election night, UTLA leaders were seen at Sanchez headquarters.
What gives?
How do you spell “egg on your face?”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I hate it when labor sells out. Supposedly the last bulwark. Not anymore.
sounds like a change in leadership of the union should be next on the agenda…
Re: UTLA “egg on your face,” how about the members hit them with a Chicago Style Pizza: throw the bums out!
Interesting blurb from LA Werkly:
“Sanchez is 31, a fresh-faced chap with more political connections than you can shake a stick at. He enjoys enormous financial backing from the SEIU local 99, which represents classified workers (like custodians and cafeteria workers), and from the Coalition for School Reform, a group of wealthy donors headed by, unofficially, the Mayor himself. Its donors include Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Eli Broad and Philip Anschutz.
The two groups have spent over $2 million to elect Sanchez.
That’s for a job, by the by, that pays just over $40,000 a year.
Ratliff, on the other hand, has barely any campaign money. In fact, she barely has any campaign – she’s kept her day job teaching, going door-to-door at night and on weekends. And since the teachers union, perhaps strangely, decided to stay neutral in the race, Ratliff is the decided underdog in the race.
But there is a small group of activists within UTLA who are loudly backing Ratliff. If turnout is low enough, she has a chance to pull off what would be a huge upset.”
http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2013/05/sanchez_ratliff_lausd_school_board_early_results.phpm
Theese are exciting times:
Chicago Teachers Union Overwhelmingly Re-Elects Karen Lewis’s CORE Caucus
CORE’s victory is a boost to social movement unionism—and a model for other unions around the country.
…Formed in 2008 to nudge a union leadership that caucus members characterized as complacent and top-down, CORE urged the CTU to take action against school closings and “corporate education reform” generally. In 2010, the caucus took on a union leadership that had ruled nearly uninterrupted for four decades and won. Immediately, the union was restructured to become more democratic, making its members the central decision-makers. True to the caucus’s roots, the union joined forces with parents, community groups, students and other unions throughout the city to create a broad educational justice movement in the city…
-Micah Uetricht May 20, 2013
http://www.thenation.com/article/174436/chicago-teachers-union-overwhelmingly-re-elects-karen-lewis#
Reblogged this on Transparent Christina.
Disturbing when UTLA leadership clandestinely is backing the wrong candidate. This so characterizes the failure of UTLA to gage its true mission as viewed by teachers,SUPPORT AND DEFEND TEACHERS. All these backroom deals and manuvering are not working for teachers. Let’s get down to the mandate of any union, to serve its members. UTLA has been missing in action. Teachers supported Monica Ratliff, that was a no brainer. UTLA, you are out of step with your membership. Do something now, for your own survival.
The UTLA isn’t alone. The WTU worked over teachers in Washington, DC. (Everyone here (teachers, parents, and students) is paying the price for that fiasco.
Sadly, this isn’t the first, nor the last time that unions will show such a disconnect. Look at the AFT and Randy. Need I say more?
So isn’t time for a strong change in leadership? This should be a priority nationally.
Great story. Yes, the tide is slowly turning. People have gotten wise to it all.
Well we obviously cannot trust our own union, but hopefully they have heard US the rank and file UTLA teachers who pay their salaries loud and clear: We won’t be fooled. And yes, Alex Caputo-Pearl would make an excellent UTLA president.
UTLA shame on you…. Congratulations to Monica Ratliff.
More union cowardice is all it is. Wish my education had made it clear the actual circle in Dante’s Infernos these cowards would be quaffing cocktails and dancing the night away.
Kind Regards,
Nick Penkovsky
Please excuse any typos or terseness, this was sent from my Sprint BlackBerry®.