‘It’s just ugly.’ Tensions rise between school employee groups, KEA and KY120 United.

Tensions are rising between two high profile Kentucky school employee groups, with one of them newly unionizing and promising “a ground breaking organizing campaign” for members.

The Kentucky Education Association, the state’s largest professional group founded in 1857, and KY120 United, a group that started in 2018 on Facebook and unionized a month ago through the American Federation of Teachers, are openly exchanging criticisms.

“There’s just a philosophical difference between us and KEA on several issues -- in the way we do business, there’s differences in the way we communicate... they got to be a little bit more than what we could deal with,” KY120 United co-founder Nema Brewer told the Herald-Leader.

“Recently, it has been very, very clear to us that they are afraid they are losing members to us. They have told their higher ups that we’re their threat. They’ve said that we’ve misinformed retirees. It’s just gotten to the point that it’s just ugly and it doesn’t have to be that way,” Brewer said.

Disputes between the two groups -- including disagreements over whether the Kentucky Education Association can rightfully be called a union -- have surfaced in media interviews and in social media posts since KY120 announced its unionization March 29.

KY120 co-founder Jeni Bolander confirmed she was referring to the KEA when she told the Louisville Courier Journal last month that “associations are full of words and unions are full of action.”

KY120 leaders recalled at their unionization announcement that they formed in 2018 to fight a teacher pension bill ultimately found unconstitutional. KEA President Eddie Campbell responded on social media, “Beware of people who take credit for things they had no part in. There’s no telling what else they might say that isn’t true.”

When KY120 leaders said they were responsible for school employee sickouts that brought change, Campbell reminded readers of his post that the Kentucky Education Association was one of five plaintiffs in a lawsuit that led to the bill being declared unconstitutional.

Brewer said the KEA sees KY120 as a bigger threat than policymakers who are against public education, a concern she alluded to in a Twitter post last week.

KY120 hasn’t started a formal union membership drive but has about 30,000 Facebook members, she said.

Brewer said of KEA, “They are not a union. They are an association.”

On April 21, using the hashtag #KEAproud! Campbell issued a statement on Twitter disputing the contention that KEA is not a union.

“Regardless of what an organization calls itself, unionism is defined by collective action, professionalism, respect, and – where it is possible – collective bargaining. Unlike many other states, Kentucky doesn’t have a law requiring statewide collective bargaining for public school employees. Because there’s no statewide requirement, we have to fight that battle local by local,” he said.

“KEA is the only educator labor organization in the state that has any bargained contracts for our members,” Campbell said. “To date, thousands of KEA members in locals around the state -- in fact, nearly 1 in 3 of our Active members statewide -- have successfully secured and negotiated collectively-bargained contracts.”

KEA officials were in Floyd County last week working on a collective bargaining agreement for Floyd County transportation employees, said Missy Young-Salyers, a KEA regional director.

Seeing what KEA was doing with transportation employees sparked other classified groups in Floyd County, such as cafeteria workers, as well as other school districts in the region to reach out to KEA for help, she said.

“From meetings at the Martin Community Center to (board of education) meetings to meeting as a bargaining team KEA has been there every step of the way and will continue to do so,” said Young-Salyers.

KEA, with an membership of about 40,000, is an affiliate of the National Education Association.

On its website, KY120 United officials said mobilizing under the AFT banner makes them part of the national AFL-CIO union and affords them the national stature of a union that shares the “commitment to worker empowerment through collective voice.”

“We are partnering with the American Federation of Teachers for a groundbreaking organizing campaign,” the officials said.

Brewer said joining AFT was a natural progression and necessary because KY120 United wasn’t considered a legitimate organization in Frankfort. KY120 leaders couldn’t always get meetings with lawmakers, she said.

Brewer said her group wasn’t happy with how, in the 2021 General Assembly, KEA handled negotiations for a teacher pension bill that will shift new teachers hired into a hybrid benefits plan.

“...This is not personal,” Bolander said. “KEA and KY120 United both have the same goals. We have just chosen a different path to get there. “

Brewer said Kentucky school employees can be a member of both groups.

“We hope that we can work together,” Brewer said. “We just want to organize in peace.”

This story was originally published May 4, 2021 at 7:18 AM.