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Showing posts with label New Action/UFT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Action/UFT. Show all posts

Friday, February 7, 2025

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

Posted by Norm @ ed notes online at 2:39 PM No comments:
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Labels: A Better Contract, ABC, ARISE, MORE, New Action/UFT, UFT, UFT/Unity Caucus

Saturday, January 25, 2025

UFT Election Winning Strategy - As Simple as ABC - Go Where the Votes Are and Meet the Candidates on Feb. 11

When bank robber Willie Sutton was asked why he robs banks he answered: Because that's where the money is.

I apply the same logic in response regarding UFT elections. I don't put down getting votes from anywhere -- The aim is to win and for those who don't realize --
If you really want to win go where the votes are. 
 
Otherwise you are running not to win, but to make a point. 
\
Now I do see people turning their noses up at some voters -- like Unity defectors or the non-lock step ideologues or heaven forbid, the potential 30-35% UFT Trump voters.  If you turn up your nose at potential voters, you don't want to win.

Saturday, Jan. 26, 2025
 
Many critics who attack me for daring to think outside the box, assume that if two slates run in the UFT election, it is impossible to beat Unity. 
 
“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” Sherlock Holmes
 
So let's look at how to to turn the impossible into the improbable into the possible: A win for ABC.
 
It may seem "improbable" for ABC to win, but I believe a win is impossible for ARISE in a 3-slate race. Thus, only a vote for ABC can turn the improbable into the possible and Sherlock says that must be the truth. 

Elementary, my dear Watson.

And on Feb. 11 you can meet the ABC candidates. http://rsvp.uftmembers.org
  
Unity Must Go in order to win
I've been accused of changing positions in mid-stream. I have always been in favor of one slate to challenge Unity. I also believed that we can't win unless we weaken Unity at its core -- in the schools where they have an army of chapter leaders and influencers, especially in the elementary schools where there are 36 thousand potential voters and Unity always wins big. (66% in 2022).

Going back to the late 90s and looking at a weak and ineffectual opposition back then, I decided that winning over people in Unity would be essential to winning an election and I initially aimed Ed Notes at appealing to Unity people who wanted change in the union. And I did get an audience. But the minute I made even the mildest criticism of the new leadership under Randi, I lost them. So I switched into full-blown oppo mode.  Now I see the first real opportunity for a permanent break in Unity at the in-service level to go along with the break in the retiree and para chapters.
 
In the past elections, winning a sliver, the high schools and maybe the middle schools was the realistic goal. But conditions have changed and I'm not interested in slivers. The idea of winning the entire enchilada is what has gotten people so excited. They seem to take winning for granted. I don't take anything for granted.
 
And conditions have certainly changed since the 2022 elections when every voice of the opposition was involved in United for Change.
 
I change due to changing conditions. And the numbers for UFC were not great. Somehow people think that the current version of UFC, a weakened ARISE - with 3 caucuses involved - two of which are no stronger than they were in 2022 - would win if they were the only ones running because the third caucus, RA, seems so much stronger based on its big win last June. My claim is that RA as an organizing group of 11, is not really stronger than it was in 2022 and in terms of a general UFT election it has the same limited direct outreach. RA won 63% due to the influx of voters, many from Unity, and many coming from Marianne's supporters. Many Unity voters may just drift back in a general election.
 
As a member of the RA org committee of 11, I was the lone dissenter from joining this coalition and urged RA to stay neutral, and could play a mediator role. MORE and New Action needed RA to be part of the coalition as a way to sell a winning strategy because both of them, which aim at the in-service people, understand they have failed to attract a wide enough following with in-service people to win without the retirees. My position has been that the oppo have opposed the impact of retirees on elections for decades but now are switching course in mid-stream and that to win an election loaded with retirees would be destabilizing and further alienate the in-service where a majority are on Tier 6. How do they feel about being led by people who are on Tier 1, as ARISE is offering?

I try not to stick with a pattern of a losing strategy. In 2022 I believed in all caucuses and non-caucuses should get together in United for Change. And the outcomes of that effort was disappointing, to the point I have been willing to look at alternate ideas. I am still for one slate, but not the same kind of election management under caucus guidance, like UFC was. Instead I believe in one slate under a broad based and group of individuals capable of growth from the ground up, whether people are in a caucus or not --- but not to allow a small group of people to make the basic decisions -- call it a steering committee -- instead to open up the process to the broader based UFT membership. In other words, we don't just want your vote in May, we want you involved from the ground up in the entire process.
 
So let's go back to the opening question: where are the votes? 
Certainly retirees where 39% return ballots and the recent flip from Unity in the RTC election is major. Clearly, many former Unity voters flipped over the Medicare issue and voted for RA. Will that flip hold for a general election? While those former Unity voters may have been pissed off enough at Mulgrew and Tom Murphy's role to vote them out, are they willing to turn over the entire union to a group consisting of RA, New Action and MORE, with MORE being the dominant player in this group? Frankly, I don't think so.

But given another alternative that includes a number of people who have left Unity, these voters may feel they have another place to go rather than go back to Unity. It's as simple as ABC.

Where else can we find votes? Remember the Para election where Fix Para Pay won 75% in an admittedly low turnout vote in a para chapter that has 27k potential voters? Unity has noticed and is suddenly showing interest in making paras welcome, though fixing their pay is not on their agenda. But there is a group that is very committed to fighting for para pay and to fight for other things issues they want - like ILOD - Injury in Line of Duty protection and other issues beyond pay like some prep time. Can the para unit be energized to vote in this election and where are those votes likely to go? It's as simple as ABC.

Now how about the disaffected anti-Mulgrew Unity Caucus people? I don't mean the full-time staff who are clinging to their jobs, but the rank and file Unity people who are often chapter leaders, some with after school jobs? How many potential votes do they offer? The important issue in this case is can they bring their staffs and other Unity friends along with them, which could add up to thousands of votes? While there's no way to tell since most Unity are silent (though sending private encouragement), there are underground indications of a growing revolt, that if it catches on, will make a major dent in the Unity votes. And we have been seeing an erosion of Unity votes over the past elections. But Unity voters will not go to a MORE tinged group. It's as simple as ABC.

How about retirees? The assumption since June was that the same massive vote would go to Retiree Advocate. But they've aligned with MORE, leading to these comments on my last blog post:
John Q Teacher: I thought that RA was Mariannes's baby? Why would she abandon it and secretly endorse ABC? I'm confused. I really wish she would speak publicly about where she stands on who she is supporting.  
 
Anon: This shit is just too complicated to follow. I was a retiree. I will vote for whoever Marianne recommends. Stick that up your ass, Mr. Mulgrew.
Marianne has clearly leaned toward ABC, and made reference to ABC in public comments, sparking the Unity attacks on her. So where will her followers go? It's as simple as ABC.

Now, let's look at the vast unknown -- the 80% of working UFT members who don't vote. This is the territory that both Unity and the caucuses, following the same formula in every election, have not been able to mine. Why would they be more successful this time? 
 
Can a new campaign paradigm make a dent in the 80% non-voters? Here I won't claim It's as simple as ABC because it hasn't been successful before, so let's call this an interesting premise, that if proven correct, will make it as simple as ABC.
 
What are these new tactics? I ain't saying just yet as many ideas are still in process, but turnouts for ABC events have been very promising. And email lists are growing. I will get deeper into the unique experience I've had working with ABC in future posts.
 
ABC has a chance to win in a 3 way race by draining Unity votes and winning new voters in the schools and old voters from the retirees. Whether it works or not, we will learn a lot.

For my money, a vote for any group other then ABC is a wasted vote.

Everyone is invited to run with ABC. Sign up here.

