AFT Votes to Place WTU Under Administratorship

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Executive Council of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) today voted unanimously to appoint an administrator to operate the Washington Teachers Union (WTU), an affiliate of the AFT.

The Council also voted unanimously to appoint George C. Springer, the former head of the Connecticut Federation of Educational and Professional Employees, and most recently the Northeast Regional Director for the AFT, to be the administrator and run the day-to-day operations of the local union. The appointment is effective immediately.

"The unprecedented injustice that has been perpetrated against WTU members can only be addressed by the strongest of measures -- the kind of action we have taken today," said Sandra Feldman, president of the AFT. "Putting an administrator in to run the daily operations of the WTU will ensure that the local will have the strong leadership and support needed to overcome the burden inflicted on the union by a few individuals, and to enable the members to attend confidently to their work of educating children."

The AFT’s decision marks the first time in the union’s history that it has imposed an administratorship on a local. Under the AFT’s constitution, the administrator will have full authority to run all aspects of the union.

"It’s time for Washington’s teachers to be allowed to focus on what’s going on in the classroom, not the courtroom," said George Springer, in accepting the appointment. "I look forward to helping the WTU put its house in order and to working with WTU members, and providing the kind of support and guidance they can use to the benefit of their students."

The AFT’s action follows its filing of a lawsuit last week against several individuals -- including the former president of the WTU, Barbara Bullock; the former treasurer, James Baxter; and the former assistant to Ms. Bullock, Gwendolyn Hemphill -- to recover funds that the national union charged were misappropriated from the WTU. The lawsuit was based in part on an independent forensic audit conducted at the request of the AFT, which revealed that more than $5 million was taken from the WTU.

AFT initiated the audit in August 2002 after determining that something was amiss with the finances of the WTU. The national union had been notified by a member about an overcharge in the automatic dues deduction. The AFT immediately sent in its financial services department to investigate and quickly determined that there were a number of irregular transactions, including credit card purchases made and checks written that lacked proper authorization. The AFT then turned the matter over to the Office of the U.S. Attorney and also retained an independent auditing firm to conduct the forensic audit.

See George C. Springer’s biography

Other Related Information:

• Special Op-Ed: Getting the WTU Back on Track (February 2003)

• AFT Files RICO suit for restitution on behalf of WTU members

• Complete text of the AFT complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia (PDF file)

• Amicus Brief filed by AFL-CIO (PDF file)

• Forensic investigation (PDF file)