Written and edited by Norm Scott:
EDUCATE! ORGANIZE!! MOBILIZE!!!
Three pillars of The Resistance – providing information on current ed issues, organizing activities around fighting for public education in NYC and beyond and exposing the motives behind the education deformers. We link up with bands of resisters. Nothing will change unless WE ALL GET INVOLVED IN THE STRUGGLE!
Tonight, join Daniel Alicea and Amy Arundell, our UFT presidential candidate for A BETTER CONTRACT, on Talk Out School on WBAI 99.5 FM at 7 PM.
You can also listen to tonight’s show online at: http://wbai.org
In
this first segment, they discuss her decision to run for UFT president
in the upcoming UFT election, emphasizing the need for a more
member-driven approach and a unified city labor movement.
She
also expresses her concerns about the union's current transactional and
service model strategy, inability to deliver raises that outpace the
cost of living and the current leadership's mishandling of healthcare
and Welfare Fund.
Join
us as Amy shares her evolution and journey to her decision to run
against the 16-year incumbent, Michael Mulgrew, and his establishment
Unity administrative caucus that has controlled the UFT for the last 60
years.
Tonight’s episode is part one of a multi-segment interview.
In
the next segments, which will be available as a podcast later this
week, Amy shares her thoughts and commitments to city retirees and
traditional Medicare, ABC’s support for Intro 1096, the current plight
of NYC paraprofessionals and their fight for a living wage, fixing Tier
6, the increased need for member voice in our political endorsements,
the importance of placing members first above personal and partisan
politics, and much more.
Join the ABC slate as a CONVENTION DELEGATE
As you’ve probably heard by now, A Better Contract has
finalized its officer and Executive Board slates. The last component we
now need to fill is our slate of delegates for the AFT Convention and
NYSUT Representative Assembly. We are asking for anyone interested to
fill out the Google Form below.
Our
national union, the American Federation of Teachers, meets once every
two years, typically in July. The convention is always held in a
different city and lasts a few days.
Our
state union, New York State United Teachers, meets annually, typically
in late April or early May. The convention is usually held in Albany,
Rochester, or midtown Manhattan and also lasts a few days.
*What are the responsibilities of a convention delegate?*
As
a delegate, you will be assigned to a committee that discusses, amends,
and approves resolutions to bring to the main convention floor. The
resolutions are then discussed, amended, and voted up or down by the
full body.
*What else do I need to know?*
The
UFT provides delegates with a generous stipend to cover expenses
including travel, lodging, and meals. The conventions are a great
opportunity to meet not only fellow UFT members but educators from all
across NYS and the United States.
Disclaimer:
This communication is from the “ A BETTER CONTRACT - UFT” slate. It is
not from the official site of The United Federation of Teachers. The ABC
site title describes a group of dues-paying UFT members organizing for a
better contract with NYC and our union leadership. Information shared
by us should not be considered officially from the UFT organization. It is from UFT members, just like you.
I attended a tribute to the late great labor organizer Jane McAlevey (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_McAlevey) last night at the CUNY grad center and was inspired. But her story and history got me to thinking about Amy Arundell and how she was buried - her choice - inside a non-organizing union model for 20 years.
Has Amy been a caterpillar waiting to burst out into a butterfly who will reform the UFT and allow it to reach its potential?
Amy
flanked by Steve Swieciki and Leah Lin, all tossed out of Unity. Steve
and Lia are chapter leaders in a high school and elementary school
respectively. Steve and Lia are running for VPs of their respective
divisions.
I ask people who question the Amy Arundell candidacy which candidate do they think is best equipped to run the UFT and even the anti-Amy people pause - and admit she knows the inside and out of the UFT machinery and would be in a position to handle it -- but also to know best what needs to remain in place and what needs reform. I'm not one of those people who want to toss the baby with the bathwater.
But then they ask - but what if she's new boss same as the old boss? What if she is gaslighting you all? Even her most ardent critics admit she is super smart. One told me she is smarter than all of us and she still holds the same ideas and would keep the Unity machine intact, only with her in charge.
Well I certainly have faced down with Amy over the years and she is a touch cookie to argue with. She is one tough cookie in many ways and after getting to know her a bit over the past few months I see she has leadership skills that have been thwarted inside the Unity machine. When we see so many in the union, even oppo people, be like marshmallows who complain about being harmed because someone spoke to them in a loud voice and who melt at the slightest heat, one refrain I hear is "What will they do if they have to negotiate a contract with the awful and often nasty people at the DOE?"
