John Vellardita as a lead negotiator for CC Teachers - Really?!

School Union taking another leap…backwards

Clark County Education Association recently hired John Vellardita as a lead negotiator to head in their negotiations with the Clark County School District.

A logical choice?  Maybe, considering he is adept at misguiding and misappropriating.

Last year, Vellardita and 15 other defendants were ordered to pay out over $1.5 million in damages as a result of an investigation and a jury’s decision emanating from a scheme that sabotaged the Service Employees International-United Healthcare Workers West and claims that they were attempting to start a rival organization. (court case)

The trial revealed evidence of:

            A scheme to undermine the well-being of union members.

            The theft and destruction of union documents and property.

A conspiracy to use SEIU-UHW’s money and other resources to start a rival Union, even if it meant harming the very members whose interests they        claimed to represent.   

The jury’s verdict was unanimous, finding Vellardita and 15 others liable.  Vellardita was ordered to pay the largest chunk of the award.

Recently, a local article shows a quote from CCEA President Ruben Murillo that the union is “100% behind” Vellardita because he has no criminal record and “has vast experience in negotiations”. (RJ Story) Nowhere did I see any cites of his “vast experience”.

I’m pretty sure the suit was civil and would never show as a criminal offense, Mr. Murillo.

Vellardito was picked from a pool of 14 candidates and deemed the “best qualified”.  Best qualified as what?

Talk about the “bottom of the barrel”.  What were the qualifications of the other 13 candidates?  What kind of lawsuits were they involved in and how much did they have to pay?  Were they accused of destroying evidence and burglary?  Threatening other employees?

The teacher’s union has historically been deemed inadequate, without “teeth” by the membership, with no respect, support or faith from the teachers. 

What do they have to lose?

The last meeting had 30 teachers in attendance out of 17,000 represented employees.

Clark County School District is ranked the lowest in the nation, and now the union hires someone with less than reputable and documented background to represent the teachers they are meant to protect?

I’m wondering how the arbitrators are going to look at it when they make a decision.

Everything about Vellardita has been laid out, his credibility, integrity, morality for everyone to see and yet he still gets the job?

I spoke with a fellow police academy classmate about some of our fellow recruits.  We knew of their background and witnessed their inadequacies while in the academy as did our Training personnel.  We knew that they were not going to be the type of Police Officers the department was hoping for, yet they graduated, even after causing major problems in the academy and field training.  Years later, those officers were plastered across the paper for committing robberies, attempting suicide, and other embarrassing incidents that cost the department money, time and integrity.

Hopefully, they will look at the hardworking teachers that he will be attempting to represent and not his sullied past as he sits in front of them.