Unity/UFT Ends Decades of Tradition of Open ended questioning at Oct. 24 Ex Bd as Questions Attempt to hold leadership accountable

Opposition doesn't come from a naive place. We have educated opinions that differ from leadership's.... Melissa Williams, CL OT/PT Chapter at Oct. 24 UFT Ex Bd

I'm done with anything Unity does anymore. Not joining the healthcare committee. Probably gonna leave contract. Waste of my time and validates them falsely. Done giving them credibility that they aren't partisan. I'm just sad. I'm sad that unity stooped this low. I really am. I was optimistic about working together to some extent. That died today..... Comment from activist who had intentions of working with Unity

Healthcare savings are nothing but givebacks.... James Eterno

United for Change defeated Unity by 500 votes in the high schools to elect the 7 high school reps to the ex bd. There are 20 thousand high school teachers.  They deserve a voice.

Autocrats threatened with losing control, always react with suppressing democracy which actually energizes the opposition. (See Iran).

If you can't find the time to put in two hours every two weeks at an Ex bd meeting, go find something else to do. 

Links to Oct. 24 Ex Bd meeting notes from Nick and James:

• New Action – UFT Union leadership votes to disenfranchise high school executive board members – Executive Board Minutes – 10/24/2022 -
• ICEUFT Blog LIVE BLOGGING FROM OCTOBER 24, 2022 EXECUTIVE BOARD MEET

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Something broke last night at the UFT Ex Bd meeting, becoming reminiscent of the divide between Republicans and Democrats. We know who the Republicans are. Fundamentally, the UFT/Unity leadership has the mentality of the Republican party - privatizing, voter suppression and anti-democratic. Mitch Mulgrew.

I heard Amy [Arundell] yelling at the top of her lungs when we brought up the length of the president’s report [at the DA] and asking who makes the agenda "it’s our TRADITION," she yelled. Last night she gutted decades of tradition By cutting the question period •limiting it.... Her oath to loyalty over principle may now mean I’ve lost all respect for her unionism......we lose all respect for your unionism when oath to caucus loyalty comes before a modicum of principle. Limiting & silencing questions by rank and file because they make you uncomfortable... Educators of NYC

I admit I was sort of surprised that Amy, who many oppo people have had respect for in the past, led the way on limiting the question period, but I guess she has to demonstrate what a loyal foot soldier she is as her star has fallen somewhat in the leadership hierarchy. 

We watch positioning in the UFT along the lines people watched the Chinese Communist Party where Xi Jinping kept his back turned while his predecessor was escorted from the room. Unity should televise their next Party Congress. Will we see Mulgrew escorted from the room the same way?

Just watch the faces of the Unity Ex Bd and see either blank stares or frustration that they actually have to put up with questions and resos from those who disagree with them. You see, in Unity you don't question. You just follow orders. So actually seeing people ask questions must cause them some culture shock.

 

Last night a line in the sand of sorts was drawn. I wonder if they are taking this comment from Arthur Goldstein, who has been a Unity supporter for years:

Unity is not thinking ahead. This plan is exactly why they won this year by the lowest percentage ever, and exactly why they could lose the next election... The MLC Medicare Advantage Plan

More Democracy is threat to autocrats in Unity Caucus:

If UFC ever really gets it together - which is always problematical -- the retiree vote will move further away from Unity and once the healthcare loses take full effect, the membership will move away too. If I live to see the 2025 election, it should be interesting. If I don't, keep me informed anyway by posting comments on this blog.

 

The standard reaction of autocracies faced with threats to their control (think Lucashencko, Putin, Xi, Mulgrew) is to double down on repression. 

 

Democracy issues were front and center at the EB meeting last night.

Unity puts time limits on EB question period - expect further restrictions on democracy

 

October DA Reinforces United for Change allegation (Complaint #21) that the UFT/Unity Caucus Shuts UFC Out at DA - Unity Denies DA Plan

Sunday, October 23, 2022

The UFC Committee alleges that the UFT has violated the LMRDA with a range of conduct relating to the conduct of the Delegate Assembly, the UFT’s representative legislative body. These allegations are broadly divided into three categories: (a) alleged violations of Roberts Rules; (b) procedural inadequacy; and (c) procedural changes made in conjunction with the election... UFT Election Complaint #21

For decades some Unity Caucus people have been telling us how Unity and the leadership prepped for Delegate Assemblies through what they call their "Speakers Bureau". People get assigned roles. They even rehearse. They held two rehearsals for a recent DA so Mulgrew could get it right. Mulgrew even has seating plans. People are set up to ask certain questions that allow Mulgrew to expand on his already way too long opening report. They have designated plants to speak on leadership backed resos and people known as "call the question" plants to end debates. One former Unity told me a clue is when Leroy Barr removes his glasses. Which makes this report Leroy gave at the Oct. 3 Ex Bd hilarious:

UFT President Michael Mulgrew does not determine who is called on based on caucus affiliation...Concerning the allegation that no delegate not affiliated with the UC has been permitted to present a resolution and no UFC candidate member has been recognized during the new motion period of the Delegate Assembly, this is false. While the UFT does not track caucus affiliation for attendees or speakers at Delegate Assemblies, UFT rejection of UFC Complaint #21 - LOL

While I don't expect the Department of Labor or the AFT to rule against the UFT on the way they run the Delegate Assembly, we need to keep pointing their behavior. Last year's - a UFT election year - the behavior by Unity was the worst as Mulgrew shut out voices of the opposition at last years' DAs after the opposition had won or came close on some resos. 

Unity shuts out opposition voices by controlling the 10 minute New Motion period by inserting its own motions and making it look like they are random. 

Ex Bd UFC member Nick Bacon exposed the continuing behavior in his report on the Oct. DA:

No time for opposition: 

Mulgrew called on one opposition member all night – H.S. executive board member, Ilona Nanay (MORE), who asked a good question (and got a bad answer) on changes to the city council administrative code. It was no accident that Mulgrew called on a known opposition member during the question period, but not during the new motions period. During a question period, it’s easy for Mulgrew to regain control of the room. He can spend lots of time answering a short question, and making it clear that his perspective is the right perspective. 

During a new motion, opposition has far more space to convince the audience. Mulgrew knows that, so we haven’t been called on since last November, 2021 to raise one (and that’s when I was technically still a member of his Unity caucus). It’s also worth noting how obvious it was that Mulgrew knew who he was picking in advance. One of the people he called on, Maggie Joyce, is someone he calls on frequently to raise new motions. She is a familiar Unity face to him, often present at UFT functions. Another of the people he called on was raising a motion he noted before it was even raised (on migrant children).

