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

Monday, August 18, 2025

You probably haven't noticed. I am not doing too much writing lately. Damn cell phone and internet distractions. I seem to do anything to avoid sitting down and writing. Is it the sitting down or the writing? I can't stand and write. Or I can't stand writing. 

My recent writer's block has delayed my commenting on the firings, a cleansing by Unity Caucus of its perceived dis-loyalists. Mulgrew and crew, when faced with waning popularity, instead of trying to fix it, resort to fear and loathing tactics to try to cow potential opposition into silence and obedience. It might work for some but over time these tactics alienate people in and outside the club. The attacks on Amy Arundell, going back years, brought enough people into ABC to make it a viable opposition. The Pissgate story (I hold the actual proof and when I next get back to writing will cover it as the hired lawyer has been asking me for it) has spread far and wide -- even a DOE guy I know with no interest in the union brought it up to me. 

As with all authoritarian entities, whether on a national or union level, loyalty becomes more obsessive as the pitchforks coming for the leadership multiply. 

A 54% "victory" is getting dangerously close. Rather than look to the reasons for losses of support, authoritarians put the blame on disloyal insiders. Oh, if only they had stuffed more mail boxes with Unity leaflets. Or browbeat people to vote Unity. People who just do their jobs without emphasizing their loyalty become suspect. The most partisan people are the least competent. And incompetents just turn more people off. In the campaign I worked with current and former Unity people who were attacked viciously by certain union officials, which just energized them for the ABC campaign.

Over the years I've joked that Putin uses Unity Caucus as a model for authoritarianism. And Trump certainly seems to be following the same path of loyalty above all over competence - taking it to an extreme. Arthur's latest goes into some detail in comparing Mulgrew/Unity to Trump: Separated at Birth: Mulgrew and Trump--the GOP and Unity .

I always include "Unity" tied to Mulgrew because I think some people make the mistake as seeing the problem mainly as Mulgrew and if there would be a different leader it would be Ok for Unity to control the UFT for over 60 years. And not just to control the UFT, but to fundamentally shut out all opposing voices. Unity with 54% of the vote controls 100% of the Exec Bd and uses its staff to pack the Delegate Assemblies and dominate the amount of time alternate voices get raised. Even at the July 9 Mamdani endorsement, the officers and Mulgrew got to dominate the time, with a few known supportive "oppo" voices included. I think only one or two people were allowed to voice disagreement. This situation has existed in my 58 years of UFT membership through 4 presidents. (Think of that for a minute).

But one area Unity has never seemed to go, at least publicly, has been public mass firings over perceived disloyalty. The recent firings of 6 and then we hear 2 or more and the demotions and warnings issued is a new wrinkle designed to inspire fear (and I bet more than a bit of loathing) inside the Unity tent. Not only won't it work, but it will inspire more internal resentment and opposition. 

In particular, the firing of popular District 30 rep Ashley Rzonca has led to a mini - and maybe a soon to be major - revolt of chapter leaders, parent groups, and even politicians. And we might see this revolt spread deeper into schools beyond the chapter leaders. 

I attended two events this summer for Ashley, a rally in July attended by over 50 supporters and one last week (Justice for Ashley) as a number of chapter leaders and supporters attended the event organized and sponsored by the Community Education Parents, which is striking to see this level of support for a union rep. I'd bet most CEC's have no contact or idea who the District Rep is. Ashley apparently threw herself into all aspects of what a district rep should be doing. 

Attendees, at a bar on restaurant row on Ditmars Blvd, were asked to write letters of support to local politicians and UFT officials. Imagine city council people calling for the reinstatement of a UFT district rep. Unheard of. 

I had some interesting conversations. 

A chapter leader leans over and whispers, "I voted for ABC." A colleague sitting at the same table later tells me if he had spoken to her before the election he wouldn't have voted for Mulgrew. 

The CL told me she did not want to influence her chapter on how to vote. Too bad. Unity people do that all the time. It was great that she voted for ABC but if she had shared the reasons with her staff, I'd bet the school would have gone ABC. Next time I bet she will be more active. And therein lies the major error Mulgrew is making in firing competent and popular staff.

There were a number of chapter leaders at this event who have the capability of bringing their schools into the battle. Now what if Mulgrew changed his mind and rehired Ashley? Would all be forgotten? I'd bet the damage to Unity, in what was a loyal Unity district, will not go away. There are over 40 elementary and middle schools in D. 30.

I do want to make it clear that these people are fired from the UFT  jobs and have the right to return to their old school and those not eligible for retirement are doing so. And guess what they will do when they return? Hide in fear of Mulgrew? Or organize - and hopefully with ABC.  

Of course the big enchilada in the original June 27th firings was Amy Arundell who ran against Mulgrew. It is not clear what Amy will do now - go back to a school or retire. Either way, she seems up for the coming battles. Would Amy be a force in the retired teacher chapter? 

 Arthur wrote about the initial firings in June:

Michael Mulgrew went on a revenge spree last week, and his Unity ducklings got in line right behind him. He fired a bunch of people who supported ABC. The most egregious of these firings, for my money, was that of Migda Rodriquez. Migda won office by a 3-1 margin, and paraprofessionals expressed overwhelming support for her. ... Unity to Paras--Go Screw Yourselves, Arthur Goldstein, Posting after the June 26 firings.

