ELK GROVE, Calif. — An Elk Grove teacher is suing the union that represents him and thousands of other school staff members, alleging a position he applied for is against the Civil Rights Act.
High school teacher Isaac Newman alleges the union racially discriminated against him as he couldn't apply for a position on the union's executive board that is specifically for Black, indigenous and other people of color (BIPOC) members.
"My union barred me from a leadership position simply because of the color of my skin," Newman said.
He is a social science teacher for Elk Grove Unified School District and a member of the Elk Grove Education Association, a local union for teachers and school staff members representing around 3,000 employees.
Newman, who is white, said he tried to apply for the BIPOC At-Large Director position on the association’s executive board.
The association's bylaws state that the position is reserved for members that self-identified as at least one of several racial/ethnic categories, including: African American, Native American, or Latino, among others.
"This kind of racial litmus test is illegal and unamerican that's why I'm taking them to court," Newman said. "This is really about having a voice, pushing for real equality, real equity, not this equal outcomes version."
ABC10 asked Newman if he applied for or considered other positions, but he said this was the first position that came up that he was qualified for.
There are 11 executive board positions listed on the association's website, each with set terms. Several of these positions are related to academic levels including representatives for: special education, first through third grades, fourth through sixth grades, seventh and eighth grades, and ninth through twelfth grades. Other positions include treasurer, president, vice president and at-large representative.
After filing a grievance with the union, Newman decided to take legal action. His attorney and nonprofit law firm, The Fairness Center, filed a federal lawsuit May 24 alleging that the BIPOC executive board position violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act.
In a statement to ABC10, the union's president James Sutter, said in part, "this appears to be a lawsuit backed by an outside extremist group to sow fear and division in our community. We haven’t seen the details; but our priority continues to be our students and community."
McGeorge School of Law Professor Francis Mootz, an expert in employment law, says the lawsuit may have merit.
"Really what we're trying to decide in this area of law is does discrimination based on race include efforts to undue the effects of past discrimination," he said.
Newman is asking that the court order the association to remove race-based eligibility criteria for the position or eliminate it.
We asked EGEA the original intent of creating the BIPOC position, but they did not answer the question and instead sent ABC10 the following statement.
"This appears to be a lawsuit backed by an outside extremist group to sow fear and division in our community. We haven’t seen the details; but our priority continues to be our students and community. We’re so proud of Elk Grove students as we wrap up another amazing school year. We will not be distracted as we continue to provide the high quality public education our students deserve and continue to champion our equity work." -James Sutter, President, EGEA
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