Written and edited by Norm Scott:
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This recent Ed Notes headline was too optimistic. The absolute incompetence of the Adams/Banks school administration apparently will not be enough to kill mayoral control. And the UFT, a key player, will whine about how bad they are but will not do anything to make it better for its members.
I've always maintained that the UFT/Unity crowd will never let Mayoral control lapse no matter their rhetoric about how bad the school system has been run over the past two decades. They don't really care how bad mayors perform - they care about their own power and the ability to negotiate with one administration rather then disperse power into the hands of groups they feel they cannot control, which they perceive as a threat to their hegemony -- that includes dispersing power to rank and file teachers at the school level. UFT/Unity doesn't want to empower their own members -- they want to control the members.
So, in recent months we heard Mulgrew criticize mayoral control and ask for changes - which I call tweaks, rather than a distribution of power. Then Monday we hear there is a deal of sorts where Adams would keep control if he would implement the class size law he has refused to implement so far.
This reminds me of those vigilantes who hold your computers ransom until you pay.
There can only be a deal if the UFT is somehow involved and watch them declare victory.
From the Chalkbeat article:
For months, lawmakers have argued the future of the city’s polarizing
school governance structure should be determined outside of the budget
process. But during last-minute negotiations on the two-weeks-late
budget, the possibility of extending mayoral control reentered
discussions.
Leonie speaks: no backdoor deal on mayoral control!
Last week the State Education Department released an excellent report,
summarizing the public testimony at the borough hearings and in writing
on Mayoral control, and analyzing our NYC school governance system
compared to others across the country. The report contained
recommendations about how the system should be changed, by giving more
voice to parents and other stakeholders, revamping the composition of
the Panel for Educational Policy, and establishing a Commission to
propose more fundamental changes.
Then
this afternoon, there was a lot of chatter on Twitter and elsewhere
that a deal was imminent to give Adams two more years of mayoral control
in the budget, in exchange for some minor tweaks and concessions (?) on
class size. Yet soon after, Governor Hochul held a press conference and
said no deal on Mayoral control has yet been finalized.
State lawmakers are discussing a possible short-term extension of
mayoral control of New York City's school system, though it would come
with significant strings attached, according to a key lawmaker in
Albany.
State Sen. John Liu, a Queens Democrat who chairs the New
York City education committee of the State Senate, confirmed on Monday
that mayoral control is back on the table in ongoing discussions on New York's next budget. Mayoral control is currently due to expire at the end of June, despite Mayor Eric Adams' opposition to it lapsing.
Gov.
Kathy Hochul recently raised the issue again in budget talks, two weeks
after legislative leaders all but declared it dead as part of the
state's spending plan, Liu told Gothamist. But he suggested that, if
lawmakers agree to extend mayoral control of the city's schools, it
would come with a mechanism to ensure the Adams administration complies
with looming class-size restrictions, which state lawmakers approved the last time they extended mayoral control in 2022.
“The
mayor wants accountability, and so we’re looking for ways to make him
accountable,” Liu said. “The governor has brought up mayoral control in
the negotiations, and we're looking at the issue.”
Adams and his
schools chancellor David Banks have strongly advocated for an extension,
arguing they should remain in charge of the city's schools because it’s
the best way for them to be held accountable and impose order on the
nation’s largest school system. But many educators and parents have
called for change, saying the mayor is too far removed from the
day-to-day reality of schools.
Hochul included a four-year extension of mayoral control in her $233 billion state budget proposal in January. But legislative leaders signaled by early April that it hadn’t been a serious part of budget negotiations.
Adams’ administration still kept pushing the issue, with Banks
traveling to the state Capitol earlier this month to urge lawmakers to
consider putting it in the spending plan. “We think we’ve done a great
job in rebuilding trust with our families and our communities, and we’ve
been delivering real results,” Banks said in Albany on April 2.
Asked
a day later whether mayoral control would be in a final budget
agreement, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Democrat
from Yonkers, flatly said “no.”
Now, Liu says any possible
extension would include "substantial guarantees" for the city to follow
through on the mandates of the state class-size law,
a major goal of the United Federation of Teachers union and many New
York City parents. Democratic lawmakers are expected to discuss the
issue behind closed doors on Monday afternoon.
When
the law is fully implemented, kindergarten through third-grade classes
will be capped at 20 students, fourth- through eighth-grade classes will
be capped at 23 students, and high-school classes will be capped at 25
students. The city’s Independent Budget Office has estimated that almost 18,000 teachers would need to be hired to meet the mandate, at a cost of up to $1.9 billion per year.
New
York City would also have to identify more space for the smaller
classrooms. Reducing class sizes is generally popular with parents, but some say they worry about increased competition for certain schools and programs.
The latest talks on another extension of mayoral control come days after the state Education Department released a lengthy review
recommending possible reforms. Legislators required the review as part
of the 2022 extension of mayoral control, which was for two years.
The
nearly 300-page report called for more opportunities for input from
families and educators and stronger checks and balances around mayoral
control. It noted that New York City currently gives the mayor more
power over education than any other school district in the country.
Under
that system, the mayor selects the schools chancellor and appoints a
majority of members to the Panel for Educational Policy, an oversight
board that votes on school-related contracts and other matters. The
non-mayoral members are elected by parent councils or appointed by
borough presidents, and some of them have said they feel powerless
because the mayor appoints most of the panel.
The state Education
Department's report did not ultimately offer clear recommendations on
the fate of mayoral control. Instead, it called for a commission to
further study the issue.
Meanwhile, lawmakers in Albany continue
to negotiate the finer points of the broader state budget, which is
expected to total $235 billion once approved. It was due before the
start of the state’s fiscal year on April 1, but the Gov. Hochul has
struggled to reach consensus with lawmakers on a final deal. Lawmakers
have approved four short-term budget extenders to keep the state’s payroll running.
As
of Friday, the governor and legislative leaders were closing in on an
agreement on the hotly contested issue of housing policy. If a housing
deal is reached, that could clear the major remaining hurdle to a final
budget. But tenant and landlord advocates aren’t pleased with the
emerging deal.
The state Senate and Assembly’s Democratic majorities are expected to
hold closed-door conferences on the final remaining issues on Monday
afternoon and evening.
Are we nearing the end of Tom Murphy's reign as chapter leader? Possible successor, former UFT VP Carmen Alvarez, will be a mainline speaker today - I will report later on the lousy bagels served at RTC meetings which beer I drank at the tavern.