We heard of more (unnamed) firings at the UFT late last week, more examples of the panic at 52 Broadway over the rise of ABC and the fall of ARISE, the traditional and favored opposition. You'll note that there has been little or no support for the fired Unity people coming out of ARISE, some of whom attacked ABC for even aligning with ex-Unity, even claiming that ABC was on the Mulgrew payroll as a way to split the opposition. Purity over Trying to Win. 

 

My recent writers block has delayed my commenting on the firings, a cleansing by Unity Caucus of its perceived dis-loyalists. Mulgrew and crew, when faced with waning popularity, instead of trying to fix it, resort to fear and loathing tactics to try to cow potential internal opposition into silence and obedience. It might work for most in Unity but over time these tactics alienate people inside the club. The attacks on Amy, going back years, brought enough people into ABC to make it a viable opposition. Look for more to come, either openly or surrepticiously. Depends on how badly they need to hold onto their part time job.

 

Arthur commented again recently on the initial firings: 

On June 27th, King Mulgrew and company relieved five full-time employees of their duties: Amy Arundell, Ashley Rzonca, Migda Rodriguez, Hector Ruiz, and, we have learned, the 5th staffer is David Kazansky.... 

The Continuing Purge by UFT Leadership: (From the Union Matters mail bag) Arthur Goldstein: Aug 14, 2025

WTF! David Kazansky? David was pushed out of his Teacher Retirement System job after 9 years. Many of us considered him the best of the 3 TRS reps -- a good reason for Mulgrew to dump him. Too competent. Did he ask too many questions? Or question private equity? One day we have to get the real story.

 

He was replaced by someone who rose to a new level of Unity incompetence, as we witnessed at an RTC meeting where she refused to answer questions and then refused to give up the mic. David landed on his feet by being given a job with the AFT working out of the UFT offices. That was the job he was fired from. Randi Weingarten was technically his boss. The UFT paid his salary. But Randi cannot escape her complicity in the firing.

 

Caucuses Purge 

If anyone in Unity didn't notice the drop to 54% and the energized ABC campaign infused with Unity refugees, they are fooling themselves. Repression, fear-mongering and cleansing engenders resistance. As someone "cleansed" from MORE, I know all about purges. The election proved that purity-based caucuses tend to stagnate. 

 

There are many angles to this Unity purge - a few who ran with ABC and a few who ran with Unity. Arthur in his post addressed the outrageous firing of para Migda Ridriguez, who did run with ABC. Another para, Hector Diaz, Jr who ran with Unity and won an exec bd and AFT/NYSUT rep seat was also fired. Of the original 6 who were fired in June, 3 ran with ABC and 3 ran with Unity. But none of them tried to pee on Amy's photo in a urinal. 

 

The brewing revolt inside UFT District 30 in Astoria is being led by Rzonca supporters with social media influencer and D30 CL Leah Lin, who ran for elementary VP on the ABC slate. Now here is an interesting fact. Rzonca ran on the Unity slate and was elected to the UFT Exec Bd as well as an AFT/NYSUT rep. (Fired para Hector Ruiz, JR also ran on the Unity slate for ex bd and AFT/NYSUT. Kazansky also ran and won for AFT/NYSUT).

 

What is the common thread in the firings? Certainly not doing a bad job. How about some level of proximity to Amy Arundell?

 

Leah Lin, as a Unity CL in Ashley's D. 30, defected to ABC and might be one reason Rzonca was fired for failing to use the Unity Caucus whip to keep Leah in line. A district rep who would have tried to scare Leah would be the Mulgrew ideal.  Scare Leah? In the roughly 7 months I've known her, no one scares Leah.

 

So the result of the firings is that Ashley and Leah, two top-level organizers, have teamed up with other D. 30 CL and other teachers to fight back. 

 

One of the most interesting angles in this battle is the involvement of parents through the D 30 Education council. There were officers of the CEC and other parents at the event on Tuesday as they wrote letters to local officials while teachers wrote letters to union officials. 

Check out this article on the July 22 rally for Ashley.

Queens’ CEC 30 calls for dismissed union rep to be reinstated, accuses UFT of ‘political retaliation’

Community Education Council 30 (CEC 30) has called on the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) to reinstate Ashley Rzonca after the union representative for Community School District 30 was dismissed from her position earlier in the year for what the CEC describes as “political” reasons.

CEC 30, which represents dozens of schools across western Queens, has launched a petition calling for Rzonca to be reinstated, drawing more than 570 signature from local teachers and parents. The Council also staged a rally on July 22 calling on UFT to reinstate both Rzonca to her previous position. 

Note: DOZENS OF SCHOOLS.

 

The UFT has issued a call for a new district rep -- I hope Ashley applied and a smart UFT leadership would reverse itself but Smart and Mulgrew are antonyms. I pity the next District rep. 

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I began to write up the July 22 demo.

Impressive turnout at the July 22 demo at UFT Queens office.

They came by Ubbas, Subways, Automobiles and even AirTrain from JFK. I was very impressed by the turnout and the impending revolt inside District 30 (Astoria, Jackson Hts). I saw some Unity people there who I never would have expected to see. Many are chapter leaders.

 

I schlepped to the Queens UFT office on July 22 and wrote about going that morning: The Friday Night Unity Purge/Massacre: Rally for Leah and Ashley @Queens UFT HQ at 6PM Today.

 

I enjoy taking public transportation more than driving at this point and enjoyed the trip with the Airtrain to Jamaica where I changed to the E for a few stops. 

I gave up at that point since Arthur covered it so well.

