Court Issues Temporary Restraining Order Against Union Job Action For St. Croix Teachers, Schedules Hearing For Friday

The showdown between teachers complaining about underfunding and neglect in St. Croix’s education system and the government has reached the courts, with a lawsuit filed against the American Federation of Teachers, Local 1826 (AFT STX) and its members who walked off the job last week.

The civil complaint, filed by the Department of Education, claims that the job action by teachers is prohibited by the terms of three collective bargaining agreements between the government and the union, all of which expired at the end of August — weeks before last week’s protest action. Nevertheless, government lawyers are arguing that the events of September 20 and 21 constitute a breach of the expired agreements, as well as a failure to act in good faith. The plaintiffs also allege that the action was in violation of Title 24 VIC Chapter 14, which places restrictions on how strike action may be taken by bargaining units.

The complaint lays out a timeline of events from the beginning of September. On the 7th, a meeting was convened between AFT STX President Rosa Soto-Thomas, the union shop steward, and the Department of Education’s Insular Superintendent for the district, Ericilda Ottley-Herman. The agenda was a discussion of “numerous concerns and issues affecting the Juanita Gardine and Eulalie Rivera schools,” including the student-teacher ratio, infrastructural issues, and the lack of supplies, among others.

Days later, another meeting was scheduled between Ms. Soto-Thomas and Education Education Commissioner Dionne Wells-Hedrington, but the union president reportedly did not attend, and did not respond to inquiries concerning her absence. That meeting eventually took place on the Sept. 18th, during which the parties discussed supplies, a/c units and electrical systems which required upgrades, among other topics. Ms. Wells-Hedrington reportedly informed Ms. Soto-Thomas that money for supplies that was allocated to each school from federal funding sources would be online “as soon as the appropriate accounts for the schools could be put in place,” and requested that the union “give them some time” to correct infrastructural deficiencies.