The Compton Education Association (CEA) has driven home the point that administrators cannot harass association members for participating in union activities, not even if they do it indirectly.
The chapter has won a favorable ruling from the Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) that requires the Compton Unified School District to post a notice at every school site letting teachers know that they can hold association meetings without fear of reprisal.
"The ruling re-emphasizes the fact that we are allowed to have our meetings without interference," says Marie Truby, president of the 1,600 member unit. "It tells our teachers that it's okay to be involved in union activity."
The chapter asked for the ruling after an incident in which a bargaining unit member interrupted a site meeting to warn new and uncredentialed teachers that they had better leave or risk losing their jobs. After the meeting, the principal interrogated a tenured bargaining unit member about who called the meeting, and then put her on notice that he supported teachers who supported him. Shortly thereafter, he removed her from her faculty leadership position.
The chapter maintained that the principal had authorized the teacher to interrupt the meeting. Although the principal denied the charge, he admitted in cross-examination that the teacher had informed him of the threat she had made in the meeting.
PERB agreed with the chapter that the words "need to leave," "better leave" and "better not be in this meeting" amounted to a threat to chapter members. PERB also found that the principal's admonition to the tenured teacher demonstrated his approval of the original threat and proved that the teacher who issued it was acting as his agent.
Finally, PERB ruled that removing the tenured teacher from her school leadership position was unlawful retaliation for participating in protected activities and ordered the district to restore her to the leadership team.
"This ruling protects our members from harassment, especially when someone else acts on behalf of the principal," says CTA staff attorney Brenda Sutton-Wills, who represented the chapter. "The ruling was also a victory for a quiet teacher who didn't necessarily set out to be outspoken."
Dale Martin