Union Busting from the Bench: Judge Acting as Strikebreaking Advisor in Tacoma Teachers Strike?

by Steve Singiser, Daily Kos Labor

As many readers (particularly those in the Pacific Northwest) were already aware, teachers in Tacoma have been on strike for over a week.

The crux of the dispute, as opposed to the more common discrepancies over salary and benefits, seems to revolve around the procedures by which teachers can be dismissed or reassigned. The district headed to court and won a round in court when Pierce County Superior Court Judge Bryan Chushcoff issued a restraining order against the union.

Where this story gets a bit disconcerting is what happened after the union, predictably, voted to keep striking. Judge Chushcoff decided to shift from arbiter of legal standards in the case, to wartime consigliere for the district. Check this out:

A Pierce County Superior Court judge said in court [Monday] he might authorize the Tacoma School District to hire replacement workers if striking teachers do not return to work as he ordered Wednesday. In the meantime, it was announced that there will be no school for Tacoma students again Tuesday.

Judge Bryan Chushcoff suggested such an authorization might convince the vast majority of the teachers, who have not shown up to work since Sept. 12, to return to their classrooms while their negotiators try to reach a contract agreement with the district.

“I’m seriously considering doing that,” the judge said.

It would be one thing if Chushcoff had indicated his willingness to authorize scab teachers based on a request by the district. But that is not what happened in this case. Indeed, the district seemed as surprised as the union that Chushcoff brought the idea of strikebreakers up.

There can be little doubt that Chushcoff is actively brainstorming strikebreaking tactics while sitting on the bench adjudicating this matter. His preferences have been clear from early in the proceedings, and might be a bit personal in nature, as well:

Toward the end of Wednesday’s legal wrangling, Judge Bryan Chushcoff called school district attorney Shannon McMinimee and union attorney Tyler Firkins to the bar and showed them the copy of a photograph.

The photo showed a printed sign that the judge said had been attached to his garage door: “Support Tacoma teachers and their students.”

“I don’t think it’s appropriate to try to influence me one way or the other. I also don’t think it’s appropriate to try to intimidate me one way or the other – or my family,” Chushcoff said.

He's getting his revenge now, by doing his damnedest to coordinate strikebreaking strategies with the district from the bench.

I expect conservatives to rail against this naked example of judicial activism shortly.

UPDATE: The school district and the union have reached a tentative agreement, which will now go to a vote among the teachers. Students may be back in school in Tacoma as early as tomorrow.