Bloomberg Does Stint at Comedy Club

NYC Teachers were rolling in the aisles with laughter after hearing this Bloomyism:

Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday that parents should butt out of trying to dictate educational policy as the debate over mayoral control of the schools intensifies.

"You do not want parents setting educational policy. You do not want parents telling teachers how to teach. Teachers would not be happy about that," Bloomberg said on his WOR radio program.

"That's what you have professionals for," he added.

NY Post, May 23

Professional educators like Joel Klein and his merry band of Tweeders, of course.

I didn't think Bloomberg was capable of jokes beyond telling pregnant employees to "get rid of it."

Leonie Haimson wasn't laughing:

While Bloomberg is contemptuous of parents and says educators not parents should be in charge, the reality is that he has disempowered both parents and educators in his effort to privatize and corporatize the system. Indeed, only two out of 20 of the top bureaucrats at Tweed are educators.

Signs of Increasing Teacher Radicalism From Chicago, LA and SF Teachers

If this movement grows, will it have any impact on the ed-deformer collaborationist Randi Weingarten and the UFT/AFT machine? One check will be at the AFT convention in the summer of 2010 when Weingarten runs for reelection. Don't expect any opposition from NYC, where Unity Caucus controls all 800 delegates or NY State with Nysut under the same controls. NYC/NYS controls the AFT with over 40% of the membership.

The same situation probably exists in Chicago which also has a collaborationist leadership but an emerging opposition led by CORE (Caucus of Rank & File Educators) may have an impact. There are also some signs in St. Louis. Expect a major movement to come from the west coast, in particular LA, where a progressive group is in charge of the union and has embarrassed the UFT/AFT with its militant actions.

The GEM coalition here in NYC will be reaching out to these other groups to see if a national coalition can be formed.

Since many of these activists have socialist roots, just watch the AFT propaganda machine start spewing its red-baiting, especially with the UFT's chief red-baiter Jeff Zahler, who attacked 2007 ICE/TJC Presidential candidate Kit Wainer for his socialist views, now ensconced at AFT HQ in Washington.

« Theft of Pay Update

CORE Represents at Labor Notes Conference

CORE members were highly visible at Saturday May 9th’s “Troublemakers School” hosted by Labor Notes and Malcom X. College. CORE members participated in workshops where they learned: how to prepare effective grievances for possible arbitration, fighting back in the public sector, and organizing and bargaining during an economic crisis among other topics crucial for fighting Unionists.

As a caucus of educators, it was not enough for CORE to merely be students. CORE member, delegate and National Board Certified Teacher Karen Lewis co-presented a workshop entitled “Changing Your Union.”

Ms. Lewis gave an overview of the shape of education in Chicago and how it inspired a small group of Chicago Teachers Union activists to work together to change the Union from within. She described how CORE has become a group of educators who are doing the things the Union leadership should be doing, but in their free time for no additional pay. CORE has been collecting data and doing research on such items as: Huberman’s attack on pensions, CPS payroll, and proper staffing of schools.

She then described our January 10th meeting where CORE drew 500 people in a blizzard to talk about school closings. This event led to the formation of the GEM coalition that became a force of positive change in Chicago school reform. The actions of the groups around school closings saved six schools from being closed, phased-out, consolidated, or turned-around over the 2009-2010 school year

Question-and-Answer session concluded the presentation. Karen advocated for term limits on officers and cuts in officer pay as being crucial in keeping leadership’s attention to the needs of the rank-and-file. She discussed the importance of member education and the need for balance between “service Unionism” and activist Unionism.

At the end of the conference, delegate and CORE member Jackson Potter spoke on the closing panel. Jackson spoke about how CORE is effectively changing the culture of the Union. He spoke about how CORE came from a group of teachers who were not interested in leaving the classroom, but were interested in using our brotherhood and sisterhood within the Union to make the classroom a place where we can better serve our students. CORE wants to put a stop to the culture of “the further you get away from the classroom, the bigger the rewards.”

This was a great day of learning and teaching for the Educators at CORE. Being a member-driven caucus, and not a personality-driven one means that a lot of work needs to be done in self-education and educating the public. Saturday’s event was another instance of that dedication to education.

Call for Community and Teacher Hunger Strike in LA

May 26th to June 1st

Our schools, our communities, our children are facing a growing crisis.

Overwhelmed by deficits, politicians are trying to balance their budgets on the backs of children, the poor, and the working people of California. Our schools’ past allies in public office, Board Members Garcia, Flores-Aguilar, and Vladovic have abandoned us. We are sending a clear message to these elected officials: we will accept nothing less than a new budget that protects every child and every classroom.

To this end we call for a fast of purification, dedication, sacrifice and conscience. Our goal is to achieve self purification, to call on ourselves and our elected representatives to rededicate themselves to the children of our communities, to make personal sacrifice and inspire others to join us, and to remind everyone of conscience what is right and just at this moment.

We call on you to join us. Some of us will fast until this struggle is won. Many of us will fast for several days or for only one day. Some of us will participate in a strict, water-only fast, others in juice fasts. All are welcome.

The first fast will begin on May 26th and last until June 1st. On June 1st we will have a community celebration for those who will be breaking their fast.

On that day we will also invite as many individuals as possible to begin fasts for a short period of time and then pass their fast on to someone else who will do the same, creating chains of people throughout the community.

To sign up, email hungerstrike@riseup.net or call (323) 490-2412.

Perhaps we can bring the day when children will learn from their earliest days that being fully man and fully woman means to give one’s life to the liberation of the brother who suffers. It is up to each one of us. It won’t happen unless we decide to use our lives to show the way. –Cesar Chavez

In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps:

collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self purification; and direct action. – Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dialogue cannot exist in the absence of a profound love for the world and its people. –Paolo Freire



San Francisco's Educators for Democratic Union Platform

http://www.educatorssf.com/index.php?p=1_2_EDU-Platform


A democratic union that functions with transparency.

1. Membership will have active oversight of bargaining.

2. The bargaining team will be accountable - making regular reports to the Executive Board and Assembly, seeking membership input and direction.

3. All changes in workday, wages and benefits will be voted on by the full membership. We will have open and thorough discussion on any changes in dues: where the money will go, how it will benefit members.

4. All resolutions passed and minutes taken during Executive Board and Assembly Meetings will be posted in a timely manner on the UESF website.


A union that defends the rights of ALL its members.

1. We believe in equal rights to pay increases for paraprofessionals, substitutes, child development and K-12 teachers.

2. Union leadership will spend more time in the school and work sites finding out what members concerns are and taking action.

3. We seek to defend and expand the number of paraprofessionals working in SFUSD.

4. Protect teachers from subjective evaluations.


Social justice for all: educators, families and students.

1. We will engage in dialogue with families about a long-range vision for public education and what education could look like.

2. We oppose the attempts to reintroduce JROTC to our schools. We will be active participants in the antiwar movement.

3. We will defend the rights of all immigrant families to live and work in San Francisco free of harassment from ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).

4. We oppose school closings.


Empowering members at their school sites.

1. Union leadership will visit school sites and take an active approach to building strong UBCs.

2. Real reform starts at the school sites--- not at 555 Franklin. Encourage members to take action where they work to improve education and working conditions.

3. We will lead and encourage discussions on issues that matter to our membership in addition to the contract--- pedagogy, school climate and discipline, building community-school relationships, etc.

4. We absolutely oppose using test scores alone to measure the success of students or educators –- Rewrite ESEA(Elementary and Secondary Education Act) and end NCLB (No Child Left Behind).


The defense of public education and the public sector through progressive taxation.

1. We will build relationships and emphasize strategic actions with other unions and public sector stakeholders to build and fund a new vision for social justice and equity.

2. We will work to change how schools are funded and fight to transform Prop 13 to adequately fund public schools and social services.

3. No merit pay! We will fight to stop the privatization of any aspect of public schools and help existing charter schools to unionize.

Marine Park Community Set to Protest the HLA Charter School Proposed to be placed within Marine Park JHS/IS 278

No matter where your school is located, you are in the same danger of these privatizers. This case is particularly egregious. Ed Notes wrote about it here. We pointed out that the "lottery" was held in a YMHA on a Sunday afternoon without community notice. There are religious and political implications behind this. A prime issue is how the lie that they would find their own building was used to get approval.

