UFT Election Fallout - Retiree Advocate Loses Two Elections - Warning Signs for Future Control of RTC

This is updated from the original post.

Takeaway:

RA loses to Unity and ABC as ABC triples the retiree vote of ARISE, which has two 30 year old caucuses full of retirees. How can that happen? Will RA face the facts or look to place blame on the way ABC ran their campaign or the issues they ran on - or maybe they used voodoo.

Can the damaged RA brand, king of the hill a year ago, be restored? Not without restructuring. The total retiree non-Unity vote was still 47%. To stop the bleeding, a non-partisan retiree council should be formed that would be inclusive of retirees from ARISE, ABC and independents. 

Monday, June 4, 2025

Unity has its sights set on winning back the RTC from RA in the 2027 chapter election and the recent UFT election results indicate they have a good chance. 

The impact of Marianne has been major and I will prove it with the numbers over the past 4 years of retiree votes in both chapter and general UFT elections. No wonder Unity and some ARISE went after her. And with only 53% retirees for Unity in this election, look for the attacks on her to continue (ie. Leo Casey whose analysis is a total attack on her and ABC while not recognizing that the pro-Marianne faction tripled the vote of the non-Marianne group - clearly his favored opposition is the one that got 14%). 

An old lefty told me not long ago that he thinks Marianne is remarkable and has put the left so-called labor organizers to shame by building a multi-union machine reaching deep into the working class. Let me point out here that Unity only recovered 3k votes from last year while the combined ABC/ARISE lost about 6k - meaning a whole bunch of former supporters did not vote this time and attribute some of that to the split opposition. A united retiree group next time could bring these votes back. 

The only question is will RA wise up and face the reality of their poor showing with ARISE with only 12% of retiree votes or team up with ABC and its 35% and stop Unity from taking back the chapter in 2027? Knowing the politics I'm not so sure.

Let me point out this is not about ARISE and ABC but about retirees from both groups coming together. But the way RA does business has got to change for this to happen. 

A year ago RA and the oppo cheered Marianne's support for RA but soured once she supported ABC in this election. I even heard some RA people claiming it was their organizing that won 63% a year ago, with some assistance from Marianne, which astounded me. You don't go from 30% to 63% in such a short time just based on a caucus doing better organizing.

First the hard numbers, and then some background. 

Jon Halabi chart

As you can see, Unity took 53% of the retiree vote while ARISE had only 12%, with ABC getting 35%. Now look at 2022 when UFC, an expanded form of ARISE, garnered only 29% with Unity getting 70%. I have to say that the 2022 results really disappointed me since the Medicare issue had been out there for a year and I had hoped RA would get the vote over 40% which is why I had dim hopes of winning in last year's chapter elections. Even I didn't think Marianne would be such a factor.

In the last UFT election in 2022 RA was one of the 7 or 8 members of the United for Change coalition,  which this time split into 3 for ARISE and elements of the rest with ABC. (Thus my contention from almost a year ago that an ARISE like coalition would not be able to even match the UFC output, which proved true.

Retirees: 

68,970 ballots sent,  

Retirees: 27,451 - this was over the 23k limit so each vote counted as a fraction - RA got over 8k and Unity over 18k in terms of real votes but 

Adjusted  

UFC - 6837.15      29.20%

Unity - 16580.64  70.80%

Also note that in the 2021 RTC election, RA got just short of 7K real votes, also 29%.

Now the 2021 result, just as the Medicare story was emerging, was a big improvement for RA over previous elections when they used to get under 4K -- 20%. That ARISE only pulled half of RA got in 2021 is shocking. 

In past elections, we would have seen a 53% Unity retiree vote as giving us a real shot to break their control because historically they had been winning with high 70s to 80s %. But times have changed. This time RA hoped that the way they ran the RTC chapter compared to the Unity old guard would bring votes but that had no effect as the 3k total takes us back to 2018 days.

The Chapter elections are not quite the same but are also indicators. What a difference in last year's vote, which saw a massive turnaround when Retiree Advocate, the 30-year old oppo to Unity in the retiree chapter, blew things open with a 63% win with over 17k to Unity's 10k votes, a complete reversal of recent elections. 

