Poison PEP - Chancellor Banks - Not Even a Competent Bullshitter, Rally Against Budget cuts - If You can call it that

I watched the recent PEP last week for hours - on and off - the Panel for Educational Policy -- PEP - which I am renaming PECS - Panel for Educational Charter Schools. They want to starve the beast to prove public schools except for a few don't work.

Goal to starve the beast - the public scbool system -- to drive the move for vouchers and other options. And it will work. Imagine a totally fragmentized and Balcanized non-union system. Once those pesky UFT salaries are out of the way, the charters won't have to compete on salary -- or even on competentce of teachers --- just drag them off the street for the schools in poor neighborhoods.

Banks made a few appearances and they were almost embarassing. He can't even lie effectively and uses phony charm to try to get over.

MORE came up big at the PEP --maybe 30 people spoke -- no one from the UFT leadership - I repeat - totally absent from a major meeting dealing with massive cuts. 

I posted the Ronnie Almonte speech and newsletter -- Ronnie gets what the political agenda is about: Starve the beast -- and show how government doesn't work.  There was a rally of sorts where MORE had more people showed than Unity. I mean this is a union of 197,000 people. Getting a few hundred out makes the union look weak. Sometimes its better to stay home.

Leonie is on the case on the budget cuts.  (And on Class size -- big event for Skinny Awards Monday night.)

Class Size Matters

$1.1 billion in unspent funds by DOE for FY 2020 and FY 2021 – making cuts to schools even more outrageous - See below; a budget presentation by the DOE dated June 21, showing unspent allocations to schools and districts of $1.1 billion from FY 2020 and FY 2021, w... 

 

BTW - UFT endorsed Hochul -- who obviously won big -- has not yet signed the class size bill --- And her buddy Adams doesn't want her to. 

Video - Ronnie Almonte - Recently elected Ex Bd member - Riveting Speech and Article: NYC Schools Deserve Budget Boosts, Not Cuts

Adams intends to advance his party’s national crusade to privatize education and bust teachers unions. Surely his cuts will accelerate enrollment decline, providing the pretext for further cuts and reallocation of public funds to privately-run, ununionized schools.... Ronnie Almonte

Note Mulgrew and Barr watching

Ronnie was just elected to the UFT Ex Bd and he really gets the agenda of the privatizers now running NYC schools - a total echo of the 12 years of Bloomberg. They are creating a budget cut "crisis" to force the debate on lifting the charter cap for NYC. Make public schools less attractive is the goal and leave them for the people who can't find a way out. Sift off the higher academic achievers into the privatized system and use public money to pay. Instead of managing an effective system, they are looking to offload as much of the system as they can into non-unionized schools, thus weakening an already weakened UFT.

At the rally to protest budget cuts on Friday called by the UFT, MORE had an enormpus presences and Ronnie made this awesome speech - and note Mike Mulgrew and  Leroy Barr in the background either cheering him on or dreading seeing him every two weeks at Ex Bd meetings.

https://youtu.be/htb_lAlHmE4

I think I may have met Ronnie once in person, but am looking forward to seeing more of him. You can subscribe to his new newsletter by using the link below his article.

NYC Schools Deserve Budget Boosts, Not Cuts

The Mayor and City Hall's attack on education must be met with mass resistance

Ronnie Almonte Jun 27

NYC Schools are under attack from the Mayor and City Hall. At least $215 million, but probably closer to $1.7 billion, has been slashed from next year’s school budgets. Teachers, counselors, and other workers are learning that their positions have been cut. Next year’s short-staffed schools will struggle to meet their students’ high academic and social-emotional needs as they grapple with larger class sizes and heavier case loads. Mayor Eric Adams—who controls the schools—could fully fund the system from the Department of Education’s $5 billion of federal relief money. His refusal to do so amounts to nothing less than an assault on public education.

Adams claims he’s simply adjusting budgets to match declining enrollment. It’s a lie; he’s also reduced the dollar amount a school receives per student, so those with the same enrollment will see their funding cut. His “adjustments” are first and foremost to expectations that the DOE will use its federal cash to make long overdue improvements to learning conditions. He’s squandered the chance to answer the decades-old call to reduce class sizes to levels comparable to white, suburban districts throughout the state. It’s not ignorance or mismanagement, but strategy. Adams intends to advance his party’s national crusade to privatize education and bust teachers unions. Surely his cuts will accelerate enrollment decline, providing the pretext for further cuts and reallocation of public funds to privately-run, ununionized schools.

