Ed Notes Online: ABC, To me, Seems Like One Two Three, Join ABC Member Assembly, Tue, 1/14 at 7 PM; Join the ABC election slate

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

ABC, To me, Seems Like One Two Three, Join ABC Member Assembly, Tue, 1/14 at 7 PM; Join the ABC election slate

Amongst all the furor over the two slate situation and the angst it seems to engender, I keep wondering why I find the endeavor with ABC so energizing. Here's one reason:

You're invited: Join our UFT Member Assembly via Zoom on Tue, 1/14 at 7 PM; Join the ABC election slate

We will speak about the erosion of our healthcare benefits and what we need to do to stop it. http://rsvp.uftmembers.org

300 registered so far. Join the crowd.

The turnouts for ABC have been excellent due to networking ability to extend its reach, an original intent of coming together in the first place: To attempt to reach deep into the schools to break the 80% non-voting active members (39% of retirees vote).

Our Finalized ABC-UFT Platform: Forged by All of Us, Together

I'm not opposed to caucuses but for this election especially I feel their model of organizing will not win. I've said it time and again - the ability of the current caucuses to reach deeper than the surface into schools has not been successful as reflected in the most recent UFT election two years ago and the fact that over decades they have shown little growth, massive turnover and some shrinkage. New Action is 30 years old with roots back to the 60s and MORE, the hot new thing when it went public 13 years ago after over a year and a half of behind closed doors negotiations, are stagnant.

When people ask how is ABC different from other groups running --- look at the outcomes so far in terms of attracting attention and supporters because ABC was free of restraints to act and did not get bogged down in caucus negotiations fed through a narrow group of steering committee members who are a gate though which decisions are made.

Look, since my diagnosis, I no longer am looking at living to 125. So I don't have time to watch the slow drip of caucus negotiations. When ABC began to meet in earnest in August with members of all caucuses in the room, I wanted the campaign to start in September but caucus issues kept delaying us until early November when the caucuses exited ABC and what was left of ABC said: Enough - and came out of the box publicly in mid-November, declaring it was running, while the caucuses spent the next 6 weeks deliberating in secret and made their first public announcement as the XMAS vacation was about to start.

This is the basis of my analysis as to why a caucus dominated election will not win. What has been accomplished since New Action left their 10 year alliance with Unity in 2016 when they joined with MORE to win the 7 hs exec bd seats, and again with UFC in 2022 -- the holy grail of oppo election politics -- winning 7 out of 100 exec bd seats? That is no longer good enough.

Don't get me wrong. I was an avid participator over decades as a member of MORE and before that ICE in elections from 2004-2022. I just don't want to do that again.

Now, with the big retiree and para wins in the chapter elections, everyone's hopes for a big win have been raised. I think a win would only be possible by building new alliances and not just count on those results to carry the day.

A key to this election would be to reach out to the 80% of in service teachers who rarely vote and the current caucuses with actives in previous elections did not have enough outreach into enough schools to beat Unity. Of course everyone was thinking of the ace in the hole -- the retiree vote. But with Tier 6 being such a catastrophe for over half the working UFT members, there are issues beyond health care, though for both retirees and actives, healthcare is still a top level concern.

Which reminds me: ABC is doing a healthcare zoom tonight.

You're invited: Join our UFT Member Assembly via Zoom on Tue, 1/14 at 7 PM; Join the ABC election slate
We will speak about the erosion of our healthcare benefits and what we need to do to stop it. http://rsvp.uftmembers.org
Hey folks! Last month, we covered the ABCs of PAY. This month, our focus is on HEALTHCARE.
Whether you're a UFT Retiree or an In-Service member, our premium-free healthcare is at risk, while our existing coverage continues to erode and we pay more and more out-of-pocket.
Let’s come together to discuss the current threats and challenges facing our union, and talk about what we need to do to protect and expand our premium-free healthcare for the future.
Tuesday, January 14th at 7 PM.
Register here: http://rsvp.uftmembers.org
Join us! Let’s work towards A BETTER CONTRACT that protects and improves our healthcare. Everyone is welcome.
Register for Member Assembly
Run With ABC in the 2025 UFT Geneal Election – Slate Signups Still Open!
We want you (yes, YOU!) to join us in the upcoming UFT General Election.
We're inviting all UFT members, no matter your political views or caucus affiliation, to be part of ABC’s non-partisan grassroots movement. We’re all about demanding A Better Contract — both with the City of New York and our union leadership.
We're looking for candidates for UFT officer positions, Executive Board, NYSUT Representatives, and AFT Delegates. Read the UFT 2025 election notice to learn more about these positions and qualifications.
Do you want to read our platform, first? Click here.
Our officer and executive board spots are 90% filled with some of these positions still available. Still, we most definitely want to run a full slate, so sign up today.
Head over to slate.uftmembers.org to sign up, and we'll be in touch soon with more details.
Sign up for the ABC Slate
Thanks so much. We’re looking forward to connecting with you soon and getting back to work on transforming our UFT.
If you have any questions, suggestions, or want to get more involved, don’t hesitate to reach out. Together, we can create a stronger, more equitable future.
Stay updated with us at: http://abettercontract.org
To run on the ABC slate for the 2025 election, go to: http://slate.uftmembers.org
To join our organizing work groups, go to: http://join.uftmembers.org
Download, share and print a flyer to post at your school/work site: flyer.uftmembers.org
And follow us at:
facebook.com/abettercontract
instagram.com/abettercontract
x.com/abettercontract
tiktok.com/@abettercontract
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"A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford

