Seeing the Trains Go Choo Choo at NY Botanic Garden and A Chance Meeting With the Younger Generation

Saturday, December 13, 2025 - 

Don't get run over by a faux Santa today

 

 

I love trains - and gardens. So Thursday I went up to the train show in the Bronx Botanic Garden, which is so far out of my normal range of travel - I've barely been in the Bronx - though I used to distribute Ed Notes to the big high schools, before they were wiped out by Bloomberg. Years ago I drove up to the train show with a friend but I hear they change it somewhat every year. And now with my training as a tour guide at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, I wanted to see what the competition looked like in the green houses.

 

I had signed up to go on a tour with one of the UFT courses a few weeks ago but had a conflict that day.  

 

I stayed over in my apartment after the Ugly sweater Delicate Assembly on Wednesday, so I was leaving from Grand Central and had two choices - Metro North which I had never used before or the subway and bus. 

 

I began looking for Metro North timetables but switched to the 4 train. I spent the entire trip standing at the front window of the train, like I used to do as a kid, watching the tracks fly by. I had the same thrill I always have when we emerge into the daylight as we hit Yankee Stadium, but had never taken the 4 past that station before and got to see a slice of the Bronx. I got off at Bedford Blvd and waited in the cold for a bus, which then dropped me off near the gate and I had a bit of a walk - did I say it was cold?

 

Okay, so I'm finally in the warmth of the train show - but the trains and their routes were not as interesting - I was waiting for a crash. The major interest are the buildings and I posted a few pics below. I loved the Penn Station building and at the end of the show we see the view I posted above of major Manhattan buildings. But I was also fascinated by the plants - the 200 million year Cycads display, the desert greenhouse. I have an assignment for the BBG to go to the greenhouses so I can do a tour and until my knee started bothering me, I could have spent hours there. But I was also hungry and had to find the cafeteria which happened to be a bit of a walk. After eating, I had a longer walk back - did I say it was cold -- and my knee ached, so I decided I would try to take Metro North which was across the street. 

So I got there and asked a guy how to get to the station to Grand Central and he said I had to go up the stairs, walk across the tracks and down the stairs and a bit of a walk to a temporary station because of construction. Oy, my aching knee.

A Serendipitous meeting

I got to the top of the stairs and there was woman walking in front of me and I asked her where I had to go. She said she was not going to the train but taking a short cut to the other side and was walking to the subway. I said I thought the subway was far away and she said it was only 10 blocks or so to the D train, so I decided to do that too and walked with her since she knew the way. 

 

So it turns out she is a second year law student, comes from Colorado (she no longer skis) and turned out to be a delightful companion through our walk and the train ride to Grand Central where we parted and I walked home through the holiday goodies at Bryant Park. But my knee ached less and the cold was no longer so bad.

What does an 80 year old man have to talk about with a 24 year old woman? How about everything. She was interested in gardening, she goes to BBG often, she likes trains - naturally - she had a day off after finishing her courses so going to the train show was a priority -- she had done some theater work on a construction crew like I do, she likes cats through her boyfriend's family, she is a Zohran fan and into social justice and is focused on health issues --- I expect her to become a factor as a lawyer in the health care struggle. 

 

In addition to the train show, meeting this young lady added so much to the day. I told her that we had just finished Hair at the RTC and she said she'd come to shows next year at the Rockaway Theater. I feel awkward about asking a young lady for her contact info, so I gave her mine. I don't really expect to hear from her, but was happy to spend an hour with her.

 

You hear people say so many negative things about her particular generation, but I have a lot of contact with young people in her age range at the Rockaway Theater and they have been delightful too.  It is important for people my age to engage with younger people and most do so with their kids. But I don't have kids to sponge cultural contact with, so interacting with people at the theater or in the younger crowd at ABC is important. But when you run into someone accidentaly and the meeting turnedsn out to be so enriching, I'd say that the cold and aching knee seemed to disappear.

 

Here are some pics from the day: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unity Caucus Threats Against ABC and its Members Continue - I Get Reported to HR for Fighting for the Right to Put Lit on the Table at the Delicate Assembly

“The delicate assembly.”  It sure is delicate.  A bunch of “snowflakes” in Unity Caucus.  Anyone who asks their dear leader a question is “rude.” Or a liar. That’s their favorite adjective. .. Comment of a not delicate Delegate

Is a cornered party as dangerous as a cornered rat? We should be sober: the political winds are blowing hard against the "ruling party". Unity is staring at a meltdown... defections may mount and internal chaos spreads throughout leadership. ... Tom Hartmann   

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

the attorney’s letter states they will sue each UFT member individually, for having publicly stated we are UFT members. 

Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025 -- Delicate Assembly Day - Ho Hum

Mulgrew and crew have been rehearsing, probably all day, for the DA so he knows where to point for the required sneak attack Unity reso to start the new motion period. But he has to act like this is all spontaneous, and he was absent for the acting lesson. One of the fun things is to pick out their reso from the stack. The goal is to waste as much of the 10 minute New Motion time as possible. And monitor how much speaking time goes to staff or Unity apparatchiks.

Frankly, I'm getting a bit bored by the DA, but the chance to engage with Unity slugs is too delicious to miss plus seeing lots of old and new friends. But I need an umbrella to keep from getting wet from the snowflakes. 

The answer by authoritarians when cornered is repression and increasing attacks to try to suppress voices of opposition. Or just put a photo of the leading oppo candidate for president in a urinal in the mens room at the UFT during a delicate assembly:   Misogyny at the UFT Delegate Assembly 

We are sure to hear bragging today on how effective they are on the para pay issue which has been locked up in the city council, thus forcing them to hold "massive" protests in front of the Adrienne Adams' office, who was scared to death at this turnout.

Now this is organizing.

PissGate Report

The union issued a report of its 6 month investigation of Piss Gate, (see here), that led to nothing. Apparently some strange guy they cannot identify was hanging around the men's room that day but the cameras can't seem to identify him. Probably just prostate problems. 

They are actually trying to pin it on me or someone from ABC - I think I was the only man from ABC there that day - because, you know, Unity people have such integrity.

I was told to go in and check the bathroom around 6PM after the first photo at 5:12 was found and I removed it so they can claim my fingerprints are on it. Like there's no Unity hack capable of doing this? There is video footage and there were only so many guys at the meeting. I shared my suspicions of the possible culprit with the lawyer.  

I entered the men's room to find the photo in the urinal, the second one that day and extracted it after taking a photo. I still have it and the investigator wanted me to turn it in so they could check for prints but I wasn't giving them the evidence unless I could observe the taking of the prints.

Unity motion to muzzle chapter leaders

Don't forget this gem from the Nov DA where they wanted to gag school chapter leaders like they gag CLs of functional chapters, notably Bennett Fischer of the RTC. This was their sneak attack reso. 

 

It was voted down by a slim margin, which means even some Unity CLs voted against it, which must really piss them off since the clicker we use allows for anonymity, something we didn't have in the past as the District reps had their CLs sit near them so they could monitor how they voted. 

Fighting for the right to put lit on the table 

I got a call from a union official that an HR complaint had been filed over my confrontation with a Unity hack over the restriction of needing LeRoy Barr's permission to put lit on the tables in. the lobby. She should have filed the HR complaint against LeRoy who gave her such a ridiculous assignment. 

Historical note: We had a table for non-official UFT lit for 25 years until the increasingly authoritarian LeRoy Barr barr-ed the oppo table and any lit he doesn't want displayed on the official table. When asked why, be first blamed Covid and then enemies of the UFT. You see, if you dare to criticize their worships you are an enemy -- Trumpism comes to 52 Broadway.
 

I posted a photo of the Barr henchwoman using our dues to guard the table in a recent post  Growing Authoritarianism at the UFT as Unity continues to take Lying shots at ABC 

 

Fact is she has been nasty and arrogant (confirmed by others in the UFT)  and she complains to UFT HR about me? As if I work for her and the UFT when in fact she works for me. But the UFT leadership act as if the membership works for them, so maybe they are confused. 

Talk about delicate snowflakes. She goes whining because an 80 year old 58 year member of the UFT spoke to her in a loud voice? If she can't deal with that she need to get a new job. These are the people who are supposed to defend us against Trumpism?  

 

Unity views ABC as the real threat, the legacy oppo as supplemental - but they need to find ways to stay relevant

 

I wrote about the increasing repression at the UFT the other day in this post: Growing Authoritarianism at the UFT as Unity continues to take Lying shots at ABC

 .... where I made the point that the biggest threat to Unity hegemony is coming from within the caucus, as the numerous defections to ABC in the last election proved. ABC only existed for months but garnered 32% of the vote while the 3 legacy caucuses, with 100 years of combined experience, of trying to organize in the UFT, got only14%, thus not constituting a threat to Unity, but a necessity for Unity to keep around as a counterweight to ABC. Thus, the "Unity light" label applied by some to elements of ARISE - remembering that for a dozen years, New Action was Unity light.

A key to the vast difference between ABC and ARISE was, I believe, the infusion of defecting Unity CLs who brought their staffs along to vote for ABC. Since the ARISE coalition will never get Unity defectors en masse, the demonstrated ability of ABC to do so is what makes ABC such a threat and has led to the constant attacks in Unity lit -- look for another one today at the DA.

 

Unity threatens to sue ABC and all its members individually

 
Thus, the latest round is threats and more threats for daring to say ABC is an active group in the UFT, while other groups that use the UFT logo are ignored. The geniuses at the UFT in full force where

the attorney’s letter states they will sue each UFT member individually, for having publicly stated we are UFT members. 

The letter from the lawyer also states:

“Further, throughout your website and on your social media, you refer to the A Better Contract organization as "A Better Contract - UFT" and "A Better Contract - UFT Members," signaling that the organization is a faction within the UFT when it is not.”

Mulgrew should look up the word faction - 

a small organized dissenting group within a larger one, especially in politics.

 

On the other hand, Unity Caucus using the UFT logo is fine:

 

And how about MORE?

Here is the ABC post where you can get details of the threats. 

Unity UFT Leadership Threatens to Sue ABC-UFT

And they're using your UFT dues to do it.

A Better Contract

Dec 09, 2025

 

https://abettercontract.org/p/unity-uft-leadership-threaten-to?

Michael Mulgrew and Unity UFT leadership, a political group that has controlled our union for more than sixty years and who continue to preside over diminishing returns for educators across the city, have hired the corporate law firm Norton Rose Fulbright to threaten legal action against A Better Contract (ABC-UFT). Their claim is that we, the committed educators and proud UFT members of ABC, do not have the right to refer to ourselves as UFT members.

This is not the first time Mulgrew and Unity UFT have used our dues money to threaten UFT members. In June 2025, Unity UFT hired the same law firm to file a complaint accusing A Better Contract of infringement for referring to themselves as UFT members. That complaint was rejected by an independent arbitrator, who determined that ABC-UFT’s statement of being UFT members, which we are, is legitimate and protected.

Rather than using dues to improve working conditions or strengthen our union, Mulgrew and Unity UFT leadership have chosen to use those dues to attack UFT members who are advocating for a more democratic and responsive union. 

Members can read more about that decision here: ABC Wins Arbitration

I will close with a comment on Arthur's substack:

When Mulgrew lays on his phony tough guy shtick, it does have an air of wannabe third-rate mob boss. It's pretty ineffective, though. I don't feel intimidated at all. Maybe it's working better with UFT staff at 52 Broadway. They all seem to be running scared.

Growing Authoritarianism at the UFT as Unity continues to take Lying shots at ABC

The more restrictive people in power get in an attempt to tamp down critics, the more likely their crackdowns spike greater opposition and more critics.

How do you distinguish between fascism and authoritarianism? And how do you fight fascism when you yourselves are authoritarians? 

Authoritarianism allows limited freedoms but maintains strict control over political processes. 

A Unity initiative to make chapter leaders sit down and shut up was voted down. This was remarkable—the exception that proves the rule. It would have mandated top-down messaging from UFT at all levels. -- Arthur Goldstein Notes on the Nov. DA 

Unity leaflet attacks DSA claiming they are infiltrating the UFT with MORE as an instrument but also attacking Marianne Pizzitola. Then months later they endorse the DSA candidate for mayor. 

Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025 

The line between fascist and authoritarian rule can be fuzzy, but there is a difference. 