The March meeting of the UFT Retiree chapter is today at one. I will be joining the RA crew in the back lobby of 52 at noon. Unity will try to exert maximum control of this meeting. We expect (hope) new people will be there to raise issues - if they allow it. Expect lots of filibustering to stall. One reason Murphy may be out is his bull in China shop approach.
I wonder at how effective Carmen might be and whether Mulgrew trusts her to be able to handle it. There isn't a lot of talent at the top, especially among retirees in Unity. We heard rumors they had problems and may still be having problems getting people to agree to run as delegates, with some flatly turning down the opportunity. Some even may be running with RA. In contrast, we have been oversubscribed and don't have room for all the people who volunteered to run.
Randi and Bloomberg do the flip in mayoral control renewal 2009
Deja vu all over again?
Mulgrew at the Feb. 2024 DA on Mayoral control –
-----when it sunsets, know what our position is. Want to be
a little bit more. Position mayoral control, went through Cleveland’s,
Boston’s, New Haven’s – they have mayoral control, the mayor chooses the
final decision making panel (i.e. PEP), but the Mayor may only choose
from people selected by nominating committee, of which they often have
little control. Once put on these boards, they’re on a fixed term, mayor
can’t do anything about it. Not saying what want, but have to dispel
myth that changing mayoral control from way it is here—with mayor
picking majority of PEP—is only version of mayoral control. People here
fired for not doing what they’re told – that’s crap. Goal of last week
was to tie different things together. Has the mayor supplanted school
funding (yes), was there a financial reason (no)... How do you give the mayor any sort of control, who supplants funding,
who removes money from funding despite being bound to lower class sizes
by NYS law. One thing in that law that allows process to be stopped.
Happens in a year in a half. Had all the money we needed and since then
2.5 billion dollars have been taken out of the capital plan, because
trying to use financial review period to stop the law. ... Nick Bacon Notes at NAC
Let me take you back to the 2009 battle over renewal of mayoral control:
Chalkbeat/Gotham Schools: The frustration began with a May 21, 2009 New York Post column,
in which Weingarten indicated that she is open to allowing the mayor to
continue appointing a majority of members to the citywide school board.
A union task force recommended
in February that the state legislature reverse that majority as a way
to strengthen the board, known as the Panel for Education Policy or PEP.
Weingarten’s
Post op/ed dismayed some members of her own union. “I was quite
disappointed and angry, actually,” said Lisa North, a teacher who sat on
the union’s task force to consider revisions to mayoral control.
North
said the task force never seriously considered recommending that the
mayor keep his majority of appointments, and so when union delegates
ratified the committee’s final recommendations, she expected Weingarten
to promote them. “The delegate assembly is supposed to be the highest
authority of the union, and it voted for it,” she said.
I wrote this in June, 2009 - Weingarten Didn't Flip on Mayoral Control-- UFT positioning is akin to planes spreading tin foil to try to fool radar.
We opposed the very idea of a phony UFT task force dominated by Unity
Caucus that would give cover to Randi's doing what she intended to do
anyway over the past 7 years. (I have been a lone voice in ICE urging
boycotting these farce task forces.) I spoke to Philissa (Kramer of Gotham) and made the point that Randi's flipping
on the constitution of the PEP panel is just flack covering Randi's
consistent support for mayoral control. More egregious, I told her, is
her modifying the report of the UFT task force that spent a year
addressing the issue that was voted upon at a delegate assembly. One of
the few good things the report recommended
was taking away the mayor's ability to appoint a majority of the PEP.
That is where Randi has flipped. The task force was c0-headed by UFT VP
Carmen Alvarez, who has been racing around the city representing the UFT
on panel discussions and trying to give the impression the UFT supports
checks and balances. Tsk, tsk, Carmen.
“I do feel betrayed,” said Michael Fiorillo, another chapter leader who
sat on the union’s task force. “I just wish I could say I felt
surprised.” He said Weingarten has veered away from members’ consensus
on other topics in the past, and so he had early doubts that she would
hold firm on the task force’s recommendations. (Fiorillo ultimately
voted against the recommendations, saying they weren’t aggressive enough
curbs on mayoral control.) “My guess would be the sense of betrayal
would be stronger among people outside the union,” Fiorillo said, noting
that union members were accustomed to watching Weingarten change her
mind.
Weingarten doesn't exactly change her mind. What she does is throw up
lots of tin foil like those planes trying to foil radar detection do in
manipulating public perception of where the UFT stands. It is necessary
to see through the flack and keep one's eye on where the real plane with
the bomb is.
Why does the UFT leadership love mayoral control? Because it allows them
to negotiate in back rooms with one person instead of opening up the
process to democratic scrutiny. Totalitarians behave that way. When
Obama was talking in Cairo today about bringing the light of democracy
to places of darkness he might has well been talking about mayoral
control and the UFT.
As I said then I do support the UFT current position of opposing the mayor choosing a majority of members on the PEP but will they stick to that position? Mulgrew still claims to be for mayoral control. If the mayor can't appoint a majority is it really mayoral control? Yes in the world of UFT machinations.
I'm still reeling from Tuesday's retiree chapter meeting and then I get deja vu all over again while watching Morning Joe, with former Dem Senator Claire Caskill bragging about the record amounts of drilling Biden is doing. That's a sure way to capture the votes of the young people who see climate change as an existential threat.
It's surreal to watch how they talk about all the great Biden stuff but can't understand why the polls are so low, especially within his own coalition -- They admit that Biden hasn't laid out a second term agenda -- only talks about what has been done while ignoring what hasn't been done. A guest says people have to have a real sense that a second Biden term will make a difference in their lives. It's not enough not to be Trump. But no worries. They think people will come to their senses, especially after Tom Murphy rouses the masses in the UFT retiree chapter meeting. So, watching Morning Joe this morning is like a nightmare repeat of Tuesday's RTC meeting where I was more convinced than ever that Trump will be our next president.
December 21 - last day of fall/first day of winter -- brrr.
Tuesday
started off peaceful enough. The day began with a gym, swim and sauna.