Nick points out how Unity prevented UFC from presenting a strong healthcare reso to protect the members (rejected in a strict party vote at the UFT Ex Bd - Oct. 3: 

Our healthcare reso didn’t stand a chance. We didn’t even get to the business of motions on 10/12’s agenda. We lost all that to the most brainwashing filibuster Mulgrew has ever given. I’ll give my same advice again – if you want to see diverse union perspectives, come to executive board meetings where you have any chance of actually seeing them.

Unity put two "message" resos on the agenda - on immigrants and support for Iranian women - and watch them attack us for calling them out on this as an attack on the substance of the resos - not true - they could have been added as special business and not taken away from the normal 10 minute new motions. 

This tactic is intentional and happens time and again when they are threatened with a strong oppo reso and we will raise this tactic with the Department of Labor, though I don't think they will get what we are talking about.

Leadership sponsored resos are presented to the Ex bd and then put on the regular agenda of the DA. The ten minute time had been used by the opposition for decades to raise new motions. So especially since Mulgrew took over the UFT, Unity has coopted this time period to raise "late" resos, often handed out unlabeled as to sponsors. Now I understand that stuff may come up last minute -- so my suggestion is to allow them to do this but not count it against the 10 minutes. And if Mulgrew doesn't filibuster for an hour this would be easy.

Adding to the hilarity are the examples they cite of calling on UFC candidates at times before UFC even existed. The funniest was this:

At the November 17, 2021 Delegate Assembly, eventual UFC Executive Board candidate Nick Bacon made a motion regarding potential health care plan changes, which was voted on and defeated;

Nick, who did not become a candidate for UFC until January 2022, pointed out at the Exec Board meeting he was still in Unity in November 2021. In fact, my guess is that Nick was turned off to Unity due to their behavior at the DA. In fact, over the past 25 years, a number of people who were neutral delegates were pissed off enough at the DA to move toward the opposition.

And on this one from the UFT report:

At the November 17, 2021 Delegate Assembly, eventual UFC Executive Board candidate and member of the Educators of NYC (EONYC) caucus Daniel Alicea had a motion listed on the agenda as a special order of business, regarding the UFT’s position towards mayoral control of New York City public schools, which Mr. Alicea withdrew from consideration;

Daniel, who a year before the election was still fairly neutral about Unity - in fact he voted for Unity in the 2019 election - tried to get a mayoral control reso on the agenda in the spring of 2021 but found himself thwarted at every turn and withdrew his reso after its relevance had expired. That they used this example at a time when UFC did not exist and Daniel was not associated with the opposition - yet - makes their response even more of a farce.

In my opinion the thwarting of his attempt to get a discussion going on mayoral control at the DA was what helped open his eyes. When Daniel raised the point that many of the speakers at DAs are UFT employees on the payroll Unity went ballistic on him - he became public enemy #1.

Below is the complete section of the UFT report:

Complaint #21 – The Allegations Do Not Demonstrate Violations Of The LMRDA

June 27, 2021 - DEMOCRACY NOW! - Democratizing Our School Communities & Union - Educators of NYC

 

Get ready for our online community event later today.

DEMOCRACY NOW! - Democratizing Our School Communities & UnionI’ve signed up to attend a community meeting with The Educators of NYC on Sunday, Jun 27, 2021. Are you free to join me? Use this link to sign up: https://www.mobilize.us/theeducatorsofnyc/event/389714/?referring_vol=1065650&rname=Norm&timeslot=2786883&share_medium=email_link&share_context=email_3

 

Tomorrow, Sunday, 6/27, 2021, at 7 PM, Educators of NYC will ask if more can be done to DEMOCRATIZE NYC public school governance and, even, structures within our cherished educator union.

We hope to have a panel represented by some of our union’s caucuses and leaders, and audience interactions about the topic.

We will also share a special segment about Wednesday’s rally to fight the privatization of city worker’s healthcare, on June 30th at 12 PM. See the details regarding the rally here.

RSVP now. http://forum.educators.nyc

 

 

UFT News Today- Retiree Election Vote Count at 52 Bway, Delegate Assembly votes on hybrid meetings -with restrictions

Liz Perez--Motivates--Was a lot of discussion and compromise. Want all members to be engaged and this addresses that. Members have a choice to come in person with ability to vote, speak, present and amend motions. Members from home will be able to speak, vote and ask questions. Want to make sure all members are engaged. 

Barr--People participating via telephone will not be able to make motions, Will have option to appear in person. 

Camille Eady--Rises in support. Members have been supportive. Flexibility unparalleled. Will give opportunity for those uncomfortable with appearing in person.

Mike Schirtzer

--Favor of option, thinks participation has been great, opposes motion, disenfranchises members. Want everyone at 52 but not all will fit. Some can't make it, hybrid should have all with full privileges.

Patty Crispino--Calls question.

Arthur reports from the UFT Executive Board June 14, 2021--Hybrid DA Proposal

"Perhaps DOENUTS has it right comparing the UFT to the Republicans."

James at ICEUFT Blog

UFT SETS DEMOCRACY BACK AGAIN BY CREATING SECOND-CLASS STATUS FOR REMOTE DELEGATES FOR NEXT YEAR -  

At the UFT Executive Board this evening, the Board voted 94-6 to create a two-tiered hybrid system for Delegate Assemblies for the next school year. Those who can make it to 52 Broadway in Manhattan will get full rights to vote on motions, to ask questions, to make motions, to second motions, to move motions, to speak in a debate, to raise points of order, to raise parliamentary inquiries, to ask for points of information, to propose amendments, and more. On the other hand, those who are remote will get the right to listen to President Mulgrew filibuster, to speak in a debate, and then vote secretly. If you are a Delegate who is a parent who can't get to lower Manhattan by 4:15 P.M., or a Delegate who is incapacitated and or may have an emergency at school or home, Mulgrew, and the Unity Caucus are denying these Delegates some basic rights. 

It is 2021; the technology exists to put a system in place so that those attending remotely for whatever reason have the same basic rights as those attending a meeting in person.

Women make up the vast majority of the UFT membership and parents with child care responsibilities are probably a big share of Delegates but if they have to be remote for the Delegate Assembly, they get second-class status.

94-6 is a massive victory for democracy at an EB meeting where 100% ran on Unity slate. Mike led the charge.

Wednesday, June 16, 2021
I'm about to leave for 52 Broadway for the retiree chapter election vote count where Retiree Advocate is challenging Unity Caucus. 70 thousand are eligible to vote but expect at most 20-25,000, it even that. RA usually gets 20% - and since this edition is mostly about the DA, we theoretically should get a portion of the 300 Unity people elected to the DA - and I would be a delegate again. But winner take all by Unity disenfranchises the people who vote for us -- dues taxation without

representation. 

