Teachers Union, School Board Accuse Each Other of Not Negotiating Fairly

The Brecksville-Broadview Heights Board of Education and Education Association have accused each other of not fighting fair—officially.

Both parties have filed Unfair Labor Practice charges with the State Employment Relations Board, related to this year’s contentious contract negotiations.

Here's a look at the charges that have been filed in the past few months:

• The teachers union, the Brecksville-Broadview Heights Education Association, filed its charge against the board back in April, claiming that the board’s negotiation news website was an “attempt to create ill will” against the association. The contract proposals are published on the website, which is still running.
• The board filed its charges against the union in June, alleging that the association’s website contained “numerous false and disparaging statements” about the board in an attempt to “smear and discredit” it. The union has closed its website to members only.
• The board also filed three Unfair Labor Practice charges against individual teachers in July. In each case, the board pointed to a letter or an email sent by the teacher to parents that the board said contained “false and disparaging statements.”

A representative of the State Employment Relations Board said in an email that the five cases are still under investigation, and dates for the board to consider the cases have not been scheduled at this time.

The charges were provided by the State Employment Relations Board and can be found in the PDFs above.

For reactions and more details on the charges, check out the articles below: