District 30 CLs Boycott UFT CL Training, Inside Unity Complaints

Nothing says "We don't value you or your time" like summoning chapter leaders to an all-day, unpaid training during their vacation, where 95-99% of what's presented is the same info that's been presented for the last 5-10 years. The training could be useful for first-year chapter leaders or someone who hasn't attended in years. For everyone else, it should be a "Here's what's new" email or 15-30 minute asynchronous video presentation. -- former Unity member

 Thursday Aug. 28, 2025

The NYT had an article about Washington residents responding to the Trump takeover by jeering federal agents. The guy who threw that sandwich is a hero to people.

With Trump’s Takeover, Washington Finds a Mission to Resist: Known more for their museums, monuments and government buildings than their culture, Washingtonians are showing a spirit of dissent as protesters dog federal agents in their streets.

I bring this story up in the context of the Mulgrew firings having a similar impact on people  - instead of it's intended attempt to scare people. Certainly many full-time employees are frightened. But that won't keep them from being resentful and acting in ways that will not help the Mulgrew gang. 

Last week I wrote about the revolt in District 30 over the firing of Dist Rep Ashley Rzonca that has gotten more views than I've had in years:

• More Mulgrew Purges as District 30 Parents, Teachers, and Local Politicians Rally to Defend Fired UFT District Rep As Internal Resistance Grows 

Tuesday night I attended a NY Public Library comedy night for teachers with some D. 30 folks and heard about this boycott. (The four comedians were very funny.)

Many D30 CLs decided to take an action and not show up. We registered and cancelled and when asked why we were cancelling we wrote our thoughts.... 

Leah, who was also fired in June and has led the resistance has a video:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DN2x3YtYtXu/?igsh=Y3Vrb3o2cmg5dTVv 

Think about it. If she hadn't been fired she might have not felt as free to do this level of organizing. A smart leadership would realize that. I hear that a few D. 30 CLs did show up but the vast majority did not. Imagine what the chosen replacement for Ashley Rzonca will be facing. The part-time job holders inside Unity may be feeling it just ain't worth it to work in a toxic environment. 

Don't forget that the ABC coalition included a number of Unity people who had had enough. Keep an eye on how the Mulgrew gang see keeping the 14%ers in ARISE alive as the standard opposition to counter the rise of ABC. (I will have more to say about that growing alliance - NAC/Unity alliance 2.0? Fact is the Unity defectors will head to ABC before setting foot in ARISE.)

I cam across this anonymous post (we think we have guessed the author) from inside the caucus. While some of my colleagues mock anonymity, I do not. Stay inside the tent publicly but back ABC privately. There's a home for you. I'll let that person do the speaking here to give you a sense of internal disaffection as he/she focuses on the hypocrisy of attacking DSA in January as an enemy within the UFT - and exposing the attack was more about fear of Marianne.

The Future of Unity

Even My Students Would Have Seen Through This

The Future of Unity

Aug 20, 2025

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Before I ever worked for the UFT, I was teaching in a NYC school and I’ll tell you this much, even my students back then would have seen through what’s happening right now.

In January, Unity leadership told us that Arise was basically DSA/MORE with a new name. They handed out a flyer at the Delegate Assembly warning members about “outside agendas,” saying Arise was nothing more than DSA and MORE rebranded, and that we had to protect the union from infiltration. That was supposed to be the line, protect Unity, protect the union, don’t let outsiders run the show. Unity writes on the issue here DSA=MORE=ARISE?

Fast forward six months, and what do we see? Unity leadership looking like it is cutting deals with the very same people we told members to stay away from. This “Educators for Zohran” group is stacked with Arise folks who already lost in the UFT elections. Zohran himself hardly ever shows up. Instead, it is Jamaal Bowman hogging the spotlight, turning the whole thing into his personal comeback tour.

And right in the middle of it all? Briget Rein. Our own City Council liaison. The same Briget Rein who lobbied against the retiree bill and half ass pushed the para bill, fully knowing it never would happen. The same Briget Rein who is supposed to be safeguarding UFT’s political interests at City Hall is now shoulder to shoulder with Arise at their events. How does that square with what we told members in January?

Meanwhile, inside the union, leadership is losing its grip. Members are frustrated, angry, and demanding more. Instead of listening, leadership responded by axing a bunch of people tied to ABC, people who, like it or not, had respect in the schools. A couple are even what I would call friends. We were told this was about “unity and discipline,” but to the rank and file it looks like fear and desperation, cleaning house because Unity no longer knows how to hold the membership together.

And then there is the endorsement. In July, the DA voted to endorse Zohran Mamdani. Anyone who has ever sat in a DA run-through with Mulgrew beforehand knows he never wanted Mamdani. So what changed? Mamdani’s campaign did not even bother to put UFT on their endorsement page for almost six weeks, which tells you everything about where we really stand.

So what are we left with? A union leadership that tells us one thing in January, does another in July, and by August has Briget Rein smiling alongside Arise like nothing ever happened. It feels like some bargain was struck somewhere, and the cost was our credibility.

I have been Unity my whole career. But this does not feel like leadership anymore. It feels like scrambling, cutting deals, and abandoning our own principles. And members in schools see it, they see the contradictions the same way my NYC students would have.

If Unity keeps going down this road, it will not be Arise or ABC that brings us down. We will do it to ourselves.