E4E Stealth Infiltrates UFT Delegate Assembly - with Leadership Cooperation?

Stack of Resos on UFT table

Unlabeled -

UPDATE: The resolution described below never came up at the meeting as there was a 6PM adjournment. No one from E4E handed out the reso but a stack was left on the UFT lit table, which we are always told is a no-no - they say they only want official UFT lit and if we try to leave Ed Notes or MORE lit there we get a hassle or even an attempt to throw the lit away. That is why Randi almost 20 years ago mandated there be a special table for alt lit, a table that wasn't there this month or last month.

E4E has found a new way to finagle itself into teacher confidences - Men teach and Restorative Justice....
Last time out E4E was backing Bloomberg's effort to end "LIFO"  (last in, first out) seniority protections for teachers and offering teachers free drinks at local happy hours.  They didn't get very far with this.  But now they are trying a new tack -

She does the principal’s bidding whenever she can to undermine chapter meetings. This piece, which sounds very much like our principal, just reinforces a number of teachers thinking that the principal is working in concert with E4E.... a teacher at a school about the E4E teacher who was handing out the unlabeled reso at the Jan. DA.

A reso from the floor during the New Motion dealing with restorative justice (RJ) was voted up and will be in the agenda at the

Feb DA tomorrow. This was an unusual occurrence at the DA. Some of us smelled a rat.

Actually I smelled a rat downstairs when I saw a lady I didn't know handing out the reso which looked fairly decent but the paper had no identification as to who or what org was behind it. When I asked her where she was from she was evasive. (apparently she is the person mentioned in the opening comment). The reso talked about some pilot program for RJ in District 18 (Canarsie/East Flatbush).

On the surface, the reso was progressive and pro restorative justice and hard not to support. MORE was trying to use the same New Motion time to bring its Black Lives Matter reso, so since Mulgrew called on this other guy - someone named Michael Loeb from a  school in the Bronx right away and not one Unity person opposed it and it passed immediately, I figured this was a diversionary reso to kill time so MORE would never get to the floor. But it all happened so fast - sort of like scoring too soon in a football game and leaving time for the other team to come back -- and MORE got to do its thing, which has led to some blow back against Unity and also from some quarters against MORE.



So this reso will be on the regular agenda at the DA.

But later that evening the story began to be fleshed out on the MORE Listserve with this blaring

Subject: A Deep Dive into the Restorative Justice Pilot in District 18: Panel and Discussion

Watch out for E4E - Trojan horse/5th column - fronts for the ed deformers

E4E has found a new way to finagle itself into teacher confidences - Men teach and Restorative Justice?

When I saw the District 18 connected to RJ, bingo -- the connection between the reso at the DA and E4E became clear.

Later that evening when people chimed in with the name of the maker of the reso, Michael Loeb, all the pieces began to fall into place. Mulgrew calls on this guy to make a social justicy type reso that goes unopposed by anyone in Unity or even amended or tabled which they always do to MORE resos.

Peter Zucker did a piece on Loeb at his blog back in 2012:

E4E's Michael Loeb Enters Campbell Brown's Twilight Zone

A lot has been said in the last few days or so of CNN's Cambpell Brown, and wife of MichelleRheeFirst lackey Dan Senor, and her column in the Wall Street Journal claiming that teacher's unions, in particular the UFT, protects sexual predators. Nothing, we all know, could be further from the truth.

More disturbing is that a fellow teacher and UFT member (both terms used quite loosely) and Educators4Excllence bon vivant, Michael Loeb, without thinking, without any concern at the true nature of adult sexual predators decides to thoughtlessly and sycophantically speak out in support of, not only Campbell Brown, but of New York State Senator Stephen Saland's bill. A bill which will give final say so to the fate of teachers accused unjustly of predation to Chancellor Walcott which means it is actually Uncle Mike as the final arbiter.

 Peter did another piece on Loeb:

Man-Child Michael Loeb Of The Urban Institute Of Mathematics

Groggy, and still yet to have my morning cup of coffee, I signed onto Facebook. Suddenly, I was wide awake. Another lie, another piece of propaganda by the crew at MichelleRheeFirst.com. I put my reading glasses on and started reading. Some drone, some hack, some lackey named Michael Loeb blubbered forth on how change would bring teachers respect.
Peter's entire piece is at: http://southbronxschool.blogspot.com/2011/04/man-child-michael-loeb-of-urban.html?m=0

E4E came out in the open in support of this reso at the DA:
E4E publishes article in the daily news ahead of their resolution at the DA on the same topic - on the agenda for this Wednesday
https://www.google.com/amp/www.nydailynews.com/amp/opinion/restorative-justice-good-kids-article-1.3791549

Mike Schirtzer posted on an article he did  on E4E:

E4e is backed by corporate, anti-union reformers.