As USA Flirts with Fascism, UFT Unity Embraces It:  In Queens, we stand up to Unity's unilateral actions. Arthur Goldstein Jul 23, 2025

 

Here are some pics:

 

 

 

 

 

A CREW FROM ABC 

 

 

Ashley Rzonca

I think this is a city councilwoman

 

The Friday Night Unity Purge/Massacre: Rally for Leah and Ashley @Queens UFT HQ at 6PM Today

Tuesday, July 22, 2025 - Queens UFT - 118-35 Queens Boulevard 7th Floor Forest Hills, NY 11375

I'm heading out soon to the Queens UFT office for the 6 PM rally - they say get there at 5:30  to defend fired District rep Ashley Rzonca, sponsored by the District 30 Community Education Council, a parent group, not an insignificant factor. And as I pointed out in my post yesterday _ UFT DA Tidbits - Endorsing Mamdani, ABC and ARISE/...  she is also getting support from a number of D. 30 CL and UFT members. Firing her over perceived disloyalty and friendship with the fired Amy Arundell, her former boss at the Queens office.

- I'm taking a new route as I hate to drive more and more despite my new car. I will drive to Howard Beach station to get the Airtrain to JFK and then transfer to the one to Jamaica where I will pick up the E to the UFT. 

Click on the link to Talk out of School to hear interviews.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talk-out-of-school/id1490313171?i=1000718209710  

The D. 30 CL and Delegate protest at the July 9th DA Mamdani endorsement was not insignificant.  

Ashley Rzonca speech at CEC 30 meeting.  

Everyone knows Amy revitalized that office when Mulgrew moved her out of 52 almost 10 years ago. At that time I saw that as indicating some differences between them - even though it came with a big raise, getting her out of the center of action. She built a loyal following until she was removed in late 2023, but those relationships came home to roost in helping build the A Better Contract (ABC) and its subsequent relative election success. 

I had heard from a Unity source months before the firing that Ashley was in trouble due to connections to some of the CLs in D 30 who ran with or supported ABC, which was due to the Amy connection. 

Yet Ashley was appointed to the recent UFT election committee as one of the "thousands" of Unity reps on that committee, ran, and was elected, on the Unity slate for the UFT Exec Bd and as an AFT/NYSUT delegate for the next 3 years. 

It will certainly be interesting to see what Ashley does - will she take on the role of the missing opposition, along with fired para Hector Ruiz, Jr. who was also elected to the Exec Bd and AFT/NYSUT? A third fired official (who has asked to remain nameless) was also elected to AFT/NYSUT. (Para Migda Rodriguez, who ran with ABC and is an elected Para officer, was also fired -- I will address the fired paras in a separate post.) 

What does it mean that 3 of the 6 fired were chosen to run with Unity back in February yet fired in June? Did they not hand out Unity flyers with enough vigor? Or did vote totals in District 30 have anything to do with it? The big jump in elementary school votes for ABC might have been a factor since many probably came from D. 30. I asked for school vote totals when I was on the election committee but Unity rejected that request, opting for district reports. The president of GES told me he had that data -- did Unity get that data but deny the rest of us - and examined it and found something in the D. 30 results?  

Even though I was on the election committee with Ashley, I had my first conversation with her on July 9th after the DA and was impressed by her passion and smarts. I have to be honest - I used to view District reps, and indeed, the general Unity crowd as being sycophants and some real slugs. Having contact with a bunch of Unity disaffected has opened my eyes to see Unity people in a new light. I bet there are plenty more of them - some have even been in contact sub rosa. (Let Mulgrew start looking under the hood with a flashlight.)

There's a petition campaign: http/bit.ly/reinstateashleyrzonca 

I'd call for them to have an election. 

There are DR slugs of course, but Rzonca has an impeccable reputation and if an election were held would win hands down. I don't envy her successor. In fact, if she goes over to ABC, I'd bet a bunch of CLs and members in Dist. 30 would come along with her. I know of some who did not run with ABC but were a big help with petitioning - dynamos that will be a force if active in ABC.

Amongst Amy's and Ashley's admirers is CL Leah Linn, who Amy had hired as a PM staffer. Leah ran with ABC as an officer and was fired soon after the election was over. Leah has helped lead the resistance. I never met Leah until this past February and became increasingly impressed with her leadership skills and her smarts. 

Leah as a CL in Ashley's D. 30 and her defection to ABC is probably one reason Rzonca was fired. Did she fail to use the Unity Caucus whip and threaten Leah for running?

 

Summary:

 

The Friday June 27th purge was a cleansing by Unity Caucus of its perceived dis-loyalists. Mulgrew and crew, when faced with waning popularity, instead of trying to fix it, they resorted to fear tactics to try to cow potential internal opposition into silence and obedience, but has resulted in lots of loathing. 

 

Fear tactics might work for some but over time these tactics alienate people in the club, even if they remain on the job. From all reports, Mulgrew has created a toxic environment inside the union and this only exasperates that toxicity. The attacks on Amy, going back years, brought enough people into ABC to make it a viable opposition. 

 

If anyone in Unity didn't notice the drop to 53% and the energized ABC campaign infused with Unity refugees, that are fooling themselves. Repression and fear-mongering engenders resistance or a cleansing-- I won't use a banned word for cleansing in Arabic.

 

While in the long run, union staffers having a union and due process rights seems like a good idea, there are also complications in that idea. Shouldn't the party in power be able to hire the people they want? That was the argument made by Unity when they killed district rep elections in 2002. But that's the argument principals make, so no dice. District reps are a special kettle of fish. They used to be elected by chapter leaders for decades before the change and the union was better off for it. If ABC had won we would have moved immediately to hold DR elections. 

