PETITION to Recall the Executive Officers of United Educators of San Francisco

UESF Members

We, the undersigned, pursuant to the Article II, Section c of the Constitution of the United Educators of San Francisco, hereby petition to recall the following executive officers of United Educators of San Francisco (UESF) :

  • President (Cassondra Curiel)

  • Executive Vice President (Frank Lara)

  • Secretary (Leslie Hu)

  • Treasurer (Geri Almanza)

  • Vice President for Paraprofessionals (Sean Nunley-Willis)

  • Vice President for Substitutes (Nathalie Hrizi)

  • Sergeant-at-Arms (Teanna Tillery)

due to their failure to adequately and effectively represent the membership in their interface with the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) and due to their actions in violation of the UESF Constitution (Article II, Article IV, Article V) and Bylaws (Article I, Article II, Article IV, and Article VII)

HERE are the specific complaints against each officer.

NOTE : Your name and will not be made public and will only be shared with union leadership once enough signatures have been gathered for verification.

NOTE : If you are in UESF but don't have an SFUSD district email, please just sign with the work email you have and include your site in comments.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

UESF Bylaws

Article VII

Section 2. c. Any member of the Executive Board may be recalled by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the membership present and voting at a special membership meeting held for this purpose. A special membership meeting for the purpose of recall requires a recall petition signed by at least one-third (1/3) of the membership then in good standing and presented at a regular Assembly meeting at least two weeks before the date of the recall vote.


Sponsored by
Sfba_san_francisco_golden_gate_bridge
San Francisco Educators Associated
San Francisco, CA

To: UESF Members
From: [Your Name]

We, the undersigned, pursuant to the Article II, Section c of the Constitution of the United Educators of San Francisco, hereby petition to recall the following executive officers of United Educators of San Francisco (UESF) :

President (Cassondra Curiel)
Executive Vice President (Frank Lara)
Secretary (Leslie Hu)
Treasurer (Geri Almaza)
Vice President for Paraprofessionals (Sean Nunley-Willis)
Vice President for Substitutes (Nathalie Hrizi)
Sergeant-at-Arms (Teanna Tillery)

due to their failure to adequately and effectively represent the membership in their interface with the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) and due to their actions in violation of the UESF Constitution (Article II, Article IV, Article V) and Bylaws (Article I, Article II, Article IV, Article VII) in the actions noted below:

Negotiation

- Failed to ensure minimally adequate review of the new EMPowerSF payroll system on member working conditions and financial health, leading to members receiving no pay, incorrect pay, incorrect paycheck information, and incorrect deductions;
- Pursued artificial political “wins” by agreeing to changes in member benefits and working conditions without member input on personal and work site impacts;
- Failed to negotiate additional paid hours for paraeducators for completing mandated trainings, forcing them to use QTEA hours for district-mandated trainings;
- Failed to poll or consult with members before signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding a 13th paycheck in 2021 that led to members owing thousands in unexpected federal taxes in 2021, penalties for overpayment into retirement plans, and loss of ability to participate in income-based financial support programs (ex: subsidized childcare, mortgage assistance);
- Prematurely declared victory in the payroll struggle without ensuring that members were receiving accurate and corrected payroll checks;
- Made ill-considered concessions on school site budgets due to shallow, unconfirmed, and inaccurate assessment of the SFUSD’s financial situation;
- Failed to achieve a contract extension to prevent layoffs and/or consolidations.

Representation

- Made unilateral changes to procedures of the Executive Board, Assembly and UBC elections without required consultation of the membership;
- Proposed changes to UESF Bylaws designed to stifle member voices;
- Failed to resolve payroll issues promptly;
- Unilaterally made agreements with SFUSD without adequate member input or minimal research on expected impact to school site budgets;
- Denied the general membership the ability to present resolutions to the Executive Board and/or the Assembly ;
- Stifled democratic debate at Executive Board and Assembly meetings by limiting time outside the time guaranteed by the UESF Bylaws;
- Moved contract ratification to a solely on-line process;
- Moved contract ratification to an unsecured platform;
- Unilaterally reduced the voting window to four days (including two weekend days)
- Failed to ensure transparency in ballot counting and certification
- Failed to actively engage executive officers in and with CTA, CFT, NEA and AFT conferences and meetings;
- Improperly appointed committee chairs and members.
- Improperly regulated and reviewed voting member lists during Assembly meetings
- Improperly tallied votes during Assembly meetings

Communication

- Failed to publicly notice meeting announcements and agendas for Executive Board and Assembly meetings in a timely fashion in accordance with the Constitution and By-Laws;
- Failed to publicly post minutes of Executive Board and Assembly meetings in a timely fashion in accordance with the Constitution and By-Laws;
- Failed to publicly post locations and links for meetings in a timely fashion in accordance with the Constitution and By-Laws;
- Failed to respond to member e-mails and telephone calls in a timely fashion in accordance with the Constitution and By-Laws;
- Used unprotected and often inaccessible social media sites as the primary means of disseminating information to members, in violation of the Constitution and By-Laws;
- Disseminated misinformation regarding the awarding of bonuses stipulated in the then-Tentative Agreement;
- Used Zoom meeting logistics and settings to stifle member voices;
- Publicly denigrated of named members who disagree with UESF executive officer actions as “anti-democratic and anti-union” in violation of the Union Code of Conduct;
- Provided false information about the impact of the then-Tentative Agreement on members;
- Silenced experienced UESF members in meetings, at sites, at the bargaining table and in public;
- Used personal social media spaces to discuss UESF business and promote messages at odds with the views of UESF membership;
- Addressed members publicly in a dismissive, combative and/or condescending manner;
- Failed to communicate to members the impact of the MOU in time for members to make appropriate and adequate personal budget adjustments, in accordance with the Constitution and By-Laws.

Respectfully submitted,
San Francisco Educators Associated
A Coalition of UESF Members