If we get an uptick in votes it will be due to the attempt by the union to knock us out of Medicare and into a privatized program. Leadership will notice.
I'm going to be in the city for a few days, with a visit tomorrow to the Mus of Nat History so I won't be reporting directly but will inform James with results at the ICEUFT blog.

DA goes hybrid but with different rules for remote

A controversy erupted in the past few days over the proposal to have hybrid meetings next year at the DA (beginning in October) but limits on those who are remote. And of course it is always important to track Unity hacks who call the question to kill debate. Leroy Barr actually kept debate open because what does it cost to allow people to blow off steam when you know you have the room? The final vote was 94-6, which is actually pretty good at an EB meeting where at most we expect Mike Schirtzer to be the only independent voice that might challenge the union line -- I wonder if Unity will allow him to run with him again in next year's election? An irony would be for him to run with a united opposition slate and knock off the Unity high school EB people as we did in 2016.

The basic message: if you have something to say or a reso to offer, get your ass down to 52 Broadway. I have mixed feelings as someone who had gotten his ass down to 52 at almost every DA since 1994. But then again, I'm nuts, did not have kids nor did I come in from the Bronx or who knows where?

Mike Schirtzer, who was originally elected to the EB along with Arthur on the MORE slate in 2016 and after the MORE purges ran on Unity in 2019, opposed the motion while Arthur supported it. I agree with both of them.

[By the way, with UFT chapter elections ending this week, the 2021 general UFT election season opens -- I have loads of ideas on that in future posts.]

The technology exists to allow non attendees to play an active role. A key is that live DAs generally were attended by 5-600 people out of a potential 3500. And don't forget those 300 Unity retirees who vote as a block. Not all attend but enough to influence any vote. If RA had delegates they would team up with other voices of dissent. And RA people have decades - even a half century of UFT activism behind them.

That attendance is pretty weak. Allowing people to take an active part remotely would make the DA a more viable body. Mike raised the point that if you emphasize being there, at least hold meetings in a space that can accommodate more than 20% of potential attendees - before the union moved to 52 DAs were held in schools that could accomate a lot more and even in giant hotel ball rooms for contract votes.

But big attendance is a threat to the leadership which knows full well that it can get Unity people there, along with a small opposition and sees more participation as a danger. There were a few instances where they lost some important votes and had to maneuver the body.

In person still important for activists
The small number of activists in the UFT do get there and for them I believe in person, even if they had full rights remotely, is still important for organizing purposes.

My goal of course was to be there to hand out something since I could not participate once I retired in 2002 and was no longer a delegate. I saw the DA as a space to meet and greet people and try to influence their views. Where else do union people from schools gather monthly? Of course it is mostly Unity Caucus people but there were always enough independents - in fact Ed Notes morphed into ICEUFT Caucus as an outcome of my meeting people at the DA where I handed out the paper every meeting starting in 1998.

So I get the idea that being there is a key if you want to participate. This is especially true for the relatively tiny activist opposition to Unity. 

One of my biggest gripes with MORE over the years was the sporadic interest in using the DA as an effective organizing tool. My repeated attempts to formulate a newsletter that would attract readers with some real news and analysis vs caucus propaganda were rejected and I had to revert to Ed Notes or other vehicles. I knew people wanted to read stuff I was putting out over the decades because many who recognized me would come over to ask for a copy.

I am still floating an idea of forming an independent delegate group as an uncaucus thingy where participants from all caucuses plus independents would work together at the DA -- an idea I floated in MORE for years until I have up. I have had some interest from a few people -- the idea would be to put out a newsletter along the lines of ed notes -- I would volunteer to edit it.
 

 The more I think of how the UFT operates -- at best center-right Democratic Party, the more I see them as almost acting like Republicans. They oppose universal health care and support private health insurance and their massive profits.

DOENUTS is thinking the same way: UFT suppresses voting rights -- sound familiar?

Mitch McConnell, confident in his chinless repose, shocked the world tonight as he strode to the podium of UFT headquarters' Shanker Hall during their weekly Executive Board meeting.  After several uncomfortable moments of deafening silence from the 100 member UFT governing body,  McConnell proceeded to give a fiery speech which included a ringing endorsement of the UFT's new rules for remote Delegate Assembly next year.

"Should I register as a Republican now?", wondered another confused member after casting her vote. A colleague nearby just shrugged her shoulders in response and offered, "I guess, just wait for the email?". 

"This is incredible" said another upset member, "I have to watch them take away voting rights for people on TV and now my own union wants to make sure that duly elected delegates are second class representatives in their own Delegate Assembly. I can't believe these two people are working together"

Mitch McConnell Walks Into a Union Hall ... and approves

Annals of the UFT - On Democracy in the Current and Past UFT Delegate Assembly - Norm Scott

More than 2,000 elected school reps joined the January meeting by phone, a 40-percent increase over participation last spring that undoubtedly reflects a craving for information in circumstances that remain so fluid. However, the UFT delegate assembly was meant to be more than an information session. .... --- Solidarity Caucus Letter of complaint in letter to The Chief, posted on ICE Blog:

--------SOLIDARITY LETTER ON UFT LACK OF DEMOCRACY PRINTED IN CHIEF

March 31, 2021 -- 

My next to last pre-pandemic day in the city before heading back to Rockaway was March 11, 2020 when I attended the last in person UFT Delegate Assembly. Outside the meeting a chapter leader of one of the largest schools in the city told me his school had more cases than the DOE or UFT was admitting to and his complaints to the union were landing on deaf ears and he was thinking of going to the press. (I think he did and those articles put pressure on the DOE and UFT). Earlier that day my wife and I had attended almost empty classes for retirees at 52 Broadway that were cancelled for the rest of the year, it was clear things were going bad. The night before, March 10, we went to a crowded Broadway play - Broadway shut down 3 days later. Schools were shut shortly after though teachers were required to come in the next week without children for "training." Over 70 ended up dying. And the Delegate Assembly has only met remotely since then.

OK, that's some background but the intention here is to open a discussion on democracy at the UFT Delegate Assembly, currently and in the near and distant past. John Lawhead, one of the authors of the Solidarity letter, has been running a UFT history study group which has been fascinating and I've gotten a good handle on how a very democratic institution was turned into what it is today. Look for follow-up posts.

What is the Delegate Assembly?

