How to overthrow the (union) government

Last week, a group of teacher union members seized control of the Wicomico County Education Association (WCEA) in Maryland without a vote or any authority except the signatures on a petition they created. It was a bizarre event, unique in the annals of National Education Association history, as far as I know. There are many instances of national or state unions establishing trusteeships over rogue locals, and employing tactics similar to those used in Wicomico to gain control. But in those cases, the parent unions had the cloak of union by-laws and affiliate agreements to justify their actions. In Wicomico, the actions of the “interim managers” are entirely extra-constitutional.

While the question of who engineered the overthrow of the union’s entire elected leadership is still a mystery for the time being, we can ascertain the timeline and key ingredients.

Citing the costs of maintaining affiliation with the Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) and NEA, WCEA’s officers planned to put the question of continuing the relationship to the local union’s representative assembly, which consists of the building representatives of each school site. This action was controversial, and one of the major concerns of the opposition was that the question would not be presented to the entire rank-and-file.

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