Baltimore Teachers Union Taking Over School Mailboxes

The Baltimore Teachers Union has demanded exclusive access to school mailboxes, ensuring all communications have union officials’ sanction.  And teachers are not happy about it.  Teachers wanting free legal advice about this issue should contact CEAFU or the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation for free legal information,  or call (800)-336-3600.  Erica L. Green has the story in The Baltimore Sun.

City teachers are criticizing an unusual clause included in the proposed contract that appears to give the union the exclusive right to disseminate information via email or through teachers’ mailboxes. They say the new language is too broad and attempts to silence dissenters and disempower those who organize outside of union parameters.

“The limitation of communication is really disturbing,” said Kris Sieloff, a teacher at City Neighbors High School who called the clause a clear First Amendment violation.

The new clause states that “individuals and organizations other than the union shall not be permitted to use the school system’s interdepartmental mail and email facilities, or the right of distribution of materials to teachers’ mailboxes.”