Was lavish life and Democratic Party built on backs of teachers'?

St. Petersburg Times ^ | June 7, 2003 | ANITA KUMAR

[Cincinatus' Wife]

FL Teachers' Union paid for chief's opulent lifestyle - $2,000-a-night suite raised red flags

[Susannah]

Good find, Cincinatus' Wife! I enjoy seeing unions being exposed.

[dennisw]

The guy is old school (Sopranos?) and for this I give him some respect. I'm sure he did well for his people, the teachers, and often did it in a straight and honest way. But in the end he's a bleeping crook who makes me suspect he always had larceny in his heart only this time he finally got caught.

[MEG33]

Outrageous betrayal of trust.Criminal.

[tcostell]

Larceny and Unions... who would have believed it could be true.

And then to imagine that the Teacher's union (of all groups) might have some agenda other than educating children... its just shocking!< /sarcasm>

I can't think of anything I have less respect for than a public school teacher!

[stubernx98]

How about politicians, lawyers, NARAL, ALCU, Pedeophiles, .... well you get the idea. Teachers are forced to join, by the coercian of politicians who are mostly Lawyers. No Union thug should make more than the hihgest paid uinion member in the rank & file.

We need vouchers, and we need them now. It is the only way to save education in the US.

[Joe Boucher]

Yeah, this crooked bozo has done great for the teachers of Florida. Let's see, the state ranks very low when compared to the other states. Why? Because about every three weeks the teachers have what is called conference days where no students go to class. The teachers go to class and drink coffee and take cig. breaks and do nothing. Great for education and the students.
A study just came out showing that teachers are paid very well when compared with other professions especially when you take into account they work 9 months a year.
There is absolutely no reprocussion when it comes to lousy teachers. Many in the state couldn't pass a basic test for the subject they teach. Why? because the union is so strong that the govts. that are there to control and regulate are afraid to do anything unless the offense is so aggrevious that it is impossible to ignore.
Teachers unions have destroyed Florida education.

[Timeout]

Typical liberal mindset:
I do "good" so I deserve all these perks.

The part that really makes me mad is the lack of attention to the financial overseeers. The comptroller and financial officers have fiduciary responsibilities to the MEMBERS and the board, not to the union head. They didn't blow the whistle and should also be prosecuted.

I'm an accountant and I'm sick of these wimps who say they were just doing what the boss wanted them to do.
_____________________________________________________

BTW, looks like the teachers union is in more hot water for political spending to help Bill McBride's run to unseat Jeb:

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/6033945.htm

[Timeout]

Joe, where did you see that study using the 9-month/12-month comparison? That's always bothered me when we hear about how "little" teachers are paid.

[Zipporah]

.. built on backs of teachers'?" doesn't this pretty much describe the NEA?? About 10 years ago when the KEA was pushing for education reform in Kentucky.. I went to the state capitol and there were 'teachers' there with signs pro-KERA (Kentucky Education Reform Act).. when we asked these "teachers" at which schools they taught.. their answer? "Oh we're not teachers, we were in the unemployment office and were hired to come here to carry there signs"...

[em2vn]

This isn't about a union. It is about a man who may be a very crooked union official.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

"Oh we're not teachers, we were in the unemployment office and were hired to come here to carry there signs"...

And it isn't for the children. The goodwill teachers built over generations has been destroyed by their union. It hasn't disappeared altogether (politicians still run on it), but it will if teachers allow their unions to exchange what's left of the esteem the public holds for them, for the LIBERAL agenda. It's going fast.

[Timeout]

No, it's about a union. This was no aberation. I've gone back and read the Miami Herald coverage of this story since it broke in April. There's so much shocking detail there I don't know what I find most disturbing.

But it's clear the state and national unions knew something was amiss. The local had been missing dues payments for years and the state/national unions were "negotiating" with them for late payments. The local made promises, then failed to pay. More "negotiations". In other words, there were plenty of warning signals, but (one article says) the larger entities were concerned about negative publicity which might impact membership so they didn't inform stewards or board members. They were also concerned about weakening the local's political clout. After the Dade unit failed to catch up on dues it owed the national affiliate, "...the FEA paid the local union's national dues so (local) members could vote on union policy at the national convention."

Check this out:
______________________________________________________
(From the Miami Herald)

On the morning of Nov. 19, 2002, United Teachers of Dade President Pat Tornillo excoriated school leaders over low teacher salaries and demanded ``a hunt for spare dollars that could go toward raises.''

But Tornillo himself wasn't so frugal. That night, he spent teachers union dues to stay in a $2,000-a-night suite at the Mandarin Oriental hotel at Brickell Key. Tornillo slept eight nights at the opulent hotel and charged it to a UTD credit card.

Total cost: $20,138.53.

[You will read below that his own condo was only 300 yards away!]

``I went ballistic when I saw that Mandarin bill,'' said David J. Albaum, the union's in-house financial consultant, who reviewed the UTD's credit-card statements. ``A $2,000 room for a nonprofit union? Come on.''

The Herald obtained 21 months' worth of the UTD chief's credit-card statements, union checks and financial records that show the union paid credit-card charges totaling at least $350,000 between September 2000 and this March, with little or no scrutiny. Among the charges:

The Sinclair Intimacy Institute -- whose motto is ''Better Relationships, Better Sex'' -- Bed Bath & Beyond, Target, ABC Liquor, Sharper Image, even the historic Ahwahnee hotel in Yosemite National Park in California.

