San Diego

The San Diego Teachers Assn. will take a strike authorization vote during the week of March 17 if there is no progress in contract negotiations with officials of city schools, the union’s executive director said Thursday.

Union leaders voted Wednesday night to take their contract demands to the City Council, picket at Lindbergh Field and mail postcards with their views to parents of schoolchildren, City Council members and community leaders, said John Felicitas, executive director of the union, representing 6,000 teachers.

If those tactics fail, teachers will be asked to approve a strike, Felicitas said. No date has been set for the proposed walkout, he said.

Teachers in the San Diego Unified School District have been working without a contract since their last one expired June 30. Negotiations are stalled over issues including teacher salaries, class size reductions and retirement benefits.