DC Teachers Deserve A Better Union President than George Parker

Teachers Deserve a Union President That is Good 4 Teachers

The Washington Teachers' Union under the leadership of union president George Parker is in dire straights. Too often Mr. Parker is as petty as they come. A DC teacher I know and longstanding and actively involved union member frequently refers to Mr. Parker as "Petty Eddie." I now understand why.

After a 4/27/09 entry on the DC Wire blog titled 'WTU Veep Sent Back To School,' WTU General Vice President Nathan A. Saunders sent an email to our executive board and board of trustees. I have learned based on reading Nathan's email that teachers' union president George Parker has yet to approve his leave of absence application to continue on in his elected role as the vice president of our union. What's interesting to note is that Parker , an elected official like Mr. Saunders, approved leave of absences for himself and certain members of the WTU staff.

Parker's delay tactic is not uncommon. He often fails to acknowledge board members concerns unless we email American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten. It is not uncommon for Parker to also ignore constituents emails, or claim he is just so busy tending to union business that he is unavailable. Parker's latest act is unconscionable.

As a member of the union board of trustees, building representatives for teachers and related school personnel, as well as one who has served on union committees- I have seen first hand Parker's refusal to comply with motions passed by our executive board. He frequently fails to represent teachers in the media as required by our constitution , often doesn't make timely business decisions, fails to communicate, mismanages our union office, regularly cancels board and representative assembly meetings, excludes critical union stakeholders from having input and withholds portions of the truth from our membership. As noted on this blog earlier this year, members of our WTU executive board passed a motion in spring 2008 to seek the assistance of the American Federation of Teachers (our parent organization) due to board members concerns regarding Parker's poor management of our local.

DC teachers continue to complain that our union office under the sole helm of Parker has been ill equipped to respond to members telephone calls, complaints and concerns. With an increase in teacher complaints due to Rhee's 90-day-termination plans, Parker has been unwilling to compromise with board members requests that an administrative assistant is desperately needed for union field representatives. It is common knowledge that many who have been placed on 90 day termination plans by the Rhee administration still lack the promised administrative supports (i.e. helping teacher, etc). Little wonder why chief negotiator Parker couldn't negotiate a teachers union contract with Rhee without the assistance of the AFT.

While it pains me to post this email from WTU V.P. Nathan A. Saunders, I do so because I believe that DC teachers deserve a union president who is willing to act in the best interests of our union members and not like some woman suffering from PMS. (Posted by The Washington Teacher).

_________________________________________________________
April 28, 2009


WTU Executive Board and Board of Trustees:

This email is written to inform you that Deputy Chancellor Kaya Henderson has issued a “report for duty or be terminated” directive to me dated April 20, 2009. Her letter states the reason for this directive is that the official “DCPS leave of absence application” I submitted, is “not sufficient.” She asserts that “proper application” requires a memorandum of agreement signed by the WTU President. I have provided WTU President George Parker with a memorandum of agreement for his signature but, he has not signed it thereby negating my ability to submit the leave of absence application.

Article XVIII (E)(5) states “upon proper application, permanent teaches may be granted a leave of absence without pay for (1) school year to serve as a full time employee of the Union….” Deputy Chancellor Henderson states that WTU President George Parker’s signature is required for DCPS to grant my leave of absence.

In my attempt to secure his signature, he informs me that it may take some time “due to his heavy workload.” (see email attachment)

It is my responsibility to notify you of these matters and request you to demand his immediate action. I can be reached at (202) 213-7081.

Thank You

Nathan A. Saunders
General Vice President
Washington Teachers' Union
490 East L'Enfant Plaza, SW Suite 7200
Washington, DC 20024
nsaunders@wtulocal6.org
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Attachment #1

On Apr 27, 2009, at 7:27 PM, Nasaunders wrote:

George,

As indicated in my previous email to you, on April 24, 2009 I left documents-for your signature- pertaining to my leave of absence from DCPS, with your assistant Herb Thomas. To date, I have not been notified that those documents have been signed by you and ready for pick up.

Please notify me as to the date and time that those documents, with your signature, will be ready for me to pick up from the WTU Office. If there are any other concerns regarding this matter, please advise me of such.

Thank you.

Nathan A. Saunders
General Vice President
Washington Teachers' Union
490 East L'Enfant Plaza, SW, Suite 7200
Washington, DC 20024

On Apr 27, 2009, at 8:03 PM, Randi Weingarten, AFT President wrote:

What needs to be done here ?
Randi

On Apr 27, 2009, at 9:22 PM, George Parker wrote:


Nathan,

I am in receipt of your envelope around 4 pm today left on my desk by Herb Thomas on Friday. I have not had an opportunity to review the information but will do so ASAP given my heavy workload ( preparation for negotiations, placement of excessed teachers, transition to People Soft, 90-day plan, school restructuring, teacher certification notices, etc.). Once I have had an opportunity to review the documents and consult with the WTU attorney, I will get back with you immediately.

In the meantime, if there exists any reason why you feel I should not take reasonable time to review and investigate all documents and information associated with this issue, as well as seek appropriate legal counsel from the WTU attorney, before taking any official action on behalf of the WTU, please provide the reasoning behind such urgency.

As you are aware, leave of absence to work for the union is a collective bargaining issue and how we resolve associated conflicts can possibly become precedent setting for future contract interpretation. Therefore it is critical that we analyze all facts that led to this unfortunate incidence, how to avoid this in the future, and legal options for resolution.

Finally, to date, as WTU President I have received no official notification from you that you have reported for duty as a full-time DCPS ET15 WTU bargaining unit member at Eastern SHS, although rumors are that you reported. Please advise. I will get back to you within the next 72-96 hours.

George Parker
President