 
 

 

Posted by Norm @ ed notes online at 3:26 PM No comments:
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Labels: A Better Contract, ABC, ARISE, MORE Caucus, New Action/UFT, RA, Retiree Advocate, UFT Election 2025, Unity Caucus - UFT

Monday, November 4, 2024

The State of UFT Elections: Membership Assembly - Who Are These People? Will Dormant UFT Members Arise?

The Membership Assembly is having ripples at my school.  One of our delegates and I were recapping it for people at lunch.  They want to know more. 
John Q. Teacher: I, and the other teachers at my school are confused about this. Are these meetings going to be used to organize a group of people to run in the upcoming election against Unity? "Making our voices heard" is nice and all, but is completely meaningless unless there is an organized group to run in the election. If Unity runs unopposed, they won't give a rats a** about a bunch of folks making demands. 

Anon:  Where are the caucuses? This seems ok but it's kind of worrying that none of the groups that I expect to see are represented here... is this group trying to be a spoiler? are they all gonna work together? what's going on???

Monday, Nov. 4, 2024

Will UFT Dormant Membership Arise?

These comments above were in response to the  Urgent Call to Action: RSVP for the UFT Members October Assembly which had almost 300 registrants and about 150 attending. One chapter leader came up with the lame excuse he had free tickets to the Yankee World Series game. No excuse. He could have zoomed from the Stadium. And they lost anyway.

 

My quick response:

Caucuses have been involved in some way - they have a process for making decisions - this group includes people from the caucuses but are a bit more impatient to get moving and not bogged down in caucus bureaucracy and also want to be more open to new voices and not only rely on the usual suspects. This is not a spoiler group. It only makes sense to run one slate against Unity or not run at all. What if there is no juice out there? Comments on blogs won't do. Needed are real bodies in the schools. Come on down.

I've talked about the state of oppo UFT caucuses in the past:  UFT Resistance Caucuses: We Need Them, But Why Not One Big ten

I've been a critic of the way most UFT caucuses operated even when I was in them, 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 caucuses the merrier. 
So what about the caucuses and the role they would play in a UFT election? I'm sure those caucuses that choose to run (not every caucus seems enthusiastic) will play a role.

Who are these people? Many are the usual suspects though in different configurations.  Sorry, you have to wade through a whole lot of preliminary crap in order to get the full context in follow-up blogs.  I understand the confusion, so let me try to clear a few things up, though there are still things I can't talk about -- you'll have to read the book.

Where Are the caucuses? the 1%

Ask the people you work with to identify UFT Caucuses - even Unity and see what they say. Ten percent might be able to give a cogent response -- actually more like 1%.
 
Let me state right up front. I'm in no way opposed to caucuses being involved in this election. I am opposed to any plan for the 3 self-identified major oppo caucuses meeting behind the curtain for months and deciding on the platform, the candidates and the format of the campaign  - the 6 men (and maybe a few women) in the room, and then sometime in January springing it on UFT members, going into 6 weeks of petitioning mode, then a few months of stuffing mailboxes (with little effect) and in May begging people to vote - which mostly they don't. Oh, the yawn!

In order to avoid caucus bureaucracies why not try something else? Gather a group of interested parties, hopefully with people from the caucuses, and start talking. Which is exactly what has been happening over the past past few months. Informal, ad hoc, open to people through the network. And over the past few weeks, that group has been expanding. And that has led to some of the most invigorating discussions I've seen in the UFT in some time. And I say this with some trepidation: Ex-Unity people have brought a lot to the table in terms of knowledge and analysis. And how little most of them know about the traditional oppo. I think the Unity people thought of oppo as a blob - they didn't distinguish the various components. Boy are they learning fast.
 
So why am I, who followed that model for election after election, now pushing back? One reason is that each caucus has its own procedures for making decisions. So imagine every major decision going back to some steering committee, or if not that, a tiny group of decisions makers at the caucus level and then going back to the election steering group to hash things out. Go watch grass grow.

A tiny group of decision makers (and I admit to being one at times) leaves out the 99% of working UFT members who wake up one day to find a slate - or two - or 3 - running against Unity. I could live with this process if it actually had some success in the past. But as one deeply involved in elections, the turnout  and votes for the oppo proves my point. Look at this chart below and how few in service people voted, especially in the 2022 election when all the 7 or 8 oppo united for the first time to force the first clear opp vs Unity face-off in decades. I went in expecting all these groups to pull people out in their schools and reach deeper into the 99%. 

It didn't happen.
 
No signs of a ground game -- except for James Eterno whose Queens network pulled hundreds of HS votes for UFC.

The results in terms of oppo votes were mostly the same as in 2016 when the oppo was much weaker. Sure UFC gained in % because Unity lost support, support that did not flow to the oppo, which if there was a real ground game, should have.  
 
Look at these numbers and compare to 2004 - other than retirees of course. Some of the discrepancies are due to D. 75 teachers being unfairly lumped into functional instead of their school chapter so they don't get counted for elem, ms and hs. Also the lower ms due to k-8 being elem and 6--12 as hs. Also note that from 2004 to 2022 there are 40k more UFT members while  turnout dropped on all levels.

Let's face it. No matter how many caucuses there are out there, the biggest one is over 70% non-voting DGAC- Don't Give a Crap. Let's take the 30 year RA out of it because we are no longer in the schools. NAC is 30 years old, MORE is 13 years old and has actually shrunk in size over the past 2 years while NAC has grown a bit, some from those leaving MORE.  ICE has become a minor player though we can play a role, as has Solidarity, which is still in business. Is the oppo stronger or weaker today than in 2022? (I will delve into this issue in a follow-up).
 
An election run solely by the caucuses had been a proven failure with "success" being electing the 7 HS Ex Bd out of the 102 members. After attending exec bd meetings after our "big win" in 2022 and seeing the energy drained from the oppo voices, this model has serious flaws unless infused with new people and new energy.
 
Let's win with the retiree vote is a dead end strategy
Now admittedly, things have changed since the June chapter and TRS elections (UFT's 3 Consequential Elections), offering people hope that the entire Unity machine can be defeated. 
 
But there is a fallacy in relying on the retiree vote to carry the day even if the DGAC numbers don't change much. If everything is equal and the retiree vote is the same as in June (not a sure bet), an oppo group might just eke out a win even with a lack of fundamental support in the schools. That thought seems to be driving some of the thinking in the oppo. And our leadership in Unity seems to actually be buying this argument and is running so scared they are actually making a lame attempt to service the members with school visits and love letters from Mulgrew. You might even notice improvements in healthcare --- score one for the oppo.

Let me blow a further hole in that thinking. RA won 63% based on Medicare, which Mulgrew is in a full scare propaganda blitz claiming he agrees. Will it work with most? No. But it might with some Unity people who deserted in the election and won't vote oppo in a general election that would make Unity lose control of the union. Expect some Unity votes to come home.

Also interest in this election by the new voters RA gained - expect some loses there.

And how much support does Marianne lends to this effort and activate her network of UFT retirees, a significant factor in the RA win.

Yes, I think we can win by holding some line in the retiree vote - and don't forget the para vote (though very low turnout usually) IF we get a significant growth in turnout in the HS, MS and Elem schools. And for that we need to REACH into the schools.

A new paradigm is needed to win the 2025 election
Are people out there who want to be involved in the UFT elections other than "just give us your vote"? People who could participate from the earliest days of a campaign? Imagine choosing candidates in an open forum instead of a back room. Sometimes I'm shocked at how little the union leadership AND the oppo leaders mistrust the membership.

If the apathy is the same,  the winning caucus is Don't Give a Crap. And Unity.

So, some people have advocated a different kind of election. Sure the caucuses need to be involved, but we need to get at least a portion of the former unreachable 99% involved in the election process from the very beginning of the campaign. Open up the process and let the sunlight in. 

A campaign based on individuals - most of them from the caucuses of course - and inclusive of those who are in or recently left Unity plus ICE, Solidarity and independents. 
 