Done by 8:30 AM. Downloaded the flyer for Retiree Advocate to hand out
at the RTC Dec. meeting later that day. Dropped by the FedEx on
Lexington and 40th St and the ladies there were so helpful in sending
the pdf to the copier. Then off to oatmeal and coffee at the Pret at
Park and 40th, followed by the library on 40th and 5th and then off to
check out the Bryant Park holiday fair and the ice skating - watching,
not skating. Then off to Grand Central to head downtown.
So
I was pretty mellow when I got to 52 Broadway to meet with the Retiree
Advocate crew with leaflets and sign up sheets for RA. We got a pretty
good response to our leaflet - a lot of people seemed to know us
and wanted a copy. One guy referred to the last meeting where we saw a
presentation on seniors avoiding fraud when "the biggest frauds of all
were sitting up there running this union and RTC."
And once again the frauds
were in action.
So.....I spent an angry hour and a half at Tuesday's Retiree Chapter meeting.
I wasn't the only one pissed. Arthur wrote about the meeting from a remote point of view. (When Is the Best Time to Dump UFT Unity?)
Here's a sense of the meeting from Arthur:
...when someone actually has a question, Murphy interrupts her
relentlessly. That’s off topic. That’s not a question. Murphy
sarcastically calls her “nice.” The woman wants to know what AFT’s
position is on Medicare. The woman says if the whole city gets off of
it, the program may be in danger. Murphy snidely says, “Thank you,” over
and over again, until some Unity hack finally grabs the mike from her.
Lucky for Arthur he wasn't in the room where there was a lot of rage from both sides -- Unity hacks upset at how dare anyone challenge them. And he missed out on those stale bagels in cellophane wrappers. At the top of my platform for the RTC election would be promising to bring back real bagels and real pastries - strudel for sure. Maybe lox. Arthur also missed some awful xmas cookies. But you know me - I ate the bagel and the cookies.
I usually don't get too excited at the shenanigans by the gang running the UFT/Unity Caucus syndicate and its retiree chapter subsidiary, but I had to listen to stuff that set me off. At one point Tom Murphy made a mistake and actually pointed to me for a question but when he recognized it was me he looked horrified and said "NO" and pointed in the other direction. He should make better use of the UFT welfare eyeglass fund.
The meeting, as usual, got off to a rousing start with moments of silence for death notices. (I wanted a moment for the death of our healthcare). RTC leadership loves death notices - which may explain why they want us off Medicare and in a MedAdv managed care program, a sure way to increase death notices.
I can't wait for Murphy to filibuster an entire RTC meeting dedicated to moments of silence, though a recent meeting dedicated to the death of George Altomare where he comes back to life to sing Solidarity Forever - and he means Forever - repeatedly because Murphy couldn't hear it well enough, qualifies. Murphy should make better use of the UFT Welfare hearing-aid fund.
I was sorry to hear of the death of Bernie Zemsky, longtime Unity Caucus member, who soured on the leadership and communicated his feelings to people in the opposition. I was told he was fired by the union and sued them and there was a settlement but he had to sign an NDA. I had planned to get in touch with him to ask him to run with RA in the chapter election. He probably would have. Ooops. I gave Bernie away. Look for Unity to rescind the moment of silence at the next meeting.
When I'm gone I want one minute of people screaming at the leadership "U Suck!"
"Why
aren't we talking about retiree issues," someone calls out a few
minutes into the meeting. The meeting reinforced the inept AFT/UFT gang as
part and parcel of the inept Democratic Party leadership which is a
major reason the Trump phenomena exists. And yes, we retirees get the
danger Trump presents. Don't waste our time beating our heads over it
and take care of our healthcare. We don't need to go to a meeting to
tell us how bad Trump is and how good Biden is. Trump is strong because the Dem Party is so inept. And it's not only about perceptions but policy.
Using UFT Retirees a political force while ignoring their health needs
This
meeting was about the role for retirees for political action. Randi's NYT Sunday ad warning about the Trump danger to democracy was referenced. How ironic to talk about democracy at an undemocratic UFT meeting.
Using the Trump threat as a way to distract people from the healthcare issue is not a surprise. The Trump threat is real but so is the healthcare threat the UFT foisted on the retirees.
What will kill us first? Trump or Aetna?
The idea that getting the UFT retirees wired up about the Trump threat in the face of the assault on our healthcare by our own union is what made this meeting surreal.
The major theme in the opening presentation by John Ost, AFT Director of Political Mobilization was all about how Trump is a danger to democracy and is leading Biden in all areas. DUHHHH! He was interrupted constantly by Mulgrew riding in a car trying to talk but all we heard and saw was static -- which is how I always view Mulgrew talking.
Arthur's report:
Murphy says we’ll bring on a speaker from AFT, but we’ll interrupt him
whenever Mulgrew sees fit to show up. As soon as the guy starts to
speak, he’s interrupted by Mulgrew, evidently in a car, and no one in
the room can hear him. After we waste time on that, Mulgrew says he’ll
drop in on the meeting later.
Back to Ost. But of course it's not the fault of Biden or the inept Democrats, which includes our UFT leadership from the top national down to the locals they control. UFT/AFT is inbred with the right/central Dem Party -- which is controlled by the corporate wing. They will sit by while the Israeli lobby wipes out the progressives.
John Ost posted charts - he charted us to death about how much of a
danger Trump was and how bad Biden was doing in the polls. I kept
calling out WHY? But they are not interested in WHY and when you don't
want to know WHY, you will never have an answer. The WHY is that the
corporate Dem agenda sucks and alienates the progressives and opens up
Biden to weakness on both flanks.
And
they don't get why young people are deserting Biden in droves? Student
debt - inept. Climate change - inept. Healthcare improvement: inept.
Note: Biden ran on extending Medicare. Don't just blame Republicans.
Biden never mentions it.
So
they talked about Biden bringing down drug prices and medicare
negotiating for lower drug prices. But always watch what they don't say:
the delay until 2025, that it's only a few drugs, etc. A Unity former VP made a point that Medicare and Social Security would be in more danger if Trump won? I slapped my head -- The UFT leadership has been a threat to Medicare so far, not Trump, who is one of the few Republicans who chastise them for talking about cutting Medicare -- one of his few redeeming points - even if he's probably lying.
You see the problem is that the wonderful work Biden has done is just not getting through. Like people who can't pay rent or buy a house should bow down.
In the first minute of the presentation I was more convinced Trump may win than ever because these people are so clueless. They are hoping to beat Trump by getting states to not put him on the ballot or the courts to convict him. Why so many people are either supporting Trump and rejecting Biden? Not interested.