He can be stopped, but our resistance must be strategic. Adams and City Hall’s budget boost to the NYPD shows that their commitment is to guns and riot gear over books and counseling. The UFT’s rally at City Hall on Friday was a good start, and surely we should continue protesting, writing to our representatives, and penning open letters to our communities. But the union must plot a course for escalating tactics in the event that the cuts are not restored. Everything good from the labor movement was gained by workers acting together to disrupt business as usual, with picketts, slowdowns, and strikes. We’re a big union with tremendous power. It’s about time we leverage it.

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Shades of 1975 - Part 2: The Noblest Strike of Them All, I Run for UFT Delegate and am attacked for my politics

"There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen" ---- Vladimir Lenin - Jul 15, 1916

Remember this Lenin comment if the shit hits the fan in the fall.In 1975:

Even my conservative chapter leader had become a militant and we voted for a strike despite knowing about the two for one penalizes.

And this recent piece:

America Is About to Witness the Biggest Labor Movement It’s Seen in Decades: It took 40 years and a pandemic to stir up a worker revolution that’s about to hit corporate America

I even heard Mark Cuban echo this idea on Firing Line. See video.

Since I updated Part 1 on April 10 there's a lot of chatter about cuts to education at the city and state level and possible implications, which is what this series of posts is about by looking back to the 1975 crisis and see what we can learn.

I believe the 1975 strike was the noblest of them all - we weren't striking for money but for class size and the protection of the schools in addition to the 13,000 members being laid off.

First I want to focus on the effect of drastic cuts on what is a fairly docile membership and more importantly, a docile UFT leadership no matter what the bombast - remember my mantra - watch what they do, not what they say. However, if the rank and file rises as it did in 1975, the leadership may be forced into a more radical stance but will do whatever it can to dampen the militancy and undermine any radical actions.  Let's explore some of these ideas.

Two of the three largest cities had teacher strikes last fall - is NYC next?

[I wrote about the strike in 2018: 

ednotesonline.blogspot.com › 2018/11 › memory-of-1...

Nov 23, 2018 - I was on the picket line for three strikes in my first 8 years as a teachers. There have been no NYC teacher strikes since 1975.] I posted my Taylor Law fine letter.

Most people would scoff at the idea of a strike here with the anti-strike UFT leadership.

Shades of 1975 - Part 1 - The Coming Crisis for NYC Teachers and Students - the Plague is not the only problem

Note - some people told me Mulgrew referred to this piece indirectly when he pointed out at the UFT Ex Bd meeting on Monday that in 1975 teachers still got their raises -- yes they did but the 15,000 laid off did not.

Some new info came in from Bruce Markens who has the best institutional  memory going back to the early 60s. So I am updating and republishing - sorry subscribers for tossing so much email at you.

When I see complaints from teachers about the DOE, the UFT, the loss of

spring break, etc. I find them almost funny due to how shortsighted they are given the potential likelihood of a massive financial crisis to come that will affect and infect the school system, the most likely place to take the biggest hit because it has the biggest budget and therefore the most places to cut - except for the administrators and bureaucracy, of course.

The current home-learning situation will result in a learning experience for all - but especially the politicians and corporatists - especially in the Dem Party, who see a solution to the budget by continuing versions of stay at home schooling where feasible - witness one Andrew Cuomo taking advantage of the disaster - never waste a crisis. He's cutting Medicaid - I guarantee education is on the chopping block.

Of course the role the schools play in babysitting and feeding cannot be ignored, but I believe the idea will be there for use. Imagine closed schools and how many people can be laid off? But let's say all schools remain open.

No taxes coming in and enormous expenses for city and state government: deep cuts are inevitable
 
So how can they cut deeply and still maintain a system? Just tax the rich I hear some people say -- that will solve the problem. Here's what we know - that will never happen -- both parties protect the rich  and that was why Bernie and Warren to a lesser extent were such threats. 

What about UFT contracts? Someone commented recently - don't we have a contract preventing layoffs - a LOL moment.

Once they declare an emergency, contracts don't count. I will speculate on what schools may look like next year in Part 3.

1975 - a lesson: The UFT was much stronger then
So let's talk about what happened in 1975 when our contract was shredded when the financial crisis was declared and the finances taken over by some consortium -- Felix Rohatyn (who died not long ago and was proclaimed a hero - not to us - became the czar.)

At this time of the year in 1975 there were few signs on the horizon - even less than now. Bruce Markens called to tell me that in June '75 all 8000 regular substitutes were terminated - a warning sign. Now I do remember that --- it was clear that if you were not regularly appointed you were dead meat. Still, we thought they would be rehired. The idea of layoffs of regularly appointed teachers had never happened in memory - not even in the depression of the 1930s (I think.)