 

I'm not referring here to the Trump MAGA crowd, which clearly leans fascist. I don't like to call people fascists and prefer the label of "fascistic-type behavior" but the MAGA crowd is clearly beyond wanna-be fascists. 

Is authoritarianism and fascism the same thing? 

I Googled the question:

Authoritarianism is a general form of governance defined by the centralization of power and limited political freedoms. (A check for both Unity and other Caucuses in the UFT)

Fascism is a specific, far-right, and highly ideological form of authoritarianism that includes elements such as extreme nationalism and often racism. All fascist regimes are authoritarian, but not all authoritarian regimes are fascist. 

Authoritarianism is a form of government where power is concentrated in a single leader or small group, and there is little to no accountability to the public. It suppresses political freedoms, limits individual rights, and often uses control, fear, or violence to maintain power, with citizens expected to show blind submission to authority. (Check)

The theme here is UFT/Unity Caucus and authoritarianism. 

When people engage in authoritarian-like behavior it's OK to call then authoritarians, and that is an appropriate label for the UFT leadership, as I will offer examples below.

I would not term the behavior of our UFT/Unity Caucus leadership fascistic - that is pure hyperbole. But "increasingly authoritarian" is more apt. 

 

The prime directive of authoritarian led organizations is to maintain power - often at all costs and that fits the Unity machine perfectly.

 

Think of these characteristics of authoritarianism and compare them to the UFT/Unity crowd.

Has the UFT/Unity leadership shown indications of this behavior? Let me count the ways. Call them authoritarians. Just don't call them fascists.

Key characteristics of authoritarianism (as related to the UFT/Unity leadership):

Concentrated power:

A single person or a small group holds most of the power, with little to no accountability to the people.  

The UFT has had four presidents over 60 years. Just think of that. The faces may change, but the political machine remains the same. Thus, when people attack Mulgrew as the problem, I point out the problem is Unity - when Mulgrew goes, only the face of the machine will change. While the leadership often seems incompetent, they have proven very competent at keeping control, managing the membership and holding on to power, though recently they have been lucking out due to the lack of an effective opposition, a situation going back decades. 

 

Right now we see that even inside the Unity machine, whereas there may have been some sense of people being consulted in the past, we now have 3 Men in the room: Mulgrew, Barr, Sill - and at times a woman: Mary Vaccaro. But the ABC campaign with many Unity defectors indicated some cracks in the machine for the first time. One of their complaints was that there was a sense of being consulted in the Randi years - though not all that much but she knew how to play the game -- but now even the officers in Ad Com are ignored - other than the gang of 3+1. Below that level, there is some unrest and recent aggression has been aimed at tamping it down. A sinking ship may be kept afloat with vigorous pumping but ultimately that is a losing battle.

Suppressed freedoms:

Individual rights, such as freedom of speech and the press, are limited or denied to prevent opposition and maintain control. 

 

Limited political opposition:

Opposition parties are often discouraged, prohibited, or have their legitimacy attacked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at the control of the DA. Barr must approve all leaflets put on the table at the DA, after cancelling the 25 year old history of having a table for non-official materials, granted by Randi Weingarten in 1998. We had a battle with a UFT employee guarding the table during DA to make sure no scurrilous lit goes on, violating decades of policy. That is her assignment at the DA. She and LeRoy claim Covid as an excuse. Jeez. I called them out on this policy at the November DA. 

 

Unity Attempts to Bennett Fischerize chapter leaders

A Nov. DA Unity backed reso, defeated, called for limits on free speech of chapter leaders and their freedom to communicate with their members, following the example of the suppression of RTC Chair Bennett Fischer's ability to communicate with RTC members. Many of us have urged Bennett to make a big deal of this censorship and in fact send in his report and if Mulgrew censors it make a big deal of it, but instead he is circumspect in those reports. The RTC leadership seems worried that Mulgrew will turn off their electricity if they push back too hard. The RTC leadership has already turned off any vestige of militant resistance. I get lectured all the time that UFT leadership are not enemies and we must stick together to fight fascism. Hard to fight fascism when you have to work with authoritarians who want to suppress democracy. Some in RTC argue that Unity is not an enemy but fellow UFT members and we have to work with them in a bipartisanship way. That's how the Democratic Party has operated while Republicans smash them to bits. 