If you can support these parents and teachers, come on down on Tuesday night. I will be there to video tape the event. We should use events like this to call for the state legislature to end mayoral control.

On Tuesday, May 26, 2009, the Marine Park Community will mobilize and protest at the Department of Education Public Hearing at IS 278, 1925 Stuart Street, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.

Parents and Community members are vehemently opposed to the placement of any charter school within IS 278 in District 22 in Brooklyn. A charter school being dually housed inside the building with the Intermediate School would negatively impact the educational process of the school, harming not only the current students but the community as a whole. The intrusion of the Charter school will greatly limit the students’ access to fundamental spaces in the building such as the gym, library, and lunchroom. The loss of classroom space to the Charter will result in larger class sizes for the IS 278 students. Space restrictions will also cause the students to lose access to lunchtime tutoring sessions with their teachers and programming access to the schools renowned and award winning music program. The Charter School will also cause unnecessary traffic congestion that will endanger the lives of the current and incoming students.

When HLA made its application, at the public meeting June 23, 2008 it specifically stated when questioned that it would not place the charter within any public school, but would be acquiring their own private space. This obviously was not the truth.

For several years Marine Park JHS has petitioned with enormous community support to be allowed to extend itself from a 6-8 to a 6-12 school. This is a much better concept as it group students of the same age group who could continue to utilize all the space without loss of existing programs and create a performing arts school. The DOE has stated that there is no room for this reasonable request yet now states that there is room for an additional school with all its ancillary facilities. We question the DOE’s support of a special interest group over the needs and wants of the neighborhood community.

The dual housing of schools will impede the use of vital facilities such as the gymnasium, library, cafeteria and computer centers. Marine Park JHS currently has approx. 1,100 students and three lunch periods beginning at 10:00 am and ending at 1:00 pm. When would the HLA plan on having lunch for their 150 students (5 and 6 year olds) when they would not be commingling with 11 to 14 year old.

The space utilized by the dual housing of schools will result in a reduction or loss of the access to the rooms required by the renowned and award winning music (both instrumental and choral), drama and art programs that are currently in place at Marine Park JHS. Marine Park JHS is used on an ongoing basis by several local organizations to provide vital after-school activities. These programs include participants from all age groups and from all different schools (public and private). With the siting of this charter and its planned extended day, these much needed services would be lost to the children of the Marine Park community.

Charter schools are fundamentally meant to be housed in Districts with failing schools to offer an alternative educational choice to parents. District 22 prides itself on its long history of success in almost all of its schools. The community did not ask for nor is in need of Charter School intervention. Why is the community being forced to cut services to the children of this community school? Each year that the charter school is housed inside of IS 278, the community will lose more space for its children who want to attend IS 278.

The community has left their opinions to both Deputy Mayor Walcott and Mayor Bloomberg, flooding 311 with calls over the past 2 weeks. Thousands of signatures in opposition have been collected. The community’s outrage has been voiced at every Civic and Public venue available. Senator Marty Golden, Councilman Lew Fidler, Assemblyman Alan Maisel,other elected officials and civic leaders have added their voices in opposition to this plan.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2009/04/29/2009-04-29_marine_park_parents_protest_plan_for_charter_school_in_public_building.html

Back to the Fray

I'm back from 4 days at the annual FIRST LEGO League partners conference in Manchester, NH, where people live free or die. A place with elected school boards. No mayors controlling their schools. Or no-nothing about education superintendents like Joel Klein. New Hampshire must be missing African-American and Hispanic parents who need the guidance of dictators. If NH had mayor Mike running things, the cemeteries would be overflowing.

Being away from the NYC ed/pol scene can be a good thing, especially in the FIRST environment where the focus is on creating wonderful experiences for kids - truly Children First. It is nice to see so many people who understand one of the prime missions in education. There is a great mix of educators, engineers and people from the business community. Many got involved as parents. A couple from Arkansas started out that way and now are handling the FLL in the state. They mentioned that one of the former members of a high school team called "The Bomb Squad" is now helping us in NY as a mentor.

I had some great conversations. One in particular with an engineer associated with a university who has seen the deterioration of the public schools in parts of his state due to the charter school invasion.

FLL is expected to have over 8000 teams in the US and Canada and 8000 more in 45 countries. This was a North American conference and most states were represented, as was Haiti and Colombia.

We got an exclusive look at the new Smart Moves game but are embargoed from revealing details until Kickoff on Sept. 3.


Teachers who get involved in FLL say it is the best thing they do all year. Registration is open now. The season runs from the beginning of the school year through mid-March, with borough qualifying tournaments and a citywide at the Javits Center which will take place concurrently with the high school events (FTC and FRC. Learn about all FIRST events: http://www.usfirst.org/).

FLL is for ages 9-14. Elementary, middle and even 9th graders in high school can take part. We had 150 teams from NYC take part in this past year's Climate Connections game.

Learn more about FIRST LEGO League: http://www.usfirst.org/community/fll/default.aspx?id=970.

Register a team (you can pay later): https://gofll.usfirst.org/.

Follow NYC robotics on my robotics blog.

Training and support are provided. Contact me if your school is interested.

The jury found that the School District and Principal Brown retaliated against Farb for filing a harassment complaint against Brown

Beware: This is an ad for a law firm but the case is interesting. A teacher charges someone with sexual harassment and gets fired. I hear similar cases in NYC but nothing much happens. Maybe NYSUT lawyers should drop in on Leeds, Morelli, etc.

http://www.topix.com/content/prweb/2009/05/leeds-morelli-brown-obtain-huge-verdict-against-school-district

Leeds Morelli & Brown Obtain Huge Verdict Against School District

May 13, 2009

Original PRWeb article: Leeds Morelli & Brown Obtain Huge Verdict Against School District
Read 1 comment »

- Principals and school administrators hold positions of trust and responsibility in our society. Last Wednesday, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York found that Principal James Brown of Baldwin Middle School in Baldwin, N.Y., violated that trust when he terminated Cheryl Farb, Dean of Students, in retaliation for her filing a complaint for sexual harassment and discrimination. Farb was represented by the firm Leeds Morelli & Brown.
Farb, et al. v. Baldwin Union Free School Dist., et al., 05 CV 0596 (JS)(ETB)

The jury found that the School District and Principal Brown retaliated against Farb for filing a harassment complaint against Brown. Following an eight-day trial, jurors awarded a total of $5.25 million to Cheryl Farb and her husband. The award included $4 million in emotional damages and $1 million in punitive damages awarded to Ms. Farb, as well as $250,000 for loss of consortium to Farb's husband. The Court has yet to determine Farb's damages for economic losses and is expected to award a substantial additional amount for those losses. The Court also ordered the School District to pay all of Farb's attorneys fees. Leeds Morelli managing attorney Jeffrey Brown stated, 'We are very proud of our trial team and inspired by the courage Ms. Farb demonstrated by standing up for the rights of children and women throughout the country.'

Cheryl Farb worked at the Baldwin Middle School during the 2002/03 and 2003/04 school years until she was terminated. During her time at the school, she filed a complaint against the principal for making sexual and racial comments about both her and students at the school. The jury found that Principal Brown, in retaliation, exploited his position as Farb's direct supervisor by issuing her poor evaluations and fabricating reasons to take disciplinary action against her.

The jury also found that Baldwin School District failed to properly train its employees about sexual harassment; failed to keep Farb's complaint confidential; and failed to oversee Principal Brown's supervision of Farb after she filed her complaint against him.

Cheryl Farb stated, 'I am happy with the outcome of the trial and am glad that the jury was able to see that I was wronged. I hope this verdict sends a message that people should speak out when they see improprieties in their workplace and retaliation for speaking out will not be tolerated.' Speaking on the quality of their legal counsel in the case, Farb's husband, Harry Newman, said, 'As an attorney, I am thrilled and amazed at the quality of the work that Leeds Morelli & Brown has done for us. Our attorney, Rick Ostrove, is one of the finest trial attorneys I have ever seen in my life. His closing statement was definitely the best closing statement I have ever seen in my entire career.'