So I want feisty and even nasty - when its directed at the right places.
One tough cookie is fine for me.
But if Amy resists calls for change and turning the UFT into an organizing model union, my response is we first try to pressure her and if we see stalling, we kick her out.
And we have had no better chance of kicking out a union president we don't like than now due to the weakening of Unity caucus. I do not want to see any caucus be dominant again - even an oppo one. I like checks and balances. The ABC adcom is designed to have people on there who will never be a rubber stamp. The same with the ABC executive board slate. We have long and short time pains in the ass on there -- no rubber stamps with this crowd.
What worries me about caucuses choosing the candidates is that these are often loyalists who will be rubber stamps if they win.
If you examine the caucus led slates they are loaded with caucus loyalists. ABC is different. Many of us are just meeting each other -- it is an eclectic collection of people, some who have been in caucuses and either left or were purged for daring to disagree. Want to talk about new boss, same as the old boss? I've seen dangerous Unity-like tendencies including censorship and attempts to ice out those who don't go along with the majority.
Believe me, if Amy strays she will hear it from me and others. ABC is not a "loyal to Amy" group.
But it says something when you get attacks from both Unity and the other groups running against Unity. You must be doing something right. Not only Amy, but ABC has come under attack from all angles. Makes us feel good about our organizing efforts. And it is all about organizing. ABC did not go into this thinking, "Let's win and then organize."
No, ABC went into this to use the election process as an organizing tool -- one difference from the caucus models which use their caucuses to organize, which one would hope they are doing all the time instead of just for elections. The issue I have with that model is that it has not bore many results. Now you might say look at RA winning --- well they had a boost from Marianne. And the fix Para Pay victory was not from a caucus but independent actions, which is why FPP is with ABC. The caucus model means a steering committee choosing the candidates in closed meetings. While ABC has been also holding closed meetings, those meetings have opened up to new voices as they expressed interest.
I heard time and again last night at the McAlevey event that Jane hated sectarianism and thought sectarians were the biggest obstacle to union organizing. And ABC is non-sectarian.
Amy
shares her story. Together we will build our collective power to
deliver A BETTER CONTRACT with the City of New York and A BETTER social
contract with union leadership.
Feb 18, 2025
For 34 years, I have been a part of the New York City public school
system. I was a middle school teacher, delegate, and chapter leader in
one Bronx school. I became a Teacher Center specialist in another.
Never, during all this time, did I imagine that I would be in this
position: running for UFT President. The culture of the UFT has long
been one where leadership handpicks their successors, deciding who they
believe should be the next to carry the mantle, and for years, I played
by those rules, trusting that this process served the best interests of
our members and that the best, brightest, and most committed to our work
as a union would rise to positions of leadership.
Times have changed, our school system has evolved, and our union must
evolve as well. More and more members are expressing deep
dissatisfaction with the direction of our union. Decisions are being
made that I can no longer stand behind. It has become increasingly
difficult to look my fellow members in the eye and tell them that what’s
happening is good for them because it isn’t. These decisions are not
the result of listening to members and then gathering our experts and
specialists and making decisions consistent with union values, and the
interests of the members and their students. More often than not, the
most important decisions are made by only a few, behind closed doors.
The recent election losses in the retiree and paraprofessional
chapter elections were not a result of flashy slate names or strategic
maneuvering, they were a direct response to the growing frustration
among our members. The message is clear, the status quo is failing us.
Our
union should be the beacon of fairness, inclusion, and strength.
Instead, we have reached a point where sexism, harassment, and bullying
have tainted our internal culture. Morale is at an all-time low. I’ve
been around long enough to remember when we could come together, debate
and discuss issues openly, and leave the room knowing we had made the
best decision for our members and the union as a whole. Those spaces and
that culture no longer exist under the current leadership. I’ve tried,
others have tried but today, questioning decisions can end careers, and
there are far too many examples of this reality. I refuse to silence my
own principles and beliefs to campaign for anyone who perpetuates this
type of leadership and these union values.
My candidacy is not
about serving any particular caucus or ideology, it is about serving our
members in the way they deserve and that furthers the cause of public
education. Now that I have been ‘expelled’ from my former caucus, I
stand as the only candidate who is beholden to no faction. My allegiance
is to the educators, teachers, paraprofessionals, school-related
professionals and retirees who make our union strong and to the students
who we are all responsible for educating.
