Nathan Saunders
David Wallops Goliath
April 30, 2004

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In December 2002 I filed a pro se lawsuit, Saunders v. Hankerson, et al. The suit is an attempt to correct the wrongs committed against the Washington Teachers Union (WTU) and its members by the former President and Treasurer of the WTU and some of their associates. In addition, the lawsuit names as defendants the former WTU Executive Board, the WTU Board of Trustees, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the AFT’s Secretary Treasurer for failure in their duties to oversee the proper financial management of the WTU.

Recently, the judge in the case, Judge Emmet Sullivan, issued a significant 78-page "Memorandum of Opinion and Court Order" in this case. In his resulting memorandum, Judge Sullivan provided a sectional analysis of Relevant Facts, and Court Answers to Motions to Intervene, AFT's Motion to Dismiss, and Saunders' Motion for a Temporary Injunction. The Court's ruling is available in its entirety on DCPSWatch. The court dealt with issues of jurisdictional challenges, who has the right to sue on behalf of the WTU, and under what conditions a lawsuit for breach of fiduciary duty can be maintained against a union. Among a number of other significant rulings, the decision upholds the right of the WTU membership, with me as the membership’s representative, to proceed with the case against the AFT for breach of contract, and against the AFT’s Secretary Treasurer, the WTU Executive Board and the WTU Board of Trustees for breach of fiduciary duties imposed by statute. Being able to proceed with the case is a significant victory given the constant denials of responsibility that each of these sets of defendants has made to all of us, and to the Court.

As part of the opinion, the Court denied the motions to intervene that had been filed by a number of DCPS retired or active teachers acting individually or with other groups who sought to participate as plaintiffs. Judge Sullivan ruled the Saunders lawsuit is a valid action representing all WTU members as a group because it was filed as a "derivative lawsuit" and so the participation of the would-be intervenors as parties is not necessary. I am very pleased that the Court held that my participation as plaintiff in this lawsuit met the requirement of a "fair and adequate" representation of the interests of all Washington Teacher Union members. Any and all damages that may be recovered as a result of this lawsuit will go directly to the WTU. Wilmer Cutler Pickering LLP, the national law firm that has been assisting me, has been acting free of charge through their Pro Bono Division. The Saunders lawsuit has already had effects that have benefited the WTU. The AFT’s $645,000 grant to repay the WTU’s excess dues deduction happened in the context of the Saunders Lawsuit and has benefited every single DCPS teacher.

The AFT, the WTU Executive Board, and the WTU Board of Trustees put forth legal arguments stating that WTU members do not have the legal right or authority under the law to sue the AFT or the former Board members or Trustees. Defendants claimed the Court does not have the right to hear the case, in other words, the defendants filed a jurisdictional challenge.

The Court completely denied the WTU Executive Board’s and the Trustees’ motions to dismiss. It held that the allegations of our Amended Complaint were more than sufficient to bring a claim against these defendants. The Court granted the AFT’s motion to dismiss our breach of fiduciary duty claim against the AFT, which was based on a statute, because it said that only the officers of a union could be sued under that particular statute, not the union itself. Nevertheless, the Court permitted the case against the Secretary Treasurer of the AFT to proceed under that same statute and it permitted the breach of contract claim we brought under a separate statutory provision to proceed against the AFT. Thus, we won on most of the significant claims on the motion to dismiss. This is a serious blow to the Defendants’ constant denials of any responsibility for the damage to the WTU.

This case is the first time that a individual union member acting on behalf of his union has been able to sue the officers of a parent union for breach of fiduciary duty owed to the members of the local. We hope to continue making a difference in the rights of union members to receive full and adequate disclosure of their union’s finances. Department of Labor Secretary Elaine Cho recently instituted changes for reporting and disclosure for all unions nationwide.

Judge Sullivan's rulings prove that fiduciary duties and the obligation to diligently carry out those duties are real and live concepts in the judicial system. I hope that this lawsuit will forever remind all future WTU board members and Trustees of their responsibilities to "John Q. Unionmember" and to themselves! It is time for us as union members to demand accountability. This lawsuit attempts to use the Rule of Law to place responsibility on parties who did not perform their official duties, failed to act, or acted negligently or incompetently. A professional teacher organization, one that generates approximately $3 million per year in dues, was internally defrauded of almost $6 million. As the Court has observed, the defendants "continue to deny an oversight responsibility or breach thereof on their part." The claim that no one is responsible for this loss except the people directly involved in the fraud is insulting to common sensibilities! I hope the Saunders lawsuit reverberates throughout the teacher unions nationwide and that it serves as a beacon of change in consciousness and a reminder to anyone who might misuse our valuable resources about their true cost. Hopefully, we might attach ourselves to one another and understand our connectedness, mutual responsibility and accountability.

This is a national issue permeating government offices, boardrooms, school systems, and families. There should be a national "Orange Alert" on responsibility. The Bush administration asserts it is not responsible for anything to do with the 9/11 disaster; Corporate American is not responsible for any of the Enron or Worldcom issues; schools are not responsible for student's performance; and families are not responsible for their children. Sometimes it seems the only thing consistent today about America is the fact that no one is responsible for anything! AFT believes it is not responsible for the WTU; WTU believes it is not responsible to its teacher members. This is a formula for colossal failure.

We must view ourselves as unified and mutually necessary in a quest to produce our best work product or an educated student. Currently, our system of leadership, management and resource development is not aligned nationally or locally hence opportunities exist for advantage takers. There is a level of connectivity and responsibility, which lives in the education universe. My students at Anacostia Senior High School are connected with the highest-ranking AFT officials. The highest level of decision making at AFT is directly connected and responsible to the children at the lowest performing school in the nation's most economically disadvantaged community!

Authority demands responsibility!