It consists of the elected chapter leaders and delegates from the schools and functional chapters, where there is a 60-1 ratio, meaning a school with 300 UFT non-functional/classroom chapter members, gets 5 delegates. Large functional chapters get a load, like retirees with 70,000 members, get 300 members of the DA. 

 

Retiree Advocate running a slate vs Unity in chapter election

I'm working with Retiree Advocate to run a slate against Unity in the upcoming chapter election - if you are a retiree and want to run let me know - we won't win and Unity will claim winner take all despite us getting around 20% of the vote - which in a democratic institution would give us 60 delegates - we actually asked Unity for a measly 5 seats to at least represent that 20% and they said NO.

How many delegates?

Do the math and you can see there are probably over 4000 people who can attend a DA but in person the room only holds a max of 850, with a few breakout rooms.

But the reality is that there are often less than 600 in person - for from a quorum which makes meetings technically illegal, but who's counting? And Unity caucus people naturally dominate the crowd, especially when you add in retirees even if only 100 attend.

A key feature of the DAs, especially since Randi Weingarten took over have been long filibuster president reports that often take up to an hour and eat up time.

So by its very nature, DAs are undemocratic in practice. The pandemic has changed things and the union has had to adapt. 

The current situation is that many more people are attending the DA - I think I saw some 2000 at the January DA. Imagine zoom meetings with thousands and electronic voting which they have no way of controlling.

How do you do democracy in that environment? Most importantly, the number of eyes on the DA is itself more democratic and that has made the union leadership very nervous, even though they can easily shut people they don't want to hear from out. But I think the transparency is a bigger threat to them and I bet they are dying to get back to normal smaller DAs. But they have figured out a way to restrict democracy even further.

Reports of the MORE Meeting: A Maturing Organization Plus How Jia Lee Helped Rescue MORE

AN EXHILARATING BREATH OF FRESH AIR WHEN TAKING PART IN DEMOCRACY IN ACTION

There are two bogger reports out on the MORE meeting this past Saturday by

• James Eterno at ICE: MORE CONTINUES TO GROW and 

• Peter Zucker at SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL South Bronx School Endorses Jia Lee as Next UFT President.

Caucus building is a long and winding road

These positive reports on the state of MORE are somewhat remarkable as they come from people who a little over a year ago were not happy with the state of MORE and either had left or contemplated withdrawing. They were joined by other blogger critics and I too felt I was on the ropes with frustration. 

We actually held an ICE meeting attended by 25 people, including many non-ICEers where people vented their frustrations.

We knew that MORE, as a multi-year effort to pull many of the disparate elements involved in the UFT (ICE, TJC, GEM, NYCORE plus non-affiliated) together into one group, would be the only sustainable game in town over time and turning it into a viable organization was worth putting effort into.

People went back to their corners to lick their wounds while things cooled down. One new person who walked into the storm emailed me to suggest that why don't people in MORE just work on the issues that interest them? That opened up the idea that MORE could use some open internal space for people who might not agree on everything to pursue their aims using the structure of MORE - an attractive idea to building a caucus that wanted to not be Unity. If you have an idea and others are with you and you aren't going so far off the reservation as to violate core principles then JUST DO IT. MORE began to focus more on some core stuff like supporting chapter leaders by running training and a powerful listserve as a helpline when people in their schools ran into trouble

Of all the people in MORE, one particular person held her cool and worked across the lines to put things back into order: Jia Lee. I, as one of the hotheads, received encouraging missives from Jia as did many others. Jia tirelessly - remember she is a single parent of a now 12-year old - put herself out there to find ways to make this endeavor work. 

Only a tiny sliver on the fringes of MORE saw this as an opportunity to do their own self-promotion rather than try to help put Humpty Dumpty back together again as Jia did. 

Which is just one reason why the majority of the long and short term fighters against Unity are supporting Jia Lee for UFT President.

James Eterno points to the maturing of MORE - and that is such a wonderful point. So many of us were not thinking that little babies like MORE had to go through its tantrums before learning how to work with each other or if you can't work with certain people there should be enough space for them to to their thing.

Peter Zucker's piece is also a powerful statement from someone who barely know Jia but sat next to her at the MORE meeting on Saturday and has an account of his conversation with her. Peter also saw something James and I saw - where MORE general meetings had at times been difficult, and this one had a patch of rough road too - which I will get into in a future post -- the democratic process was such a breath of fresh air given how we see the UFT operate - really an exhilarating breath of fresh air.

Peter saw what we have seen in Jia since she and Lauren Cohen walked into a More Than a Score event GEM held on testing almost 4 years ago. That event, which included Leoine Haimson, Carol Burris, Gary Rosenberg (Stuy teacher and major blogger about TFA) and Arthur Goldstein (NYC Educator)- who was supposed to attend but due to a death in the family had his statement read by the chair person of that meeting: a 7 month pregnant Julie Cavanagh who 6 weeks after giving birth accepted the MORE nomination for its first presidential candidate in the 2013 UFT elections.

Is there any better sign that MORE can go from Julie to Jia without missing a beat?

Revisting Bloomberg Closing School Policy and UFT/Unity Complicity as They Sends Hacks to Schools They Helped Close Down to Talk Friedrichs

UFT SPECIAL REP SHOWS HE KNOWS OR CARES NOTHING ABOUT THIS SCHOOL
by Jeff Kaufman

Far Rockaway, NY Nov. 19. 2015. 

A UFT Special Rep led a union meeting held with the teachers of QIRT in which he demonstrated that the UFT, in its present condition, has little regard for us.

He began the meeting with a bizarre explanation of Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, a case currently pending in the United States Supreme Court in which non-union teachers have complained that they should not be forced to pay union dues. The case is significant and will, if the plaintiffs win, completely alter labor management relations in the public sector since teachers and others will probably not want to pay dues for unions they believe are not helping them win significant contract rights.

The UFT’s very existence is at stake but why would the Special Rep talk to us about this? Is there anything we could do about a case pending before the US Supreme Court?

This is a significant time to organize ourselves and select representatives who will actually think about our members and not their own pocket books. While there is no question that our Union must survive informing a Chapter about this case shows how ineffectual the Union leadership is.

The Special Rep continued to talk about the grievance procedure, lesson plans and unit plans; items which are clearly not issues for our Chapter.

● Where was the Union when they destroyed our grievance procedure and took away the right to grieve letters to the file?
● Where was the Union when Danielson was implemented?
● Where was the Union when testing was and still out of control?
● Where was the Union when the Union gave up any credible influence in the educational process?

The Union was and continues to be complicit. We need a Union that puts its members first; not for some misguided leaders.
Jeff Kaufman

We can add to Jeff's list - like where was the union when they started closing down large high schools in the earliest days of the Bloomberg admin? Let me focus on that issue here.

