ICE SAYS YES—

•To small schools that can offer the same range of services as large schools
•To large schools that strive to offer students and teachers the same intimacy of small schools
•To protecting teachers from reactionary principals
•To effectively organizing school chapters
•To building strong alliances between teachers and parents and students at the school level.
•To strong chapters that cannot be built in isolation
•To teacher autonomy, control and power without which strong chapters cannot exist
•To declare class size reduction a priority contract demand supported by parents and community
•To a democratically run union where power emanates from the schools and chapters, not from a narrow top down decision making body.
•To organizing teachers at the chapter level so they feel they have real power to influence union policy instead of being asked to follow a pre set line dictated from the top.
•To fully protecting UFT members in the schools from the kinds of vicious attacks those with abusive principals face
•To an end to all power to the principal
•To a massive fight back in every school that has a charter inserted like a growing cancer– including the UFT charters – so the UFT can take a stand against the privatization of the public schools.
•To a fightback against school closings on all fronts including massive organizing and not just court cases that complain that procedures weren’t followed this time, impying it is ok to close schools if they are
•To progressive change in the union and the school system
•To a contract that goes beyond money and impacts on classroom and working conditions
•To a serious fightback against paperwork overload and No to phony paperwork reduction committees that do nothing
•To a seniority system that preserves teaching as a career and an end to ATRs


So the next time Unity or New Action slander ICE as the party of NO, think of all these YESES. Unity (with New Action’s support) are the ones who have said NO to these reforms.

The ICE-TJC candidates are amongst the most progressive teachers in the system. People who have been for the kinds of reforms that will make the NYC schools work for teachers, students and parents. They are writers and thinkers and fighters for change.

There are 3 days left to get ICE-TJC leaflets into your school.

Don’t let Unity be the only voice heard.