Next Tuesday the Norwalk Federation of Teachers is holding a leadership vote, afters school at West Rocks Middle School. Naturally, because it involves West Rocks, we have a controversy a brewing. And the controversy is, teacher mailboxes. Not the kind on our computers, but the kind that sits in the mail room and allows teachers to pass notes, er communications to each other. The mail room, to those of us paying close attention to the Breakfast Club, is usually located adjacent to the teachers lounge, where in the good old days teachers lounged and smoked cigarettes.
Knowing this was always good when you had to answer the question about why you smelled like you just smoked a cigarette, and the quick reply was, “had to deliver something to the teachers lounge.” Nowadays they probably don’t allow smoking and you have to pass through three x-ray machines to get to the teachers lounge, but they may still have contraband baked goods on hand.
Any hoo, back to the mail room, oh wait— mmmmmm mimeograph. Ahem, okay I’m done with memory lane. The mail room has teacher’s mail boxes, which are typically open slots with names on them. You shove papers in to them, and the teachers slide them out and maybe read them. That’s how basketball schedules, and playground hours, and park activities are distributed. It’s the grapevine of the teaching jungle. Which is why the latest story is bizarre.
Apparently, with the looming union vote, a flyer about the vote and information about candidates was placed in teacher mailboxes at West Rocks. Then Principal Lynne Moore promptly came through and removed them. They are bright blue, so she could pick them out, otherwise she’d be essentially rifling through a teacher’s mailbox. The problem is that Lynne Moore is what you would call management and the union is labor and all sorts of rules, regs and case law exist that govern that relationship.
Naturally, union members were appalled and complained. Surprisingly management responded with “a need to investigate further.” Um, hello people, this is a free speech, union organizing issue. How many times do you think this issue has been “litigated.” Well, a short hop on google says:
Under the EERA, unions may access
employee work areas, bulletin boards,
mailboxes and other means of
communication. The unions have this right of
access at reasonable times and subject to
reasonable regulation. For example, the
employer may reasonably require all visitors,
including union representatives, to identify
themselves prior to entering the facility, or
restrict use to predetermined times of day.
Unions also have the right to use
institutional facilities at reasonable times for
meetings concerned with the exercise of
rights guaranteed by the EERA. The unions
have this right of access at reasonable times
and places and with reasonable manner of
access, because access may intrude on
public school employer interests such as
maintaining order and discipline. For
example, the union could not call a meeting
during lunch in the student cafeteria while
students are present and teachers have
supervision responsibilities.
And thus, since this is an NFT election, and the notice was to all teachers the flyers should have remained in the mail boxes. This type of issue can be found in another case about rival unions here.
The flyer basically outlines teachers who are running for union leadership positions. That would be Peggie Loris for NFT President. Kelli Hibbard for 1st Vice President, Lewis Socci for 2nd Vice President and Chris Griffith for Treasurer and some brief biographical info, experience and issues that they support. I’m assuming that there’s a similar flyer out and about for the incumbent team of Bruce Mellion and others. I haven’t seen it though, nor do I know if Lynne Moore also removed that flyer.
I do know that Moore has now interfered with a union communication, by union members about their election. I’m sure that the NFT will not be happy about this interference.
