Dunn's supporters have it wrong, just as he does

Now that the rhetoric and hysteria over the evil "union bosses" and their hidden agenda to destroy Christmas has died down, perhaps it is time to present some actual facts.

Perhaps the most surprising fact to Mike Dunn supporters Diane Marie and Jo Anne Cobasko and others will be that there aren't any union bosses in the California Teachers Association (CTA).

CTA's membership is composed completely of public school teachers. All of the elected officials of the CTA are classroom teachers and will return to teaching once their term of office is over. No one is elected for life. There are term limits, so new leaders take charge every few years. There are no outside union bosses who show up to run the union. Teachers are the union.

Local teacher unions, such as UACT is the Conejo Valley District, elect teachers to attend the CTA State Council meeting several times a year. This is where teachers vote on policies and political endorsements. No action or policy is approved without the majority support of the elected teacher members of the CTA State Council.

Ms. Cobasko and Ms. Marie, is it reasonable to believe that California's public school teachers have a plan to attack Christian holidays? Many public school teachers are Christians themselves. What possible motivation could there be to do this? I don't know where you are getting your information, but it is from a very inaccurate source. There are major issues facing public education. Punishing Christians and messing up their holidays certainly isn't one of them.

You may well ask how I know these facts. I have taught in Conejo Valley Unified School District and been a CTA member for over 30 years. My husband, Hal Vic, taught for 15 years in Las Virgenes Unified School District. While a teacher and CTA member, he was elected president of the Las Virgenes Educators Association. Both of us were elected by our fellow teachers to represent them at the CTA State Council. Eventually my husband took a job working for CTA as the local executive director, bargaining for teachers in Las Virgenes, Conejo Valley, Simi and Moorpark. This position is now held by Arleigh Kidd, another example of a local teacher who now works for teachers.

Perhaps Mr. Dunn's supporters will realize there is no hidden agenda, unless Mr. Dunn has one. Lesly Vick Thousand Oaks