On Thursday, my cell phone was all ablaze with text messages about the hearing on DC teacher layoffs. They ranged from "not looking good" to "I wasted my time coming here" to "I shoulda' been job hunting " to "our lawyer's not proving our case" to "we're about to hear closing arguments & the judge will make her decision in writing next week." This evening WaPo staff reporter, Bill Turque wrote a piece on the DC Wire about what happened in court. For those of us who could not attend, here is it is in its entirety (below). You be the judge of where things stand on the WTU preliminary injunction front. What's interesting is that the WaPo covered Barbara Bullock's official release from prison in the paper today. I somehow get the feeling that the hearing on DC teacher layoffs will only be reported on the Post's DC Wire blog versus the metro section of the newspaper. Go figure. Whether you attended the Thursday's hearing or not, I'd love to hear your comments . Judge To Rule Next Week On Teacher Layoffs
"After listening to more than six hours of testimony and argument Thursday, D.C. Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff said she would rule "sometime next week" on the Washington Teachers' Union's (WTU) bid to roll back the layoffs of 266 DCPS teachers and staff.
WTU is seeking an injunction that returns the teachers to their jobs until an arbitrator can rule on the case. It contends that the layoffs are an illegal mass firing and that the budget crunch cited by Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee as the basis for the reductions is a sham, designed as a pretext for dumping older teachers. The union also says that school officials violated the collective bargaining agreement by failing to adequately consult with it ahead of time.
Union attorney Lee Jackson cast the layoffs as part of a long range plan by Rhee to secure by fiat what she was not able to attain at the bargaining table.
"This is union busting in the worst possible way," he said.
D.C. attorney Robert Utiger warned that should Bartnoff reinstate the teachers, DCPS would be facing a new budget imbalance that could force another, possibly more extensive, round of layoffs. Lisa Ruda, Rhee's chief of staff and one of the District's two witnesses, said it could possibly involve large numbers of other school system employees, although she didn't specify.
The union had failed to meet the multi-pronged test for winning an injunction that freezes the layoffs, Utiger said. It includes a substantial likelihood that the union could succeed in arbitration; that the teachers and the union will suffer irreparable harm without a favorable ruling, and that that the public interest will not be damaged by an injunction.
Utiger said District law gives Rhee unquestioned managerial authority to impose the layoffs, and that terminations resulting from budget shortages are not eligible for arbitration. He also asserted that while it is regrettable that teachers lost their jobs, loss of wages does not constitute irreparable harm. Finally, he said that DCPS students would suffer more harm than benefit by having their school lives scrambled once again by the return of teachers who have been gone for more than a month.
While it's always risky business to predict how a judge might rule based on the tone and tenor of her questions, Bartnoff sent some pretty serious signals that she didn't think much of the union's case. She made it clear from the outset that this would not be an exercise in second-guessing Rhee's decision.
"There may be a lot of people around who want to run the school system. I'm not one of them," said Bartnoff, a 1994 Clinton appointee to the bench who ruled against Roy Pearson in the famous $54 million "lost pants" case.
Jackson put on five witnesses: a senior union official (field representative Mary Collins), two laid off teachers (former Coolidge counselor Emyrtle Bennett and former Sharpe Health special education teacher Maurice Asuquo, one of the school system's only blind instructors) D.C. Congress of PTA president Gwendolyn Griffin and WTU president George Parker. There were intriguing bits and pieces, but nothing that helped to prove the union's basic arguments.
One surprise was when Utiger mentioned that there had been some brief discussion about a union proposal to use unpaid teacher furloughs in lieu of layoffs. Utiger said that for the furloughs to generate the required savings, they would have they would have to total about 28 days per instructor, a period that would be impractical and disruptive to schools. Parker said in his testimony that furloughs were never a union proposal, but merely an off-hand query from his chief of staff, Clay White.
One new demographic nugget about the 934 teachers hired by DCPS this spring and summer: Ruda said on cross-examination that about half of the new instructors had five years or more experience, refuting the notion that they were all newbies fresh from teachers college or training programs."
Posted by The Washington Teacher featuring Candi Peterson, blogger in residence, article courtesy of DC Wire.
19 comments:
Candi,
This is horrible. I do not have to be in the hearing room to know how this will turn out.
Don't our teachers deserve better than this? What in the hell is wrong with our attorneys? Seems like the judge wanted to send them back to law school. Maybe the teachers should have gone with the other law firm.
This is disgusting......When will the teachers wake up and see that this George Parker has led them down a dark alley--once again?
I am sick of it!
Ruda is a liar. Does Ruda understand what the plenty is for perjury? These people must have sold their souls!
That is why a lot of my fustration is with the union as well. I saw what was going on two years ago and I do not know was going on behind closed doors but publicly I didn't see where the union was proactive in preventing ANY of this from happening. To be honest, I am not that optimistic that anything is going to happen at this point. Rhee is going to get away with these RIF's and then she will fire more people until there is no one left to oppose her. I really hope that the people that are still in their classrooms don't feel safe. Watch out for more RIF's and that Impact.
