Willie Brown Asked to Mediate School Dispute : Labor: Meanwhile, state board refuses to grant a union request to temporarily halt a cumulative 12% teachers’ pay cut.

Democratic Assembly Speaker Willie Brown was formally asked Friday to mediate the dispute between the Los Angeles school district and its teachers union in the hope that he can help them avert a potentially crippling strike.

“We are very happy to have Brown help us in the process,” said school board President Leticia Quezada. “We are very interested in reaching a settlement and are willing to do everything we can to avoid a strike.”

Quezada said she spoke with Brown Thursday afternoon and sent him a letter Friday to formally request a meeting as soon as possible. The letter said the meetings “will necessitate a willingness to compromise from both parties.” It also said that the board remains amenable to having former state Atty. Gen. John K. Van de Kamp mediate.

Both sides said that Brown, skilled at complex finance negotiations, could set the tone for productive meetings and bring knowledge of the future of state education funding to the bargaining table.

“As the Speaker, he brings factions from very different views together to move the Legislature,” said union spokeswoman Catherine Carey. “The union and district are certainly two very strong entities with very different positions. We need someone like him with the skills to bring about compromise.”

The announcement by Quezada came after United Teachers-Los Angeles members firmly rejected the district’s latest contract offer and approved a strike for Feb. 22. Union leaders, saying they are frustrated with the pace of negotiations, vowed to camp out in two motor homes outside district headquarters until school officials agreed to bring in an outside mediator.

After the school board approved the mediation process in a closed session late Friday, union President Helen Bernstein said union leaders would end their vigil in the district headquarters parking lot.

Meanwhile, a state labor relations board Friday refused to grant a union request to temporarily halt a cumulative 12% teachers’ pay cut, stating that the union failed to show that an injunction met the requirements of state labor codes. Last month, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge also cleared the way for the reductions and ruled that the state agency, not the court, has the authority to handle the labor dispute.

Union attorney Jesus Quinonez said he was not surprised by the ruling, adding that union officials did “not think a state board would be sensitive to the harm the cuts are causing teachers.”

The Public Employment Relations Board will consider a complaint of unfair labor practices against the district Jan. 19 or earlier if both sides agree.

Leaders on both sides said Friday that they are committed to reaching a settlement despite the gulf between them.

Friday morning, Quezada walked across the parking lot of district headquarters in the drizzle and knocked on the door of Bernstein’s Winnebago to tell union leaders that the board agreed to a mediator two weeks ago and that there was no need to continue the vigil.

Brown, who was attending the funeral of San Rafael Assemblyman William J. Filante, could not be reached for comment Friday.

Brown, an attorney, played a major role in hammering out a school funding compromise during last year’s state budget stalemate. Brown also is a recipient of large campaign contributions from the California Teachers Assn., the state’s politically active teachers union.

School board member Barbara Boudreaux said that at a time when both sides are engaged in finger-pointing rhetoric, Brown will be welcomed by both sides as “highly credible because he fought for fair education in California.”

On Monday the board is expected to formally approve a plan that would save money by cutting eight days from the school year and increasing class time by 20 minutes a day.

Nonetheless, Quezada held out no hope Friday that a cumulative 12% pay cut will be reduced this year and said the focus of negotiations will be “how can we put ourselves in a better position for next year.”

The union is seeking a guarantee that salaries will not be cut next year, a demand that the district did not meet in the offer that teachers rejected this week.

Times staff writer Jerry Gillam in Sacramento contributed to this story.