AFT Loses Court Fight

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by the American Federation of Teachers seeking to oust the president of the Federacion de Maestros de Puerto Rico because the 32,000-member group wants to disaffiliate. The judge dismissed the suit because, he said, the case does not fall under the federal National Labor Relations Board Act but, rather, Puerto Rico’s collective-bargaining law. The aft has not yet decided whether to appeal the Aug. 15 ruling. In an Aug. 18 referendum, fmpr members voted overwhelmingly in favor of the split.