From the Neiman Marcus catalog, the 77-year-old Tornillo bought a pair of python-print pajamas ($175.73) and a matching robe ($149.10).

Pat and Donna Tornillo globe-hopped, often first class, through Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the Far East. Pat Tornillo charged $1,441 worth of tailored suits in Hong Kong and $978.26 in souvenirs in Thailand. Donna Tornillo, 56, charged $1,800 worth of designer clothing in one day in New York. The couple charged almost $4,000 at a jewelry store in Carmel, Calif.

Teachers' dues paid for it all, which Albaum said left the union so cash-strapped that it had to take out loans just to get by.

''We paid all his bills,'' said Albaum, who reviewed outgoing payments, but admitted that he never confronted Tornillo. ``We paid Southern Bell, the cable company, FPL. He didn't try to hide anything.''

FIGHTING FOR SALARIES

Many of the expenditures, UTD records show, came at a time when teachers were fighting for raises, facing pay cuts or trying to avoid layoffs.

Last November... (after union negotiations)Tornillo retreated to the Biscayne Bay Suite at the Mandarin, costing $2,000 a night. High over the bay, the 960-square-foot unit features bamboo floors, a marble open shower, a deep-soaking tub and floor-to-ceiling windows, offering guests an unparalleled view of Miami. That night, Tornillo charged $84 worth of beverages from the in-room bar.

During his eight-day stay, Tornillo regularly ordered room service, used the bar, had clothes laundered, and lounged in the spa.

He checked out on Nov. 23, charging it to a UTD American Express card.

His rental apartment is just 300 yards away.

Albaum said Tornillo caught so much grief over the Mandarin bill that he wrote the union a personal check to cover the charges. Albaum said that several weeks later, UTD bookkeeper Judy Bowling issued Tornillo a check to pay him back.

''I saw the check,'' Albaum said. ``It was for the same amount of the Mandarin charge. He turned around and had Judy B. reimburse it.''
___________________________________________________________



There were plenty of people who had knowledge of this. I must, however, retract one thing I said earlier. After reading all this I found that the cheif financial officer, James Angleton, was the one who tipped off the FBI. The union tried to fire him, but he's fighting for his job under Florida whistleblower laws.

Here is a link to all related stories which have appeared in the Miami Herald:

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/education/5953173.htm

[Northern Yankee]

AS an educator, don't get me started.

I've seen enough garbage from unions to last me a lifetime.

The NEA is a disgrace!

[maica]

There are teacher's union officials under investigation in Washington, DC for the same kind of sticky-fingerness. When some people handle large amounts of other people's money, and are able to strongarm any attempts at oversight they begin to believe that the money is their own. This can happen anywhere, from a school PTA or a Co-op Homeowners' association to a huge union where dues are compulsory.

I bet union officials are dipping in to those union dues all over the country.

[Osage Orange]

From the piece:

"Young schoolteachers don't know about history," said G. Holmes Braddock, who served on the Miami-Dade County School Board for 38 years.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

I know the context this guy was speaking in...but I still found the statement hilarious..!! ROFLOL!!

FRegards,

[Northern Yankee]

Which history is he talking about, the Miami-Dade's or the United States? *Grins*

[ghost of nixon]

He came to Florida from New Jersey in 1956

and the rest, as they say, is history

[Timeout]

I noticed that same line....had to read it 3 times to understand he was referring to union history! Irony, yes.

I just sent the following email to the two reporters who have been covering this story for the Miami Herald:

I go to the Miami Herald on-line each morning and have been following your coverage of the UTD scandal.

The June 4th article, it seems to me, is misleading. It says, "...the American Federation of Teachers moved Tuesday to contain a growing scandal by announcing new measures to ensure its locals' finances are in order.

Among the measures, the national union will be able to order outside audits of its affiliates, conduct internal investigations and inform local members of any problems they find."

However, if one goes to the AFT website and reads the actual resolution, it only provides for such audits after a local union is 2 months in arrears on its dues to the national union. Even then, there is a lengthy process before the state affiliate and local union members would be informed of the arrearage. As I read the resolution, it could be as long as 5 months after the due date before such notification. (Read the actual resolution here: http://www.aft.org/about/resolutions/2003/accountability.html)

There is another provision that "where a required biennial audit or financial review has not been performed and made available to members and received by the AFT within six months of the close of an affiliate's fiscal year" the national union may conduct an audit. Was UTD filing such "required biennial audits"? If so, they were obviously not very rigorous. If not, why weren't there recriminations? Is this new provision really a safeguard of members' interests?

As long as a local is paying the national dues within 4 or 5 months of the due date and submitting some kind of biannual (self?) audit, its activities will not be closely scrutinized by the national union....at least that is what the resolution indicates. Not to mention, we learned in your reporting that the national had been "negotiating" with the local for a long time regarding their late payments.

After financial scandals in Washington D.C. and Miami the AFT has a conflict: No more scandalous headlines vs. rigorous protection of members' dues.

As a former auditor, I would not consider this reolution as adequate oversight to "ensure" local finances.

_________________

We'll see if I get any kind of not-canned reply. But I intend to keep following this story.

[Graewoulf]

Ping.