How do we explain these flip flops? One word - MARIANNE. She has activated a whole range of people from many city unions, which is what scares the UFT leadership. And frankly, an uncontrolled newly active group also seems to scare the old-time oppo who are often more interested in control and getting the "right" people - meaning, of their political persuasion. God forbid a Trumpie should slip in. 

RA has got to change from a tiny self-chosen group that meets and makes decisions behind closed doors.

I've been part of the Retiree Advocate organizing committee for about ten years and it's been a very satisfactory relationship - until this election where I was the only one of the dozen members to go with ABC while the rest went with ARISE. I'm not going into the details as they get annoyed if I reveal what happens at their meetings, which by the way is a problem for a group that calls for transparency and represents retirees, most of whom are not aware or invited to these meetings or even see minutes of what is discussed.

Now we were all very happy for the arrangement we had where we chose whom to invite to join us - and until we won the massive victory over Unity with 63% of the vote last June when people who ran (300 delegates) or voted for us started asking questions on how we operate. At first, back in July, I defended how we operate but it was clear RA would have to do something to expand the organizing committee which I thought would happen in 6 months. But then the division in the election came along and RA Org decided to join ARISE without any discussion with its supporters, especially the 300 who ran as delegates. 

Look at the numbers. Unity won back about 3k which I expected to happen and thought it might be worse. We won unity votes a year ago but while they might be ok in losing the chapter they were not willing to hand over the entire union yet. But together we still got 46%. Also thousands of retirees who voted last time didn’t vote. Those were our potential votes. 

Let’s get them back. 

 

Beware of Unity & MORE, UFT! They ALL claim to be 'member-driven'. Part 1 - UFT Proud

An ABC supporter opines on this anonymous blog. (It's not me writing this stuff - too much research work for lazy me to do.)

Tuesday April 1 - and this post is not an April Fool Joke

I am tired of the caucus control of our union. This is our union. We need a better contract.

They ALL claim to be 'member-driven'. But can you truly be member-driven while forcing your own personal politics and personal agendas on union members? - Part 1

Do Mulgrew, Weingarten, and their Unity caucus really think they speak for us all? Who do they represent and speak for? Doesn't member-driven mean we have a say?

 

Beware of Unity & MORE, UFT!

Mar 18, 2025

 

https://uftproud.substack.com/p/they-all-claim-to-be-member-driven 

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Can Michael Mulgrew, Randi Weingarten and their Unity caucus separate personal politics and personal agendas with leading our union?

Do they even bother to ask us what we think when they act on our behalf?

Umm. No.

Here are just some recent examples that they don’t give a darn about our diverse views, nor do they bother to get our input before they act on our behalf.

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1. Congestion Pricing - Mulgrew decided he’s against congestion pricing, therefore, the UFT is against it. He never polled us. We never spoke about or debated this issue at a UFT delegate assembly or UFT executive board. Like the dictator he is, he used our dues to file a lawsuit without our consent.

   Maybe he has a point about how it affects working class folks? Maybe he’s ignoring the body of environmental studies that prove him wrong? Maybe some of us agreed with him regarding congestion pricing. Yet, we also know just as many of us didn’t. Either way, he didn’t care to ask because he doesn’t think he has to.

   

2. ---

3. Israel/Gaza - This is an issue that has many strong, passionate, polarizing and personal positions among Americans and our union members, alike. Despite the inherent dissension this issue inevitably brings, Unity decided they would pass several geopolitical resolutions locally and nationally without speaking to members, first. Why bother, right?

   Even when some in Unity pushed back behind closed doors about the need to make sure that any stated position included our union’s diversity of voices, or that perhaps a press statement might be better, they didn’t care to ask or include members in the discussion before writing and forcing through geo-political resolutions with limited debate.

   As some know, Unity doesn’t just control our local union but Randi Weingarten leads Unity’s equivalent in our national union, the American Federation of Teachers.

   Did Randi or Unity poll teachers on a national level if the union should have a “Ceasefire Resolution”, condemn Netanyahu, or that the union must support a “two-state solution”? Nope.

   Ask most on the various sides of the Israel-Gaza issue and sufficed to say that the majority these days may likely not support a “two-state” solution. Some of us are not even sure our unions need to have a union position on geopolitical issues.

