Editorial: Keep teachers' information confidential

What would you say if your employer was handing over your personal information — name, home address, home phone number, Social Security number and work experience — to a special interest group you didn't belong to so it could send you political mail?

Welcome to the ranks of nonunion teachers employed by Albuquerque Public Schools.

The district's collective bargaining agreement with the Albuquerque Teachers Federation requires — not allows, but requires — APS to provide that information to the union, whether teachers belong to it or not.

And in the metro area, around 3,500 of them don't.

While the New Mexico Supreme Court has ruled that a public college does not have to provide personal contact information to unions without the employees' permission, ATF President Ellen Bernstein maintains her union has a special right to the information because it represents all eligible employees, not just ones who choose to join and pay dues.

While other New Mexico districts and colleges provide unions with employees' work email addresses, school mailing addresses and bulletin boards, districts such as Rio Rancho and Santa Fe draw the line at private home addresses. Bernstein says those are essential for her union to send political messages.

The too-cozy APS-ATF deal came to light when Gov. Susana Martinez's private political adviser, Jay McCleskey, wanted to send teachers literature supporting evaluation reform to counter an anti-reform letter sent by Bernstein ginning up protests for upcoming hearings.

McCleskey was denied the contact information by the state Public Education Department. PED did not consider it to be public information, and APS doesn't either. Given that position, it hardly makes it so by an agreement with one party and absent the permission of those affected.

McCleskey should have been denied the information. And APS should revisit its deal with ATF so the information it deems "private and protected" actually is.