Saturday, July 28, 2007

UFT: Masters of Deflection

The UFT response to teachers asking for help has been “Wait till September.” It could be a song:

Wait till September
We hope you won’t remember

Just how much you’ve been screw-ew-ed.


Even when people get some attention, they often don’t realize the UFT leadership tries to deflect people from taking action either on their own or even worse (for the leadership), in concert with others. It takes some people years to realize this. The goal is to stop anything from getting organized and if the threat is serious enough they may actually do something (or give the impression they are doing something.)

Remember the supposed Age Discrimination suit? The entire purpose was to deflect people from taking action on their own. When people inquire about it with the UFT’s Sherry Boxer, she says she has no info and refers them to the EEOC. Call the EEOC and they tell you Sherry Boxer knows exactly what is going on. If you try to get added on the case, they say “NO Dice.” Of course, why would the UFT want hundreds and maybe thousands of people listed? The might actually win and then how would they explain it to Bloomberg?

A conversation with a regional DOE official…
"We couldn't believe it that the the union signed off on this thing." And later: "Before when a teacher was excessed, we could freeze the vacancies til the teacher could be placed. Now we can't do that anymore."

Without this agreement, many of the DOE reorganization plans would have been blocked. Certainly, the ability to hold schools accountable for teacher salaries could not be implemented.

So, when you get the attention of the UFT, keep an eye out for

THE MASTERS OF DEFLECTION

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your union sounds like it is being run like Enron or other corrupt corporations....are you sure you are talking about a union???

Is your union president a republican? Does she get money under the table from your rich mayor?

How can your union let this age discrimination stuff fall by the wayside...they have your mayor by the balls? I don't understand what is in it for your union and your union president.....please explain!

NYC Educator said...

I don't think they really have the mayor by the balls, unfortunately. They loved this plan, wrote fawningly of it, and still loudly proclaim its greatness. While they do this, though, they never, ever mention the union members without full positions.

One of them spun on Edwize how we'd be better off without all that lesson planning and daily obligations of running classes, playing right into the typical NY Post stereotype of teachers as lazy overpaid slobs.

By creating a legion of subs receiving full-time salaries, they've allowed a small army of UFT members to wander around with targets on their backs. The tabloids have not ignored them.

ed notes online said...

The UFT leadership functions [ignore the rhetoric, just watch what they really do -- ie. Big press conf on age discrimin, but then kill it behind the scenes] as an agent of the people turning schools in corporations because they function that way themselves. Their main goal is to remain in power and also to further a limited agenda that can be used to claim they are a labor union -- on to bigger things like total control of the AFT [which has been under basic control of the UFT for over 30 years anyway).

As to being republicans, they don't have to be since the Democrats hold pretty much the same beliefs. Klein/Clinton. Weingarten/Clinton. Steve Barr/Clinton, etc etc etc

Son Of Unity said...

Seriously, does ICE even serve a real purpose other than to drive a wedge within our union? Has ICE ever accomplished anything worthy of mention? And no, a sham presidential candidate in the last election, shoddy quality YouTube films, and heckling during the Delegate Assembly doesn't count.

-Son Of Unity, the next generation
I'll be back!

Anonymous said...

Check out Barbara Mylite. She is supposed to be a union rep but she is also a corrupt principal's mentor. The principal i the racist Jason Goldner.