   One AFT delegate, Amy Lesser, from Los Angeles, holds a view many others in our union have expressed. She stated in a recent interview:

   “We are not international politicians,” she said. “And there is no foreign government that has any interest in what the teachers union or any labor union has to say about how they should function. . . . So the entire purpose behind these motions and these resolutions is that they generate a hostile teaching environment and learning environment for students.”

   Nonetheless, Unity didn’t bother to ask you or me, once again. They voted as a bloc in Houston, Texas, in the summer of 2024, for a “two-state solution” because of their oath that binds Unity delegates to vote for whatever the caucus leadership decides.

   

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4. Divesting our pensions and union assets from Musk’s Tesla? - We all know that Randi and Unity are tied to the hip of the establishment Democrat machine. They may try to appear to be neutral but those of us who attend delegate assemblies heard when Mulgrew included us as part of the DNC’s operations. He blurred the lines with the DNC when he spoke about ‘WE’ will be door knocking and campaigning for the Harris for President campaign in Pennsylvania.

    
   Who can forget Randi and the UFT making public endorsements of Kamala Harris the minute front page news shared that Biden would no longer be running and Kamala had declared her candidacy before rank and file AFT delegates voted on the matter? They boasted about being the first union to endorse Kamala while unions like the Teamsters deliberated and polled all of their members. Teamsters did the unimaginable in Unity circles these days — they made no endorsement.

   Now that Harris lost the presidential election handily and Trump has included Elon Musk in his administration, Randi is really mad and obsessed about losing to the will of the American people, Trump and Musk. She dedicates a lot of her time and effort these days in a Twitter/X war with Elon and has gone as far as asking that pension and asset managers divest from Musk’s Tesla company.

   It seems that her personal politics and petty partisan online bickering now affect our financial bottom lines, too? Randi, have you reflected about why so much of the working class isn’t voting for your side these days?

   

5. The New York Health Act - Here’s a little secret Unity doesn’t want you to know. Retirees, take heed. Our union’s official position according to our highest-deliberative body is that the UFT SUPPORTS of the New York Health Act.

   
   Did you know that Unity is actually behind writing, motivating and passing the two UFT resolutions that affirm the union’s official support for the New York Health Act? They have a really crazy way of gaslighting us to deflect from their own deeds.

   In 2015, most of the left and even centrist Democrats were staunchly behind Bernie’s Medicare for All. For a season, it was politically cool and fashionable to support single-payer universal healthcare. Following the political headwinds of the day, Unity wrote and passed a resolution in support of NYHA that seeks to a create a single payer healthcare system for all in New York.

   In May of 2015, the former Unity-UFT Secretary, Emil Pietromonaco, can be found here motivating the Unity crafted UFT resolution in support of the New York Health Act. It passed overwhelmingly by the Unity dominated executive board. Shortly after, it passed overwhelmingly in their rubber stamp, Unity dominated delegate assembly.

Another Unity inspired reso in 2017 that affirmed our union stance on the New York Health Act was motivated by current UFT secretary, LeRoy Barr. It too passed overwhelmingly in the Unity-dominated exec board and delegate assembly.

So what changed? Why did Unity waffle on its own stance on the New York Health Act? Did they see the light? Did they finally realize it may affect retiree Medicare? Or did they have a “come to Jesus'“ moment as to how to fund it? No, the Biden-Harris campaign for President in 2020 changed the DNC’s views on single-payer universal healthcare, at least for now.

The 2020 Biden campaign may have still supported a path to universal healthcare but it also believed it could become a reality through privatization — rejecting a single payer option exclusively. We see this in his stated campaign positions.

We also see the AFT and Randi abandon its hardline single payer stance from the Bernie days and fall in line with the Biden-Harris privatized insurance plus public option view.

The Uniry-led AFT passed a resolution during the pandemic changing labor’s long held position regarding univeral healthcare with a single payer option to supporting the possibility of achieving it with “private insurance with a public option.”

Circa 2020, the current union leadership pulled back on its own single-payer healthcare position, despite their own resolutions in support of NYHA, and they began to publish contradictory anti-NYHA messaging on our union web pages. Mulgrew openly attacked the will of the union’s deliberative bodies and blamed union activists, except it strangely was their own Unity caucus machinations.

