Kahllid Al-Alim’s social media activities were offensive, anti-Semitic, and unacceptable. They are inconsistent with what we have seen of Kahllid as a decades-long organizer for education justice. Elected leaders should exemplify professionalism and set a positive example for those they represent. His social media conduct fell short of these fundamental ideals. Upon becoming aware of these posts, we contacted him to make clear our position on both their content and nature and demanded a public response from him (he has since responded). We also called an emergency meeting of our Board of Directors, which has since voted to immediately suspend any campaign activities in Board District 1 — pending a final decision — while expediting member discussion over Kahllid Al-Alim’s endorsement in accordance with the union’s internal democratic process. The next steps involve UTLA’s multiple governing bodies that are involved in candidate endorsements, with the final voting body meeting Monday, 3/4.

[NOTE: Please check the all-member email later this afternoon for more details to come.]