Showing posts with label #Educatorsforexcellence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #Educatorsforexcellence. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

MORE Fallacies, E4E Inspire Caucus


From Ed Notes at the March Delegate Assembly:

MORE Fallacies: Beg UFT leaders to Organize and Mobilize, divide opposition and run not to win

In the current UFT election the MORE Caucus talks a lot about how much educators have won through striking in red and blue states. They point to the seminal and inspiring 2012 Chicago teacher strike and the recent strike in Los Angeles where the union leaderships organized, mobilized and prepared the membership for strikes, gaining over 90% support of the members. A keys to these strikes were alliances with community forces outside the union which MORE talks about – but only rhetorically.

Can you talk strike when you are not a serious threat to take power
What MORE won’t tell you is that the current progressive social justice oriented leadership in those cities formed broad-based caucuses and coalitions in Chicago (CORE) and LA (Union Power) to oppose the former timid top-down union leaderships and ultimately WON their elections in 2010 and 2014 respectively. If they hadn’t run to win, there would never have been strikes. The Unity Caucus leadership will NEVER strike or be pressured by the rank and file to strike. Only defeating them will lead to a union MORE envisions. And MORE is running NOT to WIN.

The way to change the UFT is to not urge the leadership to change but to present a credible threat to their overwhelming power and control by building the machinery of a massive rank and file movement with deep roots in the schools. UFT elections are only a piece of the mechanisms but they do demonstrate the ability to get support in the schools. In 2016 I helped run the MORE election campaign with a focus on winning a piece of the Ex Bd, which we did by winning the 7 high school seats. The hope at the time was to continue this building process by challenging in the middle and elementary schools. But the faction that took control of MORE blew that plan up.

Instead of following in the footsteps of CORE and Union Power, MORE has chosen an opposite approach of running not to win by refusing to unite with other progressive caucuses and independents and purging and pushing out those who resist this approach, using undemocratic methods and purposely not running divisional candidates where they could actually win. And to build an opposition, demonstrating an ability to win anything is part of the process.

A recent MORE election leaflet proclaimed: Collective Action Gets the Goods! Only a stronger base of rank-and-file teachers, counselors, paras and all education workers, knit together in a common organization that can share strategies and mobilize our coworkers can push the union leadership to alter its approach, and eventually lead the union in a different direction entirely.

I laughed out loud when I read this. As one of the founders of the MORE Caucus in 2011 I’ve watched with sadness (and some amusement) how MORE morphed from what began as an inclusive progressive big tent opposition group to Unity Caucus into an exclusive, divisive, narrow ideologically driven and fundamentally undemocratic organization that has driven out many progressive former members who way outnumber those who remain. There are even three former MOREs running on the Unity Caucus line, two of whom were elected to the UFT Ex Bd as MORE candidates in 2016 but have grown alienated with the actions of MORE. How can MORE boldly talk about knitting together rank and file UFT members when it has done the very reverse? Witness the current UFT elections where MORE’s refusal to knit together a coalition to attempt to make a dent in Unity power has led to a divided opposition where three weak caucuses are running limited election campaigns with 40-50 candidates.

I actually don’t disagree with many of the policies MORE puts forth but cannot go along with the tactics used internally and a program that not only has no chance of moving the UFT in a more progressive direction but by its divisive tactics actually has helped strengthen the control of the ruling Unity Caucus. MORE leaders talk about lack of democracy in the UFT while suspending members without due process and exhibiting a level of control that makes Unity look democratic in comparison. Instead of becoming a serious and inclusive caucus as a threat to Unity, MORE has become an ideologically driven exclusive club of self-proclaimed “activists” with loads of rhetoric but little action.

Still, I expect MORE to finish with the highest vote totals of the three running against Unity because New Action and Solidarity have their own problems. I will have more on the elections at the April 17 DA, the day the votes are counted when I will take a break from the count to hand out Ed Notes.


