ICE-TJC Totals Will Affect UFT Reaction to RTTT

Did you see the NY Times story today about the NY State disaster in the Race to the Top competition?

Confusion, Chairs and Charters Helped Doom Bid for Grant

A review of the state's application for Race to the Top money, and of the judges' comments, reveals a number of ill-fated moves.

It illustrates an important point. David Steiner said the focus will be on union support. And there is no RTTT without the union agreeing to charters galore and teacher ratings based on test scores. The pressure on the UFT will be intense.

Today's UFT election vote will have an impact on how the union responds. If Mulgrew wins overwhelmingly - in the sense that there is little change from the last election or any signs that ICE-TJC has not gotten any traction - then there will be less reason for Mulgrew to resist this pressure. Think of the UFT leadership as a balloon being squeezed from two directions. The opposition vote is a counter force in that if the trend would be a threat to Unity control at the school level (they are much more insulated at the top due to the distorted election process) would force the leadership to take heed before caving in.