About Leeds Morelli & Brown, P.C.: Leeds Morelli & Brown, P.C. is a New York City area litigation firm that is dedicated to seeking justice for its clients. The firm offers free consultations about potential claims of sexual harassment or discrimination in the workplace. For more information, call 1-800-585-4658 or visit www.lmblaw.com.

Media Contact:
Jeff Brown
1-888-5-JOBLAW


Media Contact:
Leeds Morelli & Brown, P.C.
Jeff Brown
516-873-9550

Trackback URL: http://prweb.com/pingpr.php/U3VtbS1Db3VwLVN1bW0tU3VtbS1TcXVhLUNvdXAtWmVybw==

Illustrating Why One Man Rule Has Got to Go

The following interchange between parents Steve Koss and Lisa Donlon on the mostly parent-based NYC Education News listserve is just a sample of the daily fare. I know for a fact that much of the NY Ed press monitor the list. Yet you do not see this parent anti-BloomKlein much reflected. Mostly you hear about UFT opposition, which is basically untrue as all they do is make it look like they are against certain policies so the members think they are really a union. This strong parent point of view along with the many anti- BloomKlein classroom teacher blogs is what is driving some of the opposition. (Leonie Haimson for UFT President, as she often does more to defend teachers than the union leadership.) But the chorus is growing. Probably not in time to stop a renewal of mayoral control. But if the legislature is smart, it would sunset the law again in 4 years. That threat might serve to hold the line on some things.

Here Steve and Lisa talk about the paltry numbers in the recent CEC election, or meaningless straw poll, at the district level where despite an expensive lobbying campaign the Tweedies and their flunkies couldn't come close to matching the old Community School Board 5% turnout. This gang can't shoot straight even with a bazooka.

The DOE's straw web site (www.powertotheparents.org) for promoting straw input from
parents for straw polling as input to straw elections in which to select members
to the straw parent organization Community Education Councils, has posted those
straw polling results in what can only be described as the most laughable and
ludicrous form I have ever seen.

Apparently, in an attempt to make the poll results as useless, vague, and
uninformative as possible, the website lists results in three categories: CEC's,
the Citywide Council on Special Education, and the Citywide Council on High
Schools. In each case, the candidates votes are listed not in total, not even
with numeric counts, but simply by the presumably originating schools of those
who voted, and given only in percents!!

That's right - no vote tallies, just percents. To choose just the very
first example listed for the CEC's, we're apparently being allowed to know that
in District 1, an unknown number of parents from School M015 (no name given,
although it happens to be P.S. 015, Roberto Clemente on East 4th Street in
Manhattan) ostensibly voted for their six (yeah, SIX!!) candidates (for nine
positions) in the following way: 26.09% for Monse Santana, 17.39% for Andrew
Reicher, 17.39% for Edward Primus, 13.04% for Corinna Lindenberg, 13.04% for
David Gerstl, and 13.04% fo! r Waldestrudis Acevedo.

A little very simple, trial-and-error math work yields the probable real
counts that produce these percentages: 23 total votes apportioned to the above
candidates as 6, 4, 4, 3, 3, and 3 votes, respectively. So all you PA and PTA
electors from District 1, don't you feel truly empowered and informed to know
that your #1 vote-getter from the full parental voice across your entire
district may well have garnered a grand total of six votes? Of course, it's
always possible that the votes came in as a multiple of this, such as 46 votes
instead of 23, apportioned instead as 12, 8, 8, 6, 6, and 6.

Who knows? Given the lack of parent interest as shown even in the number of
candidates, however, I'd always opt for the lowest possible set of numbers as
the most likely. It's as if we had a Presidential election and we were only
allowed to know the percent of votes coming from each precinct for each
candidate. No numerical counts, no totals by county or state or anything else.

It's a perfect way to provide utterly useless and meaningless data that
also hides the doubtless abysmal parent response to what was likely a
multi-million-dollar effort staged by Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein to
engage (or should I say, co-opt?) public school parents. Just one more example
of how mayoral control has become mayoral autocracy, with meaningless little
crumbs of "democratic participation" tossed out periodically as "sops for the
saps."

If there had been a genuine response with active parent involvement, the
DOE PR machine would have been in full gear, blasting out press releases and
data and pie charts and heaven knows what else. Instead, it's an abysmal
failure, a deservedly total rejection from parents who are smart enough to know
a naked emperor when they see one, and that emperor doesn't even have the nerve
to release the results in an honest fashion. Albany, please take note once again
of the reality of what you've created, and what you so desperately need to
fix.

Steve Koss

Thanks, Steve, for the lucid and spot-on analysis of the ludicrous
straw poll. Just for the record, there is a 7th candidate for CEC One but
the DoE/their vendor managed to accidently leave her off of the straw poll.


It took numerous calls to both DoE ( OFEA) and vendor
(PTTP) to get them to even admit there was a problem ( someone at Power to
the Parents actually assured me that Anilsa Sanchez was on the website
listing candidates for the straw poll, when in fact, she was not).

The left-off candidate is actually a sitting CEC member, whose candidacy
not only slightly "brings the numbers up," but she also brings the additional
representation of the parents of the district as the law requires of the CEC
membership by virtue of her race, ethnicity, home language status and
type of school she represents.

Autocracy combined with ineptitude- the worst of all possible
worlds? or a necessary correlate?

Bring on the wider lens of multiple view points, the checks and balances of
democratic participation and oversight; save us from the paralysis, chaos and
corruption of mayoral control.

Parents must call their representatives in Albany to let them
know they want the madness to stop, and are depending on their state
electeds to reform this broken system in the next few weeks.

One man rule has got to go!

Lisa DonlanCEC One

New York City march for schools

By Michele Showman May 19, 2009

NEW YORK--About 75 New York City public school teachers, students and parents rallied in lower Manhattan on May 14 to urge the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) to resist school closings and control of the schools by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The protest was organized by Grassroots Education Movement (GEM), a coalition of dissident caucuses within the union, as well as parent and community groups. GEM seeks to unite teachers and parents in pressuring the UFT to resist mayoral control and school privatization.
They also came together to support the 1,700 teachers who have lost their jobs as a result of school closings, as well as the hundreds of teachers in temporary re-assignment centers ("rubber rooms"). Their demands include eliminating high-stakes testing, reducing class sizes and no to merit pay. GEM held a conference on charter schools earlier this month at Pace University that built momentum for the protest.

Protesters went to UFT headquarters, where protesters picketed and chanted, "DOE [Department of Education]! Open your eyes! We don't want to privatize." The protest continued to the offices of the Department of Education, where a number of speakers spoke to the importance of union resistance to mayoral control, and to democratic control of the schools.
"Over 20 schools have been closed, and more are on the chopping block," said Angel Gonzalez. "We must oppose principals who behave like centralized dictatorships."

Marchers cheered when Brian Jones, a middle school teacher in East Harlem, said, "President Obama's charter schools represent an attempt to do education on the cheap. Billions are available to bail out the banks: we need that money to bail out the schools!"

By connecting teacher union activists with community forces, GEM is mobilizing the kind of force that can stop school closings, and put control of schools in the hands of teachers and parents.

Battle Intensifies in LA Schools

http://socialistworker.org/2009/05/19/battle-intensifies-in-la-schools

From Socialist Worker


BATTLE INTENSIFIES IN LA SCHOOLS
====================================

Gillian Russom and David Rapkin, members of United Teachers Los Angeles, report on the union's response to a court order barring a planned one-day strike on May 15.

May 19, 2009

AFTER AN anti-union judge issued a temporary restraining order banning our planned one-day strike set for May 15, thousands of members of United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) and hundreds of Los Angeles students pushed back with a series of actions on that day.

Morning picket lines before school, student walkouts and sit-ins, a civil disobedience action by teachers, and an afternoon union rally sent a clear message that our struggle to stop layoffs and class size increases is not going away.Teachers, students, and parents are outraged at the Los Angeles Unified School District's (LAUSD) plans to lay off nearly 2,900 teachers and 2,600 other school employees, and increase class sizes in every grade level.

The layoffs are unnecessary, since money from the federal stimulus bill is sufficient to save these jobs.UTLA members had voted to hold a one-day strike May 15 to protest the layoffs, but union officers decided to cancel the work stoppage when Judge James Chalfant issued a restraining order that could have imposed a fine of $1,000 and a loss of credentials on each teacher who participated.

Chalfant also threatened to fine UTLA itself $1,000 for each member who took part in the strike--a penalty that, if successfully imposed, would have bankrupted the union.

The pickets, civil disobedience and rally were important in keeping teachers active and sending the message that we'll continue the fight. However, it comes in the context of the injunction, which was a major defeat for us and represents a formidable attack on the labor movement.

Plus, Superintendent Ramon Cortines' hard-line stance can't be underestimated. From Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa--a supposed friend of UTLA--to the school board to Cortines and the courts, we are being hammered.The next step it is to reinvigorate the fight in whatever ways we can. Chalfant's temporary restraining order--which could become a permanent injunction against strikes and job actions--needs to be challenged.

This intervention against our democratic right to strike is an attack on the entire labor movement, and UTLA must enlist active support from the LA County Federation of Labor and unions everywhere.Most importantly, we need to prepare union members for a long, tough fight.The fight against layoffs is taking place while a tentative agreement on a contract was set aside prior to a ratification vote by the membership. The district may well agree to pull back partially on layoffs in exchange for reopening contract talks to seek unpaid leave and other concessions from the union. How much we can win in negotiations depends on the level of pressure we maintain through our organizing over the coming weeks.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SOME ACTIVISTS were disappointed with the UTLA officers' decision to call off the strike, but nevertheless shifted quickly into organizing actions that wouldn't violate the court order.

Angry picket lines were set up in front of most schools Friday morning for the hour before classes started. At Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights, 100 teachers chanted, "The district says cut back, we say fight back!" and "What do we want? Lower class size! When do we want it? Now!"

Later that morning, we took part in a civil disobedience action in front of LAUSD headquarters with 37 other teachers and union officers. By getting arrested, we hoped to show our ongoing commitment to fighting the cuts, and to keep public attention focused on the detrimental impact that class size increases will have on students' education.Wearing t-shirts reading "Don't raise class size" and "Restrain the district," we stormed up to the locked doors of the school board's offices. Our chants of "Don't raise class size" reverberated off the building as TV cameras rolled.

Knowing that the school board would not arrest us on their steps, we moved into the middle of the street where we formed a circle and sat down. "We are here because for over 500 years, we have been facing oppression," said Martha Guerrero, a history teacher at Roosevelt High School. "Students of color and marginalized youth are continually denied a quality education, and it is obvious that this system does not care about their future. Enough is enough, ¡ya basta!"Twenty-one women and 17 men, including UTLA's president, vice president and secretary, were handcuffed by police in riot gear and transported to two LA jails. We were released around 9 p.m. after about six hours in holding cells.

Students showed their opposition to the cuts and solidarity with teachers in actions at several schools around the city. About 500 students at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles held a sit-in in the school's central yard. Later, they moved to the athletic field bleachers, and the school provided a sound system so they could discuss why they didn't want teachers laid off. Garfield could lose 13 English and social studies teachers.Sit-ins of hundreds of students also took place at Jordan High School in South Los Angeles, Franklin High School in Highland Park and Miguel Contreras Learning Complex in downtown LA."We care about the teachers," Jasmine Guerrero, a senior at Franklin, told the /Los Angeles Times/. "But it's more about us. One teacher for 45 students, it's not a productive learning environment."

At Miguel Contreras Learning Complex School, 300 students held a sit-in in the courtyard from 8 a.m. until about 10:30. Speaking on a bullhorn, one student leader listed the names of LA schools and how many teachers each school would lose due to the cuts.

Another leader gave out the phone number of school board president Monica Garcia, and dozens left messages demanding that she change her vote."Students are definitely making the connection between supporting the teachers' struggle and the fact that their own education is at stake," said Jess Kochick, a teacher at Miguel Contreras. "They were saying things like, 'If they're not going to let you strike, we're not going to go to class!' What students are doing is definitely going to be a crucial part of how we win."

A spirited after-school rally drew about 1,500 teachers, students and parents to the LAUSD building yet again. The head of the LA County Federation of Labor, Maria Elena Durazo addressed the crowd, emphasizing that the struggle for public education is a fight for the whole working class.

UTLA activists are pressing ahead with further mobilizations. Teachers around the city are planning actions including community forums and a protest by elementary school students and parents as well as a possible hunger strike leading up to a major protest at the school board's next meeting on May 26.All this is vital--but more activism and organization will be needed. In the weeks and the months ahead, UTLA faces what are likely to be the most important struggles in its history, and the union will need to be mobilize and organize its rank-and-file members like it has never done before.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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Teachers Unite Chapter Leader Support

I'm on the road this week. I'm up in Manchester, NH at FIRST HQ for a robotics conference this week so blogging may be sketchy. Certainly, no graphics.

Monday night was a busy one. There was lots of stuff going on at the PEP meeting at Stuyvesant HS with the anti-mayoral control parent group and others on military recruitment.

I couldn't make it because Teachers Unite was holding its prospective chapter leader training session. Michael Fiorillo (ICE), Megan Behrent (TJC) and I were the old hands answering a wealth of questions from people thinking of running either for CL or Delegate.

If you are running or thinking of running for chapter leader or are involved in supporting a candidate in your school, the discussion was very valuable. We hope to continue meeting and eventually form a meaningful support group for chapter leaders that will be able to link the role of union leader at the school level with the broader issues facing teachers.

There was a lot of meat on the table to chew on and I will try to report on some of it when I get a chance this week to follow up.

Here is one item that came up:

The type of support CLs get from the union varies. The key person is the District Rep. Since Randi killed elections (they used to be elected by the CLs in the district) they are more beholden to the leadership than to the members. But I maintain they were never all that beholden in the first place since they were all in the ruling Unity Caucus, which runs the union as a one party system.

The DR is like an overseer, watching for signs of dissonance. They keep CL from wandering off the reservation. CLs feel very beholden to the DR as they are the major conduit to the UFT and even friends of Ed Notes and ICE often feel wary of handing out our literature. ("My DR will rip me a new a-hole if I pass this out was one comment.")

Monthly District meetings of CL are always well attended, way more than Delegate Assemblies. There the DR passes out the word of what the union needs them to do. You see, the union views CLs as their employees and gophers even though they are chosen by their staffs. Thus, these meetings are filled with "Do Nows" and very few DRs hold full discussions and brainstorming sessions for CLs to help each other with their issues and coordinate a multi-school strategy. The goal is to keep them all isolated and dependent on the DR and the union, not each other.

One thing we pointed out to the attendees was the narrow view the UFT has of the way to deal with many issues in the school. Basically, the advice it to keep things between a teacher under attack and the CL, and not to fight things politically by trying to mobilize fellow teachers and parents where appropriate. Again, isolate the teachers and make them dependent on the CL, thus reinforcing the UFT chain of command and its tight top down control.

Pride and Prejudice: Seward Darby on ATRs in the New Republic

The New Republic's Seward Darby clearly an ed deformer supporter, attended the Mar 28 Grassroots Education Movement conference on closing schools, charter schools and ATRs. She signed in but did not identify herself as a reporter. Her negative report (School's Out Forever by Seward Darby in The New Republic) is dripping with so much bias and venom, don't get wet reading it. Teachers grumble. They furrow their brow. They shout. The dress of a few people are described for negative effect.

Participants at the March meeting--sponsored by a self-described "dissenting caucus" of the UFT--are leading a campaign to get the city to repeal its mutual-consent policy, including the ATR. And they echoed Weingarten's grievance (though they also called her a "failed labor leader" for agreeing to scrap forced placement in the first place)."

Darby made no attempt to explore the true roots of dissent, that the organizers of the conference represent some of the most progressive teachers in NYC, and that the issues of closing schools and high stakes tests are part of the ATR equation.

