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American Teacher
March 2003--Special Report

AFT council authorizes takeover of D.C. local

The AFT executive council has authorized the national union to take over the day-to-day operations of the Washington (D.C.) Teachers Union and appointed former AFT executive council member George Springer to serve as the administrator of the local.

The council took action in January after the national AFT discovered apparent misuse of union funds by several officials and employees of the WTU. An independent forensic audit of the financial records of the local released by the AFT revealed that more than $5 million in union funds had been misappropriated.

During an investigation last July of apparent overcharges of dues that were automatically deducted from a special one-time paycheck that WTU members received in June, the manager of the AFT's financial services department discovered what he believed were inappropriate transactions that were not related to union business.

The AFT hired an independent auditing firm to conduct a forensic audit of the WTU's financial records in September and shortly thereafter alerted the U.S. Attorney's office of its findings. The FBI and the U.S. Attorney's office have subsequently launched their own investigations.

The AFT has also filed a lawsuit seeking restitution on behalf of the nearly 5,000 members of the local, alleging that eight individuals, including former WTU president Barbara Bullock; former WTU treasurer James Baxter; and Gwendolyn Hemphill, the former assistant to Bullock, "aided and abetted, participated in, and used" the WTU as part of their conspiracy to embezzle union funds.

"The massive misappropriation of union funds and the betrayal of the members that are outlined in our audit are reprehensible and sickening," said AFT president Sandra Feldman.

Under the administratorship, the WTU constitution is suspended and the authority of the WTU executive board is set aside. The administratorship is permitted under the AFT constitution when it appears that a local cannot remedy a serious crisis on its own, but this is the first time the provision has been invoked.

If the allegations of misuse of WTU funds are true, AFT president Sandra Feldman told the council before the vote, "what has been done is one of the worst betrayals of trust given by union members to their leaders" in the history of the union. The scandal that has erupted around the WTU has gone beyond a single local to inflict serious damage to the AFT and the labor movement as a whole, she added.

Feldman urged the council to support the "strongest possible action" the union could take to restore the local's financial stability and integrity.

AUTONOMY 'NOT UNQUALIFIED'

The AFT has had a long history of local autonomy, noted the investigation committee report; thus "we do not invoke the power to appoint an administrator lightly." However, "the independence of our locals is not unqualified, particularly when the rights of the members are in jeopardy," noted the committee's report.

There was "no doubt" after a review of the audit and statement of WTU liabilities that appointing an administrator is necessary both to restore the financial stability of the local and to ensure that its field operations serve the members effectively and efficiently, the report noted.

Springer, who for more than 20 years headed the AFT-affiliated Connecticut Federation of Educational and Professional Employees (CFEPE), left the AFT executive council in May 2001 to accept a position as director of the AFT Northeast region.

"What happened to the WTU and its 5,000 hard-working members is simply appalling," Springer told reporters attending a news conference at AFT headquarters in Washington, D.C. "In my 44 years in the teacher union movement, I've never seen anything like the situation that has occurred here." As administrator, Springer said, "my role will be to restore and ensure the smooth operation and the integrity of the Washington Teachers Union."

Within days after taking over the local, Springer announced that the dues overcharges would be refunded to all members immediately. Springer also noted that the governance structure of the local was weak and quickly called a meeting of all the building representatives (see sidebar).

An op-ed by AFT officers on the Washington Teachers Union scandal is posted online at www.aft.org/stand. Click on recent archives.

Restoring members' trust

The Washington Teachers Union (WTU) is reaching out to members to regain their confidence in the aftermath of allegations of financial improprieties on the part of some WTU leaders.

Under the leadership of administrator George Springer, the WTU has met with the local's building representatives and, at press time, was planning a series of membership meetings. "We're going to hold meetings with members in schools citywide so that we can talk about how to get them more involved in the work of the union and what they as members would like to see us accomplish together," Springer says.

Springer outlined a number of areas in which he hoped to get members' support and input, including contract administration and grievance handling, internal organizing and communications. "When I spoke to the building representatives, I assured them that I wasn't coming in with a blueprint of what the WTU is going to be, but I came here determined to work with the local's members to create the kind of union that would inspire the confidence of all of its members and the respect of the community," he says.

Springer, who has vowed to provide members with monthly financial reports during his term as administrator, says he wants to set up a committee that would be charged with developing procedures for providing members with regular, clearly understandable financial reports.

The D.C. local "does have some strengths" he hopes to augment, Springer says. "It's not a question of completely revamping the local. It's more a matter of identifying the good things that are happening and building on them, and finding the holes and filling them."

Springer says he wants to help the WTU and its members return to a point where they can focus on "strengthening public education in Washington, D.C., and providing kids in D.C. the quality education they deserve."

American Federation of Teachers, AFL•CIO - 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW - Washington, DC 20001