St. John teachers cut union ties

Seven teachers at St. John have voted to drop their affiliation with the Washington Education Association and the National Education Association. The seven teachers were the only WEA members among the 16 faculty members at St. John.

Teacher Marianne Gfeller said the teachers felt the WEA had turned its focus more toward partisan lobbying efforts and away from helping teachers bargain during contracts and supporting education efforts.

“Our politics just did not mesh with the politics of the WEA, and we couldn’t see throwing any more money to their causes,” said Gfeller.

Too often, she said, the...