#MORE2016/UFT Elections: The Petition Game is On as Teacher is Motivated by Jia Lee Candidacy

This came in from someone we did not know but who picked up a petition for our officer slate at the Feb. 3 Delegate Assembly.

Dear MORE: 
I got all 40 names on the petition in one day! It was awesome! I'll try to mail it tomorrow. I know the LI parents (such as Jeanette Deuterman) support Jia Lee, which is what the force was behind my conviction. I really trust Jeanette. Also, I like what Jia stands for. And, yes, you can add my name to your list.
Thanks! 

If any NYC Teachers are interested in circulating a petition for the MORE Officer slate, which in addition to Jia, includes James and Camille Eterno, Lauren Cohen and Mindy Rosier on the MORE end of the slate in addition to 6 New Action people (Greg DiStefano, Kate Martin-Bridge, Carol Ramos Widon, Margaret Shand, Nelson Santiago and Christine Gross), email me and I'll get one to you with a stamped self-addressed envelope which must be mailed back to me no later than March 2. There is room for 40 signatures and if you think you can get more than 40 I'll send you 2 copies.

There were a whole bunch of people who came over to us at that DA. Our regulars showed up in force to pick up their petition packs for their schools, which I helped organize and am managing for this election, along with Ellen Fox, as we did last time.

I learned a few things last time. I made the mistake of not thinking of petitioning as organizing and did not think of flooding the schools. This time MORE had a different view. Not viewing petionning as a burden but as an opportunity to talk to the people in their schools about the election. A week in, there are some positive signs. We have the view that most votes for the opposition in an election come from the schools where we have people who are trusted by their colleagues and who can motivate them to vote. We call it the ground game, and frankly, the opposition over the years, other than in the high schools in the 90s, has not done very well at the ground game.

Based on the number of people involved in 2013, I was disappointed in the outcomes and felt that the ground game was not pursued rigorously enough.

Even though we are 3 months away from ballots going out, this is a good opportunity to tell people "ELECTIONS ARE COMING!   ELECTIONS ARE COMING!!!

We are polling our people on how petition numbers are coming in. I am available to go to a school to assist and tomorrow morning I am heading to a big school to assist our contact there with the petitions.