"Meanwhile, as states look for ways to qualify for federal stimulus money by committing to increasing teacher effectiveness, New York stands as one model of what not to do."

I've collected a series of Darbyisms from this "journalist" less than two years out of college, clearly an expert in urban education. Note how every teacher is presented with a negative description. And all seem to be vets, ignoring the fact that the conference attracted a mixed bag of newer and older teachers.

Darby is a shill. Numerous quotes from TNTP's Tim Daly but never mention his contracts with the city and what he has to gain by attacking ATRs. Using quotes from Daly and TNTP on ATRs, which has large contracts in NYC to train new teachers, is like using Dick Cheney as a resource on weapons of mass destruction.

"I'm happy now," one such teacher told TNTP researchers. "I don't have to prep, I don't have to grade tests, I don't have my own class. I don't really have to do anything."

Take one quote and apply it to all 1400? I guess Darby didn't have the time to read the comments from ATRs who sent in numerous resumes but didn't get one call. Daly forgot to talk to them too. She had the opportunity to talk directly to many ATRs in the room but chose to use this old quote from TNTP.

"Perhaps worst of all, the ATR is part of what was supposed to be an effort to free New York from the stranglehold its powerful teachers' union" [Stanglehold? Has Darby been awake at all?]

The battle over teacher hiring is why, on a Saturday afternoon in late March, a group of angry veteran teachers gathered in a chilly Manhattan classroom. They were there to protest the ATR. Sitting at desks scattered haphazardly [look at these people,can't even straighten the desks.] through the room, the educators shouted complaints as one woman scribbled notes on sheets of paper taped to the blackboard. They decried New York's mayor, his chancellor of education, and school principals, and they lamented this cabal's primary goal: to replace experienced educators with younger recruits. "A lot of principals don't want teachers who've been around for a while because when they say jump, we'll say, 'Why?'" one woman cried, her brow furrowing with anger. "A twenty-two-year-old would say, 'How high?'

"It's like in the nineteenth century, when people were thrown off farms and had to live in crummy parts of cities," grumbled one teacher, slumped at his desk in snakeskin cowboy boots and a shirt emblazoned with the UFT logo.

Their sense of entitlement dates back to 1961, when the newly formed UFT challenged the weak job security and low pay of the teaching profession.

But the plan is deeply flawed because, in 2005, UFT refused to sacrifice its commitment to lifelong job security. It won the ATR, which means that, while displaced teachers have to compete for jobs, there is no consequence if they do not find them. They would simply get paid to wait in the ATR."

TNTP found no hiring bias against ATR teachers.[Do they have a dog in the race?]

Wearing black boots, army pants, and a skin-tight shirt that said "undefeated," a reserve teacher standing by a snack table declared himself a "political prisoner."

Another retired teacher shouted that the city's attacks on seniority and job guarantees "will make the AIG crooks look like gold." [THAT's ME and I don't shout. I just speak loudly. Of course she took this out of context.]

Today, teachers lingering for months, even years, in the reserve are more likely than the rest of the city's educators to have "unsatisfactory" performance ratings, [DEBUNKED BY EDUWONKETTE] and many haven't applied for new jobs online, [HOW ABOUT DATA? "MANY" MEANS EXACTLY HOW MANY?] where the city maintains an employment database, or attended a job fair.

Chicago, one of the only other big U.S. school systems to adopt mutual consent, allows teachers to remain in reserve for ten months, after which they are removed from the public payroll.

because of growing opposition and outrage from the UFT and teachers clinging to the past.

Lots of code words here. Note the negative descriptions, ignoring the people who spoke so eloquently at the conference. Darby was in the same room I was but was wearing narrow blinkers

I especially like this one:

Another woman holding an issue of the International Socialist Review silently shook her head.

Wow, and red-baiting too. Way to go Seward.

She emailed me to say she would call to interview me. The call never came. But why hear all sides of the issue when you are out to do a hatchet job in the first place?

Can you spell s-h-o-d-d-y j-o-u-r-n-a-l-i-s-m?

CHARTER SCHOOLS IN HARLEM: Part of the Solution, or Part of the Problem?

The actions of the EEPs and ERPS are driving people to question many aspects of their market-based policies.

An Informational Meeting for Parents

GUEST SPEAKERS:

AKINLABI E. A. MACKALL
co-founder of S.E.E.D.S., Inc. (www.seedswork.org) and on the
Coordinating Council of Black New Yorkers for Educational Excellence –
BNYEE (www.bnyee.com). He has been a community empowerment researcher,
planner and implementer for his entire adult life.

MICHAEL FIORILLO
ESL/English teacher at Newcomers High School in Queens, Public School
Parent and Alumnus, UFT Chapter Leader

Wednesday, May 20
6:30pm
Jackie Robinson Community Center
110 East 129th Street
at the corner of Lexington & 129th

Sponsored by the Grassroots Education Movement
GEMnyc@gmail.com 718-601-4901

The Grassroots Education Movement is a coalition of groups and individuals fighting against the privatization of education in NYC.

NYCDOE: Blame Swine Flu for Drop in Scores

From Ed Notes News (EDNN):

The New York City Department of Education has declared that any drop in test scores over the next decade will be due to school closings due to the swine flu.

"These things can have a long-standing and pervasive impact," said one of the hundreds of Tweed press spokespersons. "We're not making any excuses here like those teachers do all the time, but the definitive studies show that time missed due to swine flu can affect reading scores for a generation."

"But what if they go up," asked a reporter?

"If they do, that will be an indication of the extraordinary leadership of Mayor Bloomberg. If we don't abandon mayoral control, that is. Want to sign this card to the state legislature for Learn NY?"

Related:
1.The DOE announced that all teachers absent from schools closed will be given U-ratings for excessive absence and sent to the rubber room upon the schools' reopening. "How will you staff the schools," an EDNN stringer asked? "Easy," said the spokesperson. "Teach for America has been recruiting seniors in high school who will be trained for 2 weeks, certified personally by Board of Regent head Meryl Tisch, handed surgical masks and send to the classrooms of these schools when they reopen.

The Swines Flew
The DOE announced Joel Klein will be flying down to Washington to the next EEP conference with Al Sharpton.

The Civil Rights Issue of Our Times: End Dictatorial Mayoral Control

Give urban parents the same rights enjoyed by 95% of the parents in the nation.

Randi Grandstands at the DA – After Accusing ICE of Grandstanding

"Say NO to the political grandstanding and opposition without meaning." - Unity Caucus leaflet handed out at the Delegate Assembly, May 13, 2009

Ya gotta hand it to that wacky Randi Weingarten. In the midst of running the national AFT and the local UFT into the ground, she finds time to focus on the ICE/Ed Notes little ole resolution on chapter leaders.

On Tuesday night we posted this:

Defend Chapter Leaders Sent to Rubber Rooms

With the triennial chapter leader election season taking place, the attacks on chapter leaders as a way to undermine the union, particularly by Leadership Academy principals, has become an issue prospective CL's have to consider. This leaflet is to be handed out at today's Delegate Assembly and raised in the new motion period - if Weingarten ever stops filibustering. So don't count on it. Full text published at the ICE blog or click on the graphic.

At the Delegate Assembly Wednesday (May 13), she announced she had read a resolution on chapter leaders on the blogs and she thought it was a good one - especially since it came from those grandstanders without meaning. (She not only read it but she commented on the ICE blog "anonymously" using the opportunity to attack Jeff Kaufman - I include the exchange at the end of this post.)

She called for a suspension of the rules, which the Unity faithful voted up immediately. She finally seemed to have noticed that with chapter leader elections coming up and leadership academy principals obviously trained in tactics to undermine CL's, some people, afraid for their careers, are declining to run. Of course, it took a few blog postings from us little old grandstanders without meaning to remind her. But we're always willing to help out.

She said that the union had done a little bit of rewriting, handed out their version of our resolution and lined up a chapter leader who was in the rubber room to speak. Wow! What union support he got. Phone calls and visits from his district rep every hour. And union VP Bob Astrowsky dropped by to bring him flowers and lunch every day. And Randi herself landing on the roof of the rubber room in a helicopter. I began to think maybe we are wrong about these union leaders. They are really concerned with people in the rubber room, especially the chapter leaders. No wonder they don't have time to handle grievances effectively.