What media call "philanthropy" for the public schools are actually seed monies to establish a private "market" in publicly-financed education - an enterprise worth trillions if successfully penetrated by corporate America. Cory Booker, one of the "New Black Leaders" financed by the filthy rich, is key to creating a "nationwide corporate-managed schools network paid for by public funds but run by private managers.

"Ed Reformers" want to cash in on public education and to control its content and outcome, not improve it. Provide great education? Baby boomers had as close as this country has ever gotten to it when we were growing up. The Ed Reform Movement has no interest in seeing such a well-educated, democratically astute population ever again.

http://blackagendareport.com/content/cory-booker-clear-and-present-threat-public-education

History of the UFT Pre-Weingarten Years

This award-winning series of articles by Jack Schierenbeck originally appeared in the New York Teacher in 1996 and 1997.

Naturally, from a certain point of view. But, despite certain biases, Schierenbeck, a great guy, was one of the best NY Teacher reporters so this is worth reading. Jack suffered a debilitating stroke many years ago (I used to get secret donations to ed notes from him through a 3rd source.)

This chapter looks interesting:

Class struggles: The UFT story, part 3

“The schism in the union over radical politics [is] a major reason for stalling the growth of a teacher union for decades.” Revolutionary politics and ideology take center stage, as the original Teachers Union becomes a battlefield, pitting leftist against leftist and splitting the union.

Clarence Taylor's "Reds at the Blackboard" focused on the old Teachers Union which disbanded in 1964 after suffering from anti-left attacks.

Of course for another view, check out the review at New Politics of the Kahlenberg Bio on Shanker by Vera Pavone and me: Albert Shanker: Ruthless Neocon

Effective Union Organizing

A video series put together by Jason Mann from the British Columbia Federation of Teachers about social media and how to use it for effective union organizing.

The first series was called New Media For Union Activists Roadmap and it's still available on-line at:
http://www.newmediabootcamp.ca/welcome/
I watched some of them and need to rewatch as they are loaded with information.

The second series started last week and it's called "Online Campaigning for Union Activists"

You can sign up for this free series at :
http://act.bcfed.ca/online-campaigning-for-union-activists/

You Don't Have A Choice - Join the Revolt

Ex-Harlem Success Teacher Comments on Eva the Diva

Ex-HSA Teacher has left a new comment on your post "Fear and Loathing at Evil's Harlem Success Empire ...":

I am a former Harlem Success teacher. Not many people who work/worked for her like her very much. I once made the comment that she is very nice when I first was hired. Two of her closest colleague responded immediately almost in unison, "Eve is not nice!" Over time I realized that there was a lot of political games going on. Another colleague once said to me that he was tired of "being part of a political campaign." Sending out 15,000 applications for only 400 seats in a school is reprehensible. The money that paid for those mass mailings could have paid the yearly salary of another teacher not to mention the heartache of all those parents who applied but did not get a spot. She does good work trying to give disadvantaged students a quality public school education but at a great cost to staff AND the school's educational budget! school budget.