These values are not
the only thing that make me the right person to serve as UFT president
in this critical moment; I am qualified, experienced, and connected. I
have served in a variety of roles, both as an educator in schools and as
a union representative.
In my first year of teaching, I remember
celebrating when the union negotiated that our lesson plans were no
longer required to be collected. It changed my professional life. I was a
chapter leader when the SBO process became a source of leverage for my
chapter to have a voice in how our school was organized. I was a teacher
center specialist in a school when the first 100 minutes were added to
the school day and I was tasked with making those minutes as relevant
and helpful to our school community as possible, despite our
membership’s obvious unease with the additional time.
As a UFT
staffer, I implemented the 2005 contract. I supported pedagogues in the
ATR pool and advocated for them. I provided support to members in using
the new transfer system. I educated people about the power of the SBO
process and how to interpret school budgets. I helped hundreds of people
with leaves and staffing issues. I am very proud of that work. I was
part of the negotiating team on evaluation, and learned a lot about what
members want and what others think is best for them. I tried to help
members see the power in what we negotiated, and also acknowledged that
what we negotiated did not achieve our goals. I was the union point
person for the creation of teacher leader roles, and visited the many
schools that implemented these roles. I was inspired to see what
teachers can do when given the opportunity. I know many schools that
have benefited from those roles.
Then, I became the Queens
Borough Representative and learned how out of touch our central UFT
representatives could be. Hundreds of people invited me into their lives
and their schools, and we made amazing things happen. It was by far the
role I loved the most and it allowed me to connect to members and
students in deep, new, and meaningful ways.
I have a vision for
our union. A union that is strategic about building power, that
prioritizes members and their students above DOE management or city
government desires. We build power by organizing and being connected to
members above all else. That is why the leadership of ABC will fight
tirelessly with our members for better working conditions, fair salary
increases, and an end to the reckless practice of surrendering our
healthcare benefits in exchange for inadequate compensation increases.
It’s
time to reclaim our union. It’s time to have leadership that listens,
respects, and truly advocates for its members, not one that demands
blind loyalty and is deaf to their core needs. Together, we can restore
integrity, transparency, and strength to the UFT. I ask for your
support, not just for me, but for the future of our union and the
dignity of its members and the future of the students we serve.
Thanks for reading A BETTER CONTRACT - UFT MEMBERS! This post is public so feel free to share it.
The dire need of paras who
need a living wage is primal here. Then add working 2 or 3 jobs just to
make ends meet. We organize to see this concept of a plan come to
fruition but can also recognize it’s a band aid over the hemorrhaging.
Take the money and vote them out! -- Paras react to UFT/Unity 10K bonus plan
Expect this proposed concept of a plan to be the first motion in the February DA. Mulgrew will act like he’s looking around the room and magically call on John Kamps to motivate it...
Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025
Clearly, in response to the big Fix Para Pay win in the chapter election last June, fear has gripped Mulgrew and the Unity Caucus as they desperately try to move the 27K para unit away from voting for the ABC slate, aligned with the Fix Para Pay group, by offering a package of goodies to paras.
You see, elections do have consequences because we know from decades of history of Unity not fighting to fix para pay, we wouldn't otherwise be seeing this move. Will paras be fooled less than two years after the most recent contract neglected to fix para pay or even make an attempt to do so? The joke is the Unity criticism of the 3% pattern bargaining which they used to browbeat people into voting for the 2023 contract.
Of course some Unity trolls are on the attack, claiming the election had nothing to do with the UFT blitz of offering goodies. Sure.
While I have supported legal initiatives to improve conditions, the bottom line is that only the contract protects us. An example I often refer to was a city council law that reduced class size below the contract for grades 1-3 in the early 90s but was scrapped by Bloomberg. And the current class size state law which is not being enforced. At the time I railed against the reliance on city council as only temporary solutions. People will point to the contract not being enforced but when it comes to salary and class size, there is compliance.
Of course the 10k will not be pensionable as we've seen the UFT increasingly rely on non-pensionable bonuses as a way to buy votes.
Unity has shown a pattern since losing the retiree and para elections so badly by reversing themselves try to win back these units, both large blocks of UFT members whose votes will be crucial to Unity's winning the election this May.