 

So the firing of district 30 rep Ashley Rzonca, who ran and won election to the Exec Bd and AFT/NYSUT rep on the Unity slate, is  unfair - based on "perceived" disloyalty and not cancelling Amy, her former mentor and boss -- this is where Unity crossed the line. Did Rzonca fail to stuff enough mailboxes with Unity glossy election leaflets? Were the vote totals for D. 30 too low? Were the ABC elementary totals too high? 

 

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See: The Purge: When Standing Up Gets You Removed

By Katie Anskat

 

Comment from a D 30 CL 

Being a union member, and in my case a Chapter Leader, we are taught how to navigate the inner workings of toxic administration. We are told to document, to stand our ground and when the time comes, we are taught to come together and make our voices heard. We are told to have union representation when we are called into meetings with administration in order to protect ourselves. Our District 30 Representative, Ashley Rzonca helped us to build these tools to ensure that we maintain a safe work environment where we are free of bullying and harassment. 

 

We’ve trusted our union to stand by the values that give our collective its strength and purpose, but it’s become painfully clear that the UFT has abandoned those values.

Ashley Rzonca was called into a meeting where she was told she would meet with UFT leadership. Instead, she was met by Human Resources. She was lied to. 

 

Ashley Rzonca asked if she needed to bring anything or anyone to the meeting with her and she was told it wasn’t necessary. She was deceived. 

 

Ashley Rzonca was asked not to return to her position at the UFT. When she asked why this was happening or if it had to do with her job performance, she was told they were “unprepared” to answer those questions. This is unacceptable.

 

Ashley Rzonca reached out to report harassment in her workplace and instead of being supported, she was terminated. This is retaliation. 

 

If this exact scenario were happening in a school building with a UFT member and a principal, we would immediately call it what it is: retaliation and an abuse of power. If a member met with administration to ask why they were being discontinued and the answer was “we are unprepared”, we would be up in arms about ineffective administration. We would be advocating for this member to remain in their role and demand accountability. Why should this be any different? 

 

The UFT can not give us the tools to push back against ineffective leadership and expect us to stay silent as it unjustly terminates a dedicated unionist who has served with integrity and excellence in her leadership role. Ashley Rzonca’s termination is not only unwarranted, it is a betrayal of the values we hold dear in our union. 

 

I am demanding that Ashley Rzonca be reinstated to her position as District 30 Representative. 

 

I will not stand by. I will not be silent. I will speak out and demand immediate action. Our union is only as strong as our willingness to defend what’s right.

UFT DA Tidbits - Endorsing Mamdani, ABC and ARISE/Unity Reactions Differ, District 30 CLs Protest Firings

Sunday, July 20, 2025 

I started writing this on July 9th, the day after the special endorsement delegate assembly and nice weather and wasting lots of time watching TV at night led to avoidance. Plus others kept writing on the issue and I kept adding links to the point this has become a mess. I will not be deterred. For those intrepid souls willing to wade through this, I offer, up front, a few key takeaways while I put most of what I've been writing on hold for a follow-up. 

I am struck, though not surprised, at the very different reactions of the ABC crew compared to the effusive praise coming from both the Unity and the ARISE coalition members (MORE, Retiree Advocate Organizers, New Action). 

Unity people fall in line. If Mulgrew had endorsed Cuomo you would see the same level of effusivity. If he endorsed Adams, the same. Nosferatu? Hell Yes.

ARISE coalition members adhere to ideology over process (and democracy). People from the ARISE coalition groups supported Mamdani all the way and are extremely excited to see their fave endorsed by the UFT. Let's point out that Unity, MORE, New Action and Retiree Advocate are all legacy caucuses and if you don't support the basic ideology of the caucus (as I often have not) you are made to feel extremely uncomfortable - as I have been made to feel within the dozen member RA Organizing committee, which has operated on consensus, except when it doesn't.

The 3 oppo legacy caucuses echoed their UFT election misjudgements and jumped to support a bad process because of their caucus' support for a particular candidate who comes close to their groups' ideological favorite. 

A MORE tweet bragged: This is what a real Delegate Assembly looks like -- and posted this graphic  

The delegate red area included almost every officer in the room getting to speak plus assorted other Unity stalwarts. But the first speaker on the phone just happened to be a prominent MORE and ARISE and Mulgrew made sure to call on the co-chairman of New Action -- shades of bipartisanship.

The entire charade was "caucus member driven", not rank and file member driven.  

I'm sure MORE and New Action did not have time to take a vote of their members. MORE didn't have to.  It would be very unlikely to be in MORE and not be for Mamdani. No zionists left there. What about New Action? Their co-chair spoke for Mamdani at the DA but not for the caucus. As far as I know NAC did not formally endorse. But when it comes to RA, which is almost half made up of NAC, it did endorse. That is problematical since there were 300 people elected with RA and were not consulted. Only the 12 member RA Organizers (a steering committee of sorts) endorsed. I was the lone voice of opposition and while I personally support Mamdani, I objected to branding RA in this manner by ignoring voice of RA supporters, many of whom are concerned about confusion around Mamdani's support for the retiree struggle.

ABC does not view itself as a caucus with a firm set of beliefs one has to adhere to in order to "join." Actually there is no "joining". Anyone, no matter where they stand - within reason of course, is welcome under the idea of "leave your personal politics at the door", which came under much criticism from ARISEers. So while many ABCer affiliated support Mamdani, some do not. ABC believes in a big tent, which seems to enrage some ARISEers who turn up their noses at mingling with what they consider "deplorables". Imagine if ABC tried to engage in an endorsement process --- oy! 

