Bahamas News
10-28-04, - 08:46 PM
Teachers suspended for "Jungerlist actions"
By Vanessa C. Rolle
Nassau Guardian
Two teachers who spearheaded a petition to reverse a $16 increase in union dues by The Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) over the past two months, were officially suspended from the Union on Wednesday for their "Jungerlist actions" and "destructive behaviour" within the union.
Doris Johnson Senior High School teacher Belinda Wilson, and Ida Poitier of Albury Sayle Primary School were suspended for running a campaign of deceit, claiming misappropriation of funds by the union, and for negatively representing the BUT to the Caribbean Union of Teachers (CUT).
The BUT is scheduled to host the CUT's conference slated for Aug. 2005, but the petition to have the union's executive committee recalled also lists a proposal to have this conference canceled.
"They are on their own. Through their campaign they called us thieves. You have invited judgment and now you must suffer the consequences. The union cannot move forward and we shall not move forward with individuals hell-bent on destroying us simply to have their own way; and the majority of members do not support this foolishness. The union is not made up of this foolishness. You would expect educated individuals to behave differently, and they actually do us a disservice by their consistent inappropriate behaviour that is nothing short of almost jungerlist action. This is not the way to behave in the teaching profession," said President of the BUT Kingsley Black on Wednesday after making the announcement that the union's executive committee came to a unanimous decision regarding the suspension.
"They lose representation. They cannot call on the union officers to represent them on any matter. When it comes to what members benefit from generally from our collective bargaining, they benefit and plus, Ms Wilson automatically relinquishes her position as shop steward in this union. She appointed herself anyway. We didn't row about it because we didn't want any row. Since the teachers at that school appeared to accept it, we left it alone. Maybe that was wrong because you can't have rules and have one person acting like they are above the rules. This is the way this woman behaves and everywhere she goes, she believes she suppose to run things and the worse thing is, she don't believe in going about it the right way," said Mr Black.
The police were called in to keep the peace at a union meeting Tuesday after pandemonium broke out when the teachers involved tried to bring their attorneys inside to represent them, but were not allowed.
Mr Black said the union is on the verge of presenting its first Collective Agreement to the Government in order to set mutually agreed standards of performance and operations for teachers in the public education system. He added that the BUT had to respond to the negative campaign being run by the teachers to cause division within the union.
"We were loathed to address this. We were hoping that it would go away, but obviously, it refused to go away. So empowered by the Constitution, we determined that the time was right to address the issue. That is why we called that meeting. It was lie to say to say that we haven't had our General Membership here in Nassau for two years. It's an absolute lie. We had a general membership meeting no later than March when we pursued a $30 levy. We met with the members at least three to four times over the past 12 months here in Nassau. That is the penchant of these individuals. They have no regard for the truth. All they seek to do is influence people to hate me. Others have tried this before with dire consequences to themselves," said Mr Black.
He said he has devoted 30 years of his life to the BUT, and having been chosen to do this work, he shall complete that job. He said when he became President, he met the union broke, and it is only now gaining financial momentum. During his tenure teachers received a $7,700 pay increase in the past seven years. Mr Black is set to demit office next year and he said that he is not going out in this fashion.
"No-one shall stand in my way. None! I have the support of my executive committee. We are working together as a team," he said, adding that Ms Wilson and Ms Poitier are trying to superimpose their "narrow" interests on the will of the majority. " That is wrong. It shall not be tolerated and they need to stop and desist. Well, it has been stopped. They can continue their destructive behaviour on the outside."
He said that Ms Wilson appointed herself as shop steward, and was never officially elected to the position. "They abused their membership privileges and by their actions of the past few months. They have impugned the integrity of this organisation," he said.
He said that there are only 2,700 members within the union, so the petition could not have had thousands of signatures as Ms Wilson claimed in a Guardian report published on Wednesday. They would have only needed less 450 members to validate the petition.
"The BUT is a going concern. Its obligations and responsibilities are immutable. They don't change with the mere change of leadership," said Mr Black, noting that Ms Wilson has been campaigning to oust him from his position so that she can takeover, and that Ms Poitier is seeking to become the Secretary General of the union. This position was made clear to the CUT, as they tried to influence them to cancel next year's conference because as the "new" leaders of the BUT, they would not have time to prepare Mr Black said.
"We have in place structures and systems to ensure that there is continuity. A committee was established from last Aug. The Secretary General who is most competent heads that committee. She reports to the CUT on Dec.1 on the progress of the organisation regarding preparations for the conference next Aug. We have in place what it takes for us to host the conference successfully," he said.
"These members believe that they are already in power. They do not respect the authority that is in place. They want a change and their motto is, by any means possible. It is wrong for teachers to exhibit that type of behaviour. They want to destroy this union and they do not care about destroying this union to get at me. And my simple message to them is, don't pick up what you can't manage because I ain't easy. I have had enough of your foolishness and this is where the tire meets the road," Mr Black said.
The Guardian contacted Ms Wilson late Wednesday afternoon and she said she had no comment for the press at that time, as she did not receive any official documents from the union indicating she was suspended.
