The bags of swag at the city teachers union’s regular conferences might be lighter this year, the catered dinners less lavish. The recession has caught up with the union and it’s beginning to cut back.
Hit with the combination of a two-year hiring freeze and typical teacher attrition, the United Federation of Teachers has lost roughly 2,000 members in the last year. With them has gone about $2 million in dues.
As usual, some of the comments are fun to read. NYC Educator nails the 800+ Unity junket to Seattle. I left my own dropping:
With the lifting of the charter school cap watch for the UFT to lose more members to charters. And with the cuts coming see if Unity still offers perks - like those elaborate chapter leaders training weekend sessions in Princeton - a major area of recruitment into Unity.
It was over 800 people sent to Seattle. They took staff and had guests. They each received around $1750- $2000 to cover expenses. A hundred dollars a day in meal money - and there were so many free vendor parties and meals we who paid our own way didn’t have to spend all that much on food.
And watch those yearly NYSUT conventions where the same 800 get to play - this past April they went to Wash DC. Even when they hold it at the Hilton in NYC all 800 get to stay at the hotel on our dime.
And David Hickey - the LM-2 UFT reports lists his whopper salary.
Check how many UFT staffers make over $150,000.
Would it surprise anyone to see them try to sneak through a dues increase at the rubber stamp delegate assembly?
Last I looked Rona and company are still on the job so your inside Unity Caucus person may not be quite so on the inside.
ReplyDeleteIf Rona is still working after Mulgrew fired Betsy, someone must have destroyed her DOE records.
ReplyDeleteAsk Adam Ross.
Non-teacher Ellie Engler went to the AFT convention on the member's dime.
How can Mulgrew justify that?
Coming soon:
ReplyDeleteThe date and excerpts from the Adam Ross letter offering Betsy a job at the same time she was investigating Rona Freiser and her gal pal who was a DOE administrator. Ross had the chutzpah to tell DOE that Frieser's time records were not public information!
Why didnt Ross-the nephew of Loudmouth Four Pension Zahler- tell Betsy -who Randi had already called a homophobe in writing for going after Rona- to get lost?
That is the oddest coincidence since Jerry Goldman left the union in mid-year.
Stay tuned.
Keep digging Accounting Dept:
ReplyDeleteTHe outrage at the rip off salaries Mulgrew is paying his toadies with our dues is bad enough, but take a close look at their expenses to see who is using our money to pay for free eats and booze and disguising the chits as "UFT business."
Come on Betsy, come on Jim...share your uft emails with the crowd...misery loves company, now you have each other!
ReplyDeleteI dont get all this inside baseball stuff. CAn you explain it Norm?
ReplyDeleteWhat is the real story about Adam Ross?
Is he really related to Jeff Zahler?
Arent there UFT rules about that?
And what is the deal with him hiring Betsy?
Is that true?
Why woulld he hire her after Weingarten called her a homophobe in writing?
Was she really investigating Rona Freiser's time records at DOE? Has anyone ever asked Weingarten why she hired a homophobe?