LOS ANGELES – Alex Caputo-Pearl has only been president of Los Angeles’ teachers union for about two weeks, and he’s made it abundantly clear that he intends to be far more radical and militant than his predecessor.

During a weekend meeting of the American Federation of Teachers, Caputo-Pearl suggested that his union – United Teacher Los Angeles (UTLA) – needs to seriously consider a teachers strike to get their financial demands met by the district.

UTLA officials want a 17.6 percent pay raise for educators, though they refuse to specify if the pay hike would be for one year, or if it’d be spread out over several years. If the raise is just for one year, taxpayers could reasonably assume the union will be demanding an additional pay raise in another year or two.

MORE NEWS: Know These Before Moving From Cyprus To The UK

Caputo-Pearl seems intent on leading a teachers strike. The last time Los Angeles students were subjected to a work stoppage was 1989.

While sitting on stage with Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis and New York teachers union head Michael Mulgrew – two of the nation’s most left-wing labor leaders – Caputo-Peal acknowledged that he’s sent a letter to UTLA members encouraging them to set money aside for a potential walkout.

But Caputo-Pearl’s believes teachers should strike over more issues than just money. The labor leader wants a brand of unionism that will strike over racial and social justice issues, as well as efforts to “privatize” public education, the L.A. Times reports.

“It’s a unionism that is willing to strike,” Caputo-Pearl told the audience. “It’s a unionism that is willing to build to a strike and strike if that’s what we need to do.”

Caputo-Pearl’s remarks were cheered by convention-goers, of course.

Lest anyone doubted Caputo-Pearl’s commitment to making his union more radical, he announced that he’s conducting a major internal reorganization of the union (undoubtedly to give his fellow radicals more power) and that he’s seeking higher dues from rank-and-file members to bolster the UTLA’s political clout, the L.A. Times reports.