A melting pot that would be inclusive, not exclusive of a broader based UFT membership than we've seen before. Of course the conundrum here is what if we issue a call and no one answers? The DGAC caucus wins again. 

There is actually such a group of people in a nascent stage of organizing who have been meeting and were behind the survey and the membership meeting. And so have the caucuses with communication between them.

Coming next: How we got here and where we may be going. And avoiding a horror show.
 
I'm glad Halloween is over.

-------------
You can still fill out the survey:

Prep for UFT Elections - Fill out a Survey for UFT Members - What Are Your Concerns?



Posted by Norm @ ed notes online at 6:19 AM 2 comments:
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Labels: ICE, MORE Caucus, New Action/UFT, Solidarity/UFT Caucus, UFT Election 2025, Unity Caucus

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Elections Have Consequences: PR Blitz to Breathe Life Into Mulgrew, Make UFT More Responsive (finally), Unity Tries to Avert Defeat

Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024

The recent Unity major losses in elections has created a sense of panic in the upper halls of the UFT, and some shake-ups. At the AFT convention in Houston in July Staff Director LeRoy Barr lectured the staff, blaming them and absolving leadership, telling them the opposition was well organized and coming for their jobs and they better start campaigning immediately. 


Calling the opposition well organized shows how much LeRoy doesn't know - but I actually have faith that LeRoy knows the opposition real well and was just blowing smoke to scare the staff into worrying about their jobs. (Don't worry boys and girls, those who actually do their jobs instead of being Unity shills will be safe if the oppo wins.)

So, the best thing Mulgrew has going for him is the state of opposition. But expect a Unity full court press- like this:

Need someone to talk to? We're here


I think of the Reagan comment about government and we're here to help. After decades of not helping,  Unity lost an election and now wants to help? But do they even remember how?

Mulgrew never takes responsibility and puts blames on others

Mulgrew supposedly reamed out the staff before school started and shook up the hierarchy. Anthony Harmon is off to NYSUT and Ellie Engler has been brought back to be co-staff Director in his place. Where does that put LeRoy Barr? Probably not in the dog house with Mulgrew's dog, but Mulgrew may have ordered him to get rid of his cat if he has one so as not to come on a certain VP candidate's radar. Is Mulgrew blaming LeRoy or his cat for the recent big election losses? Mike Sill, who I like (the kiss of death) has moved into something or other. Insiders say morale has sunk at 52 where people see these moves as moving deck chairs. 

At a staff meeting, staff actually received copies of the Labor Notes, "Secrets of a Successful Organizer," a bible on the left, especially in MORE where for years I sat through bouts of the same Labor Notes training where we were told to keep a tally sheet of our staff, something I managed to figure out on my own in the 1970s. After all that training I didn't notice an enormous uptick in organized schools in the last election, but if you want to see a preview of the lessons your beloved UFT rep will bring to your chapter, see the list at the end of this article - and even read up to prep for their visit -- and be ready for How to Be a Good Listener.

See how well they listen to you and how they tell you they can really do nothing about your principal.

So what irony that Unity is trying to emulate the "successful" organizing of MORE,  a caucus in its 14th year of existence and not in a position to run head to head against Unity - and never will be no matter how much Labor Notes training they undergo. 

Thus MORE may be forced against its will to work with other caucuses and groups in a potentially winnable year, though I imagine from my last days in MORE when I pushed back against those who wanted to run not to win that there is still a faction that either wants to run alone (the Greta Garbo group) or not run at all. The latter is ironic since I was one of the few voices in MORE's first election in 2013 urging MORE not to waste resources on running and use the time to build its infrastructure as a new caucus, one of the many battles I lost in MORE. In the decade since, MORE did build infrastructure, but given the size of the school system, it's still a blip. Maybe next decade. 

What's left of UFC? New Action and Retiree Advocate and maybe MORE which is still deciding

The other main strands of the opposition is a resurgent New Action back from the 2019 dead and the new king of the hill, Retiree Advocate, whose victory and 300 delegates are game changers in the UFT. They may be the heart of the oppo movement this year. I will have a lot more to say in about a week on where the election movement stands at this point.

ICE is an open end discussion group -- a listserve and a dormant blog - but we did zoom Sunday night to discuss the state of the UFT election. Always a great and eclectic group of people that ICE attracts. I always come away from an ICE event feeling better -- a reason to keep us getting together where we hear some of the smartest analysis.

Solidarity is trying to make a claim but has internal battles and I maintain without the force of Lydia's personality and leadership it can't be more than bit player -- but watch the squawks of some of them claiming equality with the other caucuses. Squawk away since one of the requirements may be for caucuses to show they are legit by showing at least 25 CL and delegates as proof they have people who can get elected in their own schools.

So fundamentally, the hope from the UFC coalition from the 2022 election would have opposition infrastructure in place for this election died soon after the election ended when MORE lost interest and the rest of the group drifted. That UFC in essence died is the best friend Unity has in its chance of winning as those wanting to defeat Unity were set back to ground zero. 

Unity will flood the schools with staff offering to help and Mulgrew promos, but will that help or hurt?

Unity relies on a chain of command -- central - borough- district - school Unity and associated CL to get the message to members. Even in the 2022 UFT election, the Unity vote totals dropped as most rolled their eyes at the glossy flyers. The problem for the oppo was that the members also generally rolled their eyes at them too. The goal for the oppo this time is to turn those lonely eyes to them if they expect to win. And to vastly expand he base from the usual caucus suspects. I ruminated on this point on Aug. 7:

  • What it will take to Change the Leadership in the 2025 UFT Election? Build it and they will come, and if they don't come be very worried

Expect many visits from your District and borough special reps. But also expect most people to yawn. There are weak links in this chain - some clueless Dist reps and most importantly, a waning loyalty at the school level from the Unity faithful. Seeing the possibility of the opposition actually winning next year, some in Unity "light," as they are known, may be rethinking their options. Why not give up your paltry after school patronage job and sign up with the oppo to get an early foothold?

The weakest link in Unity is still Mulgrew himself.

Reports from UFT Chapter Leader training, Aug 28:

It was like a bad PD, person after person talking and I zoned out;
they meant well but they lost the new people like me....
Mulgrew’s rambling about cell phones. It’s not coherent - but maybe that’s because I’m starving. Now he’s talking about “we don’t always go Democrat in fact maybe we will vote Republican one day.” Now he's talking what why it's not that big of a deal if they get rid of the Dept of Ed at the federal level...Aside from the minor detail of civil rights being violated all over the nation, what could go wrong? Thinks ranked choice voting is stupid and dangerous... Elizabeth Perez gave him this big intro and said “he has squirrels in his head” and I can’t stop laughing.... Squirrels in his head would explain a lot. Sounds even worse than RFK Jr.'s brainworm.... Michael droned on and on and talked about how a high percentage of teachers get cancer. The whole thing was awful. And then asked who wants time for questions? No one raised their hand. Who wants to leave? The whole room...MM is the Manchurian Candidate
Oy! Mulgrew so Trumpian and is fundamentally a Republican, so I'm not surprised -- he probably wished he had been invited to the Republican convention. By the way -- while the AFT and NYSUT have geared up to back the Dem ticket, the usual UFT political operation has been dormant until recently.

At one point people believed Mulgrew might be replaced. In the last election two years ago they hid Mulgrew with no photos of him on their leaflets (in contrast to the 2019 election when his photo was all over the place). Then came the disaster of last spring's chapter elections - we know the para and retiree results, but have little data on the school levels -- how many Unity were replaced? How many activist CL and Del were elected? I hear MORE caucus claimes over 100.

If Mulgrew were to be replaced that would have happened already to give the new person some serious time as an incumbent, so that train has left the station. Some think he would take something in the AFT but he's a fish out of water there. And besides, Unity doesn't have a very big bench. Like who can replace him? See if you can come up with potential replacements.