And how about those Dems in states like Florida, Massachusetts and Tennessee manipulating or cancelling primaries to protect Biden? Dems are not a threat to democracy?
Biden's insistence of running may end up being the biggest threat to democracy, enabled by his enablers in support groups like the UFT.
We heard a long report from the UFT’s new political director, Venecia Wilson.
Arthur reports:
She is charming as she
relates a few personal anecdotes. I had expected her to answer the
question, but she doesn’t. She then talks about Santos and says the GOP
has picked a candidate for his seat, but we’re waiting to hear from the
Democrats. Oddly, I heard yesterday the Democrats had picked Tom Suozzi,
and a member later brings it up. (It’s a little disconcerting our
political director seemed not to know this.)
I try to get a question in on Suozzi who is to the right of Hochul but Tom ignores me again. Joel Burger shows Newsday which announces Suozzi and leaves egg on their faces. Did they not know or were they hiding that this is the guy we are going to be asked to support? Not all good news on Suozzi either as he's blamed for running a dumb primary campaign against Hockul which helped Republicans in numerous ways -- maybe even the House loss is partly his fault with Santos replacing him.
Mulgrew walks in and he's in a good mood --- I'm glad he wasn't driving the car. He's handling the heckling with a hearty "Happy holidays".
Back to Arthur.
Mulgrew
shows up at 2:15. Says this chapter will work harder than any other
chapter. Other people have to go into classroom. Evidently, he assumes
we have nothing else to do. He criticizes corporations who want
unfettered control. This strikes me as ironic. Mulgrew, despite
professing that the Delegate Assembly is the union’s highest
decision-making body, opposes the NY Health Act, twice endorsed by the
DA. He himself has unfettered control.
Murphy,
to his evident dread, has to allow questions. He says there are “lots
of health question, or statements posing as questions,” in yet another
barb at those of us who want to keep our insurance. Belittling us yet
again, he snaps, “Here’s an apt question,” which turns out to be about
Tier 6.
Murphy finally allows ONE question on health care to reach Mulgrew’s ears.
Sarah Shapiro—Why
are you more concerned with the city’s health than our health? NYS
Supreme court found Advantage would cause us irreparable harm. Isn’t
that enough of a reason to preserve the coverage we have now?”
Mulgrew—We
are at war with the health care industry. We can’t just say no, no, no.
We see around the corner with what will happen in the future. We will
make sure every member gets the best health care with the same benefits,
I know the city’s appealing. Keep hearing the rhetoric and the same
lines. Responds “Happy New Year and God bless” to people. I support your
right to your opinions. I will give you facts and you have a right to
agree or disagree. Moving on to next question.
Mulgrew
did not answer the question. He implies we are contrary imbeciles, and
suggests he has vision, but offers absolutely no supporting evidence.
I’m glad he’s not in my class writing a persuasive essay. (He should be
glad too.)
There are a few statements on health and welfare. Notable is this one:
Bennett Fisher—Retiree Advocate had
very well attended general meeting. Discussed health care going
forward. Discussed health care with UFT other unions, and NYC Retirees,
Very happy most recent lawsuit went into our favor. If anybody has
interest in learning more about RA, please come see us and sign up.
Murphy
tried to interrupt, but Bennett got to complete his statement. There
was another speaker, and then Murphy loudly cried, “Meeting Adjourned!”
Clearly, there was nothing he wanted in life more than to end this
meeting.
Bennett was speaking under Good and Welfare which is where anyone can get up to the mic and say something. Well, not everyone. I'm waving my hand and shouting Good and Welfare. "Meeting adjourned" says Murphy, 20 minutes before it was supposed to end.
Anna Kaplan doesn’t like George Santos. And she isn’t so sure about Tom Suozzi either.
“After almost a year of this district having embarrassing representation,
Tom Suozzi thinks voters on Long Island have forgotten that he
abandoned us to George Santos,” Kaplan, who is running in the 3rd
Congressional District as a Democrat, said in a statement. “The
Democratic Party is a pro-choice party, and unlike Tom Suozzi, I will
always stand up for a woman’s right to choose — period.”
That was just a preview of just some of the attacks that fellow Democrats will make against Suozzi after the longstanding, though divisive figure in New York politics launched his own campaign Tuesday to win back his old seat.
Suozzi “abandoned” the Long Island district last year, forgoing re-election to challenge Gov. Kathy Hochul in the Democratic primary from the right.
Team Hochul viewed Suozzi as a nuisance, at best. And she slammed him for initially supporting the Hyde amendment, which bans federal funds like Medicaid from being spent on abortion care.
A certain former congressman has been voted out. DC can’t get anything done... Michael Mulgrew, Dec DA
Monday, December 18, 2023
Finally, some truth from Mulgrew. How dare people say he lies and lies and lies and lies?
Another thing Mulgrew doesn't hide - the increasingly open strangulation of democracy in the UFT.
People look to Trump to kill democracy if elected - his model can be Mulgrew.
There actually was a time when any UFT member could walk into a Delegate Assembly. Now you can't even get in the building.
I was in the back lobby of the UFT the other day and a retiree told me a story. She was there for two issues, one a welfare fund story. She couldn't go up to see the people she had to see. Instead the security guard had to track down each person and it took some time. Then each person had to come down to the lobby to meet with her sitting at one of the rickety tables instead of their office upstairs. Are they afraid to show members how comfy they are? The process took over an hour when she could have settled each item in ten minutes.
Arthur talks all about our vaunted UFT Welfare Fund -- the absolute best according to Mulgrew.
I was struck by several remarks made by UFT President Michael Mulgrew at last night’s Delegate Assembly.
He’d said he’d have a major announcement on health care, but simply
reiterated that there were two finalists—Emblem/United and Aetna.
(Mulgrew just can’t wait to dump Aetna on retirees, so I suspect he’ll
lean toward them regardless.)
That
said, this is very disturbing—As Daniel Alicea pointed out on Twitter,
there’s a slide from the PowerPoint they used last night that speaks to
“real managed care”. Mulgrew also said that members would need to
declare a primary doctor. This suggests the new plan may be more of an
HMO than a PPO. If that’s the case, you will have far less choice among
providers (despite Mulgrew’s happy talk about paying 10% less for
something “as good or better”).