 

Arthur in a recent post addresses the November DA and that ugly Unity reso.

Unity Fails to Erode Democracy (or Control Class Size): Then, they try to blame ABC for their shortcomings.

You won't find a Unity leaflet or social media post that doesn't try to slime ABC, demonstrating where they see the real threat to them. 

 

Every Unity leaflet and social media post attacks ABC and makes false claims ABC opposes increasing para pay or decreasing class size, false claims of course. They brand critical comments over the inept methods they use as an attack on the union. Recently they held a demo at the city council over the para reso - 3 staffers showed up and they considered that a success. Jeez.

Control and fear:

They may use various methods like corruption, misinformation, propaganda, or violence to ensure compliance and discourage dissent.  

How about the June massacre firings and more that came in September?

See every Unity leaflet and social media post attack ABC and make false claims they oppose increasing para pay or decreasing class size. Have you checked their propaganda machine where everything they do is wonderful? -- Trump uses their bragging playbook.

Undemocratic practices:

Authoritarian systems often ignore or subvert democratic processes, sometimes even while holding elections.

 

Yes Virginia, there was some playing around during the elections but not enough to make them lose --- they were confident of winning due to the two oppositions running against them but if the day comes when and if there is one strong opposition, watch for the dirty tricks. The 54% they got is a big threat to them and they need ARISE to stay alive to make sure ABC doesn't win.

 

Remember electronic voting? They formed a committee to study it that has started meeting with ABC and ARISE reps - naturally the committee is packed with Unity. Do you want to wager on Polymarket whether the committee will vote for electronic voting at future elections? 

Emphasis on obedience: Members

 are expected to show obedience to authority, sometimes referred to as "blind submission".  

                                                                                                   

The 54% Unity got in the election plus the losses in the RTC and para chapter are warning signs. They are lucky so far due to the divisions in the opposition, and I will get into these divisions in upcoming posts. 

 

But expect further crackdowns on democracy, which often has the opposite effect of spurring open and hidden opposition. (Think of the fall of the Soviet block, which lasted 70 years as Unity control of the UFT approaches that number.)

Is a cornered party as dangerous as a cornered rat? We should be sober: the political winds are blowing hard against the "ruling party". (Your favorite group in power)______ are staring at a meltdown... defections mount and internal chaos spreads throughout leadership. ... Tom Hartmann   

Gee, ya think?  

 

District 30 Cls Revolt

The big firings were meant to send a message to the Unity rank and file. From what I'm hearing, there is fear - but also resentment. The firing of D. 30 rep Ashley Rzonca who was loyal to Unity but fired for perceived friendship with Amy Arundell, is having repercussions. A batch D. 30 CL are refusing to attend district rep meetings and are meeting on their own at the same time. The union went whining to the Dist Supt about these alt meetings in the schools. Perfect behavior of a cornered party. Go ask the boss to help you beat down a revolt.

 

So far internal chaos has not spread and they have weathered the threat to the Delegate Assembly they were facing from the 300 delegates from retirees plus the 100 MORE delegates. We've seen a withering away of the retiree delegate impact, due to the incompetence of the Retiree Advocate/RTC leadership, as we will see in upcoming posts and the work Arthur has been doing to expose them. And the MORE 100 have had zero impact and have not shown much interest in the DA. And so far the ABC crowd has gotten off to a slow start this year and also has not organized at the DA. Some on all sides are talking about giving up at organizing at the DA. I think the DA for at least through next year has potential if all the delegates from RA, MORE and ABC managed to put something together. Go bet on Polymarket if you think that is possible. 

 

I'd sooner bet on a meteor like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs.

But change might come from another direction outside the caucus structure.

 

District 30 Cls Revolt

The big firings were meant to send a message to the Unity rank and file. From what I'm hearing, there is fear - but also resentment. The firing of D. 30 rep Ashley Rzonca who was loyal to Unity but fired for perceived friendship with Amy Arundell, is having repercussions. A batch D. 30 CL are refusing to attend district rep meetings and are meeting on their own at the same time. The union went whining to the Dist Supt about these alt meetings in the schools. Perfect behavior of a cornered party. Go ask the boss to help you beat down a revolt.