One of the funniest things retirees received yesterday from Mulgrew was this missive:
We are increasing your optional rider reimbursement by $60 - but he leaves out that they raised the monthly charge for the optional rider by $30 which comes to $360 a year - so he thinks people are so stupid not to notice that he is giving back $60 while we pay $300 more?
Marie Waunsnock of Fix Para Pay in their press release exposes the Unity gameplan:
“This isn’t a victory—it’s a distraction,” said Marie Wausnock, UFT
Paraprofessional Executive Board Member and founder of Fix Para Pay. “If
the city has money now, why didn’t we get real raises in our contract?
Why were paras shut out of negotiations? We won’t be silenced with
one-time bonuses that do nothing for our future.”
The so-called solution: • Is not guaranteed—the bill hasn’t been written, introduced, or passed. • Was made without consulting elected para representatives. • Fails to address ongoing issues like inadequate pensions, LODI access, and fair longevity pay.
“This
is a pattern,” Wausnock added. “Mulgrew ignored retirees until they
voted out his handpicked candidate. He ignored members struggling with
healthcare costs until it became a liability. Now, he’s scrambling to
buy para votes after years of neglect.”
LODI - Line of Duty Injury protection is a prime aim of the paras.
ABC is running a strong slate of paras for the UFT election. Meet some of them and the rest of the slate on Feb. 11. You can RSVP, here.
Amongst all the furor over the two slate situation and the angst it seems to engender, I keep wondering why I find the endeavor with ABC so energizing. Here's one reason:
We will speak about the erosion of our healthcare benefits and what we need to do to stop it. http://rsvp.uftmembers.org
300 registered so far. Join the crowd.
The turnouts for ABC have been excellent due to networking ability to extend its reach, an original intent of coming together in the first place: To attempt to reach deep into the schools to break the 80% non-voting active members (39% of retirees vote).
I'm not opposed to caucuses but for this election especially I feel their model of organizing will not win. I've said it time and again - the ability of the current caucuses to reach deeper than the surface into schools has not been successful as reflected in the most recent UFT election two years ago and the fact that over decades they have shown little growth, massive turnover and some shrinkage. New Action is 30 years old with roots back to the 60s and MORE, the hot new thing when it went public 13 years ago after over a year and a half of behind closed doors negotiations, are stagnant.
When people ask how is ABC different from other groups running --- look at the outcomes so far in terms of attracting attention and supporters because ABC was free of restraints to act and did not get bogged down in caucus negotiations fed through a narrow group of steering committee members who are a gate though which decisions are made.
Look, since my diagnosis, I no longer am looking at living to 125. So I don't have time to watch the slow drip of caucus negotiations. When ABC began to meet in earnest in August with members of all caucuses in the room, I wanted the campaign to start in September but caucus issues kept delaying us until early November when the caucuses exited ABC and what was left of ABC said: Enough - and came out of the box publicly in mid-November, declaring it was running, while the caucuses spent the next 6 weeks deliberating in secret and made their first public announcement as the XMAS vacation was about to start.
This is the basis of my analysis as to why a caucus dominated election will not win. What has been accomplished since New Action left their 10 year alliance with Unity in 2016 when they joined with MORE to win the 7 hs exec bd seats, and again with UFC in 2022 -- the holy grail of oppo election politics -- winning 7 out of 100 exec bd seats? That is no longer good enough.
Don't get me wrong. I was an avid participator over decades as a member of MORE and before that ICE in elections from 2004-2022. I just don't want to do that again.
Now, with the big retiree and para wins in the chapter elections, everyone's hopes for a big win have been raised. I think a win would only be possible by building new alliances and not just count on those results to carry the day.
A key to this election would be to reach out to the
80% of in service teachers who rarely vote and the current caucuses
with actives in previous elections did not have enough outreach into
enough schools to beat Unity. Of course everyone was thinking of the ace
in the hole -- the retiree vote. But with Tier 6 being such a catastrophe for over half the working UFT members, there are issues beyond health care, though for both retirees and actives, healthcare is still a top level concern.
Which reminds me: ABC is doing a healthcare zoom tonight.
We will speak about the erosion of our healthcare benefits and what we need to do to stop it. http://rsvp.uftmembers.org
Hey folks! Last month, we covered the ABCs of PAY. This month, our focus is on HEALTHCARE.
