Letters to the Editor: Why is L.A.’s teachers union taking a position on arms sales to Israel?

To the editor: I was an employee of the Los Angeles Unified School District for nearly 40 years, most of which I was in management. Unlike some of my administrative colleagues, I was a very strong supporter of United Teachers Los Angeles, the district’s teachers union. (“L.A. teachers union supports blocking U.S. sale of about $20 billion in weaponry to Israel,” Oct. 25)
I believed then, as I do now, that teachers needed the protection of the union from actions by the district or individuals that violated teachers’ rights. Also, I supported the right to collectively bargain for decent wages and contribute to the welfare of all teachers in the LAUSD.
Still, I was appalled to learn of the union’s leadership taking a public stand on behalf of the Palestinians. I would have felt exactly the same way had the union leadership made a public outcry supporting Israel after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack in which innocents were slaughtered by Hamas.
In my opinion, individual union leaders have the perfect right to state their own political views publicly, but I strongly question their right to state them as the approved position of the union’s multitude of members.
UTLA’s job is to represent and protect the interests of all teachers in the district, not to publicly declare political positions on behalf of the union and its members.
Stu Bernstein, Santa Monica