 

Unity's best chance of maintaining power is the divisions in the opposition. I think ABC has the most potential but don't expect the legacy caucus driven groups to join the party as the same principle of oligarchy driven organizations operates with them as it does with Unity: 

 

The prime directive of authoritarian led organizations is to maintain power - often at all costs.

 

Retiree Advocate has become the power in the Retiree Chapter - at least until the next election in May 2027 and has been losing its way, which Arthur has been chronicling.                                                                                                                                       

Beware of old boss becoming the new boss - the dangers of a loyal opposition seeking alliances with authoritarians in power.

 

A Tale of Two Meetings - Plus Two More to Come - OY!

I'm getting more interested in the snacks than the agendas at the DA and RTC meetings.

Wednesday, November 19, 2023

Today is a Delegate Assembly (HO) and tomorrow is a Retired Teacher Chapter (HUM) meeting  and I have no interest in handing out a leaflet, a rare occasion for me. I'm going to both but less and less I hold these meetings to be as important as I once held them to be. I'm more interested in the snacks than the agendas and I give props to RTC officer Michele Ravid for improving the snacks at the RTC meetings by 200% over the Tom Murphy regime. See, there is value in winning elections.

The ABC organizationally has not put a lot of organizational energy into the DA, though some individuals have.

To outsiders, A Better Contract seems to have gotten off to a slow start this year. After a brutal election campaign, people needed a rest. I appreciate some of the thoughtful discussions in trying to find some structure that keeps the idea of a loose affiliation of individuals, but looking for ways to act as an organization when necessary. 

I'm somewhat on the fringe of ABC, more observer than activist. 

There is still a lot of interest in ABC as demonstrated when ABC held an open mass meeting a few weeks ago and 1000 registered and hundreds attended. 

So, last night a quick (45 minutes) meeting was held to talk about the working groups -- and 

Last night I attended a quick (45 minutes) meeting of those who attended the mass meeting and volunteered for various working groups - a bottom-up structure that fulfills a member-driven agenda. If some people don't find a working group they are welcome to start one. I love that sense of freedom. There is also a need to have some way of touching base between the working groups and I have confidence in the people who are doing the work. Someone always seems to pick up the ball. If a ball doesn't get picked up that is a sign of lack of interest. One unstated rule -- no gnashing of teeth.

As long as the groups adhere so some basic member-driven principles driving ABC, they have autonomy to act as they see fit with no central body to answer too. After decades of working with caucus top-down organizational structures, it was a breath of fresh air that satisfies my libertarian mentality which so seems to rile some of my comrades in other groups. 

As I rummaged through my basement recently I came across materials from groups I worked with in the 70s when we had a loose confederation of school and district level groups. Even the ICE/UFT group of 2003-10 had no organizational structure, something that drove some of the more politically oriented people, who have a built-in need for top-down organizing, crazy. 

It was made clear that we were not there to talk about elections or caucuses or share gripes but to move forward. It was reiterated that ABC invites any individual, whether in a caucus or not, to work with us. If a caucus wants to talk, ABC will do so. 

Chad Hamilton, a CL in Brooklyn chaired the meeting from his car - he wasn't driving at the time - I think. Super multi-media champ Leah Lin, a CL from D. 30 in Queens, is also playing a major role. These are mid-level career classroom teachers, as are most of the players. 

As a retiree, I believe we need to play a secondary role in ABC and not make our issues primary. There is a retiree working group to focus on those issues and I will play a role with them.

I found the meeting exciting and looking forward to working with so many interesting people. 

A Tale of Two Meetings

Monday night Retiree Advocate organizers held a meeting and spent an hour discussing how to moderate the listserve and who should moderate the listserve (I am one of 4 moderators) with the goal of controlling attacks on Retiree Advocate. If any of the moderators object to a post, it will not go up.

Hmmm, I wonder if this one will go up without objection. Maybe I'll object to my own post.