UFT Election: Inspire, E4E-based Caucus, new kid on the block

You might be seeing leaflets for the independent campaign of Michael Loeb, a CL in the Bronx. Michael is running under the UFT Inspire Caucus line. Educators for Excellence, funded by many ed deformers, has been viewed as an anti-union group but over the years has modified its tone and put forth a strong social justice agenda and through Mike has begun to engage in the UFT, mostly in calls for more democracy. Some teacher unions around the nation have vilified E4E, but not here. There has been some signs of cooperation between Unity and E4E. Is this a precursor of a future E4E caucus that might at some point contend with MORE for the title of THE SJ Caucus? Don’t sell such a well-funded group with full-time employees short. Mike serves on the national board of E4E and I have had some excellent conversations with him about unions and policy. He seems to have helped push E4E in a more positive direction towards unions and has been open to my criticisms. Whereas E4E used to throw me out of meetings, Mike has now invited me. Just in case, I will bring a food taster.

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

E4E Stealth Infiltrates UFT Delegate Assembly - with Leadership Cooperation?

Stack of Resos on UFT table
Unlabeled -
UPDATE: The resolution described below never came up at the meeting as there was a 6PM adjournment. No one from E4E handed out the reso but a stack was left on the UFT lit table, which we are always told is a no-no - they say they only want official UFT lit and if we try to leave Ed Notes or MORE lit there we get a hassle or even an attempt to throw the lit away. That is why Randi almost 20 years ago mandated there be a special table for alt lit, a table that wasn't there this month or last month.
E4E has found a new way to finagle itself into teacher confidences - Men teach and Restorative Justice....
Last time out E4E was backing Bloomberg's effort to end "LIFO"  (last in, first out) seniority protections for teachers and offering teachers free drinks at local happy hours.  They didn't get very far with this.  But now they are trying a new tack -
She does the principal’s bidding whenever she can to undermine chapter meetings. This piece, which sounds very much like our principal, just reinforces a number of teachers thinking that the principal is working in concert with E4E.... a teacher at a school about the E4E teacher who was handing out the unlabeled reso at the Jan. DA.
A reso from the floor during the New Motion dealing with restorative justice (RJ) was voted up and will be in the agenda at the
Feb DA tomorrow. This was an unusual occurrence at the DA. Some of us smelled a rat.

Actually I smelled a rat downstairs when I saw a lady I didn't know handing out the reso which looked fairly decent but the paper had no identification as to who or what org was behind it. When I asked her where she was from she was evasive. (apparently she is the person mentioned in the opening comment). The reso talked about some pilot program for RJ in District 18 (Canarsie/East Flatbush).

On the surface, the reso was progressive and pro restorative justice and hard not to support. MORE was trying to use the same New Motion time to bring its Black Lives Matter reso, so since Mulgrew called on this other guy - someone named Michael Loeb from a  school in the Bronx right away and not one Unity person opposed it and it passed immediately, I figured this was a diversionary reso to kill time so MORE would never get to the floor. But it all happened so fast - sort of like scoring too soon in a football game and leaving time for the other team to come back -- and MORE got to do its thing, which has led to some blow back against Unity and also from some quarters against MORE.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

#E4E Gets Big Unwelcome at Chicago School - What You Can Do In NYC if they come to your school


Watch out for this group. They are not to be trusted! Have they come to your schools? Sarah Chambers added 7 new photos.
Sarah helped organize her school to resist the #Educators for Excellence  Astroturf message disguised as supporting teachers.
 

Educators for Excellence, the AstroTurf group, came to my school and boy, did we give them a run for their money!
When they walked into the staff cafeteria, it was covered in flyers about who they really are, union busters!
Our contract action team members also went into action when we found out they were in the building. They spoke with their team members about E4Es corrupt agenda.
We also made it clear that we are a union school and we don't support their agenda.
90% of the teachers completely boycotted their lunch, but the ones that came by refused to sign their cards or give their info. Some teachers interrogated them.
An e4E staffer made a Freudian slip and said, "We are pro public school and pro charter, I mean pro union, not pro charter."
Watch out for this group. They are not to be trusted! Have they come to your schools?