So that is how ABC looked at the UFT endorsement process on such quick notice without internal discussion -- 

At the July 8 emergency DA I handed out this leaflet from ABC, making the point that I personally supported Mamdani:

• The UFT’s Endorsement Process Is Broken:  We need a member-led process with transparency, healthy debate, and accountability. We stand on our platform position that members should vote for major political endorsements. Creating a transparent, member-led endorsement process

 ABC made this prediction and it came true:

There may be some scripted debate. A rushed vote. But the outcome is already decided. And this outcome has the potential to damage our solidarity. This is not a democratic process. It’s a performance. And it’s insulting.

 One ABCer, a Mamdani supporter, did get a comment in at the DA and pointed out he would like time to get input from the staff at his school that elected him - and urged a delay until September to try to engage people and build support -- give some scrutiny to the awful alternatives and time to counter some of the ridiculous attacks like free buses (but not free Staten Island ferry) is socialistic.

Cheering the 63% vote at the DA is a false flag as to where the members stand. For all we know a majority may be against and how does that play out in the context of the UFT endorsement - often a kiss of death to a candidate? Some have been pulling COPE in response. Double OY!!

Revolt in District 30 (Astoria and Jackson Hts): 

Oh, and don't forget the not insignificant revolt from District 30 over the firing of their district rep. 

While attention was focused on the Mamdani endorsement, another significant event occurred at the July 8th DA when CL and Del from District 30 (Astoria and Jackson Hts) protested the firing of Ashley Rzonca, their District Rep.  Was she viewed as too friendly with Amy? Others were fired for what looks like similar reasons. Mulgrew's crackdown is in line with other dictators who instead of reading the tea leaves  - 54% Unity vote - Unity defectors being a significant factor-  and redressing the issues, Mulgrew has doubled down, using fear which leads to loathing. Consider the District 30 firing a major unforced error. I pity the district rep they put in her place.

If you are free Tuesday, come on down: 

 

 

Ashley Rzonca speech at CEC 30 meeting:

 

See a video of protest.

 

 

 

District 30 Delegates Protest Firing of Dist Rep

 

CL Leah Lin Raises Point of Personal Privilege over firing of D. Rep Ashley Rzonca

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mulgrew had her mic turned off. 

 

Leah Lin video. I have to talk some more about the growth of Leah as a leader over the past 6 months - but not today.

 

Friendship with Amy led to Firings.  Coming soon to Unity Caucus?  Polygraphs to test loyalty.

More Leah Lin:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DL5mtkESWKk/?igsh=MTJ0ODJqN2ZtdzY5Nw%3D%3D    

 

ABC - Able, Buttkicking, Creative Running To Win Against Unity - Attend Feb. 11 Meet the Candidates - Arthur on How ABC Will Run the UFT

 There were people who did not believe ABC could organize a slate for the election. Come to the Feb. 11 meet the candidates to find out.

ABC is following up on its successful zoom organizing events with a meet the candidates event this Tuesday at 7PM. Last Tuesday over 100 people attended the elementary school zoom focused on issues specifically related to that oft neglected division.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today's piece by Arthur delves into some detail on how ABC would run the union. It is an important piece and here are a few excerpts.

 

• ABC knows union power comes from members. It’s imperative we work toward member empowerment. We’re in this together. We stand together, we fight together, and we win together. Our first message is for Michael Mulgrew:

• We don’t work for union leaders—union leaders work for us.

• When ABC wins, we will no longer use our citywide union power as a vehicle to demean health insurance. Moving backward will no longer be a priority for the United Federation of Teachers (let alone something we seek to drag our brother and sister unionists into). As far as we’re concerned, organizing to make things worse is anti-union.
• When members call UFT, they don’t want to press buttons and hope to get connected to someone. Nor do they want to be on hold for 20 minutes. ABC believes it’s our job to be responsive to member needs. Like you, we hate hearing, “Your call is important to us,” particularly when a non-response indicates otherwise. When you call UFT, you will speak to a living, breathing person, not a pre-recorded, computer-driven robot.  
• ABC will actively support legislation that retains the health care members have been promised in retirement. There are currently bills to protect retirees in both city and state legislatures. We will not only lobby for their passage, but we will also support the organizations that brought them. We will do the same for legislation that protects in service members.
• When ABC wins, UFT boots on the ground will mean members actually showing up to work for and demand what we want and need. These days, it amounts to a dozen paid staffers showing up here or there. Years of Unity indifference to members have resulted in years of member indifference to union. That won’t happen immediately, but needs to change.
• For really important issues, like money and health care, we will show up en masse and let people know who we are and what we demand. We will grow our union into the activist organization we need to be. Again, when papers talk of the “powerful teachers union,” it needs to mean something.
• We will use union resources, including COPE, union lawyers, and UFT boots on the ground to support our causes.

• The caucus model has failed us, and continues to fail us.

• Unity has misled and betrayed us for years. They do this as though it’s their birthright, and barely bother to hide it anymore. They think they own our union hall, and if anyone else finds their way in, they build literal walls around them.
• We’ve had 60 years of minority rule and outlandish palace intrigue. ABC has a better vision.
• We are not a caucus, and will not demand loyalty to caucus. We represent UFT members, not some pre-determined philosophy that may or may not be representative. Member voice will guide us as we move forward.
• We are not indulging in some last-gasp attempt to rationalize our existence. We are not a stalking horse for some mysterious, arcane philosophy. We don’t require an elite and self-indulgent steering committee controlling everything and everyone. We formed our platform by surveying members, and we’ll continue doing that as we move forward.
• As UFT members, we’re looking to wake up the sleeping giant that is our great union, the United Federation of Teachers. That means empowerment and inclusion, not lip service and ignoring those who elected and worked with us.