When the UFT/Unity send people to your school to talk about the Friedrich's case which may allow teachers to stop paying dues they are clearly concerned about the damage to the machine that may incur when people who have been poorly served by the union choose that option. Given UFT partnership with the deformers for decades, there is a lot of anger out there at the leadership.

How about starting with reforming the union constitution to allow the disenfranchised to have a voice? Like currently, the UFT Exec Board is 100% Unity Caucus endorsed and in the coming election about the best the opposition will do is to capture the 7 high schools seats out of 100. Do we think that only 7% of UFT members don't support Unity?

One of the union's major failures was their cooperation in the closing of large schools until it got so bad late in 2009 that they tried to respond with too little too late.

The issue of the closing of large high schools and breaking them into small schools was a topic of conversation when I had the pleasure of having lunch with Jeff Kaufman earlier this week - he is teaching at a school at Far Rockaway HS campus. For newbies, Jeff was a major opposition voice in ICE and the UFT and he and James Eterno led the charge when we had UFT High School Exec Board seats from 2004-2007.

• UPDATED LINK: Chaz: Why The NYU Study On The Closed Schools, When Replaced By Small Schools, Is Fatally Flawed.

There is no little irony that Jeff's school had a visit this week from one of Unity's all-time slugs, Washington Sanchez to talk about Friedrichs. Poor Washington - who I caught leaving derogatory anonymous comments on blogs - he may have to go back to the classroom one day.

But really, a union should be talking to people about Friedrichs and the danger it imposes. But an autocratic union that turns so many people off?

Jeff, a former cop and lawyer, was Randi's worst nightmare when he was on the board, challenging her when she talked legal -- really some of the funniest moments in UFT history. And also - Jeff was the most notorious person rubber roomed while he was on the Ex Bd when he was chapter leader at Riker's Island. And I know there are some people out there who think they invented the wheel but after we got Randi to give time to speakers before EB meetings began, Jeff began to bring his friends from the rubber room to these meetings to speak. Jeff and James (and others) also led the charge against the 2005 contract over the creation of ATRS in that contract by ending seniority rules.

And oh yes, we all also spoke up against the UFT going along with closing schools - they did not begin to wake up until Bloomberg took a massive shot at them by trying to close down 19 schools at one time around 2009. I know this comparison may be looked at askance but it is akin to the misjudgements made by our government as ISIS took hold.

It was good to catch up with Jeff and get an insider's perspective on how things are going at a former large school that was broken up.

Far Rock was closed down so small schools could open and the UFT and its toxic Queens office was pretty much a partner with the DOE by putting up no resistance. Ed Notes was on the case:  Ed Notes Online: Where's Waldo – er– the Union at Far Rock?, Dec 26, 2006 and I was invited by some outraged teachers at the union to come to a union meeting after school to talk to the staff and one of the teachers who invited me was eventually fired by the DOE. One of the charges against the teacher? He invited me to the meeting.

Far Rock and other "campuses" like my alma mata Thomas Jefferson have seen the schools that replaced them but don't attract the top students struggle as much as the bigger school did - but with much less resources to offer any of the kids.

Leonie Haimson has a report on her blog debunking a recent "study" that pointed to success for the Bloomberg school closings:  Yet another unconvincing report on the results of Bloomberg's school closure policies.

Nor does the report mention the issue of soaring discharge rates at the closing schools.  In fact, the word "discharge" is never used in either the report or the technical appendix.  In the report Jennifer Jennings and I wrote on the DOE's rising discharge rate between 2000 and 2007, we found this problem especially evident at the closing schools, with rates as high as 50% for the last two graduating classes at closing schools.

Usually one school out of the 4 manage to attract/capture the top performing kids and rises above the rest on these campuses - until some other school in the area competes and starts stealing the top kids and then that school begins to go down -- it is a dog eat dog world in education now. But I've had fun when some of the principals of the "good" school brag how they brought up the grad rate of their school and compare it to the old large high school. Shael was always doing that - when in fact the same percentage of kids who were succeeding at the old large high school - sometimes 25-30% -- were just now concentrated in one separate school.

Jeff filled me in on his new school at Far Rockaway HS Campus, QIRT (Queens HS for Information, Research and Technology - I have to pause for a laugh at these long school names). He likes the school and the principal, who himself is a Far Rock grad. But on the whole the campus is like most of the former large schools - all of the small ones competing for the best kids.

He has only been there 3 months and at the end of this year it will be worth getting his analysis of the state of the Far Rock campus schools years after they closed down the big enchilada.

Jia Lee and Mercedes Schneider – On Counterpunch Radio

Jia Lee and Mercedes Schneider – Episode 24

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This week, Eric sits down with two amazing and inspiring teachers tirelessly working to defend public education from the neoliberal assault being waged against it. First, Eric welcomes to the program Jia Lee, an educator, activist and candidate for President of UFT (United Federation of Teachers) representing the Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE). Eric and Jia discuss why she became a conscientious objector to standardized testing, the importance of democratizing and radicalizing the teachers union, and the ways in which public schools have been attacked, undermined, and corporatized.

In the second part of the show, Eric sits down with educator and advocate Mercedes Schneider who is the author of two important books: A Chronicle of Echoes: Who's Who in the Implosion of American Education and Common Core Dilemma: Who Owns Our Schools?. Eric and Mercedes examine the rise of charter schools, the de-professionalization of teaching, the insidious effect of Teach for America on the profession, and much more.
Musical interlude: "Chicago Teacher" by Rebel Diaz
Intro and Outtro: "Freight Train Rollin'" by David Vest

Why UFT Elections Are a Sideshow to a Bigger Struggle in the Schools

I've been accused of being a defeatist even by people in my own MORE caucus for saying out front Unity cannot be defeated. I don't believe in magical thinking. I am a realist. While the overall elections can't be won, there is a lot of room for smaller victories through the election process.

For me the key thing to win is an expansion of the network deeper into the schools because an opposition must win the majority of the schools as chapters before it can even consider being a serious contender in UFT elections. How will you know that? When Unity starts losing control over the UFT Delegate Assembly even after packing it with 100 Exec Bd members and 300 retirees plus all the other functional chapter delegates and the school-based Unity faithful. (Unity has around 1000-1500 or more members).

The opposition often points out that the retiree vote is the key to Unity control because they vote in the elections. I disagree. At this point the retiree vote is irrelevant.

Unity Caucus (NYC) is not worried about losing the upcoming elections but more concerned about the total % the opposition - whether one, two or three caucuses run - can get. For me, a critical number is breaking a third - and moving towards 40% where it will begin to get serious.

