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1) At Least Three More Broward
Teachers Union Officials Charged. Earlier this
month, Broward Teachers Union first vice president Bernie Schultz received
probation for a
single misdemeanor count of violating campaign contribution laws.
Schultz was one of a number of BTU officers, staff and relatives to be
reimbursed out of union dues for making a political campaign contribution.
EIA has now learned that at least three
more BTU officials have been charged with campaign violations,
Secretary-Treasurer Ronney Virgillito was charged with the same violation as
Schultz. Two BTU employees - director of field services George Segna and
director of strategic programs Lynn Cavall - were cited for filing a false
campaign report.
The details of the incident for which
Segna and Cavall were charged have not yet been made clear, since the
statute cited involves
exceeding the allowed contribution limit to repay a candidate's loan.
There are reportedly some two dozen BTU
officials who may face similar charges. BTU was placed under an
AFT administratorship after accusations of financial mismanagement by
president Pat Santeramo. Santeramo was ultimately bought out and induced to
resign. The AFT administratorship was recently extended until November 2012.
2) Last Week's Intercepts.
EIA's blog,
Intercepts, covered these topics from April 24-30:
* Bursting
Bubbles. The alternatives to standardized tests aren't much good,
either.
*
Fewer Members Mean Higher Dues. The seniority system has its pitfalls
for unions, too.
*
California Dreaming. Numbers never lie, and didn't in 2006.
* Horror
Double Feature. Pretty scary.
*
Check Your Mail for Invitations First. We'll call when we need you.
3)
Quote of the Week.
"Most
locals have been saddled with a passive culture for decades, so members
don't necessarily leap into action once reformers are elected.... In these
circumstances, many locals continue the pattern of a tiny super-involved
minority of officeholders - albeit 'good guys' - and an inactive rank and
file. It doesn’t work."
- Jane Slaughter of Labor Notes, analyzing the successes and failures
of internal union reformers. (April 29
truthout) |