Mulgrew continues to claim his Aetna Medicare Adv is no different than Medicare -- maybe even better. Even better than the Emblem MedAdv plan he claimed was the best just two years ago.
Even the corp media on NBC exposes Mulgrew as a liar:
I was outside the Delegate Assembly on Wednesday (Dec. 13) with Retiree Advocate colleagues and retirees from New Action handing out our leaflets. It was cold and some of us old folks wanted to in to distribute - a right we always used to have but in the increasing restrictions on democracy in the UFT, we had to fight to even stand inside the warm lobby. As for the table the opposition always has had - that is long gone -- according to sources under the orders of LeRoy Barr. As for our right to actually watch the DA even at the 19th floor - well that is long gone.
Adding to the ugliness, it seemed to be ugly sweater day for the Unity Caucus gang. And of course Mulgrew made sure not to call on any opposition people who might actually challenge his lies.
We must stick to
the union principles of solidarity, honesty, open democratic
discussion, and service to the students of this city. Let our union lead
in embracing differences of opinion and mending relationships among our
members and the communities we serve. ... Amy Arundell was instrumental in helping
us with trying to resolve the issue of micromanagement in our school (Aviation HS).
Unfortunately, she is no longer working with us which has left us
members feeling; as if we are being let down by our Union. As a result, I
am here to remind the Union leadership that the fight for respect,
trust, professionalism, and teacher autonomy is raging on, therefore, it
is up to the UFT’s leadership to help the members of the rank and file
who are feeling the brunt of the abuse in our school, to get the support
their need from the UFT... Ibeth Mejia, CL Aviation HS, UFT Ex Bd member at Oct. 23 UFT Ex bd
Mulgrew responded in his president’s report with a monologue I would
frankly characterize as despicable. While customarily vague, the
president specified in no uncertain terms that he thought supporters of
Amy Arundell’s reinstatement were actually doing the work of those who
want to destroy the union – a claim so ridiculous and divisive that it
led to audible gasps... Nick's Notes
Aviation HS teachers organize:
Thursday, October 26, 2023
I'm heading down to DC tomorrow for the NPE conference where we will see heavyweights in the battle for public ed like Ravitch, Bowman, and even Randi. And today is the first retiree chapter meeting at 52 at 1PM. Retiree Advocate will be there. And then I hear Mulgrew will be at a district meeting in Brooklyn where he can freely attack his critics as being terrorists. Some protesters may even show up. Not me - I'm going to stay in Manhattan and eat me some rice pudding.
There was much ado about something at Monday's Executive Board UFT meeting, loaded with issues that bear further examination, which I will attempt in upcoming blog posts. Highlights were the Mulgrew speech accusing internal critics of practically being anti-union right wing terrorists and LeRoy Barr's attempt to cool the waters with a heartfelt speech. But I would ask LeRoy if he wants more unity (we know he wants more UNITY) give the other views in the UFT some space at the Delegate Assembly as a start. Ironically, it is Unity and the other views who show the most consistent interest in the union and we have that in common. Give them some space.
Nick has the NAC on the meeting with detailed notes and analysis, a must read.
Aviation HS CL and UFC Ex Bd member Ibeth Mejia was a star at with a dynamic speech she gave under the district reports section of the meeting. After Mulgrew's diatribe, she gently asked him to stay for the district reports but he said he had another meeting, only to be seen scurrying out of the alley next to 52 by Arthur and Jonathan. I was joking about what Randi would have done in the same situation. She would have stopped to chat for 20 minutes and maybe take them to coffee. That's her political skills. Looking forward to seeing her this weekend.
Ibeth had a lot to say and the ten minute opening period she knew would be broken up by numerous speakers and the question period time did not fit, so she chose the district report time to make her speech. We handed out hard copies as she spoke in defense of Amy Arundell but she took things beyond Amy's situation.
Ibeth has worked over the years with James and Camille Eterno (the king and queen of UFT dissidents, both having run against Mulgrew) for a long time before she became CL of Aviation HS. When the UFT wouldn't or couldn't help out with issues that arose in previous schools, James came to the rescue.
I know that James' incapacitation has hurt Ibeth deeply and she visits James once a week. Soon after becoming CL she filed a major grievance over 6th period pay where the DOE has been getting away with underpaying teachers for decades, while the UFT did nothing about it. James helped out. Ibeth won the grievance. James and I reported the story.
The
DOE claimed the UFT was basically permitting the DOE to ignore the
Contract for over 20 years which made the grievance completely untimely
now since the UFT never challenged the Department of Education's policy
of improperly paying coverage pay rather than the higher sixth-period
rate. The DOE reasoned that the they had established a policy that the
Union had accepted..
The UFT/Unity leadership in a nutshell.
Ibeth led the school recently into a rally/protest with tee-shirts supporting each other (see above). The UFT barely reported the story.
At first I was surprised Ibeth was speaking up for Amy as their relationship had not always been great -- I even noticed a heated exchange after an Ex Bd meeting early this year, but they smoothed things out.
Ibeth had asked for Amy to be allowed to work with Aviation on these important issues even while she was in limbo and was turned down by UFT leaders.
Here is Ibeth's entire speech - interrupted by LeRoy Barr at one point - Nick has the entire exchange in his notes.
I rise as chapter leader at Aviation High School and as
an elected representative of the high school teachers in New York City
on the UFT Executive Committee.
As you know, this union has often been
at the center of this country’s political controversies. We can take
pride in the fact that all the great issues of the day come right into
our classrooms and our job is to deal with them with our humanism and
compassion. We should also not forget a dark period in our union's
history of blacklists and loyalty oaths.
Therefore, let us not govern
ourselves by the passions of today but with our wisdom and integrity.
We
do not ignore, nor do we exclude. We teach.
Therefore, we must stick to
the union principles of solidarity, honesty, open democratic
discussion, and service to the students of this city. Let our union lead
in embracing differences of opinion and mending relationships among our
members and the communities we serve.
As President of this union, I
think you will be supported in that endeavor. I also want to say that we
are one UFT; and what affects our members at Aviation H.S. affects us
across the NYC public schools.
Amy Arundell was instrumental in helping
us with trying to resolve the issue of micromanagement in our school.
Unfortunately, she is no longer working with us which has left us
members feeling; as if we are being let down by our Union. As a result, I
am here to remind the Union leadership that the fight for respect,
trust, professionalism, and teacher autonomy is raging on, therefore, it
is up to the UFT’s leadership to help the members of the rank and file
who are feeling the brunt of the abuse in our school, to get the support
their need from the UFT.