In this insider, establishment political see-saw game, they didn’t ask you or me. Their flip-flop regarding the New York Health Act wasn’t because they sought input from the membership. It had more to do with the Big Healthcare lobbyists having the ear of the Biden Administration while it fiercely lobbied in states that were considering a single-payer option or a public option.

So maybe they just changed their minds? So why not use the executive board and delegate assembly to change the union stance on NYHA?

These days they have no guarantees in ramming things through the DA because of their shrinking majority and why should they if Mulgrew can do whatever he wants without consent, even if the consent is performative.

Did they realize how it would impact their control of the Welfare Fund? Maybe. We also can’t discount Mulgrew’s dance with the City to achieve health care cost savings in exchange for retro raises and the bill that came due in 2018 . Or that he created a Medicare Advantage plan that sought to force Medicare eligible retirees into it to pay for his givebacks.

To Cuomo or Not to Cuomo?

A test of Unity’s disdain and mistrust of members will be on display during this pivotal upcoming mayoral election. Will Unity actually poll us for our desired endorsement picks as to who should be the next mayor of NYC? Would they bother to share the poll results with us? Already Unity apologists are making a case for disgraced, former Governor Andrew Cuomo who has a marred history steeped in anti public education and anti-union policies, creating Tier 6, and multiple allegations of sexual harassment of 13 women. Mulgrew already has shown his cards and thinks Cuomo is worthy of our consideration.

And still our voices and input don’t matter to Unity in our union’s political decisions. Member-driven? Not in 60 years. Not ever.

Member-divisive. Yes.

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Up next: If a MORE-dominated ARISE coalition is elected, can it genuinely be MEMBER-DRIVEN?

Can MORE caucus and its political front groups, like Educators for Palestine, separate their own personal politics and personal agendas from leading our union?

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We need new leadership that’s committed to being member-led, member-centered and MEMBERS FIRST. That’s why I’m voting for the A Better Contract slate. Caucuses like Unity and MORE only pursue their own self-preservation. While ABC believes in genuine member voice and referenda — no more decisions on big issues like political endorsements without bringing it to the membership, first.

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A Casino in Queens or Time Square? - Most of us still don’t understand why he used the weight of the union or had union officers at public hearings fighting in this casino bidding war among the city’s billionaires as to whose project should be approved by the City. Mulgrew decided that he was firmly with Team Billionaire Steve Cohen and that Queens residents deserve a new casino in their backyard— not in a business district like Time Square. Mulgrew’s close ties to chief lobbyist, Louis Cholden-Brown, for Cohen’s casino empire bidding operation raises a lot of eyebrows. Should our union be involved in this? Were we consulted or briefed? Ha!

Why Won't ARISE Consent to Allow Candidates to Run on ABC? Unity Caucus and ARISE Unite to Help Unity Win AFT Delegates

NOTE - this blog post represents only my views and not those of ABC. But I am pissed off!

It's very simple and we can still do this: All ARISE has to do is say YES to allowing its AFT candidates to run with ABC.

So, why did ARISE put a roadblock on its candidates who want to run on the ABC slate, giving the Unity leadership an excuse to prevent these candidates from winning? Why did Unity agree with ARISE? ABC has agreed publicly to allow ARISE candidates to run. Why won't ARISE do the same? The say they want a formal agreement as New Action had with Unity for over a decade. Should we wear tuxedos?

New Action/Unity sign agreement for 2007, 2010 and 2013 elections

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 22, 2025

I've been too busy the past week to address the important issue of how Unity and ARISE united to keep people from running on multiple slates, an increasing level of ARISE focusing its attacks on ABC.  Petitions were due last Monday, RTC Meeting Tuesday, DA Wednesday, R&R Thursday. Finally, I've had room to breathe. 

Back in December I offered a leader of MORE an idea of how to run two slates and win a control of the exec bd and adcom. Cross endorse enough candidates (not all so as to leave room for organizing new people) - all AFT, 3 each for Adcom which would give us 6 out of 12, a majority of the divisional and at large exec bd. The idea was turned down because if we won how would we govern the UFT? I said we'd figure it out -- let's win first. But I question whether elements of the ARISE coalition really want to win and are focused on not letting ABC win. 

My backup plan was to encourage AFT candidates to run on both slates. 

I spoke to a few candidates who did sign up for both slates and if forced to choose they say they will choose ABC.

