Lawsuit puts PUSD in unwanted spotlight

Porterville Unified School District, along with Superintendent Ken Gibbs, have been thrust into a national spotlight they may just as well have wished to avoid.

The district has been named as a defendant in a major lawsuit with huge national union ramifications and that lawsuit is very likely going to wind up in the United States Supreme Court.

Because two local teachers are among the eight plaintiffs in the suit challenging mandatory union dues be deducted from teachers, Porterville United and Gibbs are among the six defendants.

Now, the suit will not mean much more than some notoriety for the district. The California Teachers Association (CTA) will be the lead defendant in the case. PUSD, as well as the other school districts, are basically just there in name only.

The lawsuit is no reflection on the district and Gibbs said neither he or the district has an opinion on the matter.

At issue is union membership in all forms and in all states. Should the plaintiffs prevail, then thousands of teachers and other union workers who have dues deducted automatically could opt out and not pay anything to the unions. It would be a crippling blow to the unions, especially the CTA, considered one of the most powerful unions in the nation.

Collective bargaining came into being in the 1970s and that is what created teacher unions. The unions have done a lot for teachers, raising their salaries to levels not seen before collective bargaining. However, the unions are political and some of the political stances taken by CTA over the years has riled some teachers. Generally, CTA is a strong supporter of Democratic candidates, but that is not always the case.

It will be an interesting case to follow as it makes its way toward the Supreme Court and it could make PUSD, the two local teachers and Superintendent Gibbs footnotes in history.