Here are some promos for Mulgrew for your joy of reading.

From congestion pricing to Medicare Advantage, the politically nimble leader of the teachers union seems to always come out on top, Bob Hennelly, City and State.... WTF

 

How about this puff piece from City & State?

Michael Mulgrew: “Shrewd Political Instincts and a Willingness to Pivot”

Class politics

* United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew’s political flexibility has enabled him to almost always come out on top when it comes to the most contentious issues facing his members, from the pitched battle between retirees and the city over Medicare Advantage plans to the ongoing debate over congestion pricing.

 


Peter Goodman,  minister of propaganda for unity reprinted the article on The Wire, prompting this response: 
reads like an article in The Onion. The "shrewd political instincts" of Michael Mulgrew delivered us a sub-inflation contract (aka pay cuts), an all-out attempt to move municipal employees into a for-profit Medicare Advantage Plan, and an impending watered-down healthcare plan for in-service UFT members. In May 2025 we need to vote Unity caucus and its CEO, Michael Mulgrew, out of office.
 
 What next? Mulgrew for Mt. Rushmore?
 
Arthur has been doing a daily hit on Unity and Mulgrew. 
Here is his latest:

What Union Does: In stark contrast to what Unity does

You should subscribe. And a few oldies but goodies:
 

UFT Unity's Rehabilitation Campaign

City and State paints a fawning, thoroughly incomplete portrait of Boss Mulgrew.

Arthur Goldstein
Aug 26, 2024

Unity Thinks They Own Our Union

They don't, and this must change.

Arthur Goldstein
Aug 29, 2024

Unity Prohibits a Dangerous Sign At the Labor Day Parade

Bennett Fischer, newly elected RTC Chapter Leader, had been working for weeks to get signs printed for the RTC. He had to get them approved here. He had to get them approved there. They had to be this size, not that size. You have to make sure this person knows about it. Also, don’t tell that person until that person knows. Red tape galore... On Friday, UFT Snowflake-in-Chief Michael Mulgrew told Bennett that the signs would not be acceptable. He contended all signage must be on message with the Central Labor Council's theme for the parade. So the RTC, the leadership of which was elected on the basis of opposition to Medicare Advantage, was blocked from expressing what we stand for.

Prompting this comment from Sean Ahern:

The RTC’s program to defend Medicare was blocked by UFT leadership at the rally. I think the RTC chapter will have to be more forceful in the future. It was like Unity is the Principal who just says no to the chapter leader who is representing the members grievance. Where is the pushback? I hope a plan for the Oct DA will not be so quiescent. 

Secrets of a Successful Organizer Handouts

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Posted by Norm @ ed notes online at 12:37 PM No comments:
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Labels: MORE Caucus, New Action/UFT, Retiree Advocate/UFT, UFT, UFT/Unity Caucus

Wednesday, August 14, 2024

UPDATED 8/29/24 : Who Gets Your COPE Money? New Action Goes Beneath the Covers - Parts 1-4

Some illuminating work from David Ginsburg at the New Action site on where COPE money goes. Here are links to parts 1, 2, 3 with a 4th part to come which I will add to this post. I copied selectively from Part 1 for key recipients, with links to each part for further reading. We've always called for a more open reporting from the UFT to members, like this info could be in the never read NY Teacher, but it might actually get more people to read it before lining their bird cages.

Norm

Here is a link to part 4:

PART IV (COMPLETE LIST)

8/14/24

The breakdown below of the 10 largest recipients of our various union funds alleviates some of the mystery as to who benefited most from our contributions from 2022 and 2023. This article is not meant to be an exposé by any means; it is simply meant to help our membership see where our money is going because we deserve to know. We are in no way encouraging members to cancel their union dues and/or COPE donations. Our union needs our support in order to thrive... David Ginsberg

FOLLOW THE MONEY: WHICH LEGISLATORS BENEFIT MOST FROM OUR UNIONS? – PART I (David Ginsberg)

7. Kathy Hochul: $186,500

Contributions: 2022 American Federation of Teachers: $69,700  2022 Voice of Teachers for Education: $69,700  2022 United Federation of Teachers: $47,100

Governor Hochul is the first individual to make this list and she does so in a big way, bringing in nearly $200,000 from our teachers’ unions, including nearly $50,000 directly from the UFT. Despite all the money teacher unions have given over to Hochul (both directly and through Super PACs), it has been difficult to ascertain whether or not she appreciates our support. For the sake of this article, we will leave the politics out of it and focus strictly on her policies regarding public schools.

Mayoral Control: Despite an immense amount of pushback from educators, parents, and even democratic legislators, Governor Hochul was committed to extending mayoral control for Eric Adams, a notorious enemy of public education, for the next four years. A ruling came down that mayoral control would be extended for two years.  

Students and Social Media: In June 2024, Hochul passed the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act into law, which “prohibits social media companies from pushing ‘addictive’ algorithm-driven feeds to anyone under 18 without parental consent” (source: uft.org). Hochul also passed the New York Child Data Protection Act, which “prevents social media platforms from collecting data on children ages 12 and younger without parental consent and from children age 13 and over without informed consent.” 

Charter Schools: In 2023, Hochul revealed her FY 2024 budget and it was a blow to public education. Hochul reopened 22 closed charter schools (AKA zombie charters) throughout New York State; 14 of which were located in New York City. This was actually a decrease from Hochul’s original proposal, “which could have allowed more than 100 charter schools to open in New York City.” The UFT, who had backed Hochul without seeking input from its general membership, was not pleased. Do not be fooled by the letters next to candidates’ names. Pay attention to their actions.

Smaller Class Sizes: On September 8, 2022, Governor Hochul signed the class size bill into law that would reduce class sizes for NYC schools. While it remains to be seen how willing the City will be to enact these laws, Hochul’s support is certainly appreciated.

Funding: On the surface, the governor seems like an ally. After all, the governor originally approved $825 million (2.4%) in additional funding for New York State schools for FY 2025, $340 million of which would be going to NYC schools  However, if you look past the headline, a more grim picture quickly appears.

We can start with the fact that both City and State were expecting more money under Hochul’s original proposal. NYS had anticipated a $1.3 billion increase in funding, a difference of about $500 million from what the governor proposed. Additional funding for NYC schools was short $131 million from what city officials were estimating. These cuts occurred because of Hochul’s approved budget, which introduced two underhanded changes that are extremely detrimental to school aid – a change in the Foundation Aid formula and a change to the “save harmless” contingency, both of which you can read about in this excellent article by Julian Shen-Berro of Chalkbeat.

Hochul’s first change disrupts the formula for calculating Foundation Aid. Instead of using rate of inflation on a year-by-year basis, Hochul decided to determine funding by using the average rate of inflation over the last 10 years. Given our soaring inflation over the last few years, changing the funding formula to use a 10-year average decreases the amount of funding our schools receive.

The second change was just as subversive as the first. Hochul sought to essentially put an end to the “Save Harmless” contingency that ensures that schools will not lose funding if their enrollment drops. “Save Harmless” (also called “Hold Harmless”) has been enforced for decades. Liz Rozenberg of City & State New York explains that if Hochul gets rid of this provision that has served as a lifeline for many schools, “50% of the 673 districts that receive foundation aid will lose funds” Funnily enough, Hochul received so much pushback from both sides of the aisle on this issue that she removed her proposal to end “Save Harmless” a couple of months ago (more info here), so it will not appear in the FY 2025 budget. 

Teacher Recruitment: In 2023, Hochul signed state legislation to “spur teacher recruitment – with a focus on increasing diversity – through the state.” Hochul pointed out that New York State needs to add nearly 200,000 teachers over the next decade “to meet workforce needs.” We always hear about and witness teacher shortages firsthand in our schools, so any push towards increasing those numbers is a good thing.

As you can see, Hochul has done some good things and some terrible things for public schools and educators. Is she worth the political donations she has received? You decide.