Over the past few weeks there has been much
discussion among UFT members as to how to respond to these events.
Therefore we have decided to present the matter to this body .
Let me
state that this issue goes beyond Amy. There are 3 big issues that need
to be addressed.
The first is freedom of speech within our union. I have
spoken to high school history teachers who have expressed the worry
that if minority views are suppressed within the teachers’ union, where
does the classroom teacher stand when discussing controversial topics.
The second is union democracy. Although procedurally, the UFT President
may re-assign an appointed official, it shouldn’t happen without
consultation of this body, nor without the consultation of the elected
chapter leaders with whom the borough president works.
The third issue
is the changes that we are trying to initiate on the related problems of
micromanagement, supervisory intimidation, workload, teacher evaluation
and student assessment systems that work for neither teacher nor
student. These are not caucus issues. It is something we all have a
stake in.
At Aviation, we were hoping, with our chapter solidarity, and
working with the district rep and the borough president, that on the
issue of micromanagement, we could set in motion a process that would
improve teaching and learning. We would like to know what happens with
that important struggle after this reassignment
Look for some live blogging from the NPE conference over the weekend.
When you're a Unity You're a Unity all the way
From your first cigarette
To your last dyin' day.... Opening line from my newly created Unity Caucus theme song
Unity Caucus is an enemy, but not all Unity Caucus members are enemies
Monday, Oct. 23, 2023
A major story in the UFT has been the recent removal of Queens borough rep Amy Arundell, popular with Queens chapter leaders and some rank and file, and even within Unity. There have been petitions going around in her favor calling for due process for her, and even a few Unity people have offered support for Amy. Also a lot of misinformation, some spread by anonymous anti-Amy forces in Unity. Claims she did stuff at the DA last week are not true -- she may have said some things at the rehearsal for the DA before the meeting. Yes, darlings, Mulgrew has to hold a rehearsal for a meeting. There has been some longer term friction between Amy and Mulgrew, as I chronicle below.
Some think AmyGate will cause a deep split in Unity. We hear there is a level of anti-Mulgrew sentiment due to his leadership style, but a revolt? You will see further down my treatise on how Unity operates like any totalitarian regime to keep control.
The story floating around: the reason for her removal is that she retweeted some tweets sympathetic to Palestinians.
I don't think that is the real reason, and that all you have to do is look at the pro-Amy reaction from all ends - internal, oppo and rank and file - for the real reason: her widespread popularity and the contrast to so many other in UFT staff positions, from middle management (District Reps) and up. But if it was something she said, a number of Jews who are pro-Israel back her. I hear she called for the UFT reso to be more fair to both sides. She also did a bunch of tweets and someone told me she was called out on similar tweets the last time there was friction in Gaza.
I've also seen that Amy, based on her public posts, may be an Irish nationalist and looks at things from the perspective of the brutal British occupation of Ireland. Not a bad point and as a history nerd and a liberal Jew who sees Israeli brutalism under a semi-fascist leadership, I get it.
I think removing Amy from real contact with regular people is the goal and she will probably be buried in a desk job at a good salary - if she accepts that. But if she takes an active part in pro-Amy protests --- well that may be a different story. She would have to go- and then she becomes an outside instead of an inside threat if she should begin to work with the opposition.
At today's Oct. 23 UFT Ex Bd, there may be an organized response in favor of Amy by some - shocking - Unity people, maybe even some from a middle level. Or maybe not --- assume there is a leadership attempt to stop or dampen it down.
I'm giving up a free dinner for volunteers at the elegant Palm house at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden today to go to this meeting so LeRoy better come up with a meal for the ages.
MORE caucus has called for people to come out to show support for Amy. Is this focus on Amy or the perception she was sympathetic to Palestinians? Call it a draw.
There is genuine support for Amy from people she has assisted. People who have been helped.
Some current and former oppo chapter leader constituents like former ex bd Arthur Goldstein and current Ex Bd member Ibeth Mejia -
"It’s been a remarkable week for UFT Unity. In addition to the ongoing shitshow of their massive health care sellout (coming soon to rank and file near you), they’ve added what I’m going to call Amygate. In fairness, Amy Arundell is not an elected official. However, by following the virtually unprecedented technique of actually doing her job, she’s earned a lot of loyalty and faith from those of us who do the nuts and bolts of union work."
Going beyond the Amy story and into a deeper analysis of how the UFT works - or doesn't work.
A just released new prototype video podcast from Arthur and Jonathan Halabi about Amy's work, a must watch two-parter and pro-Amy but also a deep analysis of what's going wrong at the UFT/Unity operation. And how Amy's removal is endemic to an tottering empire.
In part 2 they talk about Amy as a true blue Unity supporter, even pushing bad policy - like healthcare. But contrast her as one who serves members, in contrast to Unity hacks who only push their line and do little else. So it's an honest assessment. And they do a segment on the middle east issue - smart and informative.
I'm so looking forward to this type of smart talk, so missing from the UFT - even from the opposition. I've talked about doing something like this for years with some union pals, so glad to see it done.
Both
Arthur and Jonathan, newly retired, have joined Retiree Advocate in its
campaign to win the retired chapter election this spring.
Other views, not all favorable to Amy
There has been a battle of sorts on the ICE listserve between some oppo people who feel Amy should be supported by the oppo and others who feel a Unity is a Unity all the way. If James were able to, I'm not sure where he'd stand as he has been critical of her in the past, but I think he would stand against Unity tyranny. Camille too - we just spoke.
One retired Queens chapter leader said:
Amy did and does not forget the caucus she chose and the one to which
she continues to belong. With the todo being made by the Queens chapter
leaders and beyond why
would Mulgrew reinstate her? Mulgrew has not changed his mind or
actions regarding what he has done to retirees and continues to do to
active rank and file members.
Does anyone think that oppo people supporting Amy actually helps her with the paranoid Unity leadership? But if the goal is organizing opposition to Mulgrew, this is a hot button topic and may impact the 2025 UFT elections - if the oppo can get it together.
Some think a broad Unity internal revolution will be sparked by AmyGate. I think not - When You're Unity, You're Unity all the way.....
Let me repeat why I don't believe Amy was removed because of her comments on Israel or Palestine: The Mulgrew team using that as an excuse to remove someone who was way more popular with
members than Mulgrew.
