Teachers Postpone Strike After Progress in Talks

The city teachers union yesterday afternoon rejected an immediate strike following progress towards a new contract during a marathon negotiating session that lasted well into the morning.

The Cambridge Teachers Association (CTA) voted instead to authorize its bargaining committee to call a strike if contract talks stall again, a move members said they hoped would pressure the city's School Committee to make more concessions.

Traders

"As long as there is progress, as long as the school committee continues to bargain in good faith, so will we," Roland LaChance, head of the 950-member union, said yesterday. "But if and when things hit an impasse, we now have the authority to take necessary actions," he added.

A strike is unlikely before next Thursday when negotiations are scheduled to resume, sources said.

In the meantime, teachers will continue their "work to rule" slowdown, following only the minimum requirements of their contracts, and will stage more informational pickets before schools open.

Intense

"We will intensify our public relations campaign and consider new tactics," LaChance said.

At a closed meeting at the Concord St. armory, the union voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike but not to walk out immediately.

The vote came after the bargaining committee reported on the results of last night's 13-hour meeting.

A mediator has ordered the parties not to discuss the negotiations but sources said that issues discussed yesterday include:

* A preparation period for elementary school teachers. The School Committee representatives reportedly tentatively agreed to a 40-minute preparation period;

* Reductions in vacation time for school administrators;

* Recall order in the case of layoffs. The School Committee reportedly agreed to teachers' demand for recall by seniority, with the proviso that a separate list be drawn up for minority teachers to insure affirmative action quotas are met.

* A seventh period of work by high school teachers. The CTA is asking that the seventh class period be voluntary, with an increase in pay or reduction in other duties for teachers who participate; and

* Salary increases. The CTA is asking for 8-per-cent increases over the first and second year of the contract, with bonuses for employees who have served for long periods. The school committee is offering a total increase of about $885,000 for the first year, and a 7-per-cent across the board raise the second year, according to one source.

La Chance said the next round of negotiations was postponed for a week "to give all of us time to cool off," but he added that if the School Committee asks for negotiations to resume earlier, bargaining could begin before Thursday.