As staff and community supporters of Richmond Public Schools (RPS), we feel the need to inform you that the administration of RPS Superintendent, Jason Kamras, has taken a series of actions to disrupt and undermine the functioning of collective bargaining, workers’ rights, and the role of the Richmond Education Association (REA) as the exclusive bargaining agent for licensed and non-licensed employees of RPS.

It has come to our attention that the RPS Administration seeks to break the leadership of the REA by terminating the employment REA President, Ms.Suarez. Ms. Suarez is a Latina disabled war veteran who is employed as a Special Education teacher at Richmond High School for the Arts (formerly George Wythe), and a tireless fighter for the rights of the students, educators, and working people of Richmond. On Thursday, April 18, 2024, a termination hearing was held for Ms. Suarez with what was supposed to be an impartial person to make a decision. Unfortunately, in the course of Ms. Suarez’s dismissal hearing, it came to light that John Cox, the “impartial” hearing officer who presided over Ms. Suarez’s dismissal was a former client of Stacy Haney, the RPS attorney representing the Kamras administration–meaning Ms. Suarez did not get a fair hearing. This relationship was not disclosed until Ms. Suarez's attorney demanded the information. Naturally, Mr. Cox was disinclined to issue a decision against his own legal advisor and is not "impartial," as Virginia Code requires. Further, as a union, we believe the ability to grant an unpaid leave of absence request for union work should not be left up to our superintendent, but rather a right our School Board enshrines in policy for all unions in RPS.

Our ask of our community and supporters is simple: call on our School Board to amend RPS Policy 7-7.7 to allow for an unpaid leave of absence for a leader of an exclusive representative, or certified union, of workers in RPS. REA worked with our attorneys to draft sample language for this policy change, and we submitted it to the RPS School Board members on the policy committee back in January. To date, no action has been taken by the policy committee on this policy amendment suggestion.

We are calling upon the School Board of the City of Richmond to rescind Ms. Suarez’s termination, to reinstate Ms. Suarez as an employee of RPS, and to grant the REA President, and leaders of all exclusive representatives of RPS workers, now and in the future, the right to take an unpaid leave of absence for the purpose of conducting union business. We believe if the School Board and the RPS Administration view the collective bargaining process as one of equals, as a sign of good faith they should grant the union officer an unpaid leave of absence to complete union duties. For union members, having a spokesperson and representative such as Ms. Suarez, who is also directly familiar with the workers themselves and available during the workday to support members, meet with the Administration, and resolve issues, is an important part of union democracy and democracy in general. We believe this is a priority of the School Board as well, since the collective bargaining resolution, which was written and passed by the School Board, states, “workplace democracy must be recognized as an essential component to the functioning of our republic in that it allows workers to advocate for fair pay and working conditions so that they may live without the fear of poverty or economic oppression”.

We also want to express that the issues we negotiate at the table directly affect our students and the quality of their education. We want time to prepare what they learn, eat, or need, days to rest when we are sick, and relationships with our school administration and leadership that are fair, open and collaborative. Our disputes at the bargaining table are rarely over money, but rather over the employer relinquishing control.

Please sign in solidarity to send an email to the Richmond School Board voicing support for this policy change.