September was a lazy month for the Ed Notes blog. Only 3 posts. What else is there to say? But my problem has really been that I have so much to say on so many issues, I end up getting tangled up. And then there are all the daily podcasts that occupy so much of my time. So, sometimes, silence is golden.
October will also be a sparse month as I've got things to do and places to see.
Thursday, October 5, 2023
- It's a Militant Union World - Except for a Certain...
- How UFT/Unity is More Management than Union as it ...
- Regressive and Passive UFT Pales Behind Aggressive...
I know it's unfair to Mulgrew to compare him to UAW's Shawn Fain - but, just sayin'.
Fain plays offense.
Mulgrew doesn't even play defense.
He plays for the other team.The NYT has a major story on Fain today.
Shawn Fain’s disdain for the “billionaire class” informs his showdown with Detroit’s automakers. Now he must prove that his hard-core tactics pay off.
Before Mr. Fain took over in March, the U.A.W. leadership did not so much scorn the billionaires as strive to emulate them. Mr. Fain defeated the incumbent by the thinnest of margins. That might have given another candidate an incentive to keep a low profile, secure an adequate contract and declare victory.Not this fellow. He is playing a very high-stakes game.
Mulgrew, Randi and the Unity faithful don't want to eat the rich. They want to rub elbows with the rich.
And for those of you who think if Unity Caucus replaces Mulgrew things will be all hunky dory, don't hold your breath. Playing ball with the boss is embedded in their DNA for over 50 years, after the initial decade of UFT militancy in the 60s.
Arthur has two dynamic pieces out back to back:
Mulgrew's Caucus Cheats, Lies, and Disrespects Us: Patronage above all else, including your health
UFT bosses, like Mulgrew and people at every level of his UFT Unity caucus, are also a one-issue group. Their issue is retaining power by any means whatsoever, and their most precious possession is the patronage mill they run. If you’ve ever called UFT and got bad info, if you’ve ever gone to a retirement consult and gotten the old song and dance, you know firsthand that UFT hirees are selected for loyalty rather than talent.
Arthur goes after the Unity patronage machine. I can't tell you how many children of Unity members are on the UFT payroll. Arthur points to the welfare fund. I would add the Teacher Centers, a prime patronage arena. I've always maintained Unity would live with 60 in a class but would fight like hell to save teacher centers. At one point BloomKlein hinted at going after them, which scared the hell out of Unity. Unity has used union jobs to buy off opposition voices for decades. They are super competent at attempts to undermine critical voices. But if they can't buy them they work to suppress their voices.
He follows up with this gem:
The UFT Delegate Assembly Is a Scripted Event: The bosses go to "DA Prep" every month to plot it out.
If the DA is supposed to be the highest decision making body, why is
there so little time set aside for resolutions and debate? Why is the
President’s Report the only part not time limited? Why is it allowed to
be used as a filibustering technique to preclude that which UFT Unity
bosses wish to avoid discussing?
Why? Because going back to Arthur's first article, do whatever has to be done to hold on to power. And don't think that if the oppo ever gets close, they won't resort to trying to steal the election.
So, Yes Virginia, Unity rehearses the DA. At one point in the UFT history, the Shanker years, they followed procedures because Shanker was so confident, but with Randi I began to see more and more manipulation and controls - she didn't want any surprises she couldn't handle. With Mulgrew in charge since 2009 it's gotten even worse. They now use backdoor lobbying on social media to get critics banned.
The use of paid staff to dominate the DA has become endemic. Oppos people at the DA should call a point of order - full disclosure -- before you speak identify if you are on the payroll.
Arthur has some ideas on reforming the DA. Like limiting the presidential filibuster. It will never happen. The only way to reform the DA is to elect enough chapter leaders and delegates that oppose Unity. And I'd bet that if that happened they would find a way to change the rules to hold onto power, which is the prime directive.
Just think of Unity as just another democracy-in-name-only- totalitarian regime.
AFTER BURN
Nick has a report on Monday's Ex Bd meeting and a piece on the lack of UFT responsse to Friday's floods.
Do As I Say – Not as I do: UFT Executive Board Meeting Minutes, 10-2-2023
Educators of NYC
We need to actively start pressuring the City to do the right thing – to not put our lives at risk when climate events strike.
It won’t be easy. Our union has given up most of its power outside of traditional bargaining subjects—and climate emergency is certainly not a traditional bargaining subject.
In the end, we’ll need to regain a capacity to strike if we want to have any power, and that will be difficult with a union leadership who mocks and heckles members for having the audacity to utter the words ‘strike readiness.’ But we’ve reached the point where our lives will be at risk if we don’t start mobilizing. In that context, I hope even Unity will recognize the need to do things differently, though I won’t hold my breath.
I think we need to stress, more and more, the risk to the lives of students, teachers, and other staff.
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