Here is a detailed account on how Unity Caucus and ARISE united in a way to help Unity maintain their monopoly of AFT delegate seats. 

First a brief date by date summary:

How ‘A Better Contract’ Candidates Delivered for NYC Math Teachers: Racquel Blair McPherson, UFT Vice President of Education Candidate – A Better Contract!

 I met Rachel a few weeks ago and she has been a delight. A chapter leader in a large school building with multiple schools, she has been a tiger with the petitioning campaign.

 

 

 

Real Change Comes from Real Organizing: How ‘A Better Contract’ Candidates Delivered for NYC Math Teachers

By Racquel Blair McPherson, UFT Vice President of Education Candidate – A Better Contract!

Mar 13, 2025

 

https://open.substack.com/pub/uftmembers/p/real-change-comes-from-real-organizing?r=hbbt4&utm_medium=ios 

 

 

This school year, NYC’s high school math teachers have been forced to implement the DOE’s citywide rollout of Illustrative Math Algebra I — a rigid, scripted program that strips educators of autonomy and deprives students of meaningful instruction.

Let’s begin with a distinction that matters: this is not a curriculum.

Curriculum is adaptable, aligned to standards, and developed with students and educators in mind. What the DOE has forced into classrooms is a purchased program — scripted, inflexible, fundamentally out of sync with the needs of our students, and costing millions of dollars. Yet, despite repeated concerns from educators and school communities, the DOE didn’t pause to listen or adjust.

They didn’t have to. To my knowledge, the UFT wasn’t paying much attention.

Last year’s pilot revealed glaring problems:

• Misalignment to Regents

• Impossible pacing that left no room for remediation

• Assessment overload

• A top-down approach that prohibited teacher judgment or supplementation

Instead of using this feedback to rework the approach, the DOE doubled down — expanding IM citywide, even as student performance fell. Meanwhile, UFT leadership stood by while teachers were micromanaged, frustrated, and actively seeking support. Members weren’t just raising concerns — they were looking for their union to fight back.

That work wasn’t initiated by leadership. It was wrested from inaction by rank-and-file organizing. I was one of the educators asked to participate, as was Katie Anskat, our candidate for Treasurer. Alongside full-time classroom teachers from across the city, all of us currently teaching IM Algebra I, we spent a week reworking the scope and sequence for Units 5–8. With support from the highly skilled professionals at the UFT Teacher Center, we created Regents-aligned guidance, realistic pacing, and tools grounded in classroom realities.

And when the DOE ignored the work? When UFT leadership refused to share the letter we wrote to accompany it — a professional, student-centered statement outlining the necessary instructional flexibility? We kept pushing.

💥 Today, that advocacy forced a breakthrough.

On March 12, 2025, the DOE released updated NYC Solves Algebra I materials. And make no mistake: they reflect the very work we created and fought to have recognized.

Included in the update:

• ✅ A “Pacing at a Glance” document that frames the pacing guide as support, not mandate

• ✅ Deprioritized lessons to allow time for reinforcement and Regents alignment

• ✅ A full-course mapping to NY Next Gen and Regents standards

• ✅ Revised unit overviews including “Misconceptions” and “Things to Remember” — drawn directly from our work

• ✅ Focus activities recommended by the UFT now built into the guides

• ✅ Updated implementation guidance that finally acknowledges teachers as decision-makers in instruction

This didn’t happen because the DOE had a change of heart. It happened because we didn’t stop. It happened because educators — including candidates running with A Better Contract! — pushed relentlessly for the DOE to recognize our professional expertise and the UFT to fight for it to be respected and implemented.

But let’s not confuse this with a full fix.

Here’s what’s still missing:

🟡 No clear directive to principals requiring them to implement these changes

🟡 No removal of outdated implementation checklists still being used in classroom walkthroughs

🟡 No public acknowledgment or accountability for the DOE’s original rollout failures

🟡 And still, no recognition from UFT leadership of the teachers who made this progress possible

This was a step forward — but only because educators kept the pressure on. Without enforcement and clear messaging, these new materials risk becoming another optional PDF that gets ignored while rigid compliance continues in schools.

