In a potentially explosive development, the largest private section union in San Diego has called upon the state-wide teachers’ union to withdraw their recommendation of Richard Barrera for California State Superintendent. Barrera is a trustee with San Diego Unified School District.
On February 9, the head of Local 135 of the United Food and Commercial Workers, Todd Walters, sent a letter via email to David Goldberg, president of the influential state-wide California Teachers Association (CTA) requesting that they withdraw their recommendation of Barrera because of his role and lack of leadership during a scandal involving his former union, UFCW Local 135. It revolves around a former UFCW Local 135 president, Mickey Kasparian, who eventually resigned in disgrace.
In a statement from the Local, the main claim is explained:
“At the center of UFCW Local 135’s concerns are Barrera’s record of leadership, specifically his refusal to speak out or take meaningful action during” the scandal.
“Barrera served as Secretary-Treasurer of UFCW Local 135 and was widely regarded as Kasparian’s right-hand man. During a period marked by public allegations and lawsuits involving sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and retaliation, Barrera remained silent. He did not publicly challenge Kasparian, nor did he stand with the women who came forward.”
“Leadership is tested in difficult moments,” said President Walters. “Integrity means being willing to stand up when it matters most, even when it’s uncomfortable or politically inconvenient. Barrera chose silence.”
UFCW Local 135 believes that silence in the face of serious allegations is not neutral, it reflects a failure of moral courage. For a candidate seeking to oversee California’s public education system, the union argues that integrity, accountability, and a demonstrated willingness to confront abuse of power are essential qualifications.
“Educators, students, and families deserve leadership that reflects the highest ethical standards,” Walters added. “We cannot ignore a record that shows an unwillingness to challenge wrongdoing.”
Walters also called Goldberg personally to discuss his concerns but Goldberg “declined to reconsider the decision.” As a result, the local posted the letter on the union’s website and social media platforms. The local statement notes:
By releasing the letter publicly, UFCW Local 135 aims to ensure that members of the public have access to the full context behind the union’s position so they can make a fully informed opinion before voting in the primary election on June 2, 2026.
We turn to the Voice of San Diego for more [please see Voice original for links]:
Walters, and UFCW Local 135’s, beef with Barrera stems from a series of late 2010s scandals involving one-time labor leader Mickey Kasparian. Kasparian, then the head of UFCW Local 135 and the San Diego-Imperial Labor Council, a sort of union of unions, was once one of the most powerful men in the local labor movement.
Beginning in 2016, a series of women credibly accused Kasparian of sexual harassment, with some even filing lawsuits. Kasparian clung to the reins of the Labor Council and the UFCW Local 135 for more than a year. Barrera was never accused of sexual harassment, but as the then-treasurer secretary-treasurer of the UFCW Local 135, Barrera was viewed as a close ally of Kasparian. …
“At a moment when moral clarity and decisive leadership were required, Barrera chose the easiest thing possible: inaction. He did not intervene, he did not speak out, and he did not stand with the women who were harmed,” the letter claims.
Kasparian’s rule over the Labor Council only ended when the AFL-CIO, a sort of nationwide union of unions, removed him and placed the Council into receivership. In response, Kasparian choreographed a messy split within the labor movement, wherein he helped orchestrate the breakaway of a number of unions into a rival organization called the Working Families Council.
“Barrera was part of that decision-making and stood with Kasparian throughout this destructive split,” the letter claims.
Ultimately, UFCW Local 135 membership ousted Kasparian, effectively banishing him to the political hinterlands. Barrera, who was voted out as secretary-treasurer in the same election, continued to serve as a San Diego Unified trustee throughout the entire scandal. The Working Families Council also dissolved in the following years.
In the letter, Walters urged CTA leadership to rethink the endorsement given what he said was Barrera’s part in the Kasparian scandal.
“If Barrera could not stand up to a bully within his own organization, nor stand with women who were harmed under his watch, it is fair to question how he would stand up for the children, educators, and families of California,” Walters wrote.
The Voice quoted Barrera.
For his part, Barrera said Walters’ characterization of his role in the saga was “not accurate and not fair. I have kept my focus on supporting our educators, supporting working families and making sure our students have the opportunity to thrive in our schools,” Barrera said.
Last month’s unexpected endorsement by CTA – the state’s largest teachers union – singlehandedly elevated Barrera from longshot to contender. Its revocation would crush his chances of winning.
There are no indications that will happen. Goldberg and Kyle Weinberg, the president of the San Diego Education Association, both issued statements affirming their support for Barrera shortly after the UFCW posted its letter to social media.
This stand-off will be trouble for the labor movement in San Diego. One side views Barrera as someone who has failed in defending women within his former union, who failed in standing up to a bully (Kasparian), while the other side sees him “as a warrior for working people and for our students.”
It’s always disconcerting to see the union and labor movement in turmoil from internal troubles. There’s enough divisions already, one being the ties to the developer class by the building trades, another being the view of many that public unions are the cause of the crises of municipal budgets. When the labor movement is divided amongst itself, it allows opportunists to use those divisions for their own selfish benefits, which then ends up hurting everybody.
By their own admittance, Local 135 is San Diego’s largest private sector union, representing more than 11,000 workers in grocery, retail, healthcare, food processing, and the cannabis industry. Plus Local 135 is part of the 1.3 million-member strong UFCW International Union.
In his longest-tenure-ever running San Diego Unified School District as an elected trustee, nice-guy trade unionist Richard Barrera has had problems with conflicts of interest. For years he was paid leader of the San Diego-Imperial County AFL-CIO while also serving as an elected San Diego Unified School Board trustee — a school system whose educators were dues-paying members of SDEA and part of the Labor Council coalition. Barrera also designed a winning candidacy for Marne Foster, another labor union colleague, to the five-member school board of trustees. But Foster was unsuited to the job and had to resign over financial irregularities and a controversial firing of her son’s high school principal.
But Barrera will keep both CTA and SDEA backing for State Superintendent of Instruction.
He has been a good friend. He has personally promoted and guided locals-only as superintendents, avoiding expensive searches and having to share authority. He has maintained labor peace with regular solid raises for employees. He orchestrated the soft-close of public schools during the pandemic and allowed a weak online return-to-work, with a shift in focus to “social/emotional” curriculum over academic rigor. Now Barrera’s pioneering the idea of building affordable housing at vacant school sites for San Diego Unified educators and classified staff.
The Governor may be diminishing the duties of the State Superintendent, but Barrera may
have something to say about that if he gets himself elected.