Financially strapped Redford Union wastes money on legal fees
District files strike charges against 43 teachers
EAST LANSING, Mich., July 24, 2007 - In a move described by Redford Union Education Association (RUEA) President Steve Losey as “a waste of valuable time, money and resources,” the Redford Union school administration has charged 43 teachers with engaging in illegal strike activities.
The petition was filed with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) last week. MERC will have to decide whether teachers at Bulman Elementary, the Adolescent Day Treatment Center and the high school were absent on the same day in protest of the stalled negotiations between RUEA and the district.
“The teachers did nothing wrong,” said Losey. “Our teachers have 10 leave days that they can use for any reason. My members exercised that right.”
RUEA will file for hearings for each of the accused teachers. If MERC upholds the district’s petition and fines the teachers a day’s pay, the fine money will go into the state’s general fund—not be returned to the district.
RUEA President Losey said, “The school district claims to be in financial distress yet it’s willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees to prosecute its own employees who have done nothing wrong. This looks like a power play by the district.”
The two sides have been bargaining since November 2005. In April, the district attempted to impose a contract and RUEA filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge against Redford schools. Since then the district has refused to put its financial proposal in writing. The next bargaining session is scheduled for Aug. 3.
“I’m hoping the district will have its act together by then,” said Losey. “We need to concentrate on putting money where it belongs—in the classroom. It’s not helping children when the district is wasting its money on legal fees.