Here's an article I published about them couple of years ago.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/morecaucusnyc.org/2015/08/17/e4e-and-democracy/amp/

A MORE member wrote:

Regarding E4E, I have never trusted that organization and still don't.
Just looked at their website and found lots of info about their pro Diversity and DACA stance as well as an In Class Not Cuffs campaign. They also seem to have new info that sounds pro union which I pasted below. This is, however, the only place I saw  much mention of "union"

https://e4e.org/chapters/new-york/resources/your-union-your-voice

One of the most valuable ways you can have a voice as a teacher is by voting in union elections. Our teachers’ unions were designed to be deeply democratic institutions, to ensure full representation of their diverse membership.

In New York, the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) (link is external) holds elections for its officers every three years and voting typically takes place by mail in May. Before voting, UFT members should familiarize themselves with the caucuses running in the election. A caucus is comparable to a political party within the union; they run candidates for office within the UFT. A set of candidates from a caucus is referred to as a slate. Since many officials typically run for election, you have the option to vote for an entire slate at once.

E4E-New York encourages UFT members to learn more about the candidates and their platforms and make their vote and voices heard. We also hope UFT members will feel inspired to become more engaged in their union by attending meetings, speaking with elected leaders, and/or running in future elections.

But they still get money from Gates, Rockefeller  and probably many other foundations that support privatization. Their "team" has grown with 120 employees in 6 states and they are hiring. So E4E is an organization that  continues to be devious and could become even more dangerous.

Patrick Walsh posted:

E4E is a disgusting, dishonest and insidious Fifth Column front lavishly funded entirely by privatizers  — principally  the Gates Foundation — for the exclusive purpose of undermining teacher unions.  Cynical, manipulative  and connected ( how was this article published ?  ) they prey on the young  and uninformed.  They must be opposed and exposed at every possible opportunity.

Please find below some post I’ve written about them over the years. 

 https://raginghorse.wordpress.com/2011/01/29/educators4excellencebrought-to-you-by-the-insidious-arm-of-the-disgustingly-rich/ 

https://raginghorse.wordpress.com/2013/02/19/grass-roots-educators4excellence-make-250000-commercial/

https://raginghorse.wordpress.com/2013/01/03/educator-4-excellence-and-the-strings-they-pull/

https://raginghorse.wordpress.com/2012/12/03/the-ignorant-and-the-egregious-educators-4-excellence-hold-a-rally/

https://raginghorse.wordpress.com/2014/05/19/need-a-job-e4e-is-looking-for-an-excellent-shill/

https://raginghorse.wordpress.com/2013/02/19/grass-roots-educators4excellence-make-250000-commercial/

And of course I did loads of article on E4E - do a search in the sidebar. Here are a few with the first one indicating my suspician that the UFT leadership was playing footsie with this astroturf organization funded by billionaires.

Ed Deform Partners: Farina (and UFT?) Promote E4E - an Alternative to MORE? 

 Here's another one that also leads in that direction:

MORE on Shill for Ed Deform E4E and Democracy - Talk About Antithetical

A teacher from E4E met with me to discuss the topic of democracy in the UFT.... Like every E4E member he signs a declaration in order to become a member. This is not democratic at all. These few teachers who declare their loyalty to this organization and lobby politicians on their behalf, do not represent the many voices in our school communities... Mike Schirtzer, MORE

Shades of Unity Caucus loyalty oaths. Democracy doesn't exist in E4E so it is interesting that they are trying to show how Unity Caucus and the UFT aren't democratic. Evan and Sidney must check out their own glass house before pointing fingers at the UFT. In fact the Unity leadership and E4E have a lot more in common with each other - on their actual positions.

Does E4E  have the chops to actually put their ideas out there for members to vote on in the upcoming UFT election? They could toss a few million bucks into the election - an interesting concept. I would relish seeing them out there in an election. Imagine their election meetings - closed doors with security guards making sure people sign a loyalty oath before entering.