Posted on Tue, Jun. 03, 2008

Dade teachers bicker among themselves



By KATHLEEN McGRORY
As the Miami-Dade teachers union prepares to battle the school district for salary increases, trouble is rising within its own ranks.

Last month, the United Teachers of Dade charged three of its member teachers with anti-unionism and suspended them from their representative positions, union officials said.

Ronald Beasley, one of the union members being charged and a 10-year teacher, said the charges are unjustified. He and two dozen others showed up outside the United Teachers of Dade offices Monday afternoon to protest.

''This was specifically targeted at the individuals who spoke up against the union leadership,'' Beasley told The Miami Herald. ``We spoke up for better benefits and better compensation. Those are pro-union things.''

UTD President Karen Aronowitz said that the allegations were not brought by union leaders. The union had no choice but to follow internal protocol in handling the allegations, she said.

''I was not the person who brought the charges,'' Aronowitz said. ``I have to follow the process. That's what I'm doing.

''When serious charges are brought -- and the executive board finds probable cause -- it is the responsibility of the president to investigate,'' she said.

The other teachers being charged are Shawn Beightol, a science teacher at Michael Krop Senior, and Rory Robinson, a teacher at Shenandoah Middle.

All three were serving as union stewards, but have been suspended from the positions pending a hearing in September.

''I'm deeply disappointed,'' Robinson said at the protest. ``I joined the union for fairness at the workplace. I can't believe this is being turned on me.''

RAN FOR OFFICE

Beasley and Beightol are past competitors of Aronowitz for the union presidency. Both are affiliated with the Professional Educators Network of Florida, a statewide non-profit legal organization.

Beightol also created and heads the Miami Professional Educators Association, a group of local teachers who consider themselves activists and often criticize the union.

Under UTD bylaws, anti-union activity includes violating the organization's constitution, fraudulently obtaining membership, maliciously publishing false reports and working 'in the interest of any organization inimical to the teachers' union.''

The three teachers are accused of maliciously publishing false reports and working in the interest of an inimical organization, they said. Some of the charges stem from the trio's involvement in the Professional Educators Network, which Aronowitz said some teachers treated like a rival union.

''Non-members don't want to pay their dues to the union, and they feel like they're represented through PEN,'' Aronowitz said. ``That's working against the union.''

When anti-union charges are brought against any member, the executive board must decide if there is probable cause to move forward with an investigation, Aronowitz said.

Those who are charged face an internal trial. If found guilty, they could lose leadership positions or be suspended from the union.

The past eight months have been difficult for the teachers union.

Last fall, when the annual cost of district-wide health insurance rose by more than $36 million, Aronowitz and district officials reached a tentative agreement that had the district covering the increases for the first half of the year.

After that, teachers electing the most comprehensive plan would have shared part of the expense.

REJECTED DEAL

But many, including Beightol, Beasley and Robinson, said the deal didn't go far enough to protect teacher salaries, and urged their colleagues to vote against it. The 38,000 district teachers, paraprofessionals, counselors and clerical workers who make up the UTD bargaining unit rejected the compromise.

School Board members later voted to fund the cost increases for the entire calendar year.

The union is preparing to fight another battle.

In light of a pending quarter-billion dollar budget deficit, the district has proposed withholding the salary increases promised to teachers to save money.

Aronowitz has come out against the measure, and has refused to negotiate with the district as it considers postponing the increases.

Beasley, who has served on more than a half-dozen UTD committees, said he got word of the anti-union charges against him in late May.

''They've been telling us that we're anti-union,'' he said. ``But the truth is, their actions have been anti-union. The fact that they would side with Dr. Crew over the employees is unacceptable.''

Beightol echoed the sentiment.

''Those of who have been fighting to improve the lives of the educators have been acting on behalf of the union,'' he said. ``It seems that the leaders are working on behalf of the district and in particular, Superintendent Rudy Crew.''

Aronowitz dismissed those criticisms as political posturing.

''These are people who have disagreed with me for three years,'' she said.