Whenever we have a UFT election campaign here in New York, people ask, "Why a 10 page book of names on the ballot? What is this delegate thing with 800 names for Unity? How can we be electing delegates (to the DA) when we elected them in the schools?"
I try to explain that the 800 people they elect are for the AFT convention every 2 years and the NYSUT convention every year.
They often go off shaking their heads in confusion.
And therein lies some of the significance of the Bill Gates appearance at the AFT last week. The news and blog reports have raised that event to a higher level of consciousness in the minds of the more active and engaged UFTers. Seeing Randi in action in the videos and the 800 Unity people who were elected in March cheering her on made an impression.
Remember how during the election campaign the word coming out of Unity was how relieved they were when Randi left? Now they had a real teacher who would function differently than Randi. We tried to tell people that there would be no difference, that Mulgrew was chosen for the very reason that he would present a different face, but behind the scenes nothing would change.
Insiders tell us how Randi left UFT Counsel Carol Gerstl in charge of managing Mulgrew.
Remember when Bloomberg announced Mulgrew agreed with him when he decided to not give the raises back in May and even the Times reported the union had agreed? It took hours for Mulgrew to respond. The reason for the delay was that the UFT had to wait for Randi's response.
New boss, same as the old boss. And "The 800" (Into the valley of death rode The 800) who rose up to cheer Randi and Gates numerous times provides ample evidence.
16 comments:
Norman, you have a skewed memory of what actually occurred in Seattle. You keep singling out the 800 people from NYC, when it was nearly the entire delegate body that repeatedly cheered on Randi Weingarten. Keep your grudges to a minimum and report the truth.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Thou shall not commit adultery...Thus, if we could please have Randi get out of Bill Gates' bed, that would be great.
Come back, home, Randi. Your teachers need you.
Nice to know, if the commenter is correct, that the entire delegates body is as ignorant as Unity.
INSIDE THE UNITY CAUCUS
Carol Gerstl managing Mulgrew?
She can't manage a hot dog stand with Mulgrew-that is why Randi fired her as General Counsel and sent her off to Buffalo.
One of them would forget the rolls and the other would forget the hot dogs and they would spend all day blaming each other, then call Wolfson the deputy mayor (we pay him too even though he works for the mayor who wants to destroy the union).
Gerstl was in charge of managing Joe Bruno- get it?
The Putsch continues:
Mulgrew forced Randi speech writer and column ghost writer Susan Amlung out the door last week, nine months after demoting Randi press secretary Ron Davis, replacing him with Riley who quit the UFT years ago to work for more money for Harold Levy.
We didnt know there was more money than UFT top shelf jobs.
Mulgrew is being called Captain Queeg by his former supporters.
Mulgrew is as phony as a 3 dollar bill. Dick Riley was brought on to take Mulgrew "to the next level" as Mulgrew told staffers. Ron Davis for the 2nd or 3rd time has been subjected to the whims of Weingarten, Mulgrew and others . It is time for Mulgrew to Grow some Balls, instead of just being balled and a balled face phony. Send them all to Rhode Island let them get fired no one in N.Y would say a word to the contrary.
Until the check-off (agency fee) is ended the union will never represent the teachers. Union leadership represents those that guarantee its income and survival (NYC/NYS) while trying to give the appearance of fighting for teachers, and even that is fading.
INSIDE THE UNITY CAUCUS.....
"Whim" is a charitable word.
DAVIS, who is black, WAS SCREWED BY MULGREW AND DICK'S "PAL" SALTER. Dick dicked the UFT years ago by quitting just after he got his five year pension.
So is he collecting a UFT pension and a $180,000 salary to get the union all that great press?
Wolfson’s firm Glover Park gets 40 k a month from Mulgrew while Wolfson works for Bloomberg
The ONLY level anyone can take Mulgrew is to an A.P. English class.
Why does a guy with a Master’s in English always say “less” teachers instead of “fewer” and drops the TH from words he makes up like Wid?
Can anyone decipher his pedantic column? At least the tyrant Weingarten had a freaking brain (except when it came to women abusers Gore, Spitzer, Hevesi, Clinton) and when it came to appointing more tyrants like Engler and Barr who are supposed to manage a staff of over 500 people in the five boroughs.
Randi claimed that Engler “saved” the Safety Dept. from the “mismanagement” by the black man she appointed.
Then Randi appoints another black man as staff director---Big Bad Leroy Brown Barr; Randi says he can't cut it so she brings in -guess who- Engler- along with “Cell Phone and Emergency Printing Jobs and Free Hotel Rooms” maven Garry Sprung- who Mulgrew dumped because even Mulgrew couldn’t figure out what Sprung did all day when not making top secret cell phone deals.
Then Randi throws the black VP Michelle Bodden down the stairs.
Anyone see a pattern here?
Davis- the consummate pro, well respected by every reporter in New York, who used to be on TV representing the union when Feldman was president- is told he cant do press work after 18 years? Mulgrew hired an apparatchik- Brian Gibbons from the C.S.A.---- to also do press work and to second guess Dickie. He is the guy who Klein sent into the UFT to “manage” Mulgrew and he is worth his “weight” in gold. He is doing a great job of keeping Mulgrew silent as every day new stories emerge about abusive principals.
Sure Mike. Let's kill the baby to save it. You're asking for a right to work state. Check out how things are going for teachers where there is no agency shop fee. Before pulling ideas out of your head without context try doing some research.
I don't believe in "right to work," and I don't believe that's what teachers need. I do, however, believe in right to representation, and I believe that right should be extended to working teachers. As long as our union chooses to represent Bill Gates instead, we are no better than those states who, in reality, have a right to ignore union.
What a disgrace when our union leadership opts to do what our state law will not.
I want to hear more from the Unity guys. They are much more fun than the other people who comment here. Ed Notes is becoming a reality TV show.
I want to hear more from the Unity guys. They are much more fun than the other people who comment here. Ed Notes is becoming a reality TV show.
INSIDE THE UNITY CAUCUS:
---isnt Gentile retiring?
bring back Zahler- we miss his bullying tactics that got him run out of the AFT.
Bring back Nixon while you're at it-and Hoffa too.
Congratulations after how many years of being the editor of Ed. Notes you finally spelled Sprung's first name right... since you may not have heard, as you seem to be so busy getting misinformation, and you keep publishing his name as if he was still working, he retired over a year ago, after 42 years with the BoE and 28 with the uft...
Not a bad record for someone so disliked by you... maybe that's why they kept him around!
You are a bigger know nothing than even I thought. Sprung was one of the most hated guys in Unity but he and I had a mostly excellent relationship even though he was Pappas' hit man. ed Notes published his name from the first years as a correspondent. And always got mixed up as to whether he was a one r or 2 r Gary or Garry.
I liked him more than most Unity people and he even used to be criticized for talking to me all the time. In fact he was one of the most competent people in the union at getting things done but was also arrogant with people who had no power. Personally, I really liked Sprung - not that he's dead or anything - I just hope he is playing lots of golf and hitting the beach in Rockaway where I used to run into him.
You know, you really are a schmuck.
Norm: saw Sprung on the golf course...he's tan so I guess he's been hitting the beach, didn't say which one and he scores in the low 80's so his golf game must have improved since retirement...will send him your love next time I see him.
Yes, plese give Gary or garry my fondest regards. He has a vicious sense of humor and we often laughed and laughed at numerous things. He also made sure we had the best food - I blame him for at least 10 pounds. I'll look for him at Beach 131st street when he visits our mutual friend.
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