10. Carl E. Heastie: $51,125

Contributions: 2022 NY State United Teachers: $25,000  2023 VOTE COPE (NYSUT’s non-partisan action fund): $1,125  2023 NYS United Teachers: $25,000

Heastie is the Speaker of the New York State Assembly, which may explain why he received more than double the donations of the next highest individual legislator. Heastie is a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to educational policy. According to this New York Times article from 2017, Heastie supported an extension of mayoral control, but refused “to bend to the Senate’s demands to increase the number of charter schools in the state as a condition to extend mayoral control of the city’s schools.” Heastie continues to support mayoral control, which has become an increasingly contentious issue during Eric Adams’ tenure. 

On the other hand, Heastie was supportive of the class size reduction act, which should serve as a benefit to students and teachers, assuming there are no detrimental caveats. The long term plan to decrease the maximum allowable number of students per class sounds like a great idea, although it remains to be seen if the City will actually abide by all of its stipulations.

On other issues, Heastie seems to be playing the fence. When asked about Hochul’s proposed changes to the Foundation Aid formula, Heastie said, “We would, of course, make sure the districts are whole, but we are open to re-examining the Foundation Aid formula. But we want to make sure that our rural and suburban districts aren’t harmed by any proposal.” Any type of concession that would favor Hochul’s agenda would be a tragic mistake that would take away major funding from our public schools. 

14C. Melinda Katz: $25,000

Contributions: 2022 United Federation of Teachers: $10,000  2023 United Federation of Teachers: $15,000

Melinda Katz is the current District Attorney for Queens County. Katz previously served as Queens Borough President and held positions as an NYC Councilwoman (2002-2009), and as a member of the New York State Assembly (1994-1999). Katz has proven to be friendly towards our union and public education in general. In 2008, Katz co-sponsored a resolution to “reform city school planning to better address the problem of overcrowding.”

In 2017, when 3,500+ students, teachers, parents, and alumni signed a petition to remove Interim Acting Principal Rosemarie Jahoda from Townsend Harris H.S., Katz stepped up by writing a letter to former Chancellor Carmen Fariña in support of their cause (source: Chalkbeat). Jahoda was ousted two months later. 

17. Letitia James: $24,000

Contributions: 2022 VOTECOPE (NYSUT): $10,000  2023 VOTECOPE (NYSUT): $14,000 

One of the most notable names on this list, James is the current Attorney General for the State of New York. James and NYSED Commissioner Betty Rosa have made a concerted effort to further diversity, equity, and inclusion requirements (DEI) for public schools (James, Rosa DEI letter). James and Rosa also threatened schools with lawsuits should they make enrollment difficult or impossible for migrant students (source: NY Post).

In 2016, when she served as NYC Public Advocate, James sued the New York City Education Department for the failure of SESIS, a computer system meant to track students with disabilities (source: NY Times). According to the lawsuit, “children (were) deprived of necessary assistance and the city lost out on hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicaid reimbursements” because of the system’s shortcomings. SESIS often deleted student information and was unable to provide data on IEPs. In the meantime, SESIS is still around, although it will supposedly be replaced at some point.

James has also filed several lawsuits against charter schools over the years. In 2014, James pushed a lawsuit to “block the co-location of charter schools with existing district schools” (source: Brian Lehrer Show). Two years later, James filed a civil rights suit against Success Academy for failing to identify and provide adequate services for students with disabilities in an attempt to drive the students from their network of schools (source: NY Post).

Despite James’ lawsuits, former attorney general candidate, Zephyr Teachout, didn’t seem to think James went far enough. Teachout wanted to implement a larger investigation into the hedge fund managers pushing for charter expansion. Teachout, a former special education teacher’s aide, named names of billionaire supporters of charter schools.

20. Robert Jackson: $19,800

Contributions: 2022 VOTE COPE (NYSUT): $19,800

Senator Jackson represents the 31st District of New York. In 1992, as President of Community School Board 6 in Manhattan, Jackson led a lawsuit against the State of New York in order to get equitable funding for NYC students. Jackson felt NYC students weren’t receiving proportionate funding, and he was right. Despite comprising 39% of the student population of New York State, they were only receiving 32% state education aid (source: Baruch case study). 

In 2008, Jackson, then serving in New York City Council’s 7th District, co-sponsored the same resolution to reform city school planning to address overcrowding as Melinda Katz (see above). 

Most recently, to the benefit of all Tier 6 members, Jackson served as the primary sponsor on a bill that amended the calculation of our Final Average Salary (FAS). Now, our three highest consecutive years of earnings will be used to calculate our FAS instead of our five highest consecutive years. In other words, future retirees can expect a little bit more money when they receive their pensions.

Furthermore, Jackson is an advocate for public schools. In 2022, pro-charter super PAC, New Yorkers for a Balanced Albany, spent nearly $100,000 in an effort to defeat Jackson in his re-election bid. Jackson still managed to trounce his opponent, Angel Vasquez, “a former teacher, who later worked as a deputy political director for the United Federation of Teachers.”

FOLLOW THE MONEY: WHICH LEGISLATORS BENEFIT MOST FROM OUR UNIONS? – PART II (David Ginsberg)

This article is the second installment in a multi-part series. For the first installment, see here.

 

FOLLOW THE MONEY: WHICH LEGISLATORS BENEFIT MOST FROM OUR UNIONS? – PART III (David Ginsberg)

This article is the third installment in a multi-part series. For the first installment, see here. For the second, see here.

Please check back for our next (and last) installment in this series where we will provide a complete list of those who received political donations during fiscal years 2022 and 2023.

 

Posted by Norm @ ed notes online at 8:57 AM 5 comments:
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Labels: COPE, New Action/UFT, NYSUT, UFT

Wednesday, August 7, 2024

What it will take to Change the Leadership in the 2025 UFT Election? ? Build it and they will come, and if they don't come be very worried

Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024

The prospect of defeating the 62 year Unity Caucus machine in a UFT election may seem like a field of dreams, but breaks in the Unity facade after the recent retiree, para and TRS elections (UFT's 3 Consequential Elections) offer glimmers of hope. But only glimmers.

Is there enough anti-leadership buzz at the teacher level in the schools similar to what we saw in the retiree and para chapter elections this  past spring? Did similar uprisings take place at the recent school chapter elections or was it the same old, same old? 

I haven't a clue. There is an every 3rd year turnover year and Unity Caucus tries to incorporate new CL as soon as they can and subject them to their own internal propaganda machine to make sure they don't drift to the opposition. CLs know they need some level of support from the Dist Reps (who are the main recruiters) and are often reluctant to get involved with oppo if they even know they exist (oppo footprint is fairly small). In fact many new CLs don't even know what Unity is. The DR line is: Psssst, do ya want some free trips to conventions or a PM staff position?

Thus the opposition has never been able to reach very deep into the schools and when election time comes we know that having a strong voice in a schools advocating for the oppo and getting out the vote during the election directly affects the vote totals. The standard method the oppo has used of racing around to hundreds of schools where there are no contacts and stuffing mail boxes has had very little effect on vote totals. Most of this work has been done by the active caucuses and their supporters. 

That has never been enough and I maintain will never be enough (other than in high schools which no matter the caucus over the past 40 years has almost always voted oppo). I've been arguing that unless this base of an active oppo voice expands way beyond the current caucus outreach, Unity will continue to win at the middle and elementary school levels. Even if we won an election due to retiree votes but lose the bulk of the school vote, it would be a weak win and a strong win is necessary to transform the UFT. (In Chicago and LA, there were strong wins and no retiree votes.)

We might know more at the October 16 first DA of the year or at a September chapter leader meeting. Leadership always gets a head start by organizing borough CL meetings at the end of this month. I suggest that people who want to build a winning team try to reach out at these meetings and test the waters.

