The fallout from an election of four new executive board members of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers this week highlights what some teachers say is a growing schism between the union's leadership and its 2,700 members.
Their election to the board marks the first time that challengers defeated incumbent officers in a union election in at least 30 years.
The four who won the seats -- teachers at Pittsburgh Carrick High School -- contend their victory in Monday's election shows how dissatisfied their ranks are with union leaders.
Running on a "teachers for change" slate, science teacher Dale Moss defeated George Gensure as the union's vice president for high schools, and business teacher Ed McManus defeated longtime union secretary Sylvia Wilson.
Mark Sammartino, a math teacher and longtime critic of the union's leadership, was elected as an at-large member to the executive board as was Dawn Garland, a special education teacher.
The group won four of the 16 positions open on the 32-member board.
Two days after their victory, however, the teachers said they were shocked to
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