Totalitarian regimes have a paranoid fear of palace coups. And there are a number of Unity staffers licking their chops to be her permanent replacement (Middle School VP Rich Mantel is the temp). Some Unity whisperers are calling them back stabbers. Borough reps are amongst the highest paid UFT staffers with over 200K a year.
Based on my own pure speculation and analysis of the leadership dynamic (I am, after all, a 53 year expert on Unity Caucus), Amy was perceived as an internal threat by some in the leadership. There's a backstory to this going back years but I'm not going there until I get some confirmation from Unity sources.But here are a few instances:
Calling for due process for Amy even though she is an at will employee
There is no union for UFT employees. Why? Because Shanker set it up that way. The real genius of Al Shanker. (When people in Chicago took over they were saddled with sludge from the old guard and called me to ask how Shanker did it.)
I have an idea - let's start a drive to unionize UFT staff - We can call the union Unity Hacks United - UHU.
Leadership has the right to move people around and
has done so all the time, borough reps in particular.
Seriously, there is a case to make for calling for UFT staff to be unionized not only to protect them but to protect the membership in a sense from having their advocates removed for, well, being their advocates.
This is not the first time. Debbie Poulos was removed as Brooklyn rep in July 2016 because she was supposedly too aggressive in battling principals, violating some possible hands off agreement between the UFT and CSA. Ed Notes broke the story on the eve of the July 2016 AFT convention.
Ironically, just a few days before, Debbie was hanging out with oppo people at an event in Washington and even put on a MORE shirt as a joke. I joked that she was at risk. The kiss of death.
Debbie has landed on her feet at 52 and is considered a go to person by insiders and outsiders. Will Amy face the same "fate"?
More background of possible longer term friction:
Amy was moved
from 52 Broadway into the Queens office c. 2016 or 17 which we (oppo) viewed
as a way to get her out of HQ at the time where she was very visible. That was my take, which may be wrong.
A too aggressive woman for Mulgrew to handle? She was saddled with the Queens staff - some viewed the Queen boro office pre-Amy as the worst in the city - so maybe she was sent in to clean up the mess, as Howie Schoor was once moved from Brooklyn boro head (Debbie's predecessor and mentor) to clean up the mess at the Bronx office. And he supposedly did.
Amy showed more aggression on fighting closing schools and opposing charters and some mixed results on fighting abusive principals. She got involved in getting rid of the Forest Hills principal after some pressure from below. But give her credit for responding. My big argument with Amy over the years was her claim the union will respond when the staff organizes and I said the union must get involved more deeply in weakly organized schools.
And I hear some of the former dead wood in that office came somewhat to life under her. I was especially impressed by her battle to keep two Rockaway schools open, one of them Daniel Alicea's school and he was quite appreciative and even supported Unity in the 2019 election, partly due to the work Amy did. Let's say relations were not quite as good when Daniel went over to the oppo. I was at rallies at the schools and Amy brought out the Queens staff to show support.
She was more knowledgeable and aggressive as borough rep than others and that may have created pressure on them and they may not be happy being compared unfavorably to Amy by rank and file. Possibly Knives
were out for her beyond Mulgrew. I'm thinking of one particular Borough which shall remain nameless. But that's just speculation on my part.
Amy was removed as UFT election chair for the 2022 elections
Things went very smoothly when I worked with Amy when
she was in charge of UFT elections in 2013, 16 and she also handled the 2019 -- she was so totally open to requests for information and the observation process at vote counts was much more open that it's become.
But for the 2022 election Manhattan Borough president Carl Cambria was put in charge and no one knows why
that was taken away from Amy - unless she didn't want to do it any more. But we viewed this removal as a slight from Mulgrew.
There has been some sense that the top level leadership is 3 men in a room and there has possibly been some resentment by some woman and maybe that seeped out.
So, there is some pre-history of friction between Mulgrew and Amy and some proof to my thesis that her comments on the middle east were just an excuse to remove her. But
Amy is a loyal Unity soldier, but also willing to speak her mind
In reality, this is paranoia and Amy is not a real threat, as she has shown intense loyalty to the leadership with especially harsh comments directed at the opposition, both on social media and in person at Ex Bd meetings over the past few years (see some of Nick's reports for details), even fraying some personal relationships she had with some oppo people. I know I was pissed. But is it possible she has been viewed as being too cozy with some people in the oppo? As you will see below, too much contact with opposition can prove to be fatal. But her contact was part of her job. Maybe pulling her back into 52 will allow them to keep an eye on her.
Knowing Amy, I suspect she's willing to call bullshit internally when she sees it and that may have grated.
Now, I am not a suspect in being too close to Amy, though we did hug at the labor day parade --- oh, shit, maybe it's my fault.
But I have no personal relationship with Amy and have never spoken to her outside of union business and occasional chiding each other, but she's been my go to person when I need to help someone. I do like her personally and have had arguments with her and she is sharp and not easy to argue with. "Smart and efficient" are the words often used to describe her. Would the oppo love to have someone with her skills on their side? No worries, it won't happen if she is placed in another position. But if dismissed -- well, who knows? Some oppo don't care for her but I'd welcome her. I'd bet she could make the same effective arguments for our side. I know some people are dreaming of a fusion election ticket of ex-Unity with UFC. Dream on. No one is giving up their Unity gravy train gig unless forced to.
The mechanisms of internal Unity control, modeled on totalitarian parties.
Someone will accuse me of red-baiting, but Unity controls are modeled on the leftist political factions the early leaders of the UFT were involved in --- they morphed from anti-Stalin Trotskyists to straight out anti-communists, but they learned how factions in control manage to keep control -- an often faux democratic centralism where a supposed democratic process leads to a vote and everyone comes on board to support the majority - a vote often rigged from the top faction. Unity operates under a mock internal democratic system. Think Stalinism. Except for the executions - though I think of bringing a food taster to ex bd.
They use isolation or outright purges and an internal spy network. In 50 years of work in the oppo, I came in contact with many factions and saw how these groups operate. The word Independent in ICE means "not under the control of an outside party." ICE was founded on the principal of the anti-Unity. No controls at all.
Totalitarian regimes hold onto power not only by suppressing and controlling outside opposition - UFT top-down structure and control of the DA, but also by establishing mechanisms to prevent internal rogue elements from organizing and building opposition - making sure there is no coup by purging potential opponents or striking fear into them.