Davis Guggenheim Compared to Riefenstahl

“Waiting for Superman" is the second most intellectually dishonest piece of documentary work I have seen. It is surpassed only by Leni Riefenstahl's "Triumph of the Will," the pro-Hitler propaganda classic, in that regard. Uses personal narratives of adorable children to create narrative suspense that overrides public policy discussion with pure emotion in unscrupulous attack on teachers and their unions, among others

Timothy Tyson
Professor of African American Studies and History
Duke University

How Teaching Experience Makes a Difference

Even as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Michelle Rhee and others around the nation are arguing for experienced teachers to be laid off regardless of seniority, every single study shows teaching experience matters. In fact, the only two observable factors that have been found consistently to lead to higher student achievement are class size and teacher experience, so that it’s ironic that these same individuals are trying to undermine both.
- Leonie Haimson on Parents Across America web site

Full article with charts here.

Weingarten/Gates Foundation announce drone-driven teacher evaluation

According to a press release issued by the Gates Foundation, the AFT and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, these three have entered a ground-breaking partnership to evaluate teachers utilizing the drone technology that has revolutionized warfare in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. A bird-size device floats up to 400 feet above a classroom and instantly beams live video of teachers in action to agents at desks at Teacher Quality Inspection Stations established by the AFT and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.

When asked if the drones were authorized to drop bombs on teachers who exhibit inadequacy, Chester E. Finn, Jr., president of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, replied, "Don't be ridiculous. Gates money puts other methods at our disposal."

Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.5-million-member American Federation of Teachers said the powerful union has signed on to the drone project...

More at Substance

The Real Reason Behind Push for Standardized Tests: It's All About the Adults

On standardized testing in our schools

A must read article about the standardized test industry.
Written by an insider who has worked as a test scorer, the article outlines a multinational industry based on an army of temporary workers paid by the piece at $0.30 to $0.70 per test, translated in the need to grade 40 tests per hour to make a $12 salary. The article goes on to show how the companies gauge the grading "results" based on the need to ensure new contracts to continue profiting off of our youth. The original article is from Monthly Review. Here it is on Schools Matter blog.

http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2010/12/on-growing-use-of-corporate-test.html

Parallels between America today and Germany in the 1920's and early 30's

"Resentment and obstruction are all the right wing in America have to peddle. Their policies are utterly discredited. Their ideology - even by its own standards - is a sham. They are so bereft of leaders, their de facto leader is a former drug addicted, thrice-divorced radio talk show host. That is literally the best they can muster. But they have built a national franchise inciting the downwardly mobile to blame the government, not the right, for their problems, exactly as Hitler did in the 1920s."

The US Is Facing a Weimar Moment

Published on Sunday, March 15, 2009 by CommonDreams.org

Chicago View of Unity/UFT on Charters

After many meetings and debates, the Chicago delegation succeeded in working with the New York United Federation of Teachers, Local 2 (UFT) to push the AFT to take stronger stands on charter school accountability and school closings — though many delegates from Chicago would have liked the language to have been even stronger.

Generally speaking, the New York delegation represented organizing charters as the best model for handling their role in reshaping unions, despite the fact that according to many reports few charter schools in New York have been organized as is the case in Chicago. This logic is the same touted by the Progressive Caucus of the AFT. The few that have been organized are a part of the UFT local though they have separate contracts negotiated with the help of UFT. The Chicago delegation reflection the mindset that allowing new charters to continue to proliferate while attempting to organize existing charters is an end game in which public schools and the union lose.

Jen Johnson, CTU, Local 1 in Substance

Ed Notes Greatest Hits: HSA Rally and Founding of GEM

SEE MY VIDEO ON HARLEM SUCCESS RALLY 2009:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEp7rg_L5JI

Angel Gonzalez and I attended that rally and used the footage to promote our conference on Mar. 28, 2009, which is where the concept of a group like GEM emerged. Until then we had basically been a committee of ICE working with the NYCORE high stakes testing group. The actions of Eva and crew helped spawn GEM. Mommie Dearest!!

I have more video somewhere. I was hoping to get Leni Riefenstahl to edit it but she died. We would have called it "Triumph of the Hedge Fund Operators."

Ed Notes Extended

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

ABC, To me, Seems Like One Two Three, Join ABC Member Assembly, Tue, 1/14 at 7 PM; Join the ABC election slate

We will speak about the erosion of our healthcare benefits and what we need to do to stop it. http://rsvp.uftmembers.org

We will speak about the erosion of our healthcare benefits and what we need to do to stop it. http://rsvp.uftmembers.org

Run With ABC in the 2025 UFT Geneal Election – Slate Signups Still Open!

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