Union backs down from fight with Fresno teachers over fees increase
Six teachers got a favorable settlement this week in a lawsuit claiming the Fresno Teachers Association improperly raised union dues earlier this year.
The union added a $5 increase to the dues of Fresno’s more than 4,000 teachers, which totaled $200,000 a year, back in March (teachers pay dues monthly, 10 months out of the year).
The teachers who filed the lawsuit argued the union didn’t follow its bylaws to notify teachers at least a month before the vote on an increase in the dues. Union officials disagreed, noting a supermajority of the union’s relative council voted for the increase.
The teachers and the union arrived at the settlement outside of court. The lawsuit was expected to be dropped Wednesday, according Hilary Levine, a teacher in the union for 24 years, who took the lead in the legal fight.
“I think it’s important for (people) to understand that teachers had to come together and file a suit against their own union, instead of them just saying, ‘We made a mistake,’ “ she said.
The six teachers are from separate campuses around the city. Some did not know each before they came together, Levine said. The attorney representing the six educators could not immediately be reached for comment.
The teachers filed a petition in Fresno County Superior Court on June 11, asking a judge to reverse the dues increase adopted by the union March 11.
The filing happened a day before the union announced a tentative deal with with Fresno Unified School District called “revolutionary” by Superintendent Bob Nelson.
Settlement was to save costs, says union
The union maintains that teachers were notified properly before the March vote but decided to start the process over because it would be cheaper, according to Manuel Bonilla, Fresno Teachers Association president.
The union had already spent $7,000 on attorney fees as of Aug. 20, according to a letter sent to union members.
“While the FTA executive board believes that sufficient notice was actually provided to FTA members, in order for us to avoid having to spend tens of thousands of dollars in membership funds to defend this lawsuit, the quickest and most cost efficient resolution is to rescind the prior resolution and to re-notice the action approving the contribution for the foundation,” the letter says.
The legal fight was not related to the union contract, which was widely praised. The contract was called historic because the agreement covers the next three years after a difficult process last year when negotiations nearly ended in a teachers strike.
Bonilla said the foundation has garnered wide support from union representatives, noting the lawsuit came from six teachers out of 4,000. The foundation could provide students scholarships, fund teaching conferences and allow community partnerships.
“We see this as a way to revolutionize education in Fresno and for teachers to lead that work,” he said. “That’s not happening anywhere else.”
The $5 increase could still be reinstated if the union follows through with giving proper notice and gets the support of the union representatives. Teachers can opt out of the increase as well, Bonilla said.
The teachers behind the lawsuit said they would like to see the increase in dues apply only to teachers who choose to opt into funding the foundation.
Some teachers said they were berated and called names by a high-ranking union executive during the March vote to raise dues. At least one teacher left the position as a union representative following the alleged exchange.
Bonilla denied those accusations.
The increase is set to go before the union representatives again at 4 p.m. Oct. 14, according to the union letter.
This story was originally published September 5, 2019 at 3:00 AM.
