by Damjan Tutarkov
LaCorte News
A researcher affiliated with a major California teachers union has reportedly sent an email trying to racially profile parents who spoke to local media in support of reopening schools.
The email was characterized as a “research project” and sent from an official email address belonging to the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), California’s largest teachers union and the country’s second-largest teachers union.
The email said a “research specialist” was gathering information on race and class on people speaking to the Los Angeles Times about matters concerning the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).
“You are quoted twice in the last eight months,” the researcher wrote in the email. The “research specialist” then described the method used to code race based on information provided in the news article that quotes individuals speaking about the school district.