Unity Caucus falls into this category. Unity may be a failure in many areas, but in managing itself internally and controlling the membership and the opposition (even buying some off with jobs), their over 60 year reign is proof of their success in keeping revolts down.
There is no Unity democracy internally - orders are handed down from the top. Like who will be running for adcom- Unity rank and file don't get to vote. They are told what the slate will be.
An elected staffer (when there were elections for Dist rep) who was non-Unity and a leading voice for opposition over decades and viewed by leadership as an enemy, told me this story.
He became friendly with a top level NY Teacher reporter, who wrote about the history of the UFT (Class Struggles). Jack used to slip money for Ed Notes to my friend. They went to lunch and as they were leaving the restaurant, a UFT/Unity hack staffer who had been close to Shanker (very close I heard) was walking by and saw them. Jack said, "this will be going into my file." He assured my friend they keep such files. I may be mistaken but I think there was a follow up and he actually got to see his file and sure enough there was a note about him being seen with my friend -- but don't hold me to it.
I have a bunch of other stories about people running to tattle on each other if they suspect too much contact with a perceived enemy. I believe Jim Callahan was fired because a former oppo person who wangled a job from Randi at the NY Teacher started bad mouthing him as being a leaker to Ed Notes - he even took some copies of Ed Notes to leadership and claimed Jim had said similar stuff to him.
Unity is also very clever in identifying people in the opposition who might be vulnerable to lobbying and they often assign a compatible person to woo them and over the years have had some success in weaning people into Unity who were formerly sympathetic if not active with opposition.
I could detect when people who I had been friendly with who usually greeted me warmly, even with hugs, and even distributed Ed Notes, suddenly started ghosting me by walking right by my at DAs and barely nodding or looking away. They didn't want to be seen even saying hello to me.
Let me close with this:
Too much contact with opposition can prove to be fatal.
-------
AFTERBURN: The Ed Notes Scoop on Debbie Poulos removal
ed notes broke this story and there was outrage from
Unity people who worked there and leaked it to me. Debbie was supposedly
too aggressive in going after abusive principals - the UFT the former
UFT president Sandy Feldman hinted at that after I made a reso at the DA
in 1997 to take away principal tenure to weaken their power. Debbie has
landed on her feet and has been one of the key people at 52 in helping
teachers. Amy may end up in a similar position. I'd ask people who
support Amy and are in other boroughs to demand their reps do similar
work as Amy or get someone in who will. That will shake the Unity tree.
And let me point out that free speech has not existed for Unity Caucus
in 60 years. In the 60s people who spoke out against the Vietnam war
were punished, so this is nothing new.
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Mulgrew Removes Brooklyn Borough Rep Debbie Poulos - Was She too aggressive on certain abusive principals?
"Mulgrew
may think Poulos doesn't have the right temperament for the job," a
Unity source told me. "She doesn't kiss ass enough."
Night of the long knives at the UFT
Sunday, July 17, 2016
A
central office UFT Unity source contacted Ed Notes with an unconfirmed
rumor that UFT President Michael Mulgrew was removing popular Brooklyn
Borough Rep Debbie Poulos. Poulos will be given another position in the
UFT. The announcement is due to be made sometime tomorrow to the
Brooklyn reps at the AFT convention in Minneapolis. Mulgrew often uses
the occasion of AFT conventions to make these type of staff changes. It
wouldn't shock me to see other changes coming.
Poulos
had a good working relationship with members of the opposition in MORE
who worked in Brooklyn and a bunch of us hung out with her last Friday
at the SOS march in Washington - she even took a photo with us wearing
MORE shirts. "This won't get you into trouble," I joked. She laughed.
But
that has nothing to do with this change. Behind the scenes Debbie has
been known to be more aggressive than other UFT officials in hassling
certain abusive principals. She supposedly had a top-10 hit list of
principals. She played a role in the John Dewey story with the removal
of principal Kathleen Irvin, sending in special reps to assist chapter
leader Michael Solo in his battle. Michael left MORE and joined Unity
Caucus because he was so appreciative of the help.
Debbie
was a chapter leader early in her career under an abusive principal and
full well knows the score. I put up a reso in the late 90s calling got
more protection for chapter leaders due to the situation Debbie was in.
Unity Caucus turned it down overwhelmingly.
There
is speculation that Poulos had stepped on some toes in the UFT
hierarchy who have especially close relationships with officials in the
Farina's DOE administration who are unhappy with UFT officials who are
considered too aggressive. There are rumored names of those in the UFT
hierarchy who had it in for Debbie but at this point that info is not
confirmed - Unity slugs are welcome to speculate in the comments
section.
Mulgrew,
not wanting to endanger his seat at the DOE table, may be sending a
message to those few reps who stand up for teachers too rigorously. When
I checked with another source in Unity I was told they might try to
turn the Brooklyn office into another Queens borough office which is
considered by some to be the worst - or equal to the Bronx -
I
know my old pal Howie Shoor will take exception to that but he is no
longer Bronx borough rep, being replaced by Mary Atkinson who at one
time was an Ed Notes distributor. Howie has moved up to 2nd in command
as UFT Secretary. Howie was Debbie's guide and mentor and I wonder how
he feels about this.
Debbie
Poulos is popular with the Brooklyn reps who feel she has their backs.
I don't know all details but I've never considered the people I know in
the Brooklyn office of being especially aggressive. But I am not
plugged in to that info.
We'll report from the convention if we hear anything more.
If we find tomorrow that none of the above is true I will have to find a nice Minneapolis hat to eat.
Some of the comments on the story were not positive to Debbie and some were - similar to what we read about Amy - you can't satisfy everyone. By the way - the story was true - and Arthur Goldstein and I roomed together at the AFT convention and hung out with Jonathan Halabi. It was too damn hot - 100 degrees and we actually had lunch with Paul Egan who was also disappeared from the UFT -- holy cow, we are the kiss of death. Next time I see a Unity person I like I'm walking on by. My memory is not what it was but I think Debbie told me she had an abusive principal as chapter leader and I made a reso at the DA c. 1999 defending her and other chapter leaders - which was turned down by Unity. I also did extensive reporting on that convention - remember July 2016 and we did not expect Hillary to lose. Check the Ed Notes archives from that month if you want to know more. And Arthur and Jonathan did some great reporting too.