 ----

A bit of good news. It's been a tough few days waiting to get my 6 month scan and blood test for the tumor marker. Though the marker went up 2 points to 34 (below 40 is normal) it was 230 when I was first diagnosed, my scan came back Ok just as I was finishing this. So expect to put up with me till the next scan.

 

Election Thoughts - Mamdani and ABC Organizing, Finally, a UFT Win in a Mayoral Race, My Interview with Daniel on the '75 UFT Strike

The most important outcome of the Mamdani win, and why he represents a threat to the right and the corporate Dems, is the potential for building a movement of people ready to act using the 100k volunteers for his campaign. 

 

Full disclosure: I was one and am ready to take more action if called upon. People are reminded of Obama in 2008 and the movement he built - and then let dissipate after he won and thus had no way to call out troops to battle the rise of the tea party in 2010. The Majority Report with Sam Seder, my fave, talked about this yesterday, speculating it was the influence of authoritarian Rahm Emanuel, the anti-left, corp Dem supreme who will run for president, who made sure the voice of the people wouldn't interfere with the usual suspects who want to run the world.

 

The theme of this post touches on a theory of organizing related to elements of the Mamdani campaign and how I relate it to the ABC campaign on the fly last year where I find certain similarities based on not prioritizing  personal and organizational ideologies over checking the pulse of those whose votes you are trying to get. I compare that approach to that of the legacy caucuses, and I include Unity, where the ideology of the leadership - and make no mistake, they all are leadership run, some for decades by the same people.

 

Mamdani is a socialist but he didn't run on his socialism, though his socialism certainly has influenced his thinking. But no matter the attacks, you won't see him trying to take over the means of production, though I wouldn't mind it if the entire healthcare industry was taken over - wait, wait - like the NY Health Act.

 

My contention here is that ABC was member-driven in the recent UFT election and expects to continue on that track. 

 

Thursday, November 6, 2025

 

Hey - big news -- the UFT leadership finally got one right - though it would have been nice to see an endorsement before the primary. But the way the endorsement went down has led many UFT members to object and there was a lot of push back from non-Mamdani supporters ---- and this dovetails with the theme of this election analysis: Listen to people first - check the pulse and be guided by what you hear. 

 

Mamdani is being credited, even by some on the right, with doing exactly that and shaping his campaign around listening. There is some irony in the out and out support for Mamdani 

 

YES, the UFT won one and let's give some credit for jumping on a DSA train despite the previous attacks (Will UFT Endorse Mamdani after their attacks on DSA).

 

Check out some of my commentary over the endorsement in July:

 

UFT DA Tidbits - Endorsing Mamdani, ABC and ARISE/...

Today's DA and Yesterday Town Hall -- Ode to Hot A...

 

 

But first, a plug. 

 

The 1968 strike gets all the attention, but the 1975 strike was in many ways more consequential.

 

Here is a link to Sunday's interview with Daniel for "Talk Out of School" on WBAI. 

https://wbai.org/archive/program/episode/?id=61621. I finally listened to it this morning and I didn't make a total fool out of myself, so I'm sharing. 

 

It was my third strike with the UFT but my first as an activist. Sunday Daniel and I covered a lot of ground, including the opposition to Unity leading up to the strike, its impact - short and long term, my guess that the lessons were never to strike again, how the UFT descended from the most militant union in the early 60s, the 1995 and 2005 contracts, the divided opposition post-strike that continues today. Daniel's questions were excellent guides into a deep dive in my memory.

I still want to write in more detail using some of the resources from the 70s buried in my basement. 

Now on to some election thoughts related to our union work.

  

Mamdani Listened - Similar to ABC's Member-driven agenda -- 

 

Over a year ago, before anyone heard of Mamdani, A Better Contract/UFT decided to listen to the members and came under criticism from some members of the ARISE coalition. Ken Klippenstein touches on the Mamdani touch.

Ken Klippenstein - Mamdani's Magic

People’s comments were insightful for anyone who cared to listen. They were the message.

Zohran Mamdani won by literally meeting people where they’re at — in bodegas, subway stations, busy sidewalks, even at the New York Marathon. He met people on the streets, not to pitch them, but to listen and learn. These conversations informed his successful campaign more than his charm, social media prowess or any of the other superficial explanations major media are offering. ... 

