Jamaica High School - James Eterno Against Closure --
In May of 2023, James Eterno, beloved retired educator and union activist, suffered a major stroke. James is recovering and currently needs 24-hour care.James has been a consummate fighter for his family, his union family and the City of New York.He will prevail in this latest fight!Please help the Eternos during this challenging time. Pray for us and donate.https://gofund.me/363527e6
Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023
The news came on a Saturday morning in early May as I was having breakfast with Arthur who had just handed me hundreds of signatures for the healthcare petition. I even told Arthur, as the phone rang with James' name, "This is James calling to bug me to have an ICE meeting." But it was Camille with the devastating news.
I can't imagine the impact on the Eterno family, with two children, 14 and 9. Camille has been a rock, not only for James and her family, but for all of us who feel so helpless. She and James have a strong extended family. She put James on the camera last week and he was looking good, especially with his beard.
This has been a blow beyond the immediate family and friends, but to the entire UFT and union movement. We miss his voice and we hope to hear it again soon.
I have no idea how the insurance stuff works but I assume the costs are astronomical. Last week on the train to Washington for the Medicare rallies I informed some long-time supporters of James about his condition and they immediately wanted to talk about raising funds. We've been so numb we hadn't addressed that issue yet, so thanks to them for reminding us (they know who they are).
Some teachers who had heard contacted me wanting to do fundraising in their schools because they've shared the union work James has done with their staffs. Thus, many know of James and want to help out. So share the link with colleagues, even if they don't know James personally --- there's 18 years of blogging on ICE to see his work.
We have a crew going to see James on Monday and will stir up some memories. He responds to UFT war stories and boy do we have some to tell.
Can you imagine James' reaction to the Unity Caucus OT/PT Re-Vote Coup?
Sunday night, Daniel will replay his interview with James on his WBAI show from a year ago.
Editor’s Note: James has been the prolific author behind ICE UFT blog for many years. He has also contributed several pieces to The Wire.
He was the long time chapter leader at Jamaica High School. He also served on the UFT executive board as a high school representative. He has been a champion for New York City public school communities and a tireless advocate for rank and file educators in the UFT.
We urge you to read his posts at ICE UFT to learn more about his advocacy work!
James fought hard to try to keep Jamaica High School open for several years. Here is James at work fighting for his school community.
James
joined Daniel Alicea in November of 2021 on WBAI 99.5 FM to discuss the
impact the UFT has had on NYC public schools in the last 20+ years.
The episode will be replayed this evening on WBAI at 7 PM in honor of
him. You can listen to it live streamed, this evening, at — http://wbai.org
Inside UFT Politics and History: How the Nation's Most Powerful Union Impacts NYC Public Schools (Part 3) with James Eterno Talk Out of School 57:59 |
To know James Eterno is to know a gentleman warrior for the marginalized and workers. He has fought for many of us. Now, let’s fight with him and his wonderful family during this time.
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