Members of the union representing Long Beach Unified teachers are seeking to oust one of their top leaders after an internal investigation concluded he sent a message that mocked disabled students and evoked racist stereotypes about Black children.
Calls for union secretary John Solomon to resign come at a tense moment for the Teachers Association of Long Beach, which has been trying for months to secure a new contract. Pressure for Solomon to step down further escalated this week when the mayor and a handful of other elected leaders said he should resign rather than “divert critical time and resources away from contract negotiations that directly impact teachers and students.”
Solomon, who teaches at MacArthur Elementary School, is accused of sending the message in May to a group chat for the union bargaining team…