PROPRIETY OF SPRINSGTON UNION MEMBERSHIP QUESTIONED

By Juan Montoya
News that Brownsville Independent School District Superintendent Brett Springston had joined the Association Of Brownsville Educators (TSTA/NEA) touched a nerve among some employees in the district.
"Why didn’t he join TASA, the Texas Association of School Administrators?," asked one.
"What kind of conflicts does this create?," wrote another. "Won’t he be negotiating with himself when issues arise? Won’t he be arguing against himself when grievances are filed by AOBE?"
Apparently, neither Springston nor the members of the school board who cheered his joining the group thought of these questions before applauding his joining the organization.
Much was made of his membership being the “special” 4,oooth member.
We didn't see any reaction from the super to the statement made by AOBE that he has started a “stampede” of new members.
"Does this mean that in this new role as a recruiter for the union is a proper action for a Superintendent?," wrote a commenter.
Does his membership – he is their highest profile member – imply to members and potential recruits that they will have an advantage in the district by belonging to his union?
Other unions are also asking whether this is fair to their efforts to recruit members.
"Is this a form of coercion pressuring district employees to be a member of his union in order to receive the fairest treatment from the district?," they asked.
Apparently, this type of "coercion" is prohibited by law
And what, they continue, of confluence of AOBE, the superintendent’s job, and the endorsements of incumbents Rick Zayas , Ruben Cortez and candidate Otis Powers?
All three have come out in favor of naming AOBE the only organization that can speak for employees to the district. This is a policy these guys will vote for if reelected that implies no other organizations could speak to the administration or the board about employment issues. This is the deal AOBE cut with the candidates for its endorsements, the writers say.
(District insiders say no group can see Zayas or Cortez as acting favorably for employees. They have been hostile to the employees so far; they are not going to change. Powers used to follow Pat Lehmann’s lead voting for pay raises, but also put into place some of his relatives who made life hell for employees – the real reason he was on the board, they say. And now, apparently, he is completely in the Zayas and Cortez camp. Can BISD employees reasonably expect any raises from Powers?)
The role of the AOBE in consolidating its power in the district is obvious to many members of the other teachers' groups.
But will it translate into higher salaries for employees? Probably not, they say. It'll probably translate into more membership dues for AOBE. And those dues will go up once AOBE officials can say they are the only ones speaking for the employees, with a special inside member helping them out.
Speaking of dues, just how high are they now?
Reportedly, they go up to $600 a year for experienced employees, which is much more than other employee groups. And what does this money buy for members? The better question is what does that money buy for George Borrego and his gang?
Borrego, we are told, gets a $1,000 a month, plus dining out expenses and cell phone money plus a lot of trips to conferences in places like New Orleans and Las Vegas. His officers, in turn, get $350 a month plus trips and phone money
His officers also hire their spouses as recruiters, a sort of built-in nepotism, just like the school district.
But wait, there's a little bit for everybody. AOBE has two paralegals. One gets $80,000 a year and the other $60,000.
Still think it was a good idea for Springston to join a school union group? Our commenters think that the chickens will come home to roost soon enough.