ATR "Teaching Nomad" Slams UFT Borough Meeting

This report came in over the transom. No equivocation here about whether the UFT Administration is on the side of the ATRs. And how about that "fair and balanced" vote at the June DA? 7 Unity speakers for and we had to fight to get one speaker against. James Eterno was denied the opportunity. Even when Unity has a stacked deck it is not good enough. They are for some reason worried that if their own rank and file heard serious arguments they might waver.

Report of Bronx ATR Meeting
by Teaching Nomad

Attending the ATR meeting at the Bronx UFT on Monday did nothing but confirm the UFT is not on the side of ATR’s. From the way in which they spoke to us and the stories they told I am certain the ATR group is being set up to fail by both the DOE and the UFT.

Amy Arundell led the meeting for the UFT except when the members became too much to handle, LeRoy Barr stepped in. He mainly told us that we had to maintain civility if we were to get this critical information Amy had to us. He also reminded us many times that we must do this in an orderly way. A few times, after admonishing us, he would “answer” a question.

In one instance he explained that this agreement was voted on by our chapter leaders at the Delegate Assembly, where “there is a conversation, a debate back and forth before voting”. And he reminded us this was not an ATR agreement it was a layoff agreement. At the time of this agreement the Mayor had not succeeded in his attempt to get rid of LIFO. I highly doubt he was going to go through with the layoffs of newly hired teachers. There was no need for an ATR agreement unless the UFT holds the same beliefs about our group as the DOE does. LeRoy told us at the meeting how the DOE feels about us. He said, “They (DOE) think you are worthless and you don’t teach”. It would seem to me the UFT agrees. The Delegate Assembly is not a democratic body. Unity members outnumber any other caucus, however they vote, they win. They are told what to say and how to vote. One only votes their conscience at their own peril.

The most insidious thing about this agreement is the idea of mutual consent. The DOE will soon have data that they will take public that proves ATR’s must be fired because no one will hire them. I can stay in a school more than a week if the principal and I both want this. If either one of us does not agree, I must move on. If schools have no vacancies what is to stop principals from just taking a new ATR each week? With a whole new office created at Tweed to deal with the ATR assignments, they can log data on who is rejected by principals. After twenty weeks they will argue this person should be fired, no one wants them to work in their school. It is the perfect justification for what they have been arguing for years. It’s downright frightening to think that either the UFT leadership is not bright enough to have seen this before agreeing or that they did and agreed anyway.

The UFT seems to think that principals will be able to see ‘what is out there’ and will suddenly start filling vacancies. These so called vacancies do not exist in the numbers there are of ATR’s. One look at the DOE website for excessed staff will show you this. This week there were not more than 50 positions for high schools.

The UFT has helped to create this large group of people without permanent positions. They are now trying to sell us on the grand scheme of our demise. If you are an ATR sign up at (gemnyc@gmail.com) and join us on Thursday Oct. 20 at the Skylight Diner (34th St and 9th Ave - across from B&H) at 5pm.

Teacher Sue also slams UFT at Staten Island meeting - Twice

Teacher Sue, who recently reported on the UFT's meeting for ATR teachers in Staten Island, sent in the following comments. As you'll see, her name is Sue and she means to sue. -- The ATR Follies

Staten Island ATR meeting another sham and a fraud and a phony facade

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