The video stood out from usual campaign content in how little of it focused on the candidate. He didn’t “approve this message.” There were no gotchas, no fact checking his opponents, no issue-oriented rejoinders. Virtually every shot focused on the interviewee rather than Mamdani, whose face you could not even see at times. He just stood there, quietly listening to what people had to say. 

As Mamdani sees it, facing the public, even if it might heckle you, is part of the job of being an elected official. Obvious as this may seem, it is a more genuine and humble attitude ofthe Washington national figures who believe that their role as philosopher kings is to reign over and above the public. 

Mamdani’s view of a politician’s job contrasts sharply with the political establishment’s zero tolerance attitude toward risk.  Mamdani’s magic is his understanding that the masses are the message.

Yes. Fundamentally, Mamdani didn't emphasize his own ideology, though that played a part in his activism, but listened to people - yes, even those who voted for Trump.

Horrors. 

How often was ABC attacked by ARISE for "listening to people who voted for Trump" -- we were accused of trolling. And yes, there are some people (a few it seems) who may be Trump backers, and at times there may be some tension, but so far they don't feel shunned. ABC people seem to believe that the way to build a winning coalition if you aim to win an election in the UFT, is to be broad-based and non-judgemental.

Yet Mamdani, the darling of the leftists in ARISE, did the very same thing and built his campaign around the issues people were telling him concerned them.  Trust me, they will not learn a lesson. The ideology of most people on the left is baked into their DNA.

In the recent UFT election and beyond, an ARISE steering committee member and a caucus co-chair has persistently criticized ABC for not taking political positions on certain issues ABC deemed divisive and outside the bounds of a UFT election sphere - it was termed being "apolitical" rather than what it was -- member driven. 

 

In other words, we would focus our campaign on what we detected in the pulse of rank and file in our schools and out surveys - our colleagues - and beyond. Rather than apolitical, we would try not to let our personal ideological views take precedence.  The election results showed that was a potential winning strategy when we got 32% in a 3-way race, especially notable for a group of individuals that had existed for only a few months.

 

My criticism of the ARISE coalition and how they operated was that they took an opposite tack -- the ideologies of the leadership of the 3 groups in the coalition -- MORE, New Action and Retiree Advocate - would drive their campaign. If you weren't somewhere on the left, you wouldn't be very comfortable - and they did pretty much attract the left to run with them and in the election, leftists in the UFT were more likely to vote for ARISE. And 14% of the voters did vote for them. Does 14% give us an accurate picture of the left in the UFT? Since only 28% voted think of what that 14% represent. 

 

 

 Part 2

Well, I'm glad my usual pessimism didn't work out as I guessed 

43% Mamdani

39% Cuomo

18% Sliwa

 

The Sliwa collapse was significant and those votes had to go to Cuomo, so think of this -- Cuomo was probably in the low thirties and there may have been a late Trump bump. 

  

 

 

Yes Mamdani went over 50%, but barely and the combined vote against him would have made this a nail biter in a two person race. 

 

NYT Election Map - Look up your neighborhood - https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/11/04/us/elections/results-new-york-city-mayor.html 

 

 

My Rockaway neighborhood in Belle Harbor voted 10% for Mamdani, surpassed by Breezy Point's 7%, 186 votes, and I think I convinced a bunch of friends. That little blue area in Rockaway is Arverne (53%) Edgemere (57%) where I canvassed with 40 other mostly local volunteers. Note the solid Cuomo blocks in Staten Island through south Brooklyn, though Bay Ridge went for Mamdani and the northeastern Queens block. Also note the east side of Manhattan. My Murray Hill area went 59-36 for Cuomo. My politics are not safe anywhere.

 

I pushed back against the NYC Retiree attacks and pro-Cuomo position. He had stated he was opposed to Medicare Adv --and I trust a socialist on that issue more than his opponents. But now is a time to try to get our issue in front of him as 1096 will expire on Jan. 1 and a new bill will be needed. Some of his allies on the City Council do back the bill. However, DC37 and the UFT are opposed and he does owe them -- I have a lot more to say on the election but I have to catch the ferry for my painting class at the UFT - I'm shlepping a bunch of acrylic paints and art supplies - this artistic stuff can tire one out.