{"id":174255,"date":"2026-02-12T01:03:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T01:03:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/174255\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T01:03:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T01:03:07","slug":"richard-barreras-old-union-urges-state-teachers-union-to-rescind-endorsement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/174255\/","title":{"rendered":"Richard Barrera\u2019s Old Union Urges State Teachers Union to Rescind Endorsement"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a fiery letter<\/a>, the leader of a local union San Diego Unified Trustee Richard Barrera once helped lead, called on the California Teachers Association to withdraw its endorsement of Barrera\u2019s campaign for state superintendent<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The call brought up resentments still lingering from a sexual harassment scandal and resulting political battle that reshaped the leadership of San Diego\u2019s labor movement. Still, leaders in local and state education unions are holding firm in their support for Barrera.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The letter, penned by UFCW Local 135 president Todd Walters and addressed to CTA President David Goldberg, says CTA\u2019s endorsement of Barrera is \u201cdeeply concerning and should be withdrawn.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Walters, and UFCW Local 135\u2019s, beef with Barrera stems from a series of late 2010s scandals involving one-time labor leader Mickey Kasparian. Kasparian, then the head of UFCW Local 135 and the San Diego-Imperial Labor Council, a sort of union of unions, was once one of the most powerful men in the local labor movement.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beginning in 2016, a series of women credibly accused Kasparian of sexual harassment,<\/a> with some even filing lawsuits. Kasparian clung to the reins of the Labor Council and the UFCW Local 135 for more than a year. Barrera was never accused of sexual harassment, but as the then-treasurer secretary-treasurer of the UFCW Local 135, Barrera was viewed as a close ally of Kasparian.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAt a moment when moral clarity and decisive leadership were required, Barrera chose the easiest thing possible: inaction. He did not intervene, he did not speak out, and he did not stand with the women who were harmed,\u201d the letter claims.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kasparian\u2019s rule over the Labor Council only ended when the AFL-CIO, a sort of nationwide union of unions, removed him and placed the Council into receivership. In response, Kasparian choreographed a messy split within the labor movement, wherein he helped orchestrate the breakaway of a number of unions into a rival organization called the Working Families Council<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBarrera was part of that decision-making and stood with Kasparian throughout this destructive split,\u201d the letter claims.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ultimately, UFCW Local 135 membership ousted Kasparian<\/a>, effectively banishing him to the political hinterlands. Barrera, who was voted out as secretary-treasurer in the same election, continued to serve as a San Diego Unified trustee throughout the entire scandal. The Working Families Council also dissolved in the following years.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the letter, Walters urged CTA leadership to rethink the endorsement given what he said was Barrera\u2019s part in the Kasparian scandal.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Barrera could not stand up to a bully within his own organization, nor stand with women who were harmed under his watch, it is fair to question how he would stand up for the children, educators, and families of California,\u201d Walters wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For his part, Barrera said Walters\u2019 characterization of his role in the saga was \u201cnot accurate and not fair.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI have kept my focus on supporting our educators, supporting working families and making sure our students have the opportunity to thrive in our schools,\u201d Barrera said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last month\u2019s unexpected endorsement by CTA \u2013 the state\u2019s largest teachers union \u2013 singlehandedly elevated Barrera from longshot to contender. Its revocation would crush his chances of winning.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are no indications that will happen. Goldberg and Kyle Weinberg, the president of the San Diego Education Association, both issued statements affirming their support for Barrera shortly after the UFCW posted its letter to social media.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Goldberg echoed some of the glowing language he used when he told Voice of San Diego last month<\/a> that CTA was willing to \u201cleave it all out on the line,\u201d for Barrera\u2019s candidacy. In the statement, Goldberg wrote that of the \u201chighly qualified and impressive candidates,\u201d interviewed by his union\u2019s members, Barrera stood out above everyone else.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is someone who has the deep understanding of what it will take to win the schools our students deserve,\u201d Goldberg wrote. \u201cWe are confident in the outcome of our union\u2019s democratic endorsement process and couldn\u2019t be more excited about what this election means for every student and educator in California.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Weinberg similarly heaped praise on Barrera. The longtime board member has always been a close ally of the union that represents San Diego Unified teachers, reliably voting for union-friendly initiatives.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHere in San Diego, we know Richard Barrera as a warrior for working people and for our students. We\u2019ve worked side-by-side to win transformative victories for our entire community,\u201d Weinberg wrote. \u201cWe unequivocally support Richard Barrera for state superintendent.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a fiery letter, the leader of a local union San Diego Unified Trustee Richard Barrera once helped…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":174256,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[15,83193,74,76,75],"class_list":["post-174255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-education","tag-richard-barrera","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}