Well, Randi asked if anyone wanted to speak against and if I were a delegate I would have gotten up to oppose a motion I had mostly written myself. When I was a delegate I used the tactic of opposing a popular motion because it was a way to get the floor since they have to call on someone opposed. Unfortunately, no one took advantage of the opportunity to point out the hypocrisy of Randi, who had to be reminded by our grandstanding blogs that attacks on chapter leaders and the union's inability to defend them were bleeding away the lifeblood of the union at the chapter level.

I would have also pointed out how this replacement motion was true grandstanding without any real teeth.

And note how she had the resolution rewritten and passed out as their motion, taking out a few things that gave it teeth. So much for a "grandstanding opposition without meaning" as quoted in the Unity leaflet handed out Weds. What they took out is indicative of how they think.

The Unity/UFT version
Removed this whereas: The number of teachers sent to rubber rooms has escalated since the beginning of mayoral control which has led to an increased level of autocratic rule in many schools;

This is important as if they left it in it would be an admission that their support for mayoral control has had a disastrous result in the schools, something they keep denying.

Replaced "Leadership Academy Principals" with just "principals."
This ignores the fact that the LA seems to focus training on chapter leaders.

Removed from the Resolve: a letter to principals putting them on notice that without a substantive emergency reason for rubber room placement there will be counter charges of harassment based on union/age/freedom of speech issues.

The Unity version ignored our case study where we pointed out how they tell people not to talk about their cases, to sit back and be silent and "it was not the time to file an Art.2 harassment grievance. Call it the basic inaction plan whereas the ICE resolution was more proactive.

You can pass any number of resolutions but with a collaborative union without spine nothing will change for chapter leaders under the gun just as it didn't when Ed Notes raised an even stronger resolution 10 years ago and Randi opposed it. How have things been going for chapter leaders since then? the Unity version has no teeth by putting the SWAT team on the case and calls for monitoring OSI - we could have made it stronger by calling for Jeff's original point of hiring our own investigators and probably some other things.

We know one thing: this Unity version will have zero impact on protecting chapter leaders or anyone in the RR. It will take a union with principles and spine, not resos to protect people.

Is Randi really leaving?
Now you tell me if someone who is so engaged in the minutia of what the tiny opposition grandstanders are doing is planning on leaving the UFT soon.

As early as this summer according to Wayne Barrett in his ridiculous article in the Village Voice? Randi's involvement in this ICE resolution, suspending the rules of the DA with so much business to conduct, even commenting anonymously twice on the ICE blog is a strong sign that she will be running for President again in the winter of 2010.

James Eterno has a DA report on the ICE blog. I disagree with his interpretation and think the Unity version has enough differences to have opposed or amended it. Next time.

It's great to see our grandstanding without meaning be given so much meaning by the Unity Caucus leadership. (Read on for more on the meaningless actions of the opposition given meaning by Unity.)


Related:
The April DA was also dominated by those political grandstanders at ICE when their leaflet listing the ICE contract demands for the next contract dominated the discussion at one of the best DA's in memory according to sources. That was because for one solid hour the members were allowed to talk, something extremely rare at the DA.

James had an excellent report in the April DA. One of the key issues discussed was Letters in File (LIF) and the removal of the right to grieve them in the 2005 contract, something the union claims was a good thing. From James' report:

The best part of the meeting came when a delegate brought up the issue of winning back the right to grieve to remove inaccurate/unfair letters from our personnel files. She talked about how the threat of multiple grievances often forced principals to back off of our members.

Randi asked for someone to find any substantive right on this issue that we have lost since 2005. She went on to talk about how after three years, letters are removed from files if we haven't been charged and we could bring up the issue if there were a spike in letters.

[ICE's] Julie Woodward rose from her chair and answered Randi specifically. She said that we could no longer stop Principals from lying about us in letters written for our files with a grievance. She stated that principals could write anything about us and we were basically powerless to do anything in response. In the course of this debate,the standard from the old Contract, inaccurate or unfair, that allowed us to fight grievances successfully was raised. Randi responded that we almost never won and letters were just altered and now they are removed after three years.

So at the May DA, UFT Grievance chief Howie Soloman gave a PowerPoint presentation (boooring and we left) on LIF. Under Assualt takes Solomon's presentation apart in this post: New info on LIFs! Just kidding. Excerpt:

Let's tell all those union management people — who just loved the idea of PD for all — to go get some PD for themselves. Maybe even an internship for a year in a real school.

We're up against an army of corpocrats and their generals, people who seek power for power's sake. Union management doesn't have a clue about the reality of what we're dealing with. If I'm wrong and they do, their band-aid approach to this abuse is stunningly anemic, or . . . they're collaborating big-time.

*Randi's back and forth on the ICE blog comments.
How can you tell? Randiologists can recognize her imprint anywhere. No one else in the UFT hierarchy follows the details of stuff that took place so many years ago. Or gives a crap. And look at the language. She has used the same wording at Exec Bd and DA's. Her venom at Jeff shows. The only thing she didn't do was call him "Jeffrey" as she used to at Exec Bds. (Those Randi-Jeff battles ever other week at the Exec Bd were worth the schlep over there.)

Anonymous [Randi] said...
What! It is our understanding that you called upon the union to work with you when you were sent to the rubber room. You personally called the president and was she not responsive? This was mentioned at the delegate assembly. Why not include the entire story Jeff?

Chapter leaders in the rubber room, as well as all members receive personalized attention from the Union and they are all provided with an attorney.

Jeff, why be disengenious...you should know and share the special actions that the union takes on behalf of the union reps. Care to share info on PERB charges??? Or do you want to complain and exclude attempts made on your behalf as well as other chapter leaders...convenient!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009 6:29:00 AM

Someone responds...
As a start the principals who file frivolous charges against veteran teachers should be named. This, of course, will be over the muddled protests of the union leadership. I am not saying that they themselves should be sent to the rubber room on trumped-up charges...just named. Let's show some guts.
As it is now there is no down side for principals to dispatch teachers to rubber rooms. Why WOULDN'T they continue to do just that.
And to the first anonymous: Nice try at misdirection. the post is not about 'Jeff' at all. Please re-read the post or stop your own disingenuous commentary.

Anonymous [Randi] said...
Wrong, at the exec board, Randi did not say it was too expensive! What I attempted to point in utilizing Jeff as an example (as you did in the blog..so following the lead) was that his Union through support behind him while he was chapter leader. Was it one time or two times that the principal was removed? And having an attorney assigned and taking the case to PERB, all the way. Perhaps the findings were not suitable, however support was provided to him as a chapter leader and as a member..as it should be. Let's be clear, the blog referenced Jeff...and let's get the facts straight.

A Call to Boycott COPE

I have a suggestion that will really get UFT and RW's attention, organize a COPE Boycott. Distribute COPE termination cards at your school and urge teachers to opt out. This will hit the UFT where it hurts them the most, their bottom line. We have paid millions of COPE dollars over the years to influence New York's politicians. Randi has not been using this political capital to change mayoral control. She has completely ignored the will of her members. She is secretly
supporting the re-authorization of mayoral control. This will be her grand finale before she leaves for Washington.

Hit the UFT where it hurts the most by organizing a COPE boycott in your school. Its the only real power that the average member has.
----Posted on the ICE listserve.

Getting into COPE, the political action arm of the UFT, is easy. But it is like a black hole and almost impossible to escape - at least as I remember the difficulty people had when I was chapter leader. They would fill out the removal cards and somehow they never got processed.

This is not the first time this has been suggested and the opposition parties in the UFT always seemed reluctant to go along, fearing they would come under attack for undermining the union. (Remember: the opposition supports the union but opposes the leadership.)

Mainly, that the concept of COPE is a good one and the struggle is to get the money used in the right way. But these internal struggles are very difficult in a union that is totally controlled and manipulated and there's a sense of increasing frustration as the UFT has not only been unable to oppose the ed deformer polices, but has actually aided and abetted so much of their program, from merit pay to closing schools to charter schools and beyond.