Still, when we got back in September, it was like getting hit by a brick when they announced that 13 people from our smallish elementary school were being excessed  to other schools --- you see, layoffs were based on seniority, so they were being sent to push the lowest seniority out in other schools -- my school had more experienced teachers -- but they got down to within one of me -- and I started teaching in 1967 as a regular sub for three years - though became a regular licensed in 1970 - and I remember the order of seniority in case of ties was the score on the regular teaching exam - believe it or not - and I had a good score - 85- which jumped me over a few others.

Well, the upshot was that this happened in schools all over the city and there was a storm of outrage and at a DA was called and it was packed. Shanker was up there and we in the opposition were calling for us to not give in.

Shanker claimed the 1975 strike was his biggest mistake
We knew Shanker did not want to strike - he had been so damaged by the 1968 strike personally and professionally. The Taylor Law had been amended with two for one penalties for everyone who went on strike (thanks Bruce) - and  was now going to damage us badly if we struck.

But there was a revolt from the lower UFT/Unity ranks (the only time over 60 years) - the District Reps were breaking ranks and demanding the union do something. But what could it do other than strike? And so it did -- but we in the opposition understood it was a show strike of sorts - Shanker went to jail and also declared we won't go back until we all go back -- NOT.

So the strike lasted a week and Shanker made a deal. "Only" 15,000 layoffs - and he helped bail out the city with our pension funds. You know I find it funny how people used to compare Shanker and Randi - but the Shanker of 1975 was a far cry from the militant union leader of 1967 (and his militancy of 1968 was misdirected and a long term catastrophe with demands from the liberal community for higher penalties for public worker strikes - witness the two for one penalties.) Randi once said that Shanker told her his biggest mistake was the 1975 strike - when it was really the 1968 strike that made it impossible to get the support of the public in the future, thus dooming the 1975 strike.

I remember the packed rally in front of 110 Livingston Street and the march over the Brooklyn Bridge where our opposition group - NYC School Workers - were active in calling for the strike -- even as we didn't trust Shanker to make a real stand. We struck for a week and Shanker served time in jail and then went out and made a deal that screwed us. A membership meeting was held in Madison Sq Garden and we were out there with 20,000 leaflets urging a NO vote in the agreement.

UPDATE: Bruce sent me the numbers - closer than I thought or remembered.

(In retrospect I'm not sure what I would do if it comes to this again but will explore this in Part 3. Shanker sold the agreement as only he could - that was his real genius.

A few months later in the spring of 1976 Shanker endorsed militant hawk Henry Scoop Jackson for president - Jackson who wanted a massive rise in the defense budget - Shanker chose guns over butter.

One thing is clear - we in the UFT took the brunt. I don't remember any other municipal union talking strike - divide and conquer. That's why I think when cuts come in September they will try to hit one group hard - the weakest links - and I fear that's the DOE. (Just dump all the supervisors).

The initial hit was mostly to elementary schools who were hit harder -- (again, divide and conquer). Elementary schools were the biggest supporters of Shanker - and didn't garner much respect. So it seemed to be "screw them" they won't do anything.

The biggest hit was to our preps
We lost all our cluster teachers -- maybe 6 (multiply that by the number of elementary schools) -- and were left with the librarian who covered all preps. We had been getting 5 preps but those were cut to 3 - (contract be damned) and 2 more preps were Mondays and Fridays at 2:15 when the kids went home early. A whole bunch of schools were closed. And actually we adapted surprisingly easy to the new world - in my school on the two days kids went home at 2:45, the common prep turned into wine and cheese parties.

Bruce reminded me that the first heavy hit to high schools was in February 1976. And  major hits in Sept. '76. By that time elementary schools had worked under restrictions for a year

The next year junior high and high schools were hit hard. But certain licenses were hit harder -- like high school social studies layoffs went back to the late 60s. Social studies teachers were hit real hard - some were laid off who were appointed in the late 60s. The DOE was still short in math licensed so offered special courses for laid off teachers to get a math license.

There were repercussions for over 15 years - like no real school repairs that led to enormous damage that had to be cleaned up in the late 80s and 90s.

In part 2 I will share my personal experience in my school union election in the spring of 1975 before the cuts and how the layoffs affected me and touch on issues not included here.

In Part 3 we'll explore some of the possibilities for the great crisis of 2020 and how schools may look - anyone for a 4 day week? And wait till you see what they do to tenure rights, thought he untenured are in serious danger. (Hint - why layoff cheaper teachers with less seniority?) But most importantly, will a crisis finally spark NYC teacher militancy to match that in Chicago and LA? And how will the UFT leadership come up with ways to damper this militancy? Will an opposition spring up to Unity and will MORE be the focus of that opposition?

