The Free Speech Struggle in the Broward (Fla) Teachers Union by Joan King

I was shocked in disbelief to hear about the unfair treatment of candidates in the 2014 Election & the AFT Report sent to all stewards(with private addresses) was not accurate or fair! But then I started attending theExecutive Brd mtgs to witness the dysfunctional team under an incompetent leader who disrespected certain members using a Parlimentarian($) & Chief-of-Staff ($)on each side of her to help her shut them down! She can not chair a meeting without them, as a professed attorney, that's how she got elected (promising lower legal fees). Which we've had highest legal fees ever since her! There were 19/22 great BTU staffers & field reps there when she took office, who are now gone (fired or run off), I'd say Hostile Work Environment which is what Labor Unions are supposed to FIGHT, NOT CAUSE! This was what really got me upset, then at the October Ex Brd Mtg, I sat 4 hrs (many of those with me in the audience left after 3 hours), waiting for them to vote on how many minutes they'd let us speak! Wow, really as a BTU Charter Member, Master Steward who has paid over$20,000 in dues over the 34 years, helping to pay for the BTU Bldg., I'm waiting to speak about the problems I see at BTU Bldg and at schools! As I said then,I'd be at all mtgs as a system of checks & balances to inform members,... I witnessed appointees voting for wasteful dues spending, I call them the rubber Stampers,... $5K raise for VP Kemp who wrote an unethical SBBC Email telling ALL OF HIS ESP's to vote Gloria Waller's Slate BECAUSE the Action Slate did NOT SUPPORT ESP's! I guess changing the locks 6 times as you fire or run off GREAT BTU Employees/Negotiators, is a paranoid waste of our dues! Then to lose my Civil Rights and be harassed, defamed, bullied, & retaliated against during the 2015 Election, was horrible for my Action Slate! There were BTU Alerts to ALL MEMBERS, before mail-in ballots due, calling our Action Slate "illegal &unethical". Email from Pres Glickman about Joan King overstepping her Steward duties, cc'd to SBBC Member, Nora Rupert, too= HARM TO ME, especially because IDID follow protocol getting the person to re-join BTU, Speak to his school site stew, and the field rep. I was accused of giving him legal counsel & acting as afield rep., without proper training or certification (which I've heard Ralph was the only one truly sent to be trained & shared it with others, but he's one of the 19 gone a while now; certificate is filling out a paper & BTU Pays state).During the election, we were told not to wear our Green Action T-shirts to the ONLY RALLY, to give our speeches as candidates (1st yr ever for that rule),slate dates were extended because Forward Slate of Incumbents had 10 names when there were only 7 seats available, so they became the Diversity Slate & LOST!Moving Forward was a term BTU started using after John Tarka left,administratorship from AFT. During the actual Ballot Counting we were told to invite ONLY ONE GUEST(use to be open to members) & put our cell phones in a basket near the door & cop! Pres hires cops, waste our dues for all meetings!One even threatened our campaign mgr, at pres's direction to kick her out/she'son ex brd & a master stew! The membership has spoken, now they start the rushed process to get budget passed & changes to recently amended in 2013 constitution& bylaws,... They want to ADD Profession Discipline where you can (as dues paying members) be brought up on charges with a complaint with only 3 signatures, then investigated by NEW Ethics Committee (I call it, "witch hunt",they are appointed members by pres),... To be reprimanded, fined$, suspended or removed from stew. position, comm., or exec brd, and even expulsion from BTU!Really to add insult, the Const. Comm. under VP Kalebra's DIRECTION want ex brd members to sign that they won't use Social Media: FB to talk about BTU Issues(freedom of speech again taken away),... This is unfortunately true, that's why when the Stew Council meets Aug 10-11 training, it must be voted down, "NO" TO GAG! Thanks for listening & feel free to use

,...In Solidarity, Joan King (July we take our seats), pres won't have votes then!?