When we look at the numbers we subtract the retiree vote and look at the 3 divisions for signs - the high school, middle school and elementary schools where there are a total of around 64,000 people. Other than the high schools, which have mostly pretty much voted anti-Unity since the mid-80s, the numbers are fairly bleak. This year the high schools seem to be the only division in play with 7 Ex Bd seats, though given the low totals for all caucuses coming out of the middle schools, if MORE could mount a strong middle school campaign it might move those numbers to create a challenge. Elementary schools is where Unity exerts iron control - especially through the district reps who keep a tight reign on over 700 or more schools. Until the opposition manages to break into the elementary schools in force the UFT elections are pretty much a done deal for Unity. And they know that and they make sure to use their machine to keep that tight reign.


2014 Contract Vote Without Retirees
Retirees do not vote on contracts so the outcome a year and a half ago gives us some data to work from. The contract NO vote was about 25% of the 64,000 the working teachers and about 20% of the functionals - roughly 40-45,000. I don't think we had a breakdown by divisions but that would be interesting.

I'm using very rough figures here -- around 93% of all members voted. Roughly 20,000 people voted against the contract. That does not mean they support a movement against Unity,  but call them the most likely group to draw votes from in an election. But then 80% voted for the contract so if you are using these numbers as a sign for the upcoming UFT elections it pretty much breaks down to what we saw in the 2013 election - Unity 80% and MORE 20% - without factoring in the New Action votes -- which went to Mulgrew and bumped his % up. If the numbers stay the same this time Mulgrew might come in under 80% - and maybe closer to 70% if you add up all the opposition votes.

Now I know people out there think there are miracles. Suddenly thousands of people will turn around over the period of a year and a half. To me it is like a school one year has a 20% grad rate and a year later brags that 80% of the  kids graduated. We roll our eyes - knowing they either cheated or tossed out many kids -- like charters.

So we know that if Unity were ever going to lose we cannot just use complaints on blogs or facebook from hundreds of as a signpost.

Opposition at the school and district level comes before UFT elections
All too often people opposed to Unity use chatter -- like emails about how upset people in their schools are and all are against Unity. When these people tell their chapter leaders and delegates to go to the DA and raise hell we will know that some of this chatter is real. So far, not a lot of signs.

We need to see real movement in the schools -- like entire chapters in revolt against the Unity leadership at the central and district level. You would see raucous monthly district rep meetings with chapter leaders where the Unity line pushed by the DR is thrown right back in their faces. You would see people at the weekend CL training challenging the Unity line instead of being recruited to join Unity.

One of the mantras I have been pushing is that the chapter leader elections every 3 years are more important than the UFT elections, which take place one year later. The October DA following CL elections - in this case Oct. 2015 - is where new CLs -- and according to something Mulgrew said - 40% of CLs are new -- come to their first DA as chapter leader - and many don't bother to come back.

The Delegate Assembly is where the battles must be won before we can say Unity can be challenged in the general elections. So far there are no signs this has happened yet.

But Unity knows that an uprising in the schools is where the real threat lies and the first signs of that will be when the DA starts voting against them. That is why they tried to close down the lobby for distribution as one repressive measure to make it more difficult to reach those CLs who might be wooed by the opposition.

I was traveling in Japan during this past October DA so I didn't get a chance to gauge reactions. My distributing stuff before and after I can get a sense of where things might have moved in the union at the school level.

The DA is prime recruiting ground to get more access to the schools
Since the DA is dominated by school-level Unity Caucus members who are CLs or delegates, they are the ones who come out month after month and thus the DA is not a true representative body but it is the only monthly gathering where all schools can show up and an important place for opposition to try to reach beyond their networks. And I will say that MORE people standing in the lobby after the meetings are getting people to sign up for our mailing lists - but in dribs and drabs -- and I think MORE has neglected doing this on a regular basis with an army of people instead of one or two.

There will be little chance of change in the UFT until a caucus opposing the UFT leadership reaches a critical mass in the number of schools where it has a base. Our pals in CORE in Chicago has a base in most of the 650 schools before they got elected. WE Caucus in Philly is creating a serious challenge because they have a base in a good percentage of schools.

But here in NYC things are not so easy due to the number of schools and the massive Unity machine that uses hundreds of full-time employees working on our dime to exercise control over the union.

Stronger Together Threatens Randi/Mulgrew Power: What is Behind NYSUT Unity Attack on Beth Dimino

..if you are like me and you are tired of your profession being trampled while your union “leaders” compromise and collaborate with coroporate  privatizers who seek to destroy public education, then go ahead and reduce your VOTE-COPE and join STCaucus (open to any NYSUT members).  It literally is about the only say you have in your parent unions.... Unity’s Attack on Dimino & Reducing VOTE-COPE.. Posted on November 14, 2015 by thepjsta

PJSTA include link to my Mulgrew punch in face video at AFT14

With Friedrichs on the way, Unity doubles down on repression -  the attack on Beth Dimino and smaller stuff like trying to stop voices of dissent are signs - which you know if you have been reading my recent posts.

• Telling Comment on How UFT District Reps Favor Pri...
• Commentary: Suppressing Democracy at the UFT: Raw 
• Video: Taking a Stand Against UFT/Unity Attempt to...

There's lots of stuff out there on the attack on Beth Dimino --

NYC Educator

NY State's Unity Caucus Launches a Despicable Attack Against PJSTA President Beth Dimino -
NYSUT to Charge Members for Meetings, Not Sure How Much Yet  from

The Pen is Mightier than the Person blog is telling:

Faced with an existential case before the Supreme Court which could make dues optional, New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) continues to give its members plenty of reasons not to opt in. On the other hand, renting out its offices to "external groups" might become the norm if and when the Union blows up. 

Just go over to the ICE blog and read the comments on how pissed off people are at the UFT/Unity leadership: ICEUFT Blog

LIVE BLOGGING FROM NOVEMBER DA (Sorry for any errors-Updated and cleaned up a little). Here is one morsel of doom for Unity:

Three are about 5-7 uft members in my school out of about 100 who will voluntary pay union dues if given the option. I'm not one of them. I'll gladly go down with the ship if it means there's even the slightest chance I will get to see Mulgrew and other useless UFT staffers drown first.  

Hey - maybe they just don't care what happens if people stop paying dues. Or they think they have the situation under control.

Chatter has been coming in to Ed Notes about just how much of a threat Stronger Together, the statewide opposition caucus to Unity in NYSUT is viewed by Randi Weingarten and her liege Michael Mulgrew.

