MODESTO, Calif. – Taxpayers in the Modesto City school district are enjoying a front row seat to a lovely inter-union squabble that could result in the local teachers union splitting away from the powerful California Teachers Association.

The dispute began when California Teacher Association (CTA) leaders deemed that leaders of their local affiliate – the Modesto Teachers Association (MTA) – were “out of compliance in spending a $280,000 annual grant” from the CTA, the Modesto Bee reports.

CTA leaders say the six-figure grant is for the local union to pay its office staff, primarily its full-time executive director and a secretary, the Bee reports.

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The MTA, however, does not directly employ its executive director and hasn’t for decades.

Instead, the union has an arrangement to reimburse the district for the costs of keeping the executive director (a former teacher) on the school district’s payroll. The deal allows current Executive Director Megan Gowans to “accrue retirement credit under the California State Teachers Retirement System,” the Bee notes.

That, in turn, allows Gowans to build up a nice retirement fund which projects to be “far more generous” than what the union rep would get through Social Security, according to the Bee.

This sickening arrangement has been going on for years, and it’s not clear why CTA officials are raising a stink about it now. (And frankly, we don’t care. Our official position is, “A pox on both your houses.”)

What’s important is that the CTA and the MTA are feuding, and that MTA members will vote on May 6 on whether or not to split away from the 305,000-member state union.

MTA leaders tell the Bee they’d have to raise dues payments to cover the loss of some CTA benefits (such as insurance), but members would ultimately save $347 a year if they vote to disentangle themselves from the state union.

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Some observers are speculating that MTA’s departure could embolden other local districts to do the same. Sounds good to us, but that’s pure speculation at this point.

For now, opponents of Big Labor will have to content themselves with watching unionists eviscerate each other (figuratively speaking, of course). So far, they aren’t disappointing.

The Bee reports the two sides are engaged in a power play over which group can email teachers directly and post informational fliers in the schools. The CTA has even threatened to not acknowledge the May election if teachers vote to disaffiliate with the state union.

Like we said, it’s a lovely inter-union brouhaha. It probably doesn’t have any “big picture” significance, but it should offer a bit of amusement to the Golden State’s abused and beleaguered taxpayers.