Union blasts SEANC leaders

A national labor union has stepped into the Wake County school board elections to endorse candidates and fling barbs at State Employees Association head Dana Cope.

UNITE HERE, which represents hospitality and textile workers, issued a press release today endorsing Rita Rakestraw in District 1 and Karen Simon in District 7 for their support of Wake's school diversity policy, T. Keung Hui reports on his Wake Ed blog.

UNITE HERE said it felt "morally obligated to get involved" because Cope, executive director of the State Employees Association of N.C., and Ardis Watkins, legislative director of SEANC, had formed the Children's PAC to back candidates who support neighborhood schools. UNITE HERE said Cope and Watkins "have done their union and the union movement a real disservice."

SEANC is affiliated with the Service Employees International Union.

Cope and Watkins couldn't be reached for comment this afternoon.

The Children's PAC officially shut down last week. But the group plans to work with the Wake Schools Community Alliance in the school board races.

Update: Cope has responded to UNITE HERE's news release.

"Obviously UNITE HERE, which is a Washington D.C. union, has no clue with what's going on in Wake County," Cope said. "The Wake County school board is not progressive in its policies. It's deterimental to families."

To illustrate his point, Cope gave the example of Southeast Raleigh children being bused to Brier Creek Elementary in northwest Raleigh. He said Brier Creek was too far away for his SEANC members in Southeast Raleigh to be involved at the school.