The Virginia Education Association (VEA) has invalidated last month’s officer elections held by the local Alexandria teachers union and will oversee a new election.
In an email sent this week to members of the Education Association of Alexandria (EAA), VEA said that it conducted a review of its Alexandria affiliate to see “whether the recent EAA officer election complied with the legal requirements established under the federal Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act.” The news comes after an EAA’s union officer election was postponed from May 18 to May 21, and EAA presidential candidate David Paladin-Fernandez was disqualified less than 12 hours before the election.
VEA will oversee a new election for EAA officers, VEA President Carol Bauer wrote in the letter on behalf of VEA’s Board of Directors.
“Based on the advice of legal counsel, the VEA Board voted to oversee a new election for EAA officers,” Bauer wrote. “We are currently working with EAA leadership and the Elections Committee to gather the information necessary to conduct the election with all applicable requirements.”
What happened with the teachers union officer elections
On May 20, Paladin-Fernandez was informed of his disqualification in a Zoom meeting with other candidates. Andrea Hill, chair of the EAA Credentials/Election Committee, led the meeting, and said the union’s executive committee had voted to disqualify Paladin-Fernandez after an investigation into alleged campaign violations. She also said the executive committee believed there was not enough time to go through a democratic process to allow Paladin-Fernandez to defend himself against the allegations, according to audio obtained by ALXnow.
“I understand that you want to do it the democratic way, but there was not time,” Hill said, relaying the committee’s message to the candidates at the May 20 meeting.
Candidates were told that the union’s elections committee investigated nine allegations of campaign violations and dismissed three. The committee found that Paladin-Fernandez and his supporters broke rules by posting election flyers in teachers’ lounges at Alexandria City High School and Jefferson-Houston PreK-8 IB School, distributed campaign literature in the ACHS parking lot after hours and used EAA’s name on his campaign Instagram account.
Paladin-Fernandez said he was denied due process and that EAA violated federal law by not allowing him to defend himself.
EAA did not release the results of the election, which was held virtually on May 21 and 22. The union operates out of a small office it rents at 2857 Duke Street and recently negotiated a one-year, $12.7 million collective bargaining agreement for ACPS staff.
EAA president Dawn Lucas is not seeking reelection and sits on the EAA executive committee. She did not respond to requests for comment.
Madeline Wingate-Alfonso, the current EAA vice president, became the sole candidate running for president after Paladin-Fernandez was disqualified. Tyron Barnes also ran against Mary Gaddis for EAA vice president, and Howard van der Sluis ran against Diana Carvajal for EAA treasurer.
Barnes and van der Sluis ran on a slate with Paladin-Fernandez as part of their group, Responsive Union Now.
Paladin-Fernandez said that the three candidates are committed to running again, whenever another election is scheduled.
“We want to extend our deepest gratitude to the VEA leadership for listening to their members and stepping in to ensure a fair process,” Paladin-Fernandez said. “However, this landmark decision ultimately belongs to our supporters. When faced with a disqualified ballot, they didn’t give up. They stepped up. From sending emails and making phone calls to traveling directly to Richmond, their rapid and relentless advocacy proved that educator voices have undeniable power when we stand together.”