By Vanessa C. Rolle
Nassau Guardian
Two teachers who spearheaded a petition to reverse a $16 increase in union dues by The Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) over the past two months, were officially suspended from the Union on Wednesday for their "Jungerlist actions" and "destructive behaviour" within the union.
Doris Johnson Senior High School teacher Belinda Wilson, and Ida Poitier of Albury Sayle Primary School were suspended for running a campaign of deceit, claiming misappropriation of funds by the union, and for negatively representing the BUT to the Caribbean Union of Teachers (CUT).
The BUT is scheduled to host the CUT's conference slated for Aug. 2005, but the petition to have the union's executive committee recalled also lists a proposal to have this conference canceled.
"They are on their own. Through their campaign they called us thieves. You have invited judgment and now you must suffer the consequences. The union cannot move forward and we shall not move forward with individuals hell-bent on destroying us simply to have their own way; and the majority of members do not support this foolishness. The union is not made up of this foolishness. You would expect educated individuals to behave differently, and they actually do us a disservice by their consistent inappropriate behaviour that is nothing short of almost jungerlist action. This is not the way to behave in the teaching profession," said President of the BUT Kingsley Black on Wednesday after making the announcement that the union's executive committee came to a unanimous decision regarding the suspension.
"They lose representation. They cannot call on the union officers to represent them on any matter. When it comes to what members benefit from generally from our collective bargaining, they benefit and plus, Ms Wilson automatically relinquishes her position as shop steward in this union. She appointed herself anyway. We didn't row about it because we didn't want any row. Since the teachers at that school appeared to accept it, we left it alone. Maybe that was wrong because you can't have rules and have one person acting like they are above the rules. This is the way this woman behaves and everywhere she goes, she believes she suppose to run things and the worse thing is, she don't believe in going about it the right way," said Mr Black.
The police were called in to keep the peace at a union meeting Tuesday after pandemonium broke out when the teachers involved tried to bring their attorneys inside to represent them, but were not allowed.
Mr Black said the union is on the verge of presenting its first Collective Agreement to the Government in order to set mutually agreed standards of performance and operations for teachers in the public education system. He added that the BUT had to respond to the negative campaign being run by the teachers to cause division within the union.
"We were loathed to address this. We were hoping that it would go away, but obviously, it refused to go away. So empowered by the Constitution, we determined that the time was right to address the issue. That is why we called that meeting. It was lie to say to say that we haven't had our General Membership here in Nassau for two years. It's an absolute lie. We had a general membership meeting no later than March when we pursued a $30 levy. We met with the members at least three to four times over the past 12 months here in Nassau. That is the penchant of these individuals. They have no regard for the truth. All they seek to do is influence people to hate me. Others have tried this before with dire consequences to themselves," said Mr Black.
He said he has devoted 30 years of his life to the BUT, and having been chosen to do this work, he shall complete that job. He said when he became President, he met the union broke, and it is only now gaining financial momentum. During his tenure teachers received a $7,700 pay increase in the past seven years. Mr Black is set to demit office next year and he said that he is not going out in this fashion.
"No-one shall stand in my way. None! I have the support of my executive committee. We are working together as a team," he said, adding that Ms Wilson and Ms Poitier are trying to superimpose their "narrow" interests on the will of the majority. " That is wrong. It shall not be tolerated and they need to stop and desist. Well, it has been stopped. They can continue their destructive behaviour on the outside."
He said that Ms Wilson appointed herself as shop steward, and was never officially elected to the position. "They abused their membership privileges and by their actions of the past few months. They have impugned the integrity of this organisation," he said.
He said that there are only 2,700 members within the union, so the petition could not have had thousands of signatures as Ms Wilson claimed in a Guardian report published on Wednesday. They would have only needed less 450 members to validate the petition.
"The BUT is a going concern. Its obligations and responsibilities are immutable. They don't change with the mere change of leadership," said Mr Black, noting that Ms Wilson has been campaigning to oust him from his position so that she can takeover, and that Ms Poitier is seeking to become the Secretary General of the union. This position was made clear to the CUT, as they tried to influence them to cancel next year's conference because as the "new" leaders of the BUT, they would not have time to prepare Mr Black said.
"We have in place structures and systems to ensure that there is continuity. A committee was established from last Aug. The Secretary General who is most competent heads that committee. She reports to the CUT on Dec.1 on the progress of the organisation regarding preparations for the conference next Aug. We have in place what it takes for us to host the conference successfully," he said.
"These members believe that they are already in power. They do not respect the authority that is in place. They want a change and their motto is, by any means possible. It is wrong for teachers to exhibit that type of behaviour. They want to destroy this union and they do not care about destroying this union to get at me. And my simple message to them is, don't pick up what you can't manage because I ain't easy. I have had enough of your foolishness and this is where the tire meets the road," Mr Black said.
The Guardian contacted Ms Wilson late Wednesday afternoon and she said she had no comment for the press at that time, as she did not receive any official documents from the union indicating she was suspended.