The overwhelming majority of UFT active members in elections over the past two decades - over 75% - are collectively known as:
- garbage can caucus - ballot goes into circular file
DON'T BE ONE OF THESE VOTERS - I don't give a crap caucus
- a plague on both your houses" caucus
There are signs these caucuses will be the big winners in the current election.
A major hope of the United for Change coalition has been to Get Out the Vote while the main goal of Unity has been to mouth GOTV while doing what it could to suppress the vote by rejecting electronic voting (which is used in many other areas of the union, including chapter and SBO elections and limiting the deadline (already passed) for those who don't get ballots to get a replacement.
Some Unity CL have been telling their principals to deny entry to UFC lit and I will be targeting them by name as info comes in and holding their district reps accountable. We have at least two reports of CL suppression in a district where the rep is on the election committee -- shameful.
I've always maintained that the long-term key to beating Unity is having strong activists in every division of the UFT in the schools. People who can rouse a sleepy electorate and get them to vote.
While retirees are always the most motivated voters in every election - that was good for Unity in the past. This year they are once again the main activated base in the UFT who I believe will vote in its highest totals ever, but this time with a different twist due to MulgrewCare. Will the increased turnout go to Unity or UFC? I'm betting on the latter. But will it be enough to counter general in school apathy?
One candidate reported such a level of disillusionment and fatigue in her school that the UFT elections is not even a pimple on the radar of many.
UFC activists have been going around their schools and are finding that even this week, they are discovering many people who have not bothered to vote yet. One guy got 6 people to vote in the past few days. That bodes ill for the turnout if even in schools where someone has been talking about the election on a regular basis for months and people have not yet voted. There just aren't enough people doing that.
So even if there is an uptick from in school voters, the winner of this election might be the Apathy Caucus, which would actually be a win for Unity since Apathy is what they thrive on. Good for Unity and the center right Democratic Party, bad for the union and the membership.
Let's hope we are in for a pleasant surprise. Even if Unity wins, if the margins shrink due to turnout that is a move in the right direction. If working UFT member turnout is 25% -- that's a bummer for all. If retiree per centage of the vote is 50% of the total voters the future for the membership is even dimmer than it has been as the Adams/Bloomberg tandem ready for an all out attack on public schools and the promotion of charters.
Lydia on a Professional Development podcast
Meanwhile -- check this podcast out by one of my fave podcasters (I appeared on it twice) with one of my fave people who I bonded with during this election who I hope will be on the UFT HS Ex Bd:
A new Professional Development podcast episode dropped last night!
Lydia Howrilka:
"I
was interviewed- thanks to UFC for coaching me in the specifics of transferring before the 2005 Contract!- and while I talk a bit about
Solidarity and my own story, I try to throw jabs at Unity and endorse
UFC in the process."
Please share on your Social media.
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