Nixon appoints three MNEA members
to child abuse board

Gov. Jay Nixon recently appointed three Missouri NEA teacher members to the Missouri Child Abuse and Neglect Review Board. Florence Pullen, MNEA-Retired, St. Louis; Sue Fluegel, MNEA-R, St. Louis; and Rebekah McIntosh, Grandview NEA, will each serve on the board in their geographic area of the state.

The Child Abuse and Neglect Review Board provides an independent review of child abuse and neglect determinations in instances in which the alleged perpetrator is aggrieved by the decision of the Children’s Division.

Members attend 12 meetings annually. Each board comprises a physician, nurse, or other medical professional; a licensed child or family psychologist, counselor or social worker; an attorney who has acted as a guardian ad litem or represented a subject of a child abuse and neglect report; and a representative from law enforcement or a juvenile officer. Additional members may be people from other professions or fields who have an interest in child abuse and neglect: a college or university professor or elementary/secondary teacher; a child advocate; or a parent, foster parent, or grandparent.

Former MNEA executive director takes position
on state mediation board

Former Missouri NEA Executive Director Peggy T. Cochran now serves on the Missouri State Board of Mediation. Gov. Jay Nixon appointed her to the position in July.

“We at Missouri NEA understand the importance of the work of the Board of Mediation and are pleased that the governor has moved ahead in appointing board members,” says MNEA President Chris Guinther. “Peggy has experience as both a manager and an employee and will make an excellent board member.”

The board resolves issues of majority representation within Missouri’s public sector in accordance with state statutes and in the most effective manner possible while maintaining the highest degree of neutrality. An administrative agency for Missouri’s Public Sector Labor Law contained in Chapter 105 RSMo, 2000, it is responsible for determining an appropriate bargaining unit of employees and majority representative status by conducting an election. Appeals from a decision of the board go to the circuit court.

Five members serve on this board: two employers of labor, two employees holding membership in a union, and one who is neither an employer or employee of labor and is the board’s chairperson. Cochran will hold one of the two “employee” positions.

sb, fall '09