Inglewood Teachers association

Dear Inglewood Teachers Association Bargaining Unit Members,

I am writing to you today with deep frustration and a clear message: The District’s latest actions reveal a blatant disregard for the educators who actually serve our students every single day.

As your ITA President, I want you to know exactly what happened. Last year, salary was placed at the beginning of the bargaining agenda. This is why it was completed early, the tentative agreement was reached, signed, and the checks were issued swiftly. However, the same schedule for bargaining didn’t occur this year and salary is in the latter portion of negotiations. 

We had a mutually agreed-upon bargaining schedule in place to ensure ample time to address the issues . Then, without any consultation, without any discussion at the last meeting on March 27th, and with only last-minute notice, the District unilaterally changed the date for tomorrow’s meeting. Why? Because a cabinet meeting was suddenly “conflicted” by a YMCA breakfast fundraiser—an optional, social, ticketed event that has nothing to do with our students’ classrooms, safety, or education.

Dr. Coffey has since admitted the error was “unintentional” and that the date was never blocked on his and Dr. Lucas’s calendars. He and the team have now “accepted responsibility” by taking the donated tickets to the event. Let that sink in. The same leadership that cannot find time to honor a bargaining commitment they themselves helped set can suddenly clear their schedules for a fundraising breakfast. This is not a scheduling mishap. This is a choice. A choice that places elite social affairs and donor-friendly photo-ops above the serious, urgent work of negotiating a fair contract for the workers who keep this District running.

This is the same pattern we have seen before: procrastination dressed up as oversight, stalling dressed up as “communication through the proper channels,” and a culture that publicly claims “students and teachers are the most important relationships in the District” while privately treating us as an afterthought. Teachers have far less flexibility than cabinet members. We are directly responsible for the students in our classrooms. We cannot simply “double up” or shift our obligations. Yet the District continues to demonstrate that its preferred activities take precedence over its legal and moral responsibility to bargain in good faith.

I informed Dr. Morris that we are watching LAUSD’s situation closely, and we know our own circumstances are even more dire. The lack of priority shown here will not de-escalate the growing tensions; it will only deepen them. The procrastination can reasonably be interpreted as bad-faith negotiation and avoidance, especially after I explicitly raised potential violations of the EERA and PERB after the last bargaining session.

We are currently researching and investigating all potential violations by IUSD of EERA including Section 3543.5(b)—which prohibits the District from denying employee organizations the rights guaranteed under the law—and Section 3543.5(c)—which makes it unlawful to refuse or fail to meet and negotiate in good faith—as well as other applicable EERA and PERB violations. The unilateral last-minute cancellation of a mutually agreed bargaining session, the prioritization of a social fundraiser over contract negotiations, the bypassing of the ITA bargaining chair, and the overall pattern of delay and disrespect all raise serious concerns that we will not ignore.

This is not respect. This is elitism. This is the District choosing fundraising breakfasts and cabinet convenience over accountability to the frontline workers who educate Inglewood’s children. This is exactly the culture in IUSD that we, as the Inglewood Teachers Association, are fighting to change.

Students and staff must be the focal point and the center of every decision. That is not a slogan, it is our expectation. When the District treats bargaining as optional and social events as mandatory, it sends a crystal-clear message about whose voices actually matter.

We will not be silent, and I, your president, will never be silenced from speaking publicly at board meetings or anywhere else because I am "The ITA president", which has been expressed by the district.  I have already reminded the District that ITA—not CTA—is the exclusive representative of our certified bargaining unit members, and I will continue to hold them accountable. It is disrespectful to communicate critical information to CTA without copying ITA. This is intentional avoidance and intolerable. Our team is exploring every option, including rescheduling in a way that protects our members’ time, rights, and priorities, while we pursue these potential EERA violations to the fullest extent possible should negotiations fail or further violations occur.

In the meantime, I urge every one of you to stay informed, stay united, and stay outraged. Your work deserves better than last-minute cancellations and excuses. Our students deserve better than leadership that places donor breakfasts above classroom contracts. We will keep fighting for respect, for accountability, and for a contract that reflects the value of the educators who show up for Inglewood every single day. We know your worth and it’s time to claim your value. 

Thank you for your unwavering commitment. Together, we are stronger.

In solidarity and with resolve,

John Hughes

President, Inglewood Teachers Association 

TO VIEW THE EVENT PAGE CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW.  TICKET PRICES ARE  UNDER SPONSORSHIP THE EVENT IS FROM 7:15-9:00am BARGAINING USUALLY STARTS ABOUT 9:00am 

CLEARLY A CHOICE RATHER THAN A NEED!!!