What I term "the usual suspects" (TUS) in the opposition seem a bit too optimistic for my taste, with some discounting the difficulties of putting together a winning coalition and relying on the same old, same old. I sense that they think putting together similar coalitions as in the past will work this time under the new conditions based on recent election outcomes. I'm the Debbie Downer in that sea of optimism. I'm looking for the unusual suspects.

I've been posting in this issue recently 

  • Can Unity Be Beaten in 2025 UFT Election? 
  • UFT 2025 Opposition Election Update: What are the Possibilities? A slate of people, not caucuses

and have received push back from some of TUS, many of whom are long-time activists in the opposition, with the major disagreements coming from the caucus people who think my calls for broader participation in the process of organizing is disparaging the work of caucuses. 

That is misinterpreting my position. 

I do think active caucuses that actually want to win the election (not always true in the past - see 2019 election and MORE Caucus) must be a necessary component of any effort to unseat Unity. The question is what is left of the 7 groups from 2022 that are still active? ICE without James and Solidarity without Lydia are dormant. 

So, we have Retiree Advocate, New Action and MORE, and from what we hear there are factions within MORE that either want to run alone as they did in 2019 or not run at all so they can focus on their agenda, though the majority seem to want to not miss the boat in case the oppo does win. We don't know yet if MORE will be on board. So what is left of UFC? NAC and RA, which itself is cross-fertilized with NAC.

And then there is a growing list of open and behind the scenes Unity defectors -- at least at the school level - call them the Unity Light Underground Caucus. 

Plus consider that there are independents who do not want to be connected to a formal caucus but might be interested in playing a role in the election.

I have disparaged the process of caucuses in the past, even my own caucuses because the process of operating a caucus bogs down the ability to act -- I won't get into details but I no longer have the patience to wait for the caucus process to play out in an election campaign. 

The democratic process caucuses operate under sometimes are not so democratic as power is distributed to a few at the top no matter how "democratic" they supposedly are. I know, because at times I have been one of those few. Most people who sign up for a caucus do not want to do much heavy lifting on a regular basis and power flows to those who do.

So fundamental decisions in the caucuses are mostly made by a few people and putting these few people in control over the election process shuts out potential voices of the rank and file.

The 2022 UFC coalition followed this pattern and I keep contending that the actual vote totals in each division (other than retirees) fundamentally didn't change from the 2016 election where MORE and New Action teamed up. 

Supposedly with 7 groups involved in 2022 one would have expected a surge in votes for the opposition. Instead we saw the % go up due to Unity drops in votes but the oppo didn't pick up those votes. Even in HS which we won, the total votes for oppo went up only by 300 votes (2650) over 2016 despite a massive focus and blitz on member mail boxes. There are almost 20k high school teachers and the poor totals show a failure to GOTV in significant numbers even in schools where UFC members were located. 

The entire process involved relatively few people in the negotiations though of course the caucus members may have been involved to some extent, and relatively few people actually active in the campaign (more were involved in the petitioning, which is always draining). Last time the 3 major caucuses were Solidarity, New Action and MORE, with ICE joining in and the Eternos playing a prominent role. And there were other groups and individuals involved in the UFC organizing committee. And UFC did run 400 people but relatively few of those played an active role in the election.

A process where caucus leaders decide on platform, candidates, and election strategy behind closed doors and then spring it all on the membership leaves the latter in a position of not being involved other than being asked for their votes. The failure to involve a broader coalition beyond TUS will keep the election limited to the outreach each caucus has -- limited outreach that does not go very deep into the schools. Not a winning strategy.

A new paradigm must be found that runs deep into schools beyond where TUS reside and engages more of a rank and file, not only to vote, but to get involved at ground zero of a campaign. I will repeat: Relying on caucuses to plan and run a UFT election campaign ends up being in the hands of a few people who become the dominate players and deciders in the election, a process that excludes 99% of UFT members other than asking for their votes.

I'm urging a big reach-out to the vast unknown of the rank and file to check the pulse to see if something similar to retirees and paras is brewing with teachers. Unlike past elections this one can be a serious attempt to change the UFT leadership. Is there's a buzz out there with people stepping forward who would be factors in organizing in their schools and districts? Or the usual apathy? If so, Unity may have nothing to worry about.

There needs to be deep roots into the schools and not just the surface roots the caucuses offer in order to win the entire election and dislodge Unity once and for all.

And if that happens? Keep an eye on how a winning coalition transitions from challenging Unity to running the UFT. I hope I'm around to watch it happen.

 

Posted by Norm @ ed notes online at 2:56 PM 4 comments:
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Labels: ICEUFT, Michael Mulgrew, MORE Caucus, New Action/UFT, UFT Election 2025, Unity Caucus - UFT, Unity Light Caucus
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Top Blogs to Follow - Current and old