Read the entire piece

Easy as ABC

Let's amplify member voice.

Arthur Goldstein

Feb 07, 2025

UFT Resistance Caucuses: We Need Them, But Why Not One Big tent?

We really need to just merge the opposition caucuses into one United for Change caucus.... comment on a chat

 

That was original intent of MORE from the ice perspective in 2010 when talks began.  As time went on others in MORE did not want a big tent, more of a boutique caucus which alone cannot win power in the UFT. So I gave up now on one big caucus and went back to forming election coalitions of caucuses and independents ... Norm

Reply: As great as that sounds, I don’t think it’s realistic. There are some issues that I don’t see people agreeing on. The union is just way too big for that. Ideally there would be a few healthy caucuses, like most democracies have a few relatively strong parities

Even with healthy caucuses there is competition for those few activists and a focus on caucus building. Another model would be one big caucus with sub caucuses internally that allowed for internal debates. DSA has that. I actually made a similar proposal at the first big More meeting. Recognize we start out with internal factions....Norm

 

Reply: It seems like one opposition caucus and one caucus that maintains power would pose the same problems as any two party system.

I began this series on UFT caucuses with:

• The Caucus Role in UFT in Elections: The ICE Experience: The Caucus model works very well for Unity over 62 years. Not so well for the other caucuses.

Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024

• Recent (past 30 years) caucuses in the UFT: New Action, ICE, TJC, RA, MORE, PAC, New Direction, TAC - When caucuses begin to fail they often look to merge or form new caucuses.

• How open is a caucus to new people? Does it have guard rails for membership? Do people have to agree to caucus fundamentals before becoming a member? Caucus discipline? Unity is known for its guardrails and discipline.
  

So why don't all the groups form one big caucus?  There are major differences in how each caucus operates.

 

I've been a critic of caucuses even when I was in one, some of which I helped found. I tried to see beyond the often narrow confines of a caucus, with their rules and structures, which often (and still does) drive colleagues crazy. That is why I was most comfortable in the more free-flowing ICE, which I and James Eterno sort of ran (I drove him crazy too). But let's face it, there can be no organized resistance to Unity Caucus without caucuses, so love 'em or leave 'em, we need 'em. In fact in today's UFT world, the more the merrier.

 

I'm constantly criticized for looking back to the past. But as an historian of sorts I don't believe you can move forward without learning lessons of the past. In UFT caucus history, there are loads of lessons to be learned. 

 

Currently, there seem to be 3 major caucuses beside Unity: New Action, MORE, and Retiree Advocate, with Solidarity and ICE considered minor compared to where they stood in the election 3 years ago. Daniel Alicea as EONYC last time was a sort of one man caucus but with tremendous outreach. Now he's joined New Action. But ICE and Solidarity still exist in some form.

 

ICE, which ran with TJC in the 2007 and 2010 elections fundamentally gave up official election caucus status to merge into the new MORE in 2011 with the idea to form a big tent. TJC went defunct while ICE continued with a blog, listserve and meetings. ICE was the biggest contingent in MORE at the beginning, with the International Socialists (ISO) being the second. But there were others: NYCORE, Progressive Labor Party, Teachers Unite,  TJC remnants, and non-affiliated.

MORE began with many internal factions and I proposed formal recognition of the factions which would allow differences but keep everyone together for the purpose of building a force to ultimately defeat Unity. That didn't happen.

Some of us in ICE noticed a certain segment of MORE that did not seem to believe in the vision of winning elections; having Unity in power as a foil seemed to fit their needs. Elections were not important, other than as a means to build the caucus and promote an ideology. I could see that point, though if you declare yourself a caucus how to explain not running? While mostly people were on the left, some see union work as a building block to socialism. Others  saw union work in more simpler terms - use power to improve conditions for teachers and students.

After a few years, it became clear there was a division: big tent vs. a narrow ideologically driven one. That faction didn't seem to want to win, arguing that winning was corrupting. Underneath it all was a belief that you must build a caucus with "the right kind of people" that can take power with a "unified vision". Reject people who don't agree with the dominant ideology and only make alliances with those you disagree with when absolutely necessary, but with the goal of jettisoning those alliances when the caucus is strong enough to go it alone.

Ultimately this faction did just that: It jettisoned the ICE members, actually branding the mostly leftists in ICE as right wing, and purified the MORE caucus.

But even that doesn't always work out and divisions over the 2025 UFT election have arisen, but in a new context of the possibility of winning this time, which has created new pressures throughout the Unity resistance movement.

The retiree and para massive victories created the possibility that a unified opposition can actually win. 

For most of the Unity resistance, that was a no-brainer. But the purists, a minority faction in MORE, do not want to win in a united front because that would dilute their political stances and violate their principles. And I respect that. In a recent internal vote, around 125 voted for a united front (but with specific conditions) and 35 voted against.

There is some irony in that minority position, given how often these very same people bow down to their "allies" in Chicago and LA as caucuses that actually took over their unions -- they obviously ran to win - and not initially with a very heavy social justice agenda. Win baby, just win, first and THEN change the union. As a fan of those movements who was involved with them from the early days of 2009, I have never gotten an answer to the contradiction between them and the so-called NYC version of them. I know a guy doing his PhD exploring this issue between Chi/LA and NYC. I hope he illuminates the differences - I see him heading in the direction I lean - Unity Caucus.