Some of this chatter I cannot share but there is serious attention to ST being paid. Let me explain why the threat before getting to the NYSUT Unity Caucus attack on Beth Dimino, president of the Port Jefferson Station union and one of the leaders of ST Caucus.

Unity Caucus exists on 3 levels - NYC where the power rests, NYSUT where State Unity is controlled by NYC Unity - and the AFT national level where Unity is called Progressive Caucus. The entire pyramid rests on the ability of NYC Unity, which is a third of NYSUT - to control the other two thirds. NYSUT is a massive component of the AFT national -- maybe 30-40% of the membership.

So note how the pyramid can be topped if ST manages to dent NYC Unity control of NYSUT - and with a new election coming up in 2017 - state and city Unity are trying to either buy off or repress the Stronger Together threat. When I say buy off - I mean doing to ST what they did to New Action back in 2003 - and I think there will be people who feel it is better to not attack the machine but work with it - and Unity may be using Friedrichs to try to keep people on board - just as they used the Bloomberg threat to get New Action on board.

Beth Dimino has been the tireless ambassador of ST, reaching out 2 years ago even before ST was formed to MORE and MORE has become a partner with ST, with Mike Schirtzer having a position on the steering committee. MORE has taken its activism to a national level by aligning with other caucuses around the nation, some of whom have already won elections, have come close or about to like in Philly where WE - Working Educators - social justice caucus may actually win - another loss for Randi.

ST is allied with this national movement.

So imagine of ST actually threatens to capture NYSUT or win enough statewide delegates - especially from the other big cities - to challenge NYC Unity control over NYSUT - and then allies with the other national caucuses to create a threat to Randi in the AFT. Now I do not think that will happen this summer at AFT16 in Minneapolis -- but a bunch of us are going to work the rooms to help build that alliance for possible challenge in 2018 - where it may be Mulgrew instead of Randi.

So the attempt to discredit Beth as one of the key components in building these alliances is not just an isolated incident. To get the  full story and response here is the Port Jefferson Station teacher union response:

Unity’s Attack on Dimino & Reducing VOTE-COPE

Posted on November 14, 2015 by thepjsta
 

Telling Comment on How UFT District Reps Favor Principal Friends Over Membership

In the world of totalitarian Unity Caucus even one voice of dissent is worrisome and they put lots of energy into deflecting and marginalizing these voices.

Are UFT/Unity Caucus non-elected District Reps the most insidious people in the UFT hierarchy? This comment was posted by Anonymous on your post "Commentary: Suppressing Democracy at the UFT:

All part of the story of our lazy stupid apathetic membership. We have a very decent CL, Unity affiliated, but asking a lot of questions. It is so pitiful to watch the District Rep come into the building and toss the CL under a truck, even right in front of members. The UFT leadership is trying to push the CL out with taunts and challenges from the friend of a highly placed UFT official. Said UFT friend, is a handsomely paid ($15,000 to 20,000 a year) shill for a principal who buys loyalty with DOE cash. When it came time to pick SLT people, our stupid beyond belief staff voted for this person. You can tell someone not to step off he curb in front of a speeding car, but when they deliberately choose to ignore you, they sort of deserve what they get.

There are so many bad stories about UFT District Reps. These are the key middle management people who ride herd on the chapter leaders in their district to keep the membership in line and undermine any opposition roilings in the schools. They are the key components of the Unity machine. Before 2002 they were elected by the chapter leaders in the district. Unity managed to control this process well enough as to have all DRs in the caucus - until the Manhattan HS teachers revolted in 1990 and elected long-time Chapter Leader Bruce Markens, who was re-elected time after time until he retired in 2000. Bruce was like a giant burr in Randi's paw and as soon as she could she eliminated the possibility this would ever happen again.

DRs hold meetings every month with the district CLs who are mostly cowed into pushing the leadership agenda. Even opposition people seem to avoid confrontation at these meetings. Now some DRs are more skilled than others at keeping order - they tell opposition people one thing while slashing at them behind their backs. In the world of totalitarian Unity even one voice of dissent is worrisome and they put lots of energy into deflecting and marginalizing these voices.

If you are a CL don't take it any more. Don't let them totally establish the agenda. Make them deal with issues in your school that are not addressed. Don't assume all the other CLs in the room who are quiet are happy. Reach out to them and see if you can establish alliances. Even set up an alternate district meeting of even a few where you can address issues of concern.

ICE 2010 Platform on UFT Democracy - a starting point for discussing democracy at the MORE conference

I'm working with Michael Fiorillo and Arthur Goldstein on the 11 AM workshop on UFT democracy.

Here are the 2 handouts for discussion at the workshop on UFT democracy as a starting point for developing a platform for our demands for structural change. First we review the current structure and then brainstorm changes.

The people attending can add, eliminate or modify these points or take things in an entirely different direction. Check these out if you aren't attending the conference or will be going to other workshops and send any suggestions you might have.

Or How would you structure the UFT if you were starting from scratch?

The rub, of course, is that as long as Unity controls every structure in the union there is no way to change those structures without a massive membership revolt from below. We will also brainstorm strategies for forcing change.

ICE platform, Part VI 

VI. For a militant, progressive, democratic UFT: a democratic UFT is a key to a strong union

One of the major goals of a movement seeking change in the union is to take on the task of democratization — setting up structures and procedures that will give the rank and file the opportunity to have direct and constant ability to formulate union policy.

On paper the UFT is more democratic than many unions, but in practice what we see is a well-oiled political machine:

— The least number of people make the decisions.

— The rank and file are deliberately kept unaware of what is going on in regards to most issues.

— There is a conscious attempt by the president and other officers to limit rank and file participation in meetings, discussions and the decision-making process, with union structures set up to enforce this policy.

— There is a consistent effort by union officers on all levels to stifle dissent and opposition. They go so far as to modify or violate previously existing democratic practices and procedures in order to do this.

— Measures are taken at the Delegate Assembly and in citywide voting to ensure the desired results.

As soon as their monopoly of power is challenged, the union’s officers change the rules of the game. Some years ago, when members elected an opposition candidate for high school vice-president and came very close in the junior high division, the officials changed the voting procedures for divisional leaders, turning them into at-large positions. They eliminated elections for district representatives who leave mid-term and fill these positions with appointments by the presidents. District reps play key roles for the union bosses by rewarding friendly chapter chairpersons and punishing dissident chapters through the delivery or withholding of services. They intervene in chapter elections by stealthily supporting candidates against known dissident chapter chairpersons and sometimes even delegates.