  • the daily howler
    TUESDAY: Budget bill, war with Iran poll poorly! - *TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2025* *We'd call it a dangerous time: *On the one hand, it could look like a piece of encouraging news. At *Mediaite*, Joe DePaulo rep...
    12 hours ago
  • Undernews
    Trump accelerates push to reward loyalty in federal workforce - * Washington Post *
    15 hours ago
  • Diane Ravitch's blog
    Joyce Vance: The Kids Are Alright Despite Trump’s Efforts to Kill Public Education and Academic Freedom - Joyce Vance is a former federal prosecutor for North Alabama. She writes an important blog called Civil Discourse, where she usually explains court decisio...
    17 hours ago
  • Schools Matter
    Take Just 2 Minutes to Hear This - #GVerse #MustWatch - If You Agree Hit the Like ❤️ & Repost!!! [image or embed] — 𝕲𝖆𝖊𝖙𝖆𝖓𝖔 (@gmf1369.bsky.social) June 16, 2025 at 2:46 PM
    1 day ago
  • Class Size Matters
    Three ways to help us ensure NYC kids get smaller classes! - June 16, 2025 This Wednesday night, June 18, at 6:30 PM we are holding our annual Skinny Award dinner, to honor Commissioner Betty Rosa as the first state ...
    1 day ago
  • CURMUDGUCATION
    What Do We Do Now? - When things get wonky in the country, teachers invariably find themselves driven back to the question, "What are we supposed to do in times like these?" ...
    1 day ago
  • The Doenuts Blog
    Not in Our Union: Stand up, Speak Out - For those veteran teachers of the Bloomberg years who are still around, you may recognize this [articular pattern of abuse. A sudden removal from a pri...
    3 days ago
  • NYC Public School Parents
    The NYC Mayoral debate and what the candidates said on class size - The second and final NYC Mayoral debate happened on Thursday night. Education and more specifically class size was one of the main topics covered. Katie...
    3 days ago
  • New Action – UFT
    The Website is Back (Sort Of), and a Meeting This Thursday - The good news: the NAC website is back online.The bad news: while our former webmaster—who left NAC for ABC—did finally help us get the website back up and...
    1 week ago
  • deutsch29 - Mercedes Schneider
    Louisiana Senate Passes Teacher/Staff Pay Stipend, Bill Returns to House. - On June 09, 2024, the Louisiana Senate voted 39-0 on HB 1, the House budget bill, which “Provides for the ordinary operating expenses of state government f...
    1 week ago
  • JD2718
    Congratulations, Thank You, Remember… - Some delayed “first” reactions to the end of the 2025 UFT elections I published this on Substack. I’m not sure how in the future I am going to divide up co...
    1 week ago
  • The Jose Vilson
    What Lessons Are We Learning from Our Students? - “Mr. Vilson, I’m in a doctoral program, just like you.” One of my former students posted a picture of a quad at an established university. ... Read More ...
    2 weeks ago
  • Blog - Caucus of Working Educators
    Philadelphia schools cannot reopen. Here's what we need instead. - On Thursday night, nearly 150 educators, administrators, students, parents and community members demanded, nearly unanimously, that schools are not safe ...
    2 months ago
  • SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL
    Mike Shulman the ARISE UFT Judenrat - I was surprised to learn that Mike Shulman has aligned himself with ARISE. I previously supported him, advocating that the Castle Doctrine could have bee...
    2 months ago
  • Gary Rubinstein's Blog
    Who is the new CEO of Teach For America? - From 1990 until 2013, the CEO of TFA was the founder, Wendy Kopp. Under her leadership the program grew from a small organization that struggled to make pa...
    4 months ago
  • ICEUFT Blog
    Upcoming UFT Election is Discussed at ICE Meeting - Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024 - Merry Xmas and Happy Hanukkah! Submitted by Norm Scott ICE had an excellent discussion on the UFT election Sunday night with ...
    5 months ago
  • Macaloon Blog whatsinaname.xyz/feed/
    O Tempora, O Mores - The current situation in the US is the stuff of bad dreams – according to polls and pundits, the country is likely at the end of its run as a liberal dem...
    7 months ago
  • Under Assault: teaching in NYC
    The lawsuits — googled for clarity - The first meeting of the UFT’s newly constituted Retired Teachers Chapter took place this past week — the rundown of which you will *not* find on its webs...
    7 months ago
  • Erik Mears Provocations Blog
    Top 26 New York City day trips - *This is my attempt to rank the best places in New York for day-long experiences. I try to set aside my personal tastes, although they will doubtless be...
    1 year ago
  • NYC Educator
    An Email From a Unity Hack - Commentary on this email is at the link below: https://arthurgoldstein.substack.com/p/the-unity-patronage-cult-sends-us Dear Committee Members, Her...
    1 year ago
  • NYC Educator
    Vote NO on the UFT Contract. Here is Why: - The best reason to vote no on this contract is this: UFT Unity* lied* to us in 2018. They misrepresented that contract. It was predicated on deals we wer...
    2 years ago
  • With A Brooklyn Accent
    Tennis Memories from a Time When Racism and Anti-Semitism Still Prevailed - I learned tennis at a public park in Brooklyn- Lincoln Terrace- where the teaching pro was a mailman named Phil Rubell. Almost all the kids who took lesson...
    2 years ago
  • Movement of Rank and File Educators
    End the Pandemic Everywhere - https://actionnetwork.org/events/end-the-pandemic-everywhere The Health Justice Working Group of the Movement of Rank and File Educators, MORE-UFT, stands ...
    3 years ago
  • Chaz's School Daze
    The Passing Of Chaz 1951-2020 Age 69 - I am the son of Chaz and like to inform you that he passed away this afternoon from the COVID virus. My father passed in peace beside his loved ones. We ar...
    5 years ago
  • Pissed Off
    Reminiscences - I just finished dumping the rest of my lesson plans. I guess I held on to the calculus ones for so long because I spent so much time working on them an...
    5 years ago
  • ATR NYC, blog of displaced DOE staff
    Official ATR meetings by the UFT Nov 22, 25, 26 - The UFT is holding its annual meetings for ATRs Friday, November 22, Monday 25, Tuesday 26 at its boro offices. All meetings are 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm. This is...
    5 years ago
  • Katie Lapham: Critical Classrooms, Critical Kids
    My Letter to the NYS Board of Regents and Commissioner Elia Regarding ESSA Opt Out Provisions - commissioner@nysed.gov Regent.cashin@nysed.gov ESSARegComment@nysed.gov Regent.Rosa@nysed.gov Regent.Reyes@nysed.gov Regent.Chin@nysed.gov Regent.Young@n...
    6 years ago
  • Education Resistance Basics
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  • NYS Allies for Public Education
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Show 10 Show All

Substance - News From Chicago

http://www.substancenews.net/

Chalkbeat

  • Chalkbeat

Serial: UFT 2014 Contract Vote Lessons

UFT Contract Vote Lessons: Number 1- Unity DID NOT STEAL THE VOTE

Chicago: Reasons to Oppose Common Core

http://www.ctunet.com/quest-center/research/text/CTU-Common-Core-Position-Paper.pdf

More Blogs

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    The “Science of” Movements: Another Education Reform Red Herring
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    Are we all on the same team?
    3 months ago
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    Thanks for sharing your beautyfull article Balcon...
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    Have You Heard Has a New Website
    3 years ago
  • Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog
    Follow me at Substack
    3 years ago
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    7 years ago
  • GoingPublic
    “Every Child is a Philosopher” [Hey Sigmund]
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    Does Teach for America Leave Black Lives Behind?
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    Seven of Campbell Brown's Funders Come Clean
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  • Students Last
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  • Homepage: Susan Ohanian Speaks Out (Susan Ohanian Speaks Out)
  • Home - Second City Teacher
  • Chicago Education, Politics, and Labor Union News - Substance News
  • The Answer Sheet - School Survival Guide for parents (and everyone else). - The Washington Post
Show 10 Show All

The ICE Platform in 2010

ICE balances social justice unionism and trade unionism and sees them as 2 sides of the same coin.

The 2010 ICE platform

Part I: Introduction

Part II: What we confront in public education

Part III: Strategy and tactics for a good contract

Part IV: Learning conditions

Part V: Working conditions, professional autonomy, seniority, salary and benefits

Part VI: For a militant, progressive, democratic UFT

Part VII: ICE supports local neighborhood public schools

Part VIII: A distorted school system

Part IX: Our union and government priorities


Dave Barry End of Year Review -

Very funny.

"The press is free to those who own them."

A.J. Liebling, via George Schmidt.

Public School Shakedown (Our Fave Bloggers In One place)

  • Public School Shakedown
    WELCOME ABOARD! - - The Progressive Magazine is revving up the movement to save our public schools. On this site, we are pulling together education experts, activ...
    11 years ago

NYC Rubber Room Reporter

  • Rubber Room Reporter

UFT Individual Election Results Including Non-Slate

http://db.tt/mBhWMaDW

Paper(work)-thin: I Thought We Were Supposed to be *Teaching*

http://paulvhogan.wordpress.com/2013/02/

UFT Election Vote Comparison: 2004-10

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8qnFCTQLOqoRDdUcmxRdnFQYms/edit

A Personal Historical Perspective

My Path from Ed Notes to MORE Through ICE and GEM ...

Part 1: Ed Notes

Why Karen Lewis Read Ed Notes


"A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford

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

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

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

Web Sites We Touch Base With

GothamSchools - Breaking News and Analysis of the NYC Public Schools

Chicago Education, Politics, and Labor Union News - Substance News

Rockaway: The Wave

Homepage: Susan Ohanian Speaks Out (Susan Ohanian Speaks Out)

Williamsburg & Greenpoint Parents: Our Public Schools!

NEW CAUCUS (NEWARK)

History of the UFT Pre-Weingarten Years

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

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

This chapter looks interesting:

Class struggles: The UFT story, part 3

“The schism in the union over radical politics [is] a major reason for stalling the growth of a teacher union for decades.” Revolutionary politics and ideology take center stage, as the original Teachers Union becomes a battlefield, pitting leftist against leftist and splitting the union.
Clarence Taylor's "Reds at the Blackboard" focused on the old Teachers Union which disbanded in 1964 after suffering from anti-left attacks.

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


Effective Union Organizing

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

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

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

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

Total Pageviews Since July 2009

State of the Union

See my article in depth:
Reforming the UFT is the Prime Directive
Visit the new SOTU blog http://sotuuft.blogspot.com

Must read: The Case for Large High Schools

Susan Crawford turns the parent choice argument on its ear at Schoolbook.

