VEA

Opinion

Why I Left the PWEA: A PWCS Educator’s Stand Against VEA Control

By Uriah Kiser
[Photo: Markus Winkler/Unsplash]

I was proud to be part of PWEA under its previous leadership — a team of board members and reps who genuinely cared about educators and worked tirelessly for members, not for show. They listened, they answered, and they put people first. What we have now under VEA control couldn’t be more different.

This trusteeship has turned into a blatant power and money grab disguised as “rebuilding.” It’s not about supporting educators — it’s about control. The VEA can’t even answer the office phone or respond to emails, yet somehow finds time to cash our dues checks. That’s not leadership — that’s greed.

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Schools

Prince William Education Association to Remain Under VEA Trusteeship

By Uriah Kiser

The Virginia Education Association (VEA) has voted to keep the Prince William Education Association (PWEA) under state trusteeship, extending a takeover that began in July after an audit raised questions about the local union’s finances and governance.

The decision came Sunday, August 24, 2025, after a nearly 16-hour hearing the day before in Manassas. In an email to members, trustee Linda J. Cook, a former Fairfax local president, said the VEA Board of Directors had “carefully considered” testimony and affirmed the trusteeship imposed initially on July 21.

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Schools

Emails Undercut Claims of Security Threats Behind PWEA Trusteeship

By Uriah Kiser

MANASSAS, Va. — Newly obtained emails cast doubt on claims that security threats forced George Mason University to decline hosting a hearing on the future of the Prince William Education Association.

The VEA had previously suggested that threats and disruptive behavior forced the cancellation of an in-person hearing at George Mason University’s Manassas campus. But emails from GMU officials indicate no such threats were ever reported.

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Breaking News

PWEA Hearing Set for Saturday—Now Virtual After GMU Declines to Host

By Uriah Kiser

MANASSAS, Va. – A hearing meant to decide the future of the Prince William Education Association, the largest local teachers union in Virignia, will go forward this Saturday. It will be held virtually after George Mason University declined to host the event.

Suspended PWEA president Maggie Hansford said earlier this week that members had been left in the dark. She told Potomac Local News that members only received a single email from a state-appointed trustee saying the hearing would run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at GMU’s Manassas campus. Members were also told they must choose either to attend in person or online, but not both.

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Manassas

VEA Hearing to Decide Fate of Prince William Teachers Union Raises Questions Over Witnesses, Transparency

By Uriah Kiser

MANASSAS, Va. – The Virginia Education Association (VEA) will convene a hearing on Saturday, August 23, 2025, to determine the future of the Prince William Education Association (PWEA), the largest local teachers union in Virginia, which was placed under emergency trusteeship last month. But as the date approaches, controversy is mounting over whether the individuals who voted to impose the takeover will testify.

In an email exchange obtained by Potomac Local News, the hearing officer confirmed he does not have the authority to compel testimony from any individual, including members of the VEA Board and staff who voted to remove PWEA’s elected leadership. As a result, those decision makers may not appear and would not be subject to cross-examination during the proceedings.

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Opinion

VEA Must End Trusteeship, Restore Prince William Teachers’ Union

By Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor,

The Virginia Education Association (VEA) owes an immediate and transparent explanation to its largest local, the Prince William Education Association (PWEA). For over three years, PWEA has led all VEA locals in record-breaking member recruitment. It operates with a nearly million-dollar annual budget, maintains $500,000 in savings, owns its office, and carries no debt—unlike the VEA, which rents its headquarters outside Richmond.

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Originals

Exclusive: Hansford Blocked from Returning to PWCS After VEA Takeover of Local Teachers Union

By Alan Gloss

Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) has told suspended Prince William Education Association (PWEA) president Maggie Hansford it will not consider her for employment, citing concerns raised in the Virginia Education Association’s (VEA) recent takeover of the local teachers union.

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Originals

PWEA Shake-Up: Alcohol, Pajama Parties, and Union Infighting — Ousted Board Members Speak Out

By Alan Gloss

The Virginia Education Association (VEA) will hold a formal hearing on August 23, 2025, to determine the future of the Prince William Education Association (PWEA), which it placed under emergency trusteeship in late July.

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Prince William

Exclusive: VEA Probes Prince William Education Association Financial, Governing Procedures Amid Latest Collective Bargaining Win

By Kelly Sienkowski and Uriah Kiser
Photo from PWEA Facebook page

As the Prince William Education Association celebrates its latest collective bargaining victory with Prince William County Public Schools, the state teachers union launched an investigation into the local union.

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