'Stop Teacher Strikes' continues fight to organize non-union state employees
By Darwyn Deyo
Pennsylvania Independent
The Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) is requesting home addresses of public school employees be kept private under Right-to-Know law, but Stop Teacher Strikes President Simon Campbell and the state Office of Open Records argue there is no such protection.
The PSEA requested an injunction from the state Supreme Court, which was granted, to block Mr. Campbell’s Right-to-Know request for the home addresses of public school employees. The PSEA previously advised the school districts against releasing the names of non-union members who pay dues before going directly to the Commonwealth Court with 14 petitioners asking for an injunction against their home addresses being released, for safety reasons.
The Commonwealth Court injunction was later rescinded, on jurisdictional grounds.
In a statement, the PSEA said there are documented cases of school employees who have been “stalked or harassed or assaulted, by students, former students and other citizens,” though the organization did not elaborate or detail the harassment upon request.
Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know law protects four categories of individuals: law enforcement officers, judges, minors and individuals when evidence of a “substantial and demonstrable” risk of physical harm is presented.
“Some professions deserve added protection,” the PSEA statement reads. “There have been incidents of actual or threatened violence against teachers and school employees from parents or students. PSEA believes that these protections should extend to public school employees as well.”
Mr. Campbell first introduced his request for the names and home addresses specifically for state employees who are not members of a union but are still required to pay union dues, who the state calls “fair share fee payers.” Other state departments and agencies have released the names, email addresses and home addresses in response to Mr. Campbell’s request though public school employees’ home addresses are currently off the table.
Mr. Campbell argues the PSEA request for injunctions, first by the Commonwealth Court and now by the state Supreme Court after the first was rescinded, are not about the safety of teachers. Instead, he suggests the PSEA is stalling to amend the Right-to-Know statute in Pennsylvania. Mr. Campbell said he obtained the home address of the PSEA president, James Testerman and argued teacher addresses can be found in the White Pages or Google.
“If you want to stalk someone, are you really going to file a Right-to-Know?” Mr. Campbell said. “You’re probably going to go to WhitePages.com or just follow someone home. When they make these arguments it’s designed to make an emotional reaction. They don’t want the address released, and the rest of it is just a smoke screen.”
Mr. Campbell said he has successfully obtained the names of 20,000 state employees categorized as “fair share fee payers” and 15,000 of their state email addresses. The National Right-to-Work foundation has taken on his case against the PSEA first in the Commonwealth Court and now in the Supreme Court.
Complicating matters, the PSEA was not the recipient of Mr. Campbell’s Right-to-Know request either, as he said he sent 770 requests out to the state’s individual school districts as well as government agencies.
The PSEA is suing the Office of Open Records in the court system to prevent the release of names and home addresses by the school districts, but Terry Mutchler, executive director of the Office of Open Records, said she expects the Supreme Court injunction to be rescinded once they complete their review.
“We fought that because there was no live case,” said Ms. Mutchler, referring to the PSEA’s lack of an actual case of harassment resulting from a public school employee’s home address being made public through a Right-to-Know request. “They just came out of nowhere and said ‘we want this injunction.’ Earlier this fall the court repealed the injunction, there was no live case and home addresses were back on the table. Then PSEA went back to the Supreme Court.”
Mr. Campbell said he has received names and state email addresses from “hundreds” of school districts in Pennsylvania despite the PSEA requested injunction against home addresses. Recent school districts include Philadelphia and Fox Chapel Area School District.
Pennsylvania Independent
The Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) is requesting home addresses of public school employees be kept private under Right-to-Know law, but Stop Teacher Strikes President Simon Campbell and the state Office of Open Records argue there is no such protection.
The PSEA requested an injunction from the state Supreme Court, which was granted, to block Mr. Campbell’s Right-to-Know request for the home addresses of public school employees. The PSEA previously advised the school districts against releasing the names of non-union members who pay dues before going directly to the Commonwealth Court with 14 petitioners asking for an injunction against their home addresses being released, for safety reasons.
The Commonwealth Court injunction was later rescinded, on jurisdictional grounds.
In a statement, the PSEA said there are documented cases of school employees who have been “stalked or harassed or assaulted, by students, former students and other citizens,” though the organization did not elaborate or detail the harassment upon request.
Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know law protects four categories of individuals: law enforcement officers, judges, minors and individuals when evidence of a “substantial and demonstrable” risk of physical harm is presented.
“Some professions deserve added protection,” the PSEA statement reads. “There have been incidents of actual or threatened violence against teachers and school employees from parents or students. PSEA believes that these protections should extend to public school employees as well.”
Mr. Campbell first introduced his request for the names and home addresses specifically for state employees who are not members of a union but are still required to pay union dues, who the state calls “fair share fee payers.” Other state departments and agencies have released the names, email addresses and home addresses in response to Mr. Campbell’s request though public school employees’ home addresses are currently off the table.
Mr. Campbell argues the PSEA request for injunctions, first by the Commonwealth Court and now by the state Supreme Court after the first was rescinded, are not about the safety of teachers. Instead, he suggests the PSEA is stalling to amend the Right-to-Know statute in Pennsylvania. Mr. Campbell said he obtained the home address of the PSEA president, James Testerman and argued teacher addresses can be found in the White Pages or Google.
“If you want to stalk someone, are you really going to file a Right-to-Know?” Mr. Campbell said. “You’re probably going to go to WhitePages.com or just follow someone home. When they make these arguments it’s designed to make an emotional reaction. They don’t want the address released, and the rest of it is just a smoke screen.”
Mr. Campbell said he has successfully obtained the names of 20,000 state employees categorized as “fair share fee payers” and 15,000 of their state email addresses. The National Right-to-Work foundation has taken on his case against the PSEA first in the Commonwealth Court and now in the Supreme Court.
Complicating matters, the PSEA was not the recipient of Mr. Campbell’s Right-to-Know request either, as he said he sent 770 requests out to the state’s individual school districts as well as government agencies.
The PSEA is suing the Office of Open Records in the court system to prevent the release of names and home addresses by the school districts, but Terry Mutchler, executive director of the Office of Open Records, said she expects the Supreme Court injunction to be rescinded once they complete their review.
“We fought that because there was no live case,” said Ms. Mutchler, referring to the PSEA’s lack of an actual case of harassment resulting from a public school employee’s home address being made public through a Right-to-Know request. “They just came out of nowhere and said ‘we want this injunction.’ Earlier this fall the court repealed the injunction, there was no live case and home addresses were back on the table. Then PSEA went back to the Supreme Court.”
Mr. Campbell said he has received names and state email addresses from “hundreds” of school districts in Pennsylvania despite the PSEA requested injunction against home addresses. Recent school districts include Philadelphia and Fox Chapel Area School District.
