Nah, just foolin'...

...there will be no book!

However...

...if there had been, Julie Newell's experiences would have been the focus of a chapter or three.

However, my initial impulse to rant and rave has cooled.

My feathers (fur?) got seriously ruffled when I spotted the "Hellos/Goodbyes" page in the 1995 Egypti. I had innocently gone back to remedy the lack of a listing of new and departing employees (a feature that emerged after I had already posted the Egyptis ending in "0" or "5".) Julie Newell worked at Cairo High School from 1969 through 1995 and they didn't even acknowledge her "disappearance"?

Well, FTS!

But, when I compiled the list of actual departures, and discovered it was not three, but fourteen, well...

Julie Newell was not alone!

So, I will be briefer, really. (If not briefer, my rant will at least be calmer!)

Julie definitely fit into the latter two "departure classfications"...the "involuntary transfer" and the "retaliation", the two being closely linked.

When the new high school principal was brought in from Emerson Elementary, she wanted to bring her own secretary...a wish that was granted. Although the move from Emerson to CHS only involved one secretary, both high school secretaries were involuntarily transferred to Emerson.

The real reason for Julie's transfer?

To split up Julie and Ron Newell following the 24-day teachers' strike. Julie Newell was tabbed a security risk! Since she was literally "sleeping with the enemy", pillow talk might reveal the evil machinations of the CHS and District administration. (Okay, the "evil machinations" might be hyperbole...but it's true!)

Now there are those who would probably label my rationale for Julie's involuntary transfer as "paranoia".

Well, I beg to differ...

"My" rationale is what was testified to at a hearing before the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board (aka IELRB). Somewhere in the basement of my CAT cave, I have a copy of the transcript!

So...

A bitter 24-day teachers' strike settled in January...the wife of the union president notified of her involuntary transfer in the Spring...the new CHS principal testifying under oath that it was because Julie worked in the same building as the union president and would walk down the hallway and tell him what was going on in the office?

Well...

...if that is not retaliation, I don't know what is! (Of course, I guess it could be when the District fired Julie in January 2002 during negotiations that eventually ended in the aforementioned 17-day teachers' strike.)

Anyway...

Julie's involuntary transfer started a legal battle that even exceeded James Gibson's Seven Years War...lasting from the Spring of 1995 through the Summer of 2004. (I don't dare start a rant about that time period, a time when Julie had to fight the school district for her employment rights under the Americans With Disabilities Act...while literally fighting for her life against lupus and cancer.)

Shifting gears...

I learned many things during my 20 terms as President of the Cairo Association of Teachers.

Two things stand out:

• Keep a paper trail!

  In the 1980s, another CAT President claimed retaliation when she was denied Montessori training given to other teachers in her building. (She had asked to be included in the training, but was denied.) Then, the District involuntarily transferred her to another building, giving the reason: "She is not qualified to stay at Emerson because she lacks the training."

  Well, it just so happened that the BOE-CAT Contract stated that a teacher with 10 years of experience in the same building had veto power over any involuntary transfer...which she did. When the District refused to honor her veto, a grievance was filed and an arbitration hearing subsequently held.

  We felt comfortable that we would prevail...a "slam dunk".

  Lo and behold, the arbitrator ruled against her...

  ...stating that there was NO PROOF (written documentation) that the teacher had asked for and been denied the Montessori training, that it was, therefore, a matter of "he said, she said".

  Well, damn!

  From that day forward...

  ...this CAT President documented anything and everything. I wrote hundreds, hell, thousands of letters during the next 20 years. (It's why I can't readily lay my hands on the aforementioned transcript of the Newell IELRB hearing! It's in one of five 4-drawer filing cabinets in my basement and I just don't feel up to excavating. Although, if you want to put some money on it...)

  
  

  Case in point:

  The James Gibson IELRB hearing...

  When I walked into the room to testify, I noticed two sets of documents sitting at the witness stand.

  One stack of documents was at least two inches tall. The other "stack" was maybe a handful. Guess which stack consisted of CAT "exhibits"? Guess which "stack" consisted of District "exhibits"? Guess who won!

  
  

• Can I get a witness?

  Julie and Ron Newell fought their own battles...

  ...we "signed up" for it.

  In the beginning, we both knew that we would be persona nongrata for waging battles against the school district on behalf of other employees. We knew there would be consequences...acts of retaliation. Or, if we didn't know...we soon found out!

  But, we waged "our" battles...choosing to go it alone, not to involve others.

  I was a tenured teacher qualified in subjects that could not be eliminated from the curriculum as a subterfuge to get rid of me. Mathematics, United States History? Gotta have 'em! (Nontenured teachers and teachers of subjects not required had best tread lightly!)

  Julie Newell was, well, Julie A. Newell. (We didn't play "I Won't Back Down" at her funeral service on a whim.)

  When Julie was involuntarily transferred, I filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge against the District...stating that her transfer was in retaliation for me leading the 24-day teachers' strike. (There was also an unrelated issue about another teacher. Both issues were heard at the same IELRB hearing.)

  I took the stand and testified on my own behalf. (Since Julie and I were married, the attorney from the Illinois Education Association decided that her testimony would not add any credibility to the proceedings.)

  For the District, both the Superintendent and Principal testified (including what I thought would be the damning "sleeping with the enemy" reference.)

  Well, to our chagrin, it was a split decision. CAT won the ULP filed about the other teacher (to which I - no relation - testified), but we lost the "retaliation" ULP.

  Lesson learned:

  If you want to win an IELRB hearing, you'd best bring a witness...a witness not related to the plaintiff.

  Enter Ron Newell, professional witness!

  
  

  Case in point:

  The James Gibson IELRB hearing...

  When the Superintendent and Executive Dean went after James Gibson, the Superintendent was smart...he had his confrontations with James one-on-one, behind closed doors. The Superintendent refused to let me sit in on any conferences with James. (Remember, the District's position was that James was not a teacher Therefore, the District took the position that the CAT President had no legal right to sit in on meetings.) I was relegated to my documentation thing.

  Then, one day, while I'm trying to teach my class, the intercom phone rings...an obviously upset Executive Dean, ranting about the sh*t James Gibson was trying to pull on him. I calmly informed the Executive Dean that I was in the middle of teaching class and ended the call...very professionally.

  The next day, I filed a grievance. (The BOE-CAT Contract had a provision barring the interruption of instruction. Gotcha!)

  According to the grievance process, a meeting is held between the grievant (me) and the administration (the Principal/Superintendent and the Executive Dean.) Since James Gibson was the topic of the Executive Dean's class-interrupting phone call, I asked that James be present...a request that was granted.

  I won't bother with details, but toward the end of the grievance meeting, I laid my catty cards on the table for all to see...

  I told the Principal/Superintendent and the Executive Dean that CAT stood by its claim that James Gibson was a teacher and that CAT would pursue this grievance to a final decision. I said: "Someday, there is going to be an arbitration and/or IELRB hearing over James Gibson's claims of wrongful treatment and this grievance is my ticket of admission."

They just keep feeding the willing-to-oblige lawyers!