With Friends Like These...

 

We now have the birthdates of all Unjustly Jailed LAUSD Teachers .  After two and a half years of stonewalling and sandbagging by UTLA and LAUSD our committee chair Arlene Schery and UTLA director Lisa Karahalios filed a freedom of information act request with the LAUSD.  Here is what Arlene Schery writes about the data;

 

I have personally collated the list of 498. The results are 459 of the 498 are over 40 which is 93% Only 39 were under 40 and of those 39 10 were age 39 and will be 40 in the next few months. Unless the general population of teachers is 93% over age 40 then we have proof of age discrimination and need to begin an age discrimination case NOW. As chair of unjustly housed teacher committee. I demand we do this immediately. This is no longer heresay but proven fact. Arlene Schery

 

 

Where will UTLA go with this information?  Valley West director Scott Mandel, who represents our interests on the UTLA board of directors, wrote this addressed to UTLA president Warren Fletcher and cc'd to many others; 

While our leadership has been trying to go the PERB route to get info on who is in teacher jail, Arlene, the chair of the committee, got the info through the Freedom of information act.  Her data is below.

93% of all teachers in teacher jail have been over 40.  Just what we thought.

Now--Warren--and this isn't a political stunt, I know you're reading this.  WILL YOU AUTHORIZE OUR LAWYERS TO FILE AN AGE DISCRIMINATION SUIT NOW???

I would like an answer on this listserve this weekend.

If not, I am calling for Board members to ask for an emergency Board meeting for the purpose of addressing this issue, and authorizing our lawyers to file the age-discrimination suit.

We have the OFFICIAL data.  Let's do this now.  Everyone on every slate/support can come together on this issue and make this unanimous.

In Unity,

Scott Mandel

Director, Valley East

This is a development a long time in coming and the information could have been secured much earlier.  

 

There will be one last presidential candidates forum on Tuesday March 4, at the Boyle Heights City Hall  2130 East 1st Street, Los Angeles, CA 90033 two blocks east of the 5 freeway.  The forum is being hosted by the astroturf (astroturd) group Educators for Excellence.  This is a reformy privateer group that wants to destroy teaching as a career.  Don't you love the Orwellian double speak?  If they are for excellence then what does that say about the rest of us?  E4E invited only their members but I don't think that they have the authority to keep us out of a public building that we paid for. 

 

Here's how it all comes together.  I just sent this open letter to the candidates;

An open letter to all candidates for United Teachers Los Angeles president:

 

I have attended two of the candidates forums and have submitted the following question each time. Both times my question has been ignored. As the forum organized by E4E is the very last one I insist that all of you answer my question concerning the LAUSD policy of targeting experienced teachers for abuse and termination. At the last candidates forum I was promised by the election committee that my question would be first but it was ignored. I understand that E4E is an astroturf group dedicated to the privateer agenda but I don't think that they should be allowed to determine the agenda of the UTLA election.

 

Here is my question:

Based upon the LAUSD's own accounting, superintendent Deasy has targeted older teachers for abuse and termination based upon false charges. Thousands have lost jobs. UTLA has been unable or unwilling to defend us against this attack. What do you propose to do going forward to confront the issue of falsely accused and unjustly dismissed teachers? What remedy can you offer to those that have already lost their jobs? How will you deal with the denial of due process by the LAUSD and what will you do about teachers that have been dismissed based upon perjured testimony? Will you confront the targeting of certain groups of teachers by gender, race, and discipline that is, special education teachers are targeted at a higher rate than regular education teachers?

I will be in attendance.

Michael Dominguez