Anonymous @ 3:56 am
If I am not mistaken perjury is a felony. It is unlikely that anyone in this administration would be prosecuted for this.
Ruda is herself a lawyer. She's not going to let herself go down on a felony charge
Teach DC
You pose a great question. I keep wondering the same thing. This ship we are all on is sinking.
The WTU case seemed to hinge on tugging at the heartstrings more than presenting convincing facts. They brought the blind guy out again to talk about his mistreatment. He's a great witness for a council hearing, but not for a court case. He didn't prove anything except that a mistake was made in his case.
Several times the judge chastised the young WTU attorney for focusing on feelings or hearsay, but that didn't stop the attorney. She was whiney and petulant, saying “but your honor” repeatedly after your honor had told her to move on to her next question. It seems like she missed the class in law school on courtroom deportment and her mom and dad and her supervisors at the WTU had not clued her in either.
It looked like her hairdo was held together by multiple paperclips. She was attractive and was wearing high heels and a trim dark suit, but other than that, there was nothing professional about her.
Lee Jackson, the lead WTU attorney was better. He was comfortable and appropriate and had some presence (especially compared to her), but not much of a case to make.
ALL teachers must file EEOC complaints. As one of the principals Rhee rheejected during her rheeform at the beginning of her administration. At my insistence we filed EEOC complaints. At present there is a full investigation into what was done. All 338 impacted employees should file. That would launch a massive FEDERAL investigation into Rhee, Ruda and all of her other imps.
I am willing to write each EEOC complaint for a nominal fee of $25.00. The only reason there will be a fee is because of how time consuming it is to write the complaints and make them individualized. Candi knows who I am and how to contact me. I urge everyone to take this step!!
The article about Barbara Bullock's release from prison was buried in the back somewhere in the WaPo Metro section. And while we're on the subject of Bullock, does anyone think that Rhee would have been able to push around the union with her in charge? Yes, I fully know what she was guilty of and was horrified by it. But I also remember her as a fearless advocate for DC teachers.
Fenty is a lawyer. That has no stopped him from running rouge on the DC government and its citizens. It didn't stop him from mismanaging a clients funds.
MR and AF's motto "by any means possible" or "our way or the highway!"
That was the WORSE display of incompentence that I have EVER seen. I was almost in tears sitting in that courtroom. As a FORMER member of the Union I was ashamed to be sitting there being represented by this law firm. The lawyers for DCPS were smiling and laughing and that hurt. I left that courtroom feeling like the union was on their side. There is NO WAY that Lee Jackson can feel good about the case that he put on. My advice to the people that are still employed by DCPS and are members of the union you need to immediately petition for new counsel because when Michelle Rhee comes for you, and she will come because she has gotten away with this- I hope you have better counsel than we did.
Candi:
At the Council Hearing, Rhee admitted that she had meant to make budget cuts at the 1. Administration Office on 825 North Capitol where they are paying over $50million for rent. Why doesn't DCPS still pursue moving into a closed school building and put our teachers, counselors and other personnel back in the classroom. 2. The Lottery Board had agreed to provide funds to DCPS years ago. 3. The 32 million received for speeding tickets can be
used for DCPS.4. Money received back from the Finance and Revenue thief that was prosecuted could be reprogrammed to DCPS. 5. Also Michelle Rhee's needs to stop spending taxpayer funds to speak all over the country promoting Reforming Public Education, when she is doing a poor job in Washington, D.C. It feels real bad that our children are caught in the middle of this mess and losing their right to a decent education in the Nation's Capitol.
A Concerned Parent, Grandmother, Taxpayer
Candi Peterson is on the job once again. Revelations were amazing in Judge Bartnoff's courtroom. I agree with Turque and many of the Teachers present. I am going to wait for the final opinion but it does not look promising at all. I went to the previous TRO hearing on October 28th where I was the only party present... with the exception of Bill Turque, of course. That TRO hearing was a shorter version of this Preliminary Injunction Hearing with Judge Bartnoff yesterday and another horrible showing as well. To cover its butt, the union sent out information, to its members, completely contrary to what actually happened at the TRO hearing.
Well, enough teachers saw yesterday's hearing and should be able to say to other teachers what they witnessed. It was George Parker at his finest. His true ability to protect teachers' rights was on public display. His ability to negotiate with Michelle Rhee and how he responds to situations under pressure was also displayed. He runs to the witness stand to testify only to have his testimony shot down as a lie by the opposing counsel, who by the way, had an expert witness and documentation to land the final blow. It appears that Rhee and Parker have been in consant communication about the RIF - which is a major flaw in WTU's case. That is a problem. A Judge can not rule in your favor when you can not prove your case or are a demonstrated fabricator.
