UFT Pres. Candidate Camille Eterno with Daniel Alicea: WBAI Saturday, 1 PM; Halabi calls for Unity to Replace Mulgrew, Election petition return day

The UFT’s leadership has an opportunity to make the union stronger. Will they do the right thing?... Over the course of the pandemic members of our union have seen our union leadership in different situations and different ways than before the pandemic. Policies affected us directly, in what were truly life and death situations. Members who never paid attention paid attention. And now that members were paying attention, what did they see?..... Jonathan Halabi

This is a wonderful explanation of how teachers were thrown under the bus. All other city workers union stood up for their workers for as long as they could. Mulgrew said he didn’t try because he knew he not win, so why did we vote for you. Try, try and you may succeed. I am sick of this mess, teachers are left to fend for themselves. Kudos to you. double thumbs up.... Comment on New Action blog. Dear Michael Mulgrew, We’re Overworked!

SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL

Why You Should Vote for Camille Eterno - This is not going to be a wordy post. Just want to get right to the point. I could go on an on about how Camille Eterno will be there for the members of ...

There's a lot of anti-Mulgrew talk out there. Jonathan Halabi touches on a crucial issue -- the activation of people in the UFT who had never been active before.

A high school teacher who has not been active in UFT politics but is running with us for AFT delegate, at one of the biggest high schools in the city sent this:

I've been reaching out to everyone I know in the elementary schools since that seems to be where we need most support. Spoke to 4 elementary school teachers at 4 different schools. All friends of mine. At least 2 of them indicated they were already supporting UFC. I encouraged them to spread the word at their schools. The other two seemed to lean UFC as well - UNITED FOR CHANGE - UFT: HOME - 

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These are the kind of rumblings I haven't seen before. I went to a petition signing party at a home on Long Island last Sunday expecting to find 5 people. Instead there were 25, mostly from Queens elementary schools happily signing 400 petitions. This is an area rarely penetrated by the opposition and an indication of a shift of sorts. One woman in her 50s was so excited and said she ordered a UFT sweatshirt which she will wear around her school.

The day before MORE held a signing event at a bar in lower Manhattan for 70 people. I tried to imagine a merging of the Sat MORE event with the Sunday Long Island event and my head began to swim. Yet here we are -- two signing parties with such a contrast but for the same candidates. I couldn't have imagined that happening even 6 months ago.

Hear the alternative to Mulgrew, Camille Eterno: From Daniel-

Join me, Sat 2/12 at 1pm on @WBAI 99.5 FM  as I chat with @NYCSchools educator & parent, Camille Eterno about the state our our city schools and her run for president of @UFT. We will discuss smaller class size, mayoral control, health & safety, evaluations, ATRS, more!--

Jonathan Halabi wrote a scathing blog obliterating Mulgrew on his record. His call for Unity to replace hm at the top of the ticket for the benefit of the union. In fact if Unity were to replace Mulgrew, their odds of doing better in the election go up.

While the internal leaks of unhappiness with Mulgrew inside Unity stopped once the UFC coalition was announced. reports come filtering in of hidden Unity support for UFC and backroom offers to assist. I won't believe that until I see it. 

Those are signs of Mulgrew lack of popularity internally. Jonathan Halabi blogged about just how bad Mulgrew is and asks:

JD2718

The UFT’s leadership has an opportunity to make the union stronger. Will they Do the right thing?

He is asking Unity to replace Mulgrew at the top of the ticket to save the union. I guess from the perspective of hoping UFC will win, the worst thing that can happen is Mulgrew not running. But not to worry - Unity has no mechanism to make Jonathan's wish come through. Unity is a pseudo feudalistic system which requires Shakespearian-driven solutions. Mulgrew will be running for president against Camille Eterno. The choice can be no clearer. But if you are in doubt, go read Halabi filet Mulgrew under the following headings of transgressions:

• Policy, Pandemic, Conciliation
• Running Meetings Poorly, and Being Obnoxious About It
• Endorsements
• In the Field

And the deepest cut of all, Medicare Advantage / Mulgrewcare.

Retiree votes make up 40-50% of those who vote in UFT elections. I would say the major threat to Mulgrew and Unity is the potential loss of enough of those votes to cause real damage to Unity.

 

Go read through them and think of whether you want Mulgrew as president for the next 3 years. https://jd2718.org/2022/02/10/do-the-right-thing/

 

Jonathan, who is running for HS VP on the slate but is urging Unity to do the right thing to save the union even if it allows Unity to stay in power.

He says:

...while I do not support the reelection of this leadership, it is still OUR union. I am fiercely proud of our union. I want it stronger, better.

So United for Change has a better (still slim) chance in the election because Michael Mulgrew is at the top of the Unity ticket.

But the UFT is weaker, has less support from members, with all the negative attention Michael Mulgrew has garnered. We all suffer with him in the lead.

We (United for Change) cannot do the right thing here. It has to be Unity. Make our union better. Shore up support from members whose confidence in the union has been shaken through the pandemic. Even though it hurts my election chances, I am asking, pleading with Unity, do the right thing. Remove Mulgrew. Replace him with someone, anyone. Promote him to some position where members don’t see him.

Because in the end, no matter who wins, we all lose if members are turned against our union, against the UFT.

I'm not sure we don't all lose if Unity wins without Mulgrew. The Unity machine has been in charge since the UFT's inception over 60 years ago and that is the problem. Mulgrew being pulled would only lead to another leader who would distract us. I saw that happen when Randi was becoming unpopular and Mulgrew took over. "A breath of fresh air" proclaimed an opposition supporter who quickly jumped on the Mulgrew bandwagon and is now a full time UFT employee. Other Randi haters came on board too. 

 

Mulgrew may be toxic and often inept but so is the Unity machine where loyalty is prized over competence. Besides, there is no mechanism inside Unity where a coup could take place.

 

And who is on that Unity bench to be taken seriously as a UFT leader? I used to think it might be Evelyn de Jesus but Randi snatched her away for AFT Executive Director and potential heir apparent.

In many ways this all a fantasy and Jonathan knows that and is making a point about just how bad Mulgrew is. 

This past Wednesday, Unity met to sanctify its slate. There are supposedly petitions with Mulgrew's name as president that are due next Friday, though no teacher has actually seen these petitions in schools. I think the UFC election committee, of which I am a member, should ask to see these petitions. 

But if the opposition wins high schools and challenges in middle schools and makes a big leap in elementary schools and oppo retiree vote climbs to around 40%, I would bet Jonathan will get his wish before the next election. Which is why even if you are Unity and don't like Mulgrew you should vote UNITED FOR CHANGE.

And here's a little secret - many Unity people are actually saying they will, some even offering to campaign for us in their schools. 

I'm still in middle of the petition campaign for UFC, along with Jonathan, and this weekend is "turn in and collating time". Today in Bryant Park from 1-4PM near the ping pong tables and tomorrow a team is meeting nearby to put all ths reams of paper together. 

It's going to be 60 degrees today so stop by at Bryant Park and even if you don't have a petition, I will have one for you to sign.

We should have had  a system of electronic signing so entire forests didn't have to die for the UFT petition campaign. 

• UFT Exec Bd Vote Opposing Electronic Voting: Mike Shirtzer and another are Lone Dissenters, 13 Reasons For Electronic Voting as Unity Echoes Republican Vote Suppression, MULGREW SAYS PRIVATIZED HEALTHCARE ISN'T PRIVATIZED