I personally am more inclined to take another look at this issue (I speak as an individual here and not as ICE - you know how the Unity hacks will take a statement from Ed Notes and try to make to ICE policy.) There is no question the money is used to further the narrow ends of the leadership, with the rank and file coming last. Do you see the UFT using the money to end mayoral control? Or force class size reductions? Or reduce the power of the principals?

I would look at this in another way. Get people to withdraw from COPE but set up an escrow fund that will be held as a means of forcing democratizing changes in the union structure. Send a message to the leadership: Make the union more democratic or the money will be released to opposition groups to organize. Who would run this escrow fund and how it would be managed is beyond me at this time but it is an idea worth looking at.

Get on the Bus Gus: Lobby Day for NYC Parents Opposed to Mayoral Control

Click to enlarge



.

UPDATED: Do Charter School Parents Get Same Rights as Public School Parents ?

Coming soon:
The Next Civil Rights Struggle of Our Times – Give Charter School Parents Equal Rights.

On second thought, equal rights to whom? Urban public school parents? Well, at least they can have a PA or PTA, though their influence has also been limited under BloomKlein. Certainly not equal civil rights to suburban - read: white - parents who don't need dictatorial mayors. Or superintendents who have no educational background.

We haven't been doing much on the Community Education Council Elections that took place recently in NYC where BloomKlein spent a fortune to try to make it look like they were interested in parent outreach whereas they had basically eliminated any role the CEC's played. One of their goals was to top the low turnout in the local school board elections from what they term the bad old days of community control between 1969 and Bloomberg's takeover in 2002. The gang that couldn't shoot straight couldn't even manage that. They'll have to find another way to show the state legislature which is ruling on mayoral control other ways they show their love for parents.

[By the way, Ed Notes pats itself on the back for predicting years ago that no matter how everyone postures, especially the UFT, a continuation of mayoral control with possibly a few tweaks was a done deal.]

What people haven't been exploring is the total shut down of parents' role (other than to volunteer to clean up after the kids or being forced by Eva Moskowitz to attend rallies) in charters even beyond what has happened to public school parents in NYC. But when corporations and the wealthy own the school even though using public monies, what can you expect?

From current debate on the NYC Education News listserve:

Basic question:

Can parents of students in Charter Schools serve on CDECs? My guess is that BPs can appoint them but can they also be elected? Do Charters have any parent representation comparable to PAs or a President’s Council?

Lisa Donlon replied

In D one we have tried to get one of the three charters located in our community school buildings elected or appointed to the CEC, ever since Michael Duffy, head of the OCS, attempted to pit charter parents against district parents in a local hearing.

Martine [Guerrier] and DoE have made clear that they object to our attempt to build this bridge. They claim that since the law (the one that sunsets in June!) describes the jurisdiction of the CEC's as limited to the district's pre-K through 8th grade schools, they felt that a charter parent could not, by law, serve on a CEC.

We did put out a call to charter parents and nominated one to the MBP for appointment.
We never heard back from the MBP on that suggestion, although the seat has been empty for a year now.

Even if Charter school parents do have seats on an inside Parent Board of some kind, they are not eligible for district representation at the CDEC or Presidents Council, or at the citywide level (CPAC). Given that the centralized DoE churns out policy and procedures for 1.1 million students citywide, it is inequitable and structurally unfair to limit charter parent representation to school level at best.

Is this another divide and conquer strategy, or just one more dropped stitch in the crazy quilt of the badly written and constantly broken laws that lent the mayor control of the NYC schools 7 years ago?

Lisa Donlan
CEC One

Lisa North chipped in with:

There is a parent on the District 13 CEC who has children in both public and charter schools. In one of the charter schools, she tried to start a parent association. When she was not allowed to, she filed a lawsuit. She lost the lawsuit. It seems that there is no provision for requiring parent associations in charter schools. Lisa N.

Steve Koss said:

No local community in the country would tolerate a schools superintendent who is so dismissive of his/her constituency. As I've stated many times before, having lived for over twenty years in Westchester County, I don't know of a single town or village in Westchester that wouldn't have run a superintendent of Joel Klein's ilk out on the rails within the first year or two. What New Yorkers blithely accept as normal would never be tolerated by cities towns in Long Island or Westchester or New Jersey -- in those places, it'd be torches and pitchforks as the townsfolk marched angrily to the school district office to rid themselves of the mad doctor and his monstrous creation.

So much for that parent choice thing.

NEWS UPDATE:

LA Teachers: Shame on our NYC UFT backward bureaucrats!

Please forward. Support the militancy of teachers, students & community of LA!

End the complacency and complicity of our AFT/UFT local.

We have yet to receive one message of information or solidarity from our UFT officials about what is going on with our brothers and sisters struggling in Los Angeles.

LA Teachers Engage in Sit-in, Sick-ins and Walkouts

President Duffy Arrested

Students Support Teachers: We care about the teachers," Jasmine Guerrero, a senior, said in a phone interview. "But it's more about us. One teacher for 45 students, it's not a productive learning environment."

Actions of UTLA union an embarrassment to an inactive UFT

UTLA teachers today struck a blow for teachers under assault all over the nation. LA teacher union leaders are not out to make themselves look like phony ed deformers like Randi Weingarten. They really stand up for themselves and the kids instead of just talking about it. When faced with an injunction over their proposed one day strike, they withdrew the strike but found other ways to engage in a massive protest. Remember back in September, the union called for a 1 hour strike and got 70% of the teachers to join in. This could never happen in NYC, not because teachers in NYC are different, but because we have a top-down undemocratic union run by the Unity Caucus union oligarchy for over 40 years.

Remember, this is not a strike over a contract or money but over budget cuts. That's the way to build solidarity with the students and community.

Note the sign above: One Day's Pay 4 the Kids of LA.

Here are some stories and links and also a twitter link so you can follow events as they break. I'll post that link on the top of the sidebar. Note the actions of former NYC Chancellor Ray Cortines who chatted with teachers on picket lines. Can you just imagine Joel Klein doing that? Cortines, you see, was a real teacher, so though he may be running the schools in LA he also has a clue as to what is driving the actions of teachers.

L.A. schools disrupted by sit-ins, sick-ins and walkouts
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/05/teacher-protests-1.html
11:33 AM | May 15, 2009

Schools throughout Los Angeles were disrupted today as thousands of teachers called in sick and hundreds of high school students walked out of classrooms to protest possible teacher layoffs at the nation's second-largest school district.

Teachers said they planned to storm the Los Angeles Unified School District's headquarters in downtown Los Angeles today and "jump on some desks" as an act of civil disobedience, according to a memo circulated to district officials by school district Police Chief Lawrence Manion.

District police officials said they did not plan to make arrests. But if arrests became necessary, they would let Los Angeles Police Department officers step in to handle the situation.

About 700 more teachers than usual called in sick today in the Los Angeles Unified School District, days after a judge ordered the teachers union to call off a planned one-day strike.

District officials said they were bracing for expected acts of "civil disobedience" at schools and at district headquarters downtown, despite a renewed warning from the judge against violations of his order.

On a normal Friday in May, about 2,300 of the district's 34,000 teachers would be out of class. Several hundreds of these are scheduled absences for school-related duties, such as meetings to update individual education plans for disabled students. But the overall call for substitute teachers was about one-third higher than normal.

The teachers' union Thursday requested hundreds of substitutes -- that it planned to pay for -- to allow selected teachers to leave class to participate in acts of civil disobedience, some of which were intended to lead to arrests. [extraordinary action based on creative thinking.]

A flier at one school called for teachers to put up anti-district posters on their classroom doors and to lead class discussions relevant to the labor dispute. This news was enough to send district officials hurrying back to court.

L.A. County Superior Judge James C. Chalfant declined to issue a new order but warned that his original order remained in effect, according to district lawyers. The union, United Teachers Los Angeles, has contended that its actions would not violate the court order.

Students have joined the fray, walking out of class at several high schools and holding sit-ins in support of teachers.