As your next UFT Vice President of Education, I will:

• 🧭 Demand that the DOE provide real curriculum — a coherent, flexible scope and sequence, not just a contract with a vendor

• 🚦 Ensure that teachers are in the driver’s seat, making the professional decisions that impact student learning

• 📢 Elevate and defend member-created solutions

• 💥 Back the UFT Teacher Center with organizing strength — so their work isn’t undermined, buried, or ignored

Katie Anskat and I joined with our math colleagues to get this work done. We stepped up because our students and our colleagues needed us to. When educators come together, they make an impact.

And that’s exactly how we’ll lead.

Let’s win a better contract — and a better union.

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Hey Retirees - Ask Amy at Tuesday, March 11 Zoom - 7PM

You will never see Mulgrew doing this. This meeting is also open to any UFT member - but focus will be on retiree issues up front.

Listen to Amy on retirees: https://abettercontract.org/p/podcast-listen-to-amy-speak-about

Arthur is hosting and I am running shotgun backup.

 

 

Hi retirees,

We are holding a Zoom meeting this coming Tuesday, March 11th, from 7 to 8 PM. Amy will be joining us. 

We very much hope you will not only attend, but also tell your friends to come. 

Thank you again for your activism and dedication. We very much appreciate it. 

Arthur

 

 

 

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/lNW72b6lRR-6eSd1HWhCMQ#/registration 

 

 

UFT Election Committee: Candidates Can Run on multiple slates - as has happened in the past

I kept getting asked the same question by some people who want to run on more than one slate. ABC has been open to anyone who wants to run for AFT/NYSUT Delegate on the ABC even if running on another slate. I don't get why there was ambivalence over that issue -- in fact I put that idea forth months ago to a leader of MORE as a way to run two slates against Unity and still win but there was little interest. But anyone who wants to take a shot at possibly winning as an AFT/NYSUT convention delegate and break the Unity monopoly, try to sign up to run with ABC and any other slate you are running on.

When I was asked I kept pointing to the years that New Action candidates were elected to the UFT Exec Bd by running on the Unity slate and their own slate. But for some reason, this history seems to have disappeared from the memory banks because members of their coalition are told they are not sure. 

At Thursday's UFT Election Committee meeting it was reaffirmed that you can run on more than one slate and reap the total votes you get on all slates. Go to this link and fill it out. And if you do, email me to let me know as I have to send you a blank petition for you to sign and return to me. normsco@gmail.com. 

Don't worry about getting the required 100 signatures as ABC has been and will be holding petition signing parties this week. Here is the Wednesday Brooklyn link: tinyurl.com/abc-2025-03-05. Friday Bayside link: tinyurl.com/abc-03-07-2025.

 

 Convention Delegate Form

 

 

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

Elementary School Organizing Zoom Call for A BETTER CONTRACT, Tuesday, February 4 at 7 PM

Elementary school has been a relative strength for Unity Caucus in UFT elections. In 2022, UFC received about 33%, and that was its highest percentage in a long time and while the numbers didn't change for the oppo since 2016, Unity dropped by over 1000. ABC is trying a different approach for the elementary schools and trying to create a network in new outposts. An elementary committee has been formed and is holding an event. If you are in an elementary school or know someone register here: tinyurl.com/abcuftes.

A special shout out to our hardworking Elementary School educators!

You’re invited to our ES Organizing Zoom Call to join us in the fight for A BETTER CONTRACT.  It will take place on Tuesday, February 4 at 7 PM, via Zoom.

To register use the QR code or go to: tinyurl.com/abcuftes

We will discuss the critical issues in elementary schools today, including working conditions such as micromanagement, over-testing, the freedom to teach, scripted curriculum, being paid for our time and more!

With 2025 kicking into high gear, it’s time to get back to it! Our union proud, union strong, grassroots movement of working educators and retirees continues to grow and capture the imagination and heart of our beloved union.

Tell all of your colleagues, also. We hope to see you there!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14rcV2NVHU/?mibextid=wwXIfr 

 

My analysis from the 2022 elections is relevant:

we missed a big opportunity as Unity dropped under 5k and we didn't even match 2016. I thought UFC had more outreach in elementary but if we did the GOTV didn't work. I got indications early on with the lack of contention in UFC by the caucuses for Elem Ex bd positions that there was not a sense of winning and when we struggled with petitions early on in that division, I pretty much gave up on winning this division.
34K elem ballots were sent out -- a lot of places to mine in the future. The oppos has a lot of work to do in elementary school. My suggestion: Choose a few key districts where UFC people have decent elem numbers and expand their networks with a local outreach program. Otherwise 2025 will be the same.