Diane Ravitch: Great new site (warning: satire)

http://www.standillinois.org

A DC teacher's story:

Why the DC Impact system Bloomberg wants NYC schools to emulate caused me to leave teaching -

http://t.co/Wy5wSPgw

Oldie but goodie; Norm mentioned on FAIR Re; Education Nation

http://www.fair.org/blog/2011/09/27/critics-and-questionable-sponsors-at-nbcs-education-nation/

You Don't Have A Choice - Join the Revolt

The Best Among Us: Join the Revolt On Wall Street or Stand On The Wrong Side of History
Chris Hedges

2011-10-02
http://susanohanian.org/show_commentary.php?id=976

Hedges says, There are no excuses left. Either you join the revolt taking place on Wall Street and in the financial districts of other cities across the country or you stand on the wrong side of history.

GEM Teachers and parents OCCUPY DOE- VIDEO FROM OCT 5, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1cuFUC9iSE&feature=player_embedded

Norm's Message from the Trenches: A Little Bit of Personal History on School Organizing - Part I

http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2010/11/school-organizing-little-bit-of.html

I haven't done Part 2 yet but hope to soon.

GEM (Norm) Debates E4E (Sydney) on Teacher Seniority in Costco Mag

Don't sneeze at this one: 8 million copies in print.
http://www.costcoconnection.com/connection/201108#pg19

MUST READ: How theCorporate Right Divided Blacks from Teachers Unions and Each Other

Friday, June 17, 2011

How the Corporate Right Divided Blacks from Teachers Unions and Each Other

Great Debate in Chicago

http://parentsacrossamerica.org/2011/05/chicago-teacher-debate-on-education-nation/

Class Bias, Class Size and Online Learning

Amazing piece by Leonie Haimson.

Good Article on Value-Added

The Answer Sheet
Leading mathematician debunks ‘value-added’

Ex-Harlem Success Teacher Comments on Eva the Diva

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

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

GEM's Julie Cavanagh Debates E4E member on NY1 on LIFO and Seniority

http://www.ny1.com/?ArID=134963

Davis Guggenheim Compared to Riefenstahl

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

Timothy Tyson
Professor of African American Studies and History
Duke University

A Familiar Voice on Unions

"We must close union offices, confiscate their money and put their leaders in prison. We must reduce workers salaries and take away their right to strike"
- Adolf Hitler, May 2, 1933

How Teaching Experience Makes a Difference

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


Full article with charts here.

Outsource our children

The Answer Sheet
Jon Stewart's hysterical defense of teachers

Weingarten/Gates Foundation announce drone-driven teacher evaluation

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

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

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

More at Substance

Rare, undercover footage from a principals’ retreat in Omaha

Principal Training Summit Video

Posted on January 23, 2011 by mrteachbad
http://teachbad.com/2011/01/23/principal-training-summit-video/


My Old Co-Worker and Chapter Leader, David Dow Bentley III, Now a Theater Critic

  • The People's Critic

Teacher Value-Added Data Dumping by Norm Scott

My Article on Teacher Value-Added Data Dumping in ...


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

On standardized testing in our schools

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

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

Rockaway Theatre Company 2010 Highlights- See Norm Act (badly)

Rabbit Hole, Cactus Flower, Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Rockaway Cafe (Halloween review), Odd Couple

http://vimeo.com/19171234

Notice the balding guy in Odd Couple. Not Laurence Olivier.

Did You Attend One of Eva's Harlem Success Academy Soirees for the Rich?

Moskowitz Aims Charters at Wealthy- So Much for Closing the Achievement Gap

You know, let's close that gap for rich kids. Why should their parents pay 30 grand for a private school when the public can foot the bill?

See Gotham Schools report

From Sharon Higgins

Something passed along to me by D. Ravitch.

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2010/11/what-tangled-web-we-weave.html?spref=tw

A must, must, must, must read.

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

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

The US Is Facing a Weimar Moment

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

It's Class Size Stupid

Pissed Off Teacher nails the ed deformers

A Howl of a video as our friendly robots talk education

Now playing at Seattle Education
http://seattleducation2010.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/aunty-broad-says-no-on-the-levy/

Thanks to Sharron Higgins

So you Want to Get a PhD in the Humanities?

If you have five minutes to spare, this short cartoon film, "So you Want to Get a PhD in the Humanities?" is both very funny and scary at the same time.

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7451115/?ref=nf%C2%A0

Brian Jones on Education Nation Panel with Brill, Rhee, Weingarten, etc.

http://tiny.cc/wf4jh

"Charter Starter": a video spoof

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnrrw5CV3Gw

Sean Corcoran Findings on Value Added Measurement of Teachers Raises Doubts

Wide margins of error, instability on city’s value-added reports

Click above for Elizabeth Green report at Gotham Schools.

Chicago View of Unity/UFT on Charters

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

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

Jen Johnson, CTU, Local 1 in Substance

Video of Chicago/CORE Deal with UFT/Unity on School Closings at the AFT Convention

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bhailiqr4uQ

Ravitch: Why Public Schools Need Democratic Governance

http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/k_v91/docs/k1003rav.pdf

NYC Parent Commission on School Governance

  • Parent Commission - Mayoral Control Recos 2010

More Videos of HSA vs. Mosaic Prep

Harlem Success Academy Vs. Mosiac Prep - Voices of Parents and Teachers

Rose Annette Jiminez and other parents speak at the Harlem Success Academy attempt to expand in Mosaic Academy.

Norm's Article on Seniority in The Indypendent

FIRST PERSON: Teaching Under Assault: Two visions of education clash as Bloomberg prepares to lay off 6,400 teachers

By Norm Scott, in the Jun 2, 2010 issue

After teaching elementary education for 27 years at PS 147 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, I was offered a technology job at the district level in 1998.

Surprise: On AOL - Analysis of Closing of Metropolitan Corporate Academy in Brooklyn

I only had time to skim this but looks worth checking out:

Part 1: Did 'Failing' School Get Failed by the System?

Part 2: Champion Debate Team Rejects City's Verdict

Part 3: How Education Reform Can Turn Into a Shell Game

Part 4: When a School Year Ends in Purgatory

Ed Notes Greatest Hits: HSA Rally and Founding of GEM

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

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

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


Video - Bill Gates at the AFT: Bringing in a Trojan Horse

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6Ezri0pVOg


AFT Gates- California teacher chastises Randi for actions at Gates Protests
AFT Gates- Randi chastised for actions by California teacher


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkSSSYQuIcs

Charter School Scandals - from Sharon Higgins

  • CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS
    Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School
    11 years ago

Ravitch Debates Charter School Shill James Merriman

On NY1 Video Clip:

http://www.ny1.com/content/118229/story

Diana Senechal on Harlem Children's Zone

Sorry Geoffrey Canada, but failure IS an option, a reality, and even a boon - Diana Senechal

Washington Post Class Struggle
2010-04-09
http://susanohanian.org/show_atrocities.php?id=9289

The writer takes a look at the Harlem Children's Zone where failure is not an option but some grades are not mentioned.

Source: Ohanian

Parents Speak Out Against Mayoral Control of Schools at Tweed

Inside Schools has the video scoop.

MUST READ- Leonie on Eva

Haimson on Eva's saturation charter school mailings

An Oldie But Goodie: The Disparity Gap

At the Education Roundtable

Video of Chicago's George Schmidt and CORE Shredding Arne Duncan and the Chicago Corporate Model


Labor Beat video hosted at:
The video is hosted on blip.tv: http://blip.tv/file/2428857

Great Post on Teacher Quality at the Morton School

I'm very tired of the myth that schools are bursting at the seams with apathetic, unskilled, surly, child-hating losers who can't get jobs doing anything else. I recently figured that, counting high school and college where one encounters many teachers in the course of a year, I had well over 100 teachers in my lifetime, and I can only say that one or two truly had no place being in a classroom.

More at: http://themortonschool.blogspot.com/2009/07/its-teachers-stupidright.html

UFT Election Results 2004/07 Compared

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pgxRf3gM4qtyBFmTshSW1fQ&hl=en

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