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Mike Antonucci鈥檚 Union Report appears most Wednesdays; see the full archive.

The eyes of American political observers have all been on Virginia, where Republicans captured the governor鈥檚 office Tuesday and will likely take the lower house as well. The state鈥檚 odd-number year elections are considered a bellwether for next year鈥檚 congressional midterms.

The elections have especially high stakes for the Virginia Education Association. Public school teachers only recently regained collective bargaining privileges after they were banned by the state Supreme Court in 1977. A Democratic governor and legislature reinstated them last year, but only with local school board approval. Unions have won collective bargaining in Arlington and Alexandria, but it鈥檚 a much tougher battle elsewhere in the state.

One local vying for collective bargaining is the Prince William Education Association. Prince William County is the second-largest school district in the commonwealth, employing 6,400 teachers. But internal turmoil has cost the union control over its own affairs.

In a much-disputed action, the local’s board of directors voted 7-4 on Oct. 25 to approve a memorandum of understanding that gave the state union authority over most of its finances and operations.

The story was first reported by .

鈥淪pecific concerns regarding the management and government of the PWEA have risen to the level where abuses or the perception of abuses must be addressed, so as to ensure that no state or federal laws are violated, or ethics are impinged,鈥� reads the memo obtained by InsideNoVa.com.

Those concerns apparently involve alleged financial mismanagement and a hostile workplace created by local President Maggie Hansford. She was elected in August 2020 but was the subject of two unsuccessful recall attempts this year.

鈥淎fter five Board members, two committee chairs, several committee members and the long-time PWEA receptionist have left their posts due to the mistreatment and bullying tactics of President Hansford, a majority of the Board feels that there needs to be some guardrails put in place,鈥� reads a by the local’s board majority.

But Hansford still has many supporters. She survived both recall attempts, and this week more than 350 members signed a petition defending her, according to reports.

What鈥檚 more, some of Hansford鈥檚 opponents believe the state union overreached by establishing a trusteeship. One board member who supported the recall told InsideNoVa.com that they asked the state union to appoint a parliamentarian, not a trustee.

Active local members are most worried about how this drama will affect their efforts to regain collective bargaining power. State union Executive Director Brenda Pike told the local鈥檚 representative assembly, made up of delegates from each school, that it would have no repercussions.

But that doesn鈥檛 seem to jibe with the sentiment of the Prince William County school board. Chairman at-Large Babur Lateef issued a statement in support of Hansford.

鈥淚 continue to recognize her as the TRUE advocate for the PWEA,鈥� . 鈥淚 will continue to work with her as such. I am sure she will continue to represent all concerns such as collective bargaining and safe work environments for her membership. I will continue to work with her as the only elected President of the PWEA.鈥�

The trusteeship may only widen the internal fissures. that the representative assembly voted not to approve the action, but Pike told the delegates they had no say once the board of directors had voted.

It is ironic that the state union is taking charge in order to correct a hostile work environment and shore up collective bargaining efforts, considering its contentious labor relations with its own staff 鈥� including grievances, sanctions and lawsuits. Virginia school boards should take a close look at how the state union handles its own affairs before inviting it to help manage those of the public schools.

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