If you’re looking for democracy within Unity Caucus, however, you won’t find it there either. Caucus discipline is maintained through a system of rewards and patronage: a career ladder within the union, out-of-classroom jobs in schools (in the past at district offices and the Central Board), assistance in getting good administrative jobs, and transfers to desirable schools. It’s the Success for Unity Caucus Faithful Program. Simply put, dissension within Unity Caucus is not tolerated. There has rarely been a delegate elected on the Unity Caucus slate who has voted against the Unity Caucus position at a NYSUT or AFT convention. Unity Caucus utilizes its well-disciplined base within the UFT to control the state and national unions so that it can implement its political agenda.

Our union officers know that an informed, involved membership with a greater voice would challenge their policies and would also vote them out of office. That’s why they work so hard to keep us from knowing what’s really going on and having regular access to viewpoints that differ from theirs.


Key structural changes are needed to bring greater democracy to our union so that the membership can decide what their union should stand for.


1. Divisional elections for divisional vice-presidents (i.e., high school members alone should vote for high school VP, vocational high school members for vocational high school VP, and so on).

In 1994 Unity Caucus ended the practice of people within a division voting exclusively within their division for their own vice-president because they wanted to make sure no VP would ever again be elected from an opposition group, as had happened a few years earlier. Unity changed the procedure to make the balloting for vice-presidents at large. That means that all the members of the UFT vote for divisional vice-presidents, even if they don’t work in that division. In addition, retirees, who in the last election cast 35% of all votes cast, also vote for the high school, junior high school, and elementary divisional vice-presidents, which means that non-working members have a tremendous influence over who will represent working teachers.


2. Retirees should not vote for UFT officers, who are responsible for negotiating the contract for active members.

The NYS Public Employees Relations Board has ruled that retired members of the UFT are not members of our bargaining unit. Therefore, retirees should not vote for those who represent active members in collective bargaining. There should be a special retiree VP who handles retiree issues and is elected exclusively by retired UFT members.


3. Retirees should vote for three teacher members of the Teachers’ Retirement System Board.

State law restricts TRS membership to in-service members and does not allow retirees to serve as teacher reps. Only active UFT members may vote for these positions, even though retirees have a stake in TRS issues. The UFT should be working actively to change this anomaly.


4. District representatives (a full-time UFT position to support the chapter leaders and members in a district) should be elected by all the members of a district.

In 2002, the UFT suspended District Representative elections and appointed people to these positions. The DRs must bring their members’ voices to the union officers rather than act as mouthpieces for the people at the top.


5. At-large UFT Executive Board seats should be configured proportionally; that is, the number of seats given to a caucus on the Executive Board should relate to the percentage of votes that caucus received in the election.

Divisional and functional seats should still be voted on by each division to ensure representation from each division, so that no caucus within the UFT is excluded from the Executive Board. A caucus getting 30% of the vote in an at-large election deserves 30% of the at-large Executive Board seats to present their positions and shape the policies of the union.


6. UFT Delegates to the AFT and NYSUT Conventions should be apportioned along similar lines.

Without proportional representation Unity Caucus has been able to use the UFT’s winner-take-all method to control the NYSUT statewide union and the AFT national union, thus controlling all our policies from the local to the national level.


7. All full- and part-time non-elected union jobs intended for UFT members who work for the DoE should be posted in the schools. The senior qualified candidate should be hired.

Virtually all jobs are instead doled out as patronage positions. DoE employees who work for the UFT serve at the discretion of Unity Caucus and owe their loyalty to them, rather than to the members. Union employees who do not work for the DoE (e.g., lawyers, cleaning crews) are of course excluded from this recommendation.


8. Every issue of the NY Teacher should be opened to opposing viewpoints.

A full debate in print on union issues twice a month will allow members’ opinions to be fully disseminated. A resolution was put forward at the Delegate Assembly last year proposing that every issue of the NY Teacher be opened up to articles by people who oppose the UFT policies on a particular issue. Unity voted it down saying that allowing opposition viewpoints to be published in the union’s newspaper once every three years was sufficient.


9. Meet the President meetings held during UFT Election years should be Meet the Candidates’ Forums.

Candidates of all declared slates should be able to have equal time at these forums. Otherwise, Meet the President meetings become thinly disguised campaign rallies for the incumbent president and the other officers. Free and fair elections are essential in a democratic union. Unity Caucus has a tremendous advantage by controlling the union newspaper and through the distribution of all its literature that only reflects their positions. This outreach is prohibitive for opposing caucus members, who have neither the mechanisms nor the resources to match what Unity Caucus has at its disposal from our union dues.


10. All caucuses who have met requirements to run in an election should be able to mail at least one piece of literature to all the members at union expense during election time.

An advertisement in the NY Teacher is not sufficient to be able to get a political message across to the members, given the advantages Unity Caucus already has.


11. There should be an open microphone at all Union meetings.

Presently the chair has discretion to call on whomever he/she wants, and in this way he/she manipulates the discussion. At each Delegate Assembly, for example, we see the same people constantly recognized while others rarely or never get the floor. Anyone who wants to speak should have the right to do so.


12. UFT committees (special education, high school, middle school, etc…) should vote on proposals presented at their meetings, with the understanding that such proposals shall be forwarded to both the Executive Board and the DA.

Top-down UFT meetings where officers merely disseminate information prohibit other positions from being discussed, voted upon and officially recommended by the bodies.


13. When elected positions such as officers, District Reps, and functional chapter leaders become available in the middle of a term, there should be a special election.

Typically Unity Caucus replaces its officials by having them retire or move to a different position in the middle of a term. This gives the Unity dominated Executive Board the opportunity to choose the replacement long before there is an actual election. For example, Sandra Feldman resigned as UFT president to become AFT president in 1998, and the Executive Board picked Weingarten to replace her as UFT president; Weingarten didn’t have to face the voters until 1999. The NY Teacher then printed a series of publicity pieces about Weingarten, giving her a lot of name recognition and good press. When she ran as an incumbent in the election, she was at a huge advantage over potential opponents. The same sequence is now occurring with Michael Mulgrew, who the Executive Board has installed as interim president until the March 2010 elections.


14. Make the Delegate Assembly a legislative body where officers and Executive Board members have limits on how long they can speak. Often the regular business of the agenda is not taken up until way past 5:00 p.m., which leaves very little time for delegates to discuss the motions. The president’s and other reports must be limited so that the Delegate Assembly can truly be a legislative body.


15. There should be a majority rather than a 2/3 vote required to put motions on the current and next month’s Delegate Assembly agenda.


16. Limit the total percentage of retiree delegates at the Delegate Assembly. There are now 300 retired DA delegates, who comprise 11% of the total and who have a disproportionate say on working conditions.