So there is a need for a new strategy to tap into those 34k potential voters. I do not believe the oppo can win whether one or two slates without reaching deep into the elementary schools where the bulk of teachers are.

In this chart note the 20 year drop in Unity votes.

The Chosen: UFT Spends Your Dues Sending People to Conferences

Below is the spending voted on by Unity Caucus controlled AdCom and rubber stamped by the Unity exec bd, many of whom I am sure have benefited by being amongst The Chosen. This is from a recent UFT Exec Bd meeting which takes place every two weeks and each meeting is loaded with these junkets.

 

Before I get to the nitty gritty numbers, let me state I am not against a union sending reps to important conferences. Of course, define "important". The question is who are the people going and how do they get chosen? I see this as another one of the perks they hand out to keep people loyal. 

Motion:       To send 4 members to the National Council of Negro Women, Inc. 61st National Convention on October 9-13, 2024, in Baltimore, MD at a cost of $2,159 per person.

4x2,159 - about $8636. (cause I'm too lazy)  Carried

 

Motion:       To send 4 members to the NAACP’s 88^th Annual New York State Conference on October 11-13, 2024, in Armonk, NY at a cost of $1,058 per person.

4x1,058 - about $4232   Carried

 

Motion:       To send 4 members to the CASEL Social & Emotional Learning Exchange Conference on November 12-14, 2024, in Chicago, IL at a cost of 2,305 per person.

4x2305 - $9220 Carried

Motion:       To send 4 members to the New York State Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (NYSTESOL) Conference on November 14-16, 2024, in Rochester, NY at a cost of 1,635 per person. 

4x1635 -- $6540 Carried

 

Motion:       To send 5 members to the ACTE’s Career Tech Vision Conference on December 4-7, 2024, in San Antonio, TX, at a cost of $2,660 per person.

5x2660 --- $13000

 

Total for this round = c. $42,000 of your dues money. Amen.

 

 

Mulgrew Does Teeth - Finally Using some of the $800 million UFT Welfare Fund Surplus

Word from inside the asylum at 52 is that UFT election mania has taken priority and every trick in the book is being tried. In some cases there will be benefits and here may be one.

 

After opposing a reso at the DA calling for using some of the massive surplus to improve
the awful dental benefits that narrowly was defeated last spring after they argued against it, but facing the massive defeats in chapter elections and facing potential defeat in upcoming UFT elections, the Mulgrew administration is responding with some changes, but I bet few will be happy. EONYC provides the history, demonstrating elections have consequences -- sometimes in our favor. So think about that when UFT elections come up next May.

 

Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024

 

From @educatorsofnyc

1. Revelations that the UFTWF is now sitting on over 800 million dollars. A bloated fund that seems to be growing exponentially since 2014 as city unions have agreed to take hundreds of millions from the city’s health stabilization fund for their own welfare funds. Not what the stabilization fund was designed for and causing other healthcare services to diminish, as a result. https://jd2718.org/2024/03/28/uft-welfare-fund-nest-egg-bigger-than-most-nests/ 

 

2. Pressure internally from concerned UFT rank and file delegates and activists publicly asking why top leaders are hoarding millions when many of our benefits, especially dental, are being diminished — affecting reimbursements and numbers of providers leaving the network. 

 

3. After an overwhelming rebuke by UFT retirees who voted out Mulgrew’s administrative Unity caucus out of power from their chapter’s leadership because of his support behind forcing them into predatory, inferior Medicare Advantage … the much-maligned Mulgrew is now reeling and seeking to pander as he faces a tsunami of discontent in an union election year that could mean his Unity caucus is finally toppled after 60 years of unilateral control. 

 

4. After Mulgrew and his henchman, Goeff Sorkin of the WF, told us that the existing money in the fund was needed to cover out of control prescription drug costs and as a reserve fund if there is litigation against the city over healthcare… today their “best welfare fund in the country” will get a reboot. Let’s wait and see what they bring with them today. https://cityandstateny.com/politics/2024/06/after-rebuff-retirees-ufts-mulgrew-bails-medicare-advantage/397572/