And here's the reality: At no point can one caucus actually win a UFT election without making alliances, so that subset of MORE will go on spitting into the wind endlessly. In my early years in MORE I urged the new caucus not to waste resources in running but to use the election to build outreach but the newbies were so excited to run. After the 2013 election, there was a year or two of stagnation - actually a slow decline over the next few years. That always seems to happen between election years.

One of the Retiree Advocate elected delegates, Lois Weiner, recently wrote an article appealing to these dissidents, an article I have some issues with but don't have the time to address them at this point. It seems the philosophy that has been driving MORE also explains the ICE expulsion:

...building the caucus then contending for power (a chronology I’ve advocated in my work about teacher union reform). To some, joining the coalition without having the caucus we want in place seems a violation of principle.

That's a standard position of the election purists in MORE - running in coalition with people not on the same page as you is a violation of principle. The theory of caucus building by reduction or purges, is very standard on the left but a philosophy that has been a proven failure in NYC and leads to a narrow ideologically driven "club" more than a caucus. Put out dog whistles to both keep people away and attract the ones you want. 

The winner is always Unity.

But here is where Lois Weiner makes her appeal to the "don't run" dissidents by differentiating NYC from the other cities:

The vulnerability of the retiree victory in its chapter election makes joining the coalition and building a progressive politics within it all the more urgent.

Proponents of union democracy and social justice teacher unionism should not wait out this election in anticipation of becoming stronger, more unified in shared principles, more democratic in functioning in time for the next election. The RA’s victory forces those who want a more militant, democratic union, in particular activists in the Movement for Rank and File Educators (MORE), a caucus inspired by CORE, to re-think the trajectory exemplified in CORE’s victory and its subsequent transformation of the CTU. CORE had and used the advantage of time we in the UFT do not have, time to build a unified caucus based on shared principles that fuse social justice with protection of economic protections for members, time to organize on its program to contend for leadership in a union election. Context counts. The comparative size of the school systems and their unions, along with decades of Unity’s rule, which has isolated reformers from possible allies in NYSUT, combined with the machine’s almost untrammeled exercise of power, its punishment of opposition and reward of those who take its orders, converge to make reformers’ task qualitatively different in New York than elsewhere, certainly in this country and possibly the world.

Credit to Lois, who I can't wait to see at the DA tomorrow, for seeing a new landscape. But let me point out a flaw that is a myth on the left - that CORE, founded in midst-2008 as a book club and won power in 2010, managed to build a unified caucus in a year and a half when they ran a campaign based on fighting closing schools and high stakes testing and defending teachers against attack and even attracting right wing supporters. MORE is now 14 years old since people first started meeting. If they haven't emulated CORE by now, then when?

MORE had to make an alliance in 2022 after their disastrous decision in 2019 to run alone (my opposition and reporting on that is what got me kicked out) and finish 3rd behind Solidarity and losing an enormous percentage of their 2016 vote. 

A few months later a key voice in that faction approached me at a DA and said, "you were right, Norm, we never should have run. As you warned it took a lot out of us even running a minimalist campaign." The 2019 lesson was learned and MORE joined UFC. And the majority still think that is correct. 

This time, as Lois points out, building a coalition to defeat Unity is even more imperative.

Next: A Way to Win: Offering a Different Paradigm for UFT elections: Less control by caucuses (not their elimination) and more from the rank and file. Plus the remarkable resurgence of the 30-year old New Action Caucus.

 

Can Unity Be Beaten in 2025 UFT Election? What was right and wrong with the UFC Coalition

Can Humpty Dumpty be put back together again? I say NO and let's start all over. We can't be hamstrung by having to wait for every caucus to approve every move. Let's move beyond caucuses and have key people from every interested party get together outside the caucus structure and move ahead. I am in the minority on this point within the oppo movement in NYC.

Wednesday, June 26

Already speculation has begun about next year's general UFT election where for the first time in it's over 60-year hegemony, Unity Caucus control of the UFT may be threatened.There is speculation that many Unity people, especially those with jobs, wouldn't mind seeing Mulgrew, who has become a millstone for them, decide to retire. (hose speculating he might replace Randi as AFT pres one day are barking up the wrong tree - he never had a shot. NYSUT president Melinda Person is Randi's replacement. Mulgrew is in the same position as Biden, where many Dems wish he didn't run. If Mulgrew does run and Unity loses, can the tar and feather be far behind?  

Who might Unity slide into Mulgrew's place and would it make a big difference? Randi, who seems to be popping up around her lately, may see her own control of the AFT threatened by a Unity loss, is probably involved in some ways. I hear names like Mary Vocarro and Elem VP Karen Alford. Losing Mulgrew might just distract enough people to give Unity the win.

But to me no matter what they do, Unity does not seem to inspire the loyalty it once did. Expect the Tier 6 issue, with 55% of current teachers, to resonate no matter how Unity tries to say they woke up after 10 years and allowing Tier 6 to pass without opposition. Endorsing the architect of Tier 6, Micah Lasher, won't help - but only if the oppo makes this an effective campaign item. It is not just Mulgrew but Unity Caucus that helped give us Tier 6. 

