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Teacher union rapped for Jeffco school e-mail use

By Lynn Bartels, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published October 10, 2008 at 7:02 p.m.
Updated October 10, 2008 at 7:02 p.m.

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A teachers union improperly used the Jefferson County School District's e-mail system to urge a "no" vote on three ballot measures, including one that would impact union dues.

School district honchos sent out their own missive, reminding employees they can't use the e-mail system to advocate a position on a campaign issue.

"Employees wishing to participate in a campaign activity should take personal leave and use personal e-mail accounts," the district warned.

The union message rankled Republican Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute think tank and the chief backer of Amendment 49. The ballot measure would halt the current practice of allowing government workers to have their employers subtract union or other dues from their paychecks on behalf of groups they belong to.

"I am glad to see that Jefferson County put a stop to this very quickly," Caldara said.

But he was upset by what he called "false scare tactics" by the union to paint the ballot measures as a threat to their retirement.

The e-mail was sent Wednesday by Kerrie Dallman, president of the Jefferson County Education Association. She used the union's e-mail account to contact association representatives. "This email is ok to forward to your members at school," she wrote.

Dexter Meyer, communications director for the Jefferson County Education Association, said Friday that he normally reviews e-mails to make sure they comply with district policy but in this case he did not.

He said he doesn't know how many employees received the e-mail, but not everyone did. That's because the district sent out its warning about political missives before some association reps had even seen the original e-mail, Meyer said.

Dallman invited district employees to attend a political event from 8 a.m. to noon today at Lakewood High School concerning the ballot measures.

The other two measures the union criticized are Amendment 47, involving right to work, and Amendment 54, which concerns contractors and political donations.

"The same people who have been behind previous attacks on public education, attacks on education employee rights, and attacks" on the public retirement pension plan are behind the three amendments, Dallman wrote.

None of the amendments have anything to do with pensions, Caldara countered.

Comments

  • October 10, 2008

    8:25 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    deriko2282 writes:

    People should be able to advocate or discuss political issues via e mail, be it a personal e mail account or a district one. The free flow of information is important for a democracy and should not be stopped.

  • October 10, 2008

    9:53 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Francesca writes:

    I liken this to political interests using the telephone to urge people to vote in a particular way. In a democracy, people can attain the information they need if they want it, when they want it and how they want it. This isn't free flow of information but rather it is pushing an agenda that is not necessarily being sought out by the other party.

    I don't appreciate my private number being used for this purpose (several times a day lately), nor do I want my email inbox or my regular mailbox stuffed full with political messages either. If I want the information I will request it, but I won't accept it being forced upon me.