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Labor Judge Ends the Drama Over Firing of Dalton School Theater Teacher

By Gwynne Hogan | June 3, 2015 7:34pm
 A disgraced theater teacher may get his job back following a labor board decision on Monday.
A disgraced theater teacher may get his job back following a labor board decision on Monday.
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DNAinfo/Victoria Bekiempis

MANHATTAN — A Dalton School theater teacher fired for sending an email accusing administrators of lying about a controversial student play can get his job back, a federal judge ordered Monday.

A National Labor Relations Board judge ruled in favor of David Brune, 70, saying he was within his rights to criticize the school for the way it handled the production of "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and can go back to work within the next two weeks, Capital New York first reported. The fancy Upper East Side school must pay him any lost wages.

The drama began when parents and students complained about the play's racist portrayal of Asians, according to reports. The play's two Asian characters Bun Foo and Ching Ho attempt to capture white women and sell them into a white slave ring in Hong Kong.

The school had originally decided to cancel the play altogether, but then student and parent outcry brought it back, with modifications made by students and teachers that took, “extra time, energy and artistry,” according to the decision.

After the play, Brune sent an email that accused administrators of lying and demanded that other theater teachers band together and ask for an apology.

“We have been grievously wronged and we would like an apology...An apology would indicate that they know what they did and are courageous enough to take responsibility for their actions,” the email reads. “Apologize for lying. Apologize for not allowing us to answer directly, face to face, the questions a member of the community had about certain aspects of the script.”

After sending the email, Brune was called into several meetings with Ellen Stein, the head of the school, and other administrators to discuss the play.

In an April 17 meeting Stein showed him a copy of the email he'd written and gave Brune the choice of leaving the school immediately or finishing out the term.

On Monday, a judge ruled in favor of Brune citing Section 7 that grants workers the right to organize.

A spokesman for the Dalton School did not respond to requests for comment on the case.

Brune could not be reached for comment.

“He hopes to go back there," Margaret McIntyre, Brune’s Lawyer, said. "He loves that school.”