In a letter released Thursday, one of Houston’s largest unions announced it was pulling all support for Mayor Sylvester Turner and his administration.
“The Houston Federation of Teachers’ executive board unanimously approved a motion to rescind its support of Mayor Sylvester Turner and his administration on Monday evening,” the letter reads.
They go on to say they intend to withhold support through the upcoming elections “so long as educators and other public employees continue to be treated like collateral damage.”
HFT’s announcement is a show of solidarity with the city’s firefighters who are still locked in a stalemate over the voter-approved Proposition B pay parity measure that passed in November.
What seems to frustrate HFT the most is the city’s challenge to the collective bargaining rights of public employees.
“We have been patient and done our best to allow space for each party in this pay dispute to represent their respective positions, however the city has gone too far. We cannot support an administration that is challenging the right of public employees to collective bargain,” said Zeph Capo, HFT’s President.
As the election season ramps up, Turner’s support is continuing to slip away largely because of his delay of pay parity implementation. As he gears up for a challenge by two formidable challengers and attempts to convince the 2020 Democratic National Convention to select Houston as its host city, mounting public employee union opposition is the last thing he needs.