A major point for me was the revelation that George Parker recommended a 28 day furlough for all teachers in DCPS. How arrogant to make such a recommendation without consulting the executive board, the representative assembly, or the membership. I was literally floored. Never saw that coming, I must say. Rhee's legal team's response was a crushing demonstration that George Parker is incapable of even remotely addressing the educational needs of students, protecting teacher members and chewing gum simultaneously. Point won in the media, community, and the court.
Members, when your elected executive board passes a motion of censure against the WTU President, and the delegate assembly is a gossip session with no real union business addressed, and when the General Vice President believes the President is ethically corrupt and should be recalled, you did not act. This is the result. This is what will happen time and time again. Teachers are fired and more are about to be fired! Teacher members get a grip, you have the power. This is a train wreck every single day-by the same train (Rhee), against the same group of teachers(WTU Members), directed by one guy (George Parker, WTU President) positioning the teachers in front of the train.
I will now add the fired RIF teachers and their families to my prayer list. They join the list of the fired 90 day teachers and their families, and the fired probationary teachers and their families. My prayer list is growing and growing. George Parker would end by saying, "Thank you for supporting the WTU."
I'm asking the same question I asked last week. Is Parker paying these lawyer out of his paycheck and not the legal defense fund?
The AFT is a power house, they know how to make a good legal case, why didn't they use their resources better? There a great labor relations lawyers in this town. Why weren't they used?
Questions to ponder!!!!!
Absolutely, John Davis is a big time flunky along with his staff, especially Stacy Thomas. All of them are not qualified to do the job but MR put them there. All these people are pollutants in DCPS. I bet you, after they let out all their pollution and destroy DCPS, then they will run back to their states like Ohio, NY, Texas, Utah, and others. We have to hold them accountable, and make them pay for polluting DCPS
Nathan Saunders should be the union president because he will speak up and tell the truth. I also believe all e-mails and text messages between George Parker and Michelle Rhee should be FOIA-requested so people can see what's really going on. The union should consider getting either David Temple or John Mercer to do a class action.
I have also been thinking teachers should file EEOC complaints and have some federal data on what is happening. Rhee has to have some accountability and it obviously won't come from the lawless DC government.
To Anonymous on November 6 @ 10:02 AM
The WTU retains Odonnell, Schwartz and Anderson law firm to represent the WTU and its union members. The legal fees are paid out of WTU funds which of course comes from dues paid for by members.
Regarding your question about the AFT- it is our parent organization. The AFT typically does not get involved in local matters unless requested by a local to become involved. The WTU has not requested the AFT to provide assistance in terms of legal representation.
If union members are dissatisfied with the representation by the law firm that we presently retain- then they need to voice their concerns to the WTU President, George Parer as well as the WTU Executive board and WTU Representative assembly.
Part of the problem that we face is that our union members are not actively involved. So often even our elected WTU Building Reps. do not attend monthly rep. assembly meetings so we cannot establish a quorum to conduct business.
Having input in our union begins with all of us and requires that at the very least those we elect at the local school level be involved so that members concerns can be addressed and the status quo can be challenged .
I do encourage you to put your concerns in writing to our WTU Executive Board. If you send your concerns c/o my attention - I will make sure that it gets forwarded to all WTU Executive Board members. Feel free to email me c/o saveourcounselors@gmail.com. Please include your name and contact numbers.
Nathan, according to DCPS' witness, George didn't recommended 28 furlogh days. They said Clay White asked why not do 3 or 4 furlough days instead of rif. When DCPS said it would take about 30 furlough days to cover the cut, the matter was dropped -- according to DCPS at the hearing. couldnt tell whether GP was supporting of clay's suggestions. couldnt tell whether clay was going to go back to the board have a unionwide vote. interesting that clay was trying to figure out a way to save these jobs.
Comment from Cynthia Hill who attended the hearing:
The Union lost the argument on 2 points. Lee Jackson refused to call the firings a RIF, because RIFs are not covered by the Union Contract signed in 2004 by George Parker. He instead wanted to refer to the firings as a massive discharge, which would be covered by the Union Contract. The Judge did not agree.
Secondly, the Judge gave him an opportunity to call the discharges a RIF and defend the case on that basis. He refused to do so and continued to argue over the definitions of a RIF versus a massive discharge. At the end the Judge was yelling at him. This was the worst closing argument I have ever witnessed.
The last agreement they had was over the recourse of teachers. The Judge said teachers could not file a grievance because the union contract did not have language in it to protect the workers from a RIF as the exhibit Lee presented. Lee disagreed. They both agreed that teachers could file an appeal with OEA. Please let the teachers know that they must attack the illegal process of the RIF using the DC Code that governed the RIF.
The Judge also stated there were no grounds for an appeal by WTU.
It’s sad that the union could not see pass the union contract. From the beginning the Judge told them that they were there to prove the legality of the injunction. This meant they had to attack the process of the RIF and this could have easily been done with the DC Code. The WTU should have gotten off their buts and gathered evidence and there was plenty received from members. They could have introduced this evidence as exhibits that the RIF violated the rules set forth by the DC Government.
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