Whether
you're a UFT Retiree or an In-Service member, our premium-free
healthcare is at risk, while our existing coverage continues to erode
and we pay more and more out-of-pocket.
Let’s come together to
discuss the current threats and challenges facing our union, and talk
about what we need to do to protect and expand our premium-free
healthcare for the future.
Run With ABC in the 2025 UFT Geneal Election – Slate Signups Still Open!
We want you (yes, YOU!) to join us in the upcoming UFT General Election.
We're
inviting all UFT members, no matter your political views or caucus
affiliation, to be part of ABC’s non-partisan grassroots movement. We’re
all about demanding A Better Contract — both with the City of New York
and our union leadership.
We're looking for candidates for UFT officer positions, Executive Board, NYSUT Representatives, and AFT Delegates. Read the UFT 2025 election notice to learn more about these positions and qualifications.
Do you want to read our platform, first? Click here.
Our
officer and executive board spots are 90% filled with some of these
positions still available. Still, we most definitely want to run a full
slate, so sign up today.
Head over to slate.uftmembers.org to sign up, and we'll be in touch soon with more details.
Thanks so much. We’re looking forward to connecting with you soon and getting back to work on transforming our UFT.
If
you have any questions, suggestions, or want to get more involved,
don’t hesitate to reach out. Together, we can create a stronger, more
equitable future.
Stay updated with us at: http://abettercontract.org
I admit that at times I've been a skeptic, but when almost 300 registered and 230 showed -wow! And what an interesting presentation and discussion. People seem to think this is all about the upcoming UFT election. The next contract is where a battle will take place. This is not only about the election, but about organizing the unorganized. Sign up for something.
ABC
continues to set the pace for the 2025 UFT Election race and
transformative changes. ABC champions a better contract with the City of
New York and a better social contract with union leadership.
Thank you to all who attended The ABCs of Pay — Let’s Talk About Pay
UFT Member Assembly this past Tuesday. Your time, insights, questions
and thoughtful contributions made the discussion both engaging and
productive. Together, we’re building the foundation for a union that
puts members’ priorities like pay, dignity, and working conditions
first.
As
we discussed during the meeting, improving pay and working conditions
requires collective action and a bold strategy that reflects the needs
of our members.
Our union president, Michael Mulgrew, recently acknowledged the challenges of pay equity, citing pattern bargaining as a barrier to addressing inequitable pay disparities for paraprofessionals.
While
pattern bargaining has been a defining strategy under the current
leadership, it is not the only approach to fix para pay and secure a
living wage.
A more creative and assertive bargaining strategy, along with an action-ready
membership, can challenge the status quo, ensuring that all members
receive the compensation and respect they deserve. This reinforces the
importance for new union leadership that listens to members and explores
all options to secure a fair contract.
Our
discussion on Tuesday showed that simply by coming together, we are
already making an impact. The issues we raised are now being addressed.
This demonstrates the power of collective action and the effectiveness
of amplifying our voices.
We’re excited to keep this momentum going!
Here’s how you can stay involved:
Join us at upcoming UFT Member Assemblies: Mark your calendar for January 7, 2025. RSVP, here.
Join a Working Group:
We currently have working groups centered around: Organizing, High
School, Elementary, District 75, Paras, and social media. Some will be
meeting next week, already! See the dates and times, below.
Spread the Word: Encourage your colleagues to join our movement and attend the next meeting. Check out our LinkTree for ways to share our message.
Join our Slate of Candidates: Want
to join this historic movement for member-led transformative change? We
are actively seeking prospective candidates to run for UFT executive
board, AFT and NYSUT delegate positions. To connect with us, go to: slate.uftmembers.org
Here are our upcoming ABC Working Group meetings:
ALL District 75 UFT Membersand All UFT Paraprofessionals Citywide
**
We are scheduling meetings for retirees, elementary and middle school
and other functional titles, very shortly. We will keep you updated.
ABC (A Better Contract)
is dedicated to building a union where every member feels valued,
heard, and empowered. We are union proud and union strong. We are
non-partisan and we are not affiliated with the establishment union
caucuses that are often too self-agendized.
With
your support we can continue to challenge the status quo, win the
upcoming 2025 Union leadership election, and bring about the change we
need.
If
you have any questions, suggestions, or want to get more involved,
don’t hesitate to reach out. Together, we can create a stronger, more
equitable future.
Finally, please take a moment to check out our landing page to see how you can get involved: http://uftmembers.org
