There is quite a fight going on at the TALB (Teachers Association of Long Beach) offices on Atlantic Avenue. At stake is the future of the teacher’s union and ultimately the quality of education in the Long Beach Unified School District. In the same week that LBUSD, a previous winner of the Broad Prize for Urban Education, was a finalist for the Broad Prize and received $125,000 for the honor, a majority of the board of directors sued TALB and current President Michael Day for not providing requested financial records to the board members.
The lbpost.com has acquired a legal opinion that was requested by a majority of the TALB Board of Directors. The written opinion outlines the legal effects and consequences of proposed bylaw changes suggested by TALB president Michael Day.
Click here to read the legal opinion.
It appears President Day is intent on creating a totalitarian regime for himself at TALB by introducing changes in the bylaws that appear to conflict with the United States Constitution and standing case law.
Reading this opinion letter is jaw-dropping. First it is very apparent that Michael Day wants total control of the union, displacing the power of the board of directors and the ability to single-handedly make decisions and operate as judge, jury and executioner (literally, if you look at the discipline section).
The law firm of Russell, Mirkovich & Morrow also take Attorney/Councilwoman Schipske to task on a memorandum of support she wrote for the by-laws changes, stating “Legally and ethically we disagree with Ms. Schipske….Ms. Schipske opines that the teachers are not entitled to constitutional protections in their dealings with TALB.”
On a side note, I have been very pleased and frankly surprised by Ms. Schipske’s actions on the council thus far in her term. I am a frequent reader of her blog, admire her openness showing her schedules and meetings and have appreciated her questioning many of the issues at council that impact our City’s budget and financial abilities.
I will be following up on this issue and others relating to TALB in the coming days and weeks as I continue my effort to alert the community, parents and most importantly teachers of what is happening at TALB and the effort by a small minority to take control of the education of our kids.
In the meantime take a look at the document and ask yourself, “If I paid significant dues out of my paycheck would I want them to support actions such as this?” If you are a teacher in LBUSD that is exactly what you are doing.
I encourage teachers affiliated with TALB to read the legal opinion letter and then contact their Council Representative who will be voting on the bylaw changes next Tuesday, September 25 and let she/he know how you want them to vote—since they represent you they should act accordingly. If I were a Long Beach teacher, I would ensure that openness and fairness were not being compromised at the TALB meeting and request a recorded vote so I could monitor how my representative voted.
Your thoughts welcome, click here to email me or on “Leave A Comment” below for public response.