Barbara Bullock resigned as president of the Wash. Teachers Union (WTU) in late Oct., after natl. union officials found financial irregularities possibly involving “hundreds of thousands” of dollars. The case has been referred to the U.S. Attny. in Washington. Also forced out were WTU treasurer James Baxter and special asst. Gwendolyn Hemphill, who at the same time, resigned as co-chair of D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams’ reelection campaign.
According to Edward J. McElroy, secy.-treas. of the Amer. Fed. of Teachers (AFT), a local member contacted the AFT after her monthly dues deduction went from $16 to $160. When AFT officials couldn’t resolve the problem, they commissioned an audit of the WTU, which found other dues over-charges and “a number of checks and credit card expenditures” lacking proper explanations. It was after this audit that the AFT Executive Bd. asked the three officials to step down, and turned over their findings to the U.S. Attny.
Ironically, Bullock won the WTU presidency in 1993 after the AFT declared the election of Jimmie C. Jackson invalid due to “many irregularities” in the voting and ordered a second election, which Bullock won. [Washington Post 10/30/02]