In a meeting with members of the Foreign Language Department and United Faculty that addressed concerns over the return to in-person classes, the union leader spoke about the impact for women. According to public documents reviewed by The Hornet, they said that household work and childcare are “disproportionately relegated to women,” and therefore the decision to bring faculty back to campus can disproportionately impact women colleagues.

On Oct. 29, 2021, the union had a bargaining session with the district. The union leader said management decisions were being made based on male ego and/or toxic masculinity, according to public documents reviewed by The Hornet. A transcript or recording was not available to The Hornet. The union leader later said in public documents that they were “referencing the culture and decision-making process…that ignores the needs and the disproportionate impact on your unit members that are women.”

One district administrator present at that bargaining session was José Ramón Núñez, the Vice President of Instruction at Fullerton College. He alleged that his gender and sexual orientation were used to discredit his work. According to public documents, Núñez said the comment of “toxic masculinity” was not directed at the Fullerton College administrative team, but just at him personally. He said the union leader was raising their voice and was aggressive.

On Nov. 17, 2021, Núñez filed a letter that was treated by the district as a formal discrimination complaint against the union leader.

According to public documents, Núñez asked the district to stop the union leader from “using discriminatory, hostile, offensive, unprofessional, untrue, and uncivil language towards me.” Núñez testified that he filed the discrimination complaint because the bargaining session on Oct. 29, 2021, was the first time that the union leader had addressed comments “[o]nly to me, and I thought ‘okay, this is enough . . . I’m not going to permit this anymore, and I want the district to stop it.’”

The Hornet contacted Núñez twice for a comment. He declined to comment about the topic.

Representatives of the district stated in public documents they have not just the right, but the duty to investigate discrimination complaints. But this wasn’t just any discrimination complaint. It was brought by a high ranking administrator against a union leader, both of whom were involved in union negotiations.

“It’s one of those situations where the department charged with investigating that complaint could have and should have dealt with it and disposed of it before it ever got to that level,” said Stephanie Joseph, a lawyer for California Teachers Association who represented United Faculty and the union leader in the PERB case.

The union wanted the district to consider protected union speech when conducting an investigation. If they didn’t do so, the investigation process could be seen as a form of retaliation.