About 500 students at Garfield High School in East L.A. walked out of campus this morning and sat in the central yard. Later, the students were moved to the bleachers, and a sound system was provided by the school so students could discuss why they didn't want teachers laid off.

The group dispersed after a break and about 150 returned to the bleachers afterward.

At Jordan High School in South L.A., some 200 students gathered in the quad to show their solidarity with teachers and another 200 at Maywood Academy in Maywood walked out of class.

Shortly after the nutrition bell rang at 11 a.m. at Franklin High School in Highland Park, hundreds of students chose not to return to their classrooms. "We care about the teachers," Jasmine Guerrero, a senior, said in a phone interview. "But it's more about us. One teacher for 45 students, it's not a productive learning environment."

The mood was quiet this morning at Huntington Drive Elementary, an outpost on the district's eastern front, where Supt. Ramon C. Cortines sat in for Principal Roberto Salazar, who was attending his doctoral graduation at USC. Cortines arrived at El Sereno school shortly after 7 a.m. and after walking the campus, strode out front to talk with teachers picketing outside.

The union had scheduled pre-school picketing across L.A. Unified and a post-school rally in place of the strike to spare teachers the risk of $1,000 fines and the possible loss of their teaching credentials for violating the court order.

The presence of Cortines with picketers triggered rumors through the union network that Cortines was walking the line with teachers. That was not true, but he shook hands with each teacher, exchanged introductions and talked shop.
"You can't be doing this for a better principal," a teacher told him, thanking him for filling in.

At least a dozen of the school's 45 teachers were picketing and cars honked their support as they drove past on busy Huntington Drive. Three teachers were absent. Student enrollment was normal for the school of 600 students.

Teachers at the school had voted strongly in support of the union's call for a one-day walkout, said faculty members, but some picketers also expressed relief that it would not be taking place.

"I did not want to walk out," said Maureen Barbosa, a special education preschool teacher who was walking the line. "But we also don't think our pay should be cut. I struggle to make a living and my husband could lose his job at any time."

She added that she could accept unpaid furlough days as a last resort. Cortines did not pass up the opportunity to launch a charm offensive.

"Obviously, the teachers here care about their kids," he said as he walked the asphalt playground. "You can see how much these children like their school."

Parent Adela Castellanas, who is taking a morning class for adults at the campus, also praised the school but told Cortines she was concerned about security at a middle school in the area.

UTLA has been vying to reverse the possible layoff of as many as 2,500 teachers. An additional 2,600 non-teachers also could lose their jobs under a budget plan aimed at closing a $596.1 million deficit. That projected deficit grew by about $250 million Thursday under the latest state budget revision from Gov. Schwarzenegger.

The union has demanded that L.A. Unified use as much federal stimulus money as needed to save jobs now. District officials have countered that the federal money has to last two years and that compensation concessions are needed to avoid layoffs, which would result in larger classes and reduced services across the district.

-- Howard Blume, Jason Song, Ruben Vives and Amanda Covarrubias


Arrests as LA teachers protest layoffs
The Associated Press
2009-05-15 19:25:02.0

LOS ANGELES -
Nearly four dozen people have been arrested in Los Angeles for blocking traffic in a protest of layoffs of teachers and other employees of the nation's second-largest school district.

A Los Angeles police spokesman says 46 protesters have been arrested in Friday's demonstration outside school district headquarters. Teacher's union president A.J. Duffy was among those arrested.

The board of the Los Angeles Unified School District voted last month to lay off as many as 2,400 teachers and 2,000 other personnel to deal with a $596 million budget shortfall for the upcoming school year.

The teachers' union had called for a one-day strike on Friday, but a judge issued a restraining order.

Among the arrested LAUSD teachers just a few minutes ago, United Teachers of Los Angeles union leader AJ Duffy has been arrested, according to KNX1070.

To that, one teacher told us "Good! He needs to get back in his peeps' good graces. They all called him a pussy when he told the strikers to hold off."

Others wonder if this actually hurts teacher's cause instead of helping it. And do the kids lose out the most here or not?


Earlier Today
- Teachers Holding Sit-In in the Middle of 4th Street
- Despite Judge's Orders, Some Teachers Walk Out Anyway

Twitter from UTLA

Early Video of the Rally

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78_6T_HarE8

Thanks to David Bellel

TODAY: March and Rally at Tweed to Take Back Public Education

This rally is the 3rd event planned by the Grassroots Education Movement (GEM), a coalition of groups active within and without the UFT. ICE and Ed Notes are part of this coalition.

At a conference held on March 28 a decision was made to hold a charter school conference on May 4 (attended by 60 people) and a rally today. There will be more events to come.

If you are coming, go to Battery Park up intil 4:30. I and a few others will be stationed in front of the UFT from 3:45 until the march reaches us at around 4:40.

Join the march in progess up Church St or go directly to Tweed on Chambers St where will have some advanced people stationed.

What's it all about?
I won't go into the reasons for why we have to defend public education against the attacks of the education deformers. You can click on the graphics to get more details. This is about forming a truly progressive education reform movement in opposition to the BloomKlein/Sharpton claim to be reformers. I find it ironic since from my earliest years of teaching I was part of a real reform movement. Now the long-time progressives are being attacked as troglodytes because we think true reform doesn't include making teachers the scapegoat.


This is my personal view and not necessarily of GEM:

Today's rally is not about numbers. It is about getting the most progressive elements in the UFT out to an event that will be joined by people from outside the union. If it was 50, it would be sufficient (think Passover Haggadah).

I do not view it as the UFT views rallies - thanks for coming, now go back to your caves till we need you again.

If it were to be 50, they would be 50 people who will not go back to their caves, but will continue to organize. Each one would have the impact of 20 or more Unity slugs, most of whom do what they do for money or other perks.

This has the potential to develop into a powerful coalition, but it will take nurturing.

What I've been observing is a growing spirit amongst broader groups of activists that is bridging the gap between younger and older teachers. Just last Sunday, a bunch gathered in an apartment in Park Slope to make poster for the rally. I always love to notice the mix of people: teachers in their 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's - and then there was me.

What are the reasons for this sudden spurt? The actions of the DOE and the lack of action of the UFT has been the a major spur to action.

I've done a lot on Ed Notes about the role the UFT plays. As the 800 pound elephant they could have stopped the ed deformer train by educating and organizing people. Instead they have chosen to play in their playpen. Though they try to deflect growing resistance by trying to wear hats on both sides of the fence, with every passing day, their words ring more and more hollow. Thus, out brief stop on the rally march at UFT HQ at 52 Broadway calling them to come out and join us.

We won't be there waiting for long. Does the UFT see this as a threat? You bet they do. Word is filtering out of attempts by the UFT to get people in some schools who were thinking of coming to back off. In the long run, the forces unleashed by their actions will turn against them.

As the newer crop of teachers are reaching their 3rd-5th year, many of the realities of the system are crashing down upon them. Some are joining with the older ATRs and rubber room people and people from schools being closed or having charters pushed into them. This has major implications if it continues to grow.

The actions of some of the active groups like ICE, TJC, NYCORE, TAGNYC and Teachers Unite has brought people out. I spent the last two Saturdays in TU workshops with over a dozen teachers, mostly on the newer end, talking about organizing within the schools. The numbers may still be small, but each person's outreach goes right into their schools and beyond. Some of these newer teachers are running for chapter leader and we are holding a session this Monday to talk about the realities of being chapter leader. We are also getting inquiries from some older people running and even some current chapter leaders are interested.

GEM in its short life is already getting inquiries from around the nation.

Reports and pics will be posted starting tonight.

Schedule
Gather at the north end of Battery Park from 3:30- 4:30.
4:30-4:40- March up Broadway to 52 where we knock on the door and ask UFT officials to join us.
4:45-5:30- Walk down Exchange Alley to Trinity Place and make a right - march up Trinity (it changes to Church St) to Warren St. Make a right to Broadway. Cross Broadway and go left half a block to Chambers. Right to Tweed.
5:30-6:30 Rally at Tweed with a variety of speakers from the rank and file.

The route and leaflet are posted on the sidebar and here: http://grassrootseducationmovement.blogspot.com/