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| Candi Peterson & GeLynn Thompson WTU President & VP 2016 candidates |
If you haven't received a ballot, please contact Jasmine Wright, WTU Membership Coordinator @ jwright@WTULOCAL6.net to request another ballot. Please copy wtuelectionscommittee@gmail.
Statements or expressions of opinions herein 'do not' represent the views or official positions of DCPS, AFT, Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) or its members. Views are my own.
Disclaimer: I am not a member of the WTU Contract Negotiations team.
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| Vote Peterson slate |
Oh what a tangled web Davis weaves in her efforts to deceive the rank and file.
So it’s no surprise that Davis wants to point the finger of blame at me and the WTU Elections chair in order to cover up her own failures and complicity in holding elections.
This
is the oldest trick in the book to try to sow the seeds of mistrust and division by accusing others for her failures especially given that I am running on an opposition slate as a WTU presidential
candidate and represent a threat to her candidacy.
At every turn, Davis, a
presidential candidate, has inserted herself in the elections process by
micro-managing and regulating everything. Davis has over reached her enumerated powers as spelled out in the constitution by withholding the union
membership list and payment to the ballot company. As a candidate for office, Davis appears
oblivious to the fact that as the incumbent president, she is no more entitled
to special treatment by the elections committee than any other presidential candidate.
The WTU Constitution and By-Laws
created an independent elections committee to oversee WTU elections including
officer elections with the intent of limiting interference by officers who
would likely be candidates such as Davis.
The interference and obstruction by Davis made
simple tasks such as scheduling weekly meetings in the unions’ board room a
herculean task. Repeated requests for information
either have gone unanswered by Davis, or her responses were delayed and thus stymied
the ability of the elections committee to perform it's constitutional function. The normal protocol is for
the independent elections committee to work directly with the union membership
director without interference in order to hold timely elections by the May 2016 deadline.
In an effort to facilitate officer
elections, without any further delays, members of the WTU Executive Board unanimously
passed five motions on June 4th to force Davis and her Chief of
Staff's cooperation in supplying the union membership list. Additionally, Davis and the chief of staff
were directed by the Board to assure payment, and issue a letter of apology to TrueBallot, the
independent company contracted by the elections committee to conduct officer
elections.
Only after these Executive Board
motions did Davis and her chief of staff finally submit the union membership
list to TrueBallot on June 6th.
Davis and her Chief of Staff refused to provide an apology
letter and guarantee of payment as directed by the Executive board; however,
at the urging of the elections committee
chair TrueBallot finally agreed to move forward with the election.
Earlier this year, the Executive
Board voted to compel President Davis to hold the elections of the elections
committee. These elections were delayed for nine months due to the intentional obstruction by President Davis. Colleagues, it’s not
rocket science that if there is not a duly elected elections committee, there
can be no election of officers.
Members should thank the elections committee
members for their perseverance and hard work instead of scapegoating and
blaming them for a delayed election of officers.
Fortunately complaints to American Federation of Teachers' (AFT), WTU’s parent organization, resulted in an assignment of an intermediary to
assist with the process of completing officer elections. AFT’s involvement has
given a measure of assurance to TrueBallot that they will be paid for their
contracted services.
Had it not been for WTU Elections
Chair Cheryl Gillette, who has remained steadfast despite all the road blocks
by Davis- WTU would not have advanced this far. Elections have finally been
scheduled.
Ballots were mailed to members’ homes on Monday, June
20th. You should expect to
receive your ballots by no later than the end of this week. The ballot count
will occur on July 8th and the location will be announced.
Responsible leaders don’t blame
others when they are at fault. They accept responsibility for their own actions
and/or inaction. In
addition to her pattern of pointing the finger of blame at others, Davis is in
deep denial.
FACT
-After failing to negotiate a teachers contract after three years- Davis continues to blame Chancellor
Henderson even though there were multiple contract offers that Davis failed to
disclose to the rank and file.
FACT - As the WTU President and
Chief Negotiator, it was Davis’ primary duty to get teachers a contract within her
three year term (2013-2016). She sabotaged relationships with the Chancellor and her team, called her a liar , and then tried to rally teachers to demand the Chancellor return to the
negotiating table when Ms. Henderson made it clear in April that she would not resume contract negotiations until after officers elections.
Davis
blames everybody except herself for the delays in the upcoming officers
elections, as well, as the election committee elections and contract negotiations. This is not responsible
leadership. If you are tired of her blame game and inaction and no contract- then you must vote for a return
to Accountability, Collaboration and Transparency.
The
Candi Peterson slate is the only logical option for Ethical and Responsible
union leadership. It’s the only viable alternative to the failed track record
of the desperate Davis' denial and blame game that poisons instead of
inspires cooperative relationships.
I vow to make getting teachers a
contract my first priority.
Vote Peterson slate- we are #1 on the ballot.
© Candi Peterson, 2016
© Candi Peterson, 2016
