Overall, Revive did not look ready for prime time. If this is the best
they can do, then we may be in even more peril than now if they take
over NYSUT in April. The four incumbents in Stronger Together and
Arthur Goldstein looked very comfortable up on the stage while Pallotta
and his Revived challengers appeared to be overmatched at times... James Eterno report on Long Island Candidate Forum
To fully explain what is going on in NYSUT would take some time for those not following reports on ed notes. Here is the skinny.
- Statewide Unity Caucus splits into Stronger Together (4 out of 5 incumbent leaders including President Iannuzzi) and Revive - Exec VP Andy Pallotta, supported by the UFT/Mulgrew and Weingarten.
- Stronger Together takes a rigorous anti-Cuomo position in addition to pointing to the legislative failures of Pallotta, blaming him for being ineffective in fighting Cuomo's local property tax cap which has hurt smaller locals depending on that tax.
- Revive positions: bogus bullshit -- (we never claim to be fair.)
- MORE teams up with the crew from Port Jeff Station out on Long Island to run for certain non-officer at-large positions as independents - at this time - though some (not all) may run on the Stronger Together slate. Julie Cavanagh gets to challenge Mulgrew directly once again for one of the NYSUT election districts - though NYC teachers cannot vote for her - the 800 Unity votes will go to Mulgrew. Same with other MORE candidates: Francesco Portelos, Lauren Cohen, Mike Schirtzer, Jia Lee, and James Eterno - see their statements in the NYSUT paper and at the MORE blog.
- MORE has been in deep discussions as to the wisdom of joining the slate (if asked) and the current proposal is to allow each MORE candidate to make his or her own decision (unlike Unity Caucus which binds people). (I'll get into the angst this issue has caused within MORE at another time.
- Arthur Goldstein, of NYC Educator blog fame, runs against Pallotta for the VP position, possibly on the Stronger slate if asked - that is to be determined.
- Big city locals plus the statewide college local leaders have endorsed the Revive/Mulgrew slate but other than the NYC local Unity Caucus, have freed their delegates to vote as they wish.
- Candidate forums are being held around the state. Arthur reports on the meeting here. See Eterno's report of the one on Long Island, where Arthur kicked Pallotta's ass. IANNUZZI'S STRONGER TOGETHER & ARTHUR GOLDSTEIN ARE CROWD FAVORITES AT CANDIDATE FORUM
- PSC, a supposed liberal caucus, endorsed Revive and is holding a candidate forum tonight. Reluctantly, they were forced to invite Arthur. (More on that later). You can see Arthur's statement in the NYSUT paper and at his blog: Statement of Candidacy for NYSUT Executive Vice-President
Here is the MORE release from this morning.
MORE CAUCUS OF UFT TO CHALLENGE CURRENT UFT LEADERSHIP IN STATEWIDE UNION ELECTIONS
RANK AND FILE EDUCATORS WILL BRING REAL CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE TO UNION POSITIONS
New York – The Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE),
the Social Justice Caucus of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT),
best known for opposing UFT’s President Michael Mulgrew and his Unity
caucus in the 2013 UFT elections will now offer a positive alternative
for leadership in the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) officer
elections. This is unprecedented- never before has the Unity caucus or a
sitting UFT president been challenged in NYSUT elections.
MORE is running in this election against the Unity Caucus because,
according to candidate special education elementary teacher Julie
Cavanagh,
“…Rather than collaborating with those who seek to destroy us, we
must harness our collective power and stand with parents and youth to
end destructive education policies and fight for the economic, racial,
and social justice our teachers, students, and society need and
deserve.”
In a break from his union’s leadership, MORE candidate and high
school teacher Mike Schirtzer calls for an immediate repeal of the
Common Core State Standards,
“Teachers did not develop it, nor does it have the best interests of our students at heart.”
The standards have been supported by the current union leadership
despite they way they force classroom teachers to do ever-increasing
amounts of test preparation at the expense of real instruction. Students
are bored with the the constant “drilling”, which deprives them of an
authentic, engaging education.
MORE is challenging for statewide union office in order to initiate a
change in direction, towards standards developed by pedagogical experts
and field tested before implementation. MORE candidate and elementary
school teacher Lauren Cohen adds,
“The Common Core is fundamentally undemocratic – not only in its
implementation but in its conception. Handing teachers rigid, scripted
curricula benefits corporate interests while neglecting students’ need
for a developmentally-appropriate and well-rounded education.”
Public school parent, teacher, and MORE candidate Jia Lee explains that she is running for this position because,
“Our union leadership has allowed for the high-stakes use of
invalid standardized tests, putting an entire generation of youth,
educators, and schools at risk, and has promoted a culture of fear. It
is time for democratic policies that respect the diverse needs of New
York’s public schools.”
Our union leadership has done precious little to stop the
over-reliance on testing, even though a plethora of research proves that
measuring students only on test scores does not provide a complete
picture of what a child has learned.
Mike Schirtzer reiterated,
“The Unity caucus strategy has been political lobbying; they have
not mobilized the UFT membership, even as schools are closed, high
stakes tests proliferate, and student data is sold to the highest
bidder. “
MORE believes our union must stand up in defense of our students.
Reducing class size, funding the arts, offering a wide array of
after-school programs, and providing full social-emotional and medical
services for families would be the type of reform that would truly move
our schools forward. Addressing poverty, racism, sexism, and other
issues that our children face every day is what real union leadership is
about.
Unfortunately, Unity caucus is stubbornly clinging to obsolete
tactics that have resulted in the nearly unopposed corporate takeover of
our schools. NYSUT and UFT must fight to allow working educators,
students, and their parents, to determine educational policy. Policy
should no longer be determined by those who seek to profit financially
from our public education.MORE is challenging Unity in order to offer a
slate of candidates that truly represents classroom teachers. Any
policies the MORE candidates negotiate will affect them directly,
because they are in the classroom each school day. That is not the case
for the small clique of high-ranking Unity grandees currently dictating
UFT policy.
Each new bureaucratic diktat, from Common Core to the cookie-cutter
Danielson rubric to High Stakes testing, has resulted in less time for
grading, lesson planning, and collaboration with administrators,
parents, and colleagues.
These failed policies have buried teachers
under mounds of useless paperwork that do not positively impact our
students. A new NYSUT leadership that includes the MORE slate will
mobilize rank and file educators in the five boroughs and locals from
around the state to take back our schools. Education policy should never
be dictated in corporate boardrooms or political back rooms. It should
be created with the input of the real experts- working teachers and
parents.
The elections will take place April 5th, 2014 at the NYSUT
representative assembly held at the New York Midtown Hilton. Local union
presidents and delegates from around New York state will converge at
this convention to cast their ballots and determine the statewide
union’s direction. MORE is running an independent slate of six
candidates for Board of Directors At-Large representing UFT members;
Julie Cavanagh, James Eterno, Jia Lee, Mike Schirtzer, Lauren Cohen, and
Francesco Portelos. They have also endorsed the candidacy of Arthur
Goldstein for NYSUT Executive Vice President and Beth Dimino, President
of the Port Jefferson Station Teachers Association, for a Director
At-Large for Suffolk. Only elected delegates from last year’s UFT
election may vote in the NYSUT election, not rank and file members. MORE
represents thousands of UFT members (including over 40% of high school
teachers based on the 2013 election results). UFT’s undemocratic rules
do not allow for proportional representation, therefore all the NYC
delegates at NYSUT convention are from the Unity caucus. These are
at-large positions, meaning that any NYSUT delegate may vote for us,
including those not from the UFT.
Students at Stuyvesant high school became the latest to boycott the new tests from the evaluation system.