 

Jonathan applied the recent RA win numbers to the 2022 general election and we would have gotten 51% with those numbers. Retired Teacher election… What if? But as Jonathan has pointed out the retiree voting pattern in a general and chapter election is not the same, so for next year's election I wouldn't necessarily assume 63% of retirees would vote against Unity.

So the buzz is on about next year. RA people will be busy running the 70k chapter and there's a lot to do - like improving the food at RTC meetings and organizing our 300 delegates, which considering we recruited every former activist from the past, some of us who often disagreed, will be like herding cats. But oh so much fun.

Organizing a campaign against Unity will be like herding herds of cats. The excitement of the United for Change Coalition where 7 or 8 groups came together in Sept. of 2021, faded pretty quickly after the election. The big win was the 7 high school candidates which echoed the same win in 2016 with about 300 more votes, but still weak considering in the old days opposition in hs often topped 3k. But that was the only area of improvement. Every other division was stagnant from 2016 - except retirees hit 30%. While some celebrated the closing of the gap due to erosion of Unity votes, there was little sign of making a dent in getting active UFT members to vote for UFC. I of course was the Debbie Downer because so many of the newer recruits wanted to see the positive side.

Soon after the election, calls for UFC to meet fell on some deaf ears, especially MORE. Since UFC was founded on the sense of consensus of all groups even one major missing element threw a monkey wrench. But the HS group did meet regularly and worked together - for the first year. This past year things sort of fell apart with differences, some of which I can't make heads or tails about.

The problem with UFC was that each segment had veto power and for every decision, people said they had to go back to their caucus. Not much fun watching paint dry. 

Can Humpty Dumpty be put back together again? 

I say NO and let's start all over. We can't be hamstrung by having to wait for every caucus to approve every move. Let's move beyond caucuses and have key people from every interested party get together outside the caucus structure and move ahead. I echo the statement published today on the ICE blog: 

• ICE Calls For a Unified Effort to Replace Unity Caucus and Bring our Union into the Modern Age

Here's my problem with the process of creation of UFC. It was done in darkness with select reps from invited caucuses and some individuals who met for 6 months in dark corners of zoom to put the platform and slate together. UFTers beyond this inner circle were left out of the process and there was a lot of caution. Frankly, I feel many of the leading oppo voices who often go through analytical angst over the state of the membership actually tail the underlying militancy that exists in many schools.

Caucuses tend to move through their own process in whatever democratic manner, with a steering committee and or executive board that must meet to decide important issues and then possibly go through a general meeting or membership vote before moving ahead.

This time the process must be more open and inclusive and less caucus controlled. 

There have been some big changes in the original UFC. 

James Eterno's death has hampered ICE and made the key communication agent, the blog, severely restricted. ICE is not a caucus and hasn't been one since it merged to form MORE in 2011. ICE has and continues to be open to all from any caucus and individuals connected to ICE are some of the major players in the opposition. ICE makes decisions by floating items on the listserve and seeking comments and modifications.

ICE members have and will support any moves toward a unified opposition but if there is fragmentation, ICE will meet and rethink its support.

With all this I am extremely proud of the work ICE has done over 20 years, whether as a caucus or not. We held 4 meetings in person this past year and all were invigorating. ICE must continue to function at any level it can and I expect many of its associates to be involved andl have input in next year's election.

Solidarity with Lydia gone has lost its great advocate and has not been very active, though there are some individuals who are in touch and we hope they will be part of a campaign.

That leaves New Action and MORE as the fairly active groups, along with of course Retiree Advocate, where I am part of the organizing committee that has proven to be so successful.

So fundamentally, there are major changes in what was UFC.

If the leading voices in the traditional opposition were to start, where exactly do they start working on organizing for the election? I have no easy answers - other than some people need to take the bull by the horn and JUST DO IT!

I am advocating for the key voices from the various groups to start talking outside their own caucus structure to reduce a formal caucus role but hopefully with the support of their caucus in the interest of winning.

While I was part of the process in creating UFC, I was uncomfortable with the slow pace. And the fact that there are loads of people out there who want change in the union but are not included in the process. We found out in the RA election that in recruiting 300 people to run and getting them involved we were a much bigger force. 

Of course RA is a caucus and the organizing committee did a great job. So am I talking out of two sides of my mouth?  Well, we had one major issue facing us - healthcare -  and we had to move fast and build alliances and most importantly, we were the only oppo game in retiree town and didn't have to build coalitions with internal competing groups but only with individuals and we certainly did with our 300 candidates.

Let's use that model as an example. We can run 750-800 people in the election next year. Let's reach out and get some more voices involved in organizing for the election and not stay behind closed doors until January petition craziness when it is already getting too late.

Peter Lamphere has some thoughts on next year on the MORE blog:

By Peter Allen-Lamphere

The electoral sweep by opposition forces in the paraprofessional and retiree chapters are nothing less than an electoral earthquake in UFT politics. By winning close to 2/3rds of the votes in these former bastions of Mulgrew’s UNITY caucus, the union activists in Fix Para Pay and Retiree Advocate slates have proven that it’s possible to electorally defeat UNITY’s 60 year control of the UFT. 

If the 2022 United for Change slate had received the same margin amongst retirees as in this years chapter election, we would have won by 51%

The retiree activists also have provided some new innovative and inspirational tactics and strategies we need to apply to our general union elections next year.

 Read if at What could a grassroots UFT election campaign look like?

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Afterburn

This post will piss off some of my oppo colleagues but I will be in the hospital early tomorrow morning for a hopeful operation on my pancreas so I'm posting and running. You might not be hearing from me for a while so enjoy the best day of the year - the last day of school.