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1) The Deeper
Mystery of the DC Union Scandal.
On November 25, EIA noted the difficulties Washington Post reporters
Valerie Strauss and Justin Blum were having gathering details on the
resignation of Washington Teachers’ Union President Barbara Bullock,
Treasurer James Baxter, and Gwendolyn Hemphill, Bullock’s assistant, after
an AFT accountant discovered “financial improprieties,” including a dues
overcharge this summer. Fortunately, they received some investigative
assistance from the FBI, IRS, and the U.S. Department of Labor. The results
boggle the mind, and rather than settle the issue, open up even more
questions about union finances.
For those of you who
haven’t yet heard, federal investigators raided the homes and offices of
Bullock, Baxter and Hemphill, in search of goods allegedly purchased with
more than $2 million in union funds. The items listed in an FBI affidavit
include $500,000 in custom-made clothing, a 288-piece antique Tiffany
sterling silver set, a $6,800 ice bucket, furs, alligator shoes, jewelry,
artwork, wine, wigs, a television, and computer equipment. Agents were also
investigating expenditures on a Bahamas vacation and bar and nightclub tabs.
A follow-up story by the Washington Post revealed that Bullock spent
$25,000 to store more than 300 pieces of winter clothing, requiring a
special van to pick them up and three employees three full days to press
them all.
The extent of the
misappropriation is even more striking when considered against the union’s
income. The Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) most recent financial report
claims 5,584 members, who pay $644 each in annual dues, for a total dues
income of $3.6 million. When agency fees and other income are included, it
adds up to an annual budget of $4.2 million. Many line-items in that total
-- such as payroll taxes, AFT national dues, and rent -- cannot be padded to
hide the unauthorized expenditures.
The union’s payroll was
$657,875 for 21 employees. Eleven of these workers received less than
$40,000 per year. Bullock’s salary was $106,840. Baxter received $55,709,
while Hemphill got $66,950. An additional $353,000 was budgeted for employee
benefits and “pension expense.” WTU spent almost a quarter-million dollars
on travel, meetings, and workshops.
Even if Bullock and
Company’s spending was partially financed by the dues overcharge, that still
leaves more than $1.5 million that was diverted from regular operations over
the past three or four years. The question, of course, is how could such
activities go undetected? The U.S Department of Labor is seeking the answer
to that question with a proposal that would create new reporting
requirements for union finances. Not only will unions be required to provide
more detailed accounting of their spending, but, for the first time, they
will also have to disclose details of the financial trusts they operate.
Whatever the outcome
for Bullock, Baxter and Hemphill, AFT members will be footing the bill for
their misdeeds. The WTU’s fidelity bond only covers losses up to $100,000.
2) Drop That Peanut
Butter! Just when you thought the
Maple Heights strike stories couldn’t get more bizarre, along comes the tale
of middle-school science teacher Fred Dezort.
The Cleveland Teachers
Union (CTU) is suing Dezort for $25,300 -- $300 for the value of the grocery
coupons he received from the union and $25,000 in punitive damages. As part
of its expression of solidarity, the Cleveland Teachers Union donated
grocery coupons to the striking teachers of Maple Heights. Dezort accepted
the coupons, though he claims he did not know they had been provided by the
union. Eleven days later, Dezort crossed the picket line and returned
to work. The union filed a complaint, charging Dezort with fraud and breach
of contract. It should be emphasized that Dezort belongs to the Maple
Heights Teachers Association (MHTA), an NEA affiliate, and is not associated
with the Cleveland Teachers Union, an AFT affiliate, in any way.
CTU also printed
hundreds of posters with the names of people who crossed the picket line,
hanging them in schools across northeastern Ohio as part of a concerted
campaign to intimidate those who might be tempted to do so in the future.
The strike was settled when union members approved a contract offer
virtually identical to the one the district presented some six weeks
earlier. But, according to CTU President Richard DeColibus, “It didn’t
matter what the details of the final settlement were, the reality was the
MHTA was still there at the end of the day holding the high ground.”
3) West Virginia
Teacher Reinstated After Shotgun Remark.
In 1997, West Virginia teacher Marjorie
Maxey was given a poor evaluation by her principal, James Spencer. As is
usual in these circumstances, the teacher is required to sign the evaluation
even if he or she does not agree with it. When Maxey refused, she was
informed in a meeting with Spencer and Superintendent Kenneth Roberts that
she would be disciplined if she did not. What happened next is in dispute.
Maxey claims she said,
“Had I shot you, I would have been in less trouble.” The administrators
claim that Maxey’s actual comment was, “I should have blown your head off
with a shotgun instead of signing this observation.” Maxey was subsequently
fired for insubordination.
Last week, after five
years of hearings and litigation, the West Virginia Supreme Court reinstated
Maxey, with back pay. The majority ruled that such an “off-hand remark” did
not constitute a dischargeable offense. Dissenting Justice Spike Maynard
wondered what it would take to fire a teacher for insubordination.
“Apparently, threatening to shoot or kill the principal is not enough,” he
wrote.
Bill McGinley, the
chief attorney for the West Virginia Education Association, told the
Charleston Daily Mail that Maxey was stressed out about her dying mother
and her job when she made the comment. “We can’t lose our sense of reason,
so that we take any comment out of context and start throwing away excellent
educators and students from the system just because they make a seriously
inappropriate comment,” he said.
4) Somehow Fitting.
In a recent survey, only 3 percent of this year’s college seniors could
identify the country in which the Battle of Waterloo was fought.
Note.
Let nothing you dismay. The EIA Communiqué will return on Monday,
January 6. Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.
5) Quote of the
Week #1. “We hired so many people
this year. It was like we had money to burn. Then all of a sudden we’re in a
hole… you know, there’s just something that’s not right.” – Sheila Dickman,
president of the Mat-Su Classified Employees Association in Alaska, after
learning 48 district employees had been laid off. The district has a $3
million deficit, blaming it on the costs of new teacher and support
personnel contracts. (December 19 Anchorage Daily News)
Quote of the Week
#2. “We’re sending a bunch of our
kids into peril in Afghanistan and other places and we don’t have the
courage of heart and the spine to raise taxes to educate the children? I’m
ashamed to say my generation is that timid.” – Outgoing California
Superintendent of Schools Delaine Eastin, who will take her record and move
on to become the executive director of the National Institute for School
Leadership, an organization “to prepare principals to be outstanding
instructional leaders.” (December 19 Contra Costa Times) |