I'm including an important late comment from my friend Gloria:

...online learning replacing teacher centered learning. It would save enormous amounts of money. (Remember the fight we had against the "School of One" program some years back?) And true, in an emergency, contracts may not hold any power. I'm sure you can describe a horrific yet realistic vision of what education may look like post this Pandemic horror (although a 4 day school week is already in place in some school districts.) Larger classes. Fewer supplies, etc But I also think it’s important to discuss how we can work against having any of this happen. And I think we need look at the bigger picture- not just getting our union to fight for us (Ha!) or pushing the NYS congress to fully fund our education budget (as I heard yesterday on the AQE Zoom meeting about the NYS budget just passed ) by increasing taxes on the millionaires and billionaires although I do agree these are important steps to take. We need to continue building the movement that Bernie Sanders helped organize. Take local power when we can. Let’s publicize the fact that the richest country in the world actually can afford a fair, excellent public education system (as well as healthcare for all, housing, etc.) The current federal military budget is 750 B dollars; half of our taxes go to support war and militarism. Our government is giving money away by the trillions to military defense corporations like Boeing so it can keep its investors happy and continue producing weapons for war. Militarization is now accelerating at a time when most people are suffering. I’d say that now is the time to push our union to work towards these larger goals. They want to keep their power, too and so does not want the union membership to shrink. This won’t be easy. Imagine all left of center groups working together. But if we can’t do this, lets say hello to The USA of F(Fascism). 

Occupying Andrew Cuomo: NYC Office Election Day Protest

A short 7 minute video I made to try to capture the spirit of the demo - I would have had even more stuff if I had remembered to press the "record" button.





Watch directly on you tube: http://youtu.be/NCCQ-qzqyq0

Read the full excellent Sunday NY Times Nov. 13 piece by Gina Bellafonte exceprts of which I used in the video.


Also read Children March on Governor Cuomo’s Office

below the fold

SRO at Staten Islanders for Real Budget Solutions & Against the Cuts Town Hall

A grassroots group has formed to fight the budget cuts - Staten Islanders for Real Budget Solutions: Against the Cuts. On Tuesday, June 14th a standing room only crowd overflowed the 350 seat People's Town Hall Meeting at the JCC on Manor Road. There was a presentation by an economist on where the money really is, followed by people speaking to the cuts and what it means to them.

Our message -

* The poor, working and middle class are paying the price for a crisis that we didn't create. This is simple economics. The answer to the crisis is on the revenue raising side - and that doesn't mean from us. We shouldn't be responding the oft asked question: What should we cut? Following the suggestions of the Beyond May 12th Coalition document, we would like to present an Alter Budget to be delivered by a Staten Island economist who spent 10 years at the Federal Reserve and many more as an economist for Swiss bank.
* We should not pit one agency or service against another. We shouldn't get our piece of the meager pie and go away. We will speak about our issues, our cuts - in one loud voice.

With one voice and many thanx, Loretta Prisco

Alternative Revenue Solutions

Simple:  Budgets are made of 2 things: revenue and expenses.  If there is a shortfall, there are 2 ways to go – raise revenue or cut expenses.  We say “raise revenue”.  These taxes would have little effect or no effect on Staten Islanders, by the way.

Real Revenue Options for 2012
Counter the most drastic cuts immediately

•       End subsidies to Big 5 Banks……..……....$100 million

•       Close hedge fund loopholes……………….$320 million

•       Cut NYC contracts to Big 6 Banks..……....$60 million

•       Electronic mortgage recording system

                  must pay fees owed NYC.……………………..$70 million

•       Tax millionaires……………………………….....$450 million

•       Spend from our $3 billion surplus……$1 billion
                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                     Total $2 billion

(May 12 coalition alternative budget plan: Strong Economy For All, Center for Working Families, Fiscal Policy Institute, Good Jobs New York, New Deal for NY)

More Ambitious Options
Invest in our city and its people to rebuild the economy

•       Restore commuter tax…….…………....$735 million

•       Establish progressive
commuter tax…………………….……...$1.3 billion

•       Make insurance companies pay
taxes like other businesses………...…$300 million

•       Increase personal income taxes
for the wealthy……………………………...$735 million
                                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                           Total $2.07 billion  (Independent Budget Office)

Video of Fight Back Friday Press Conf at Christine Quinn Office as Post Cards Delivered

Below is the video I shot at the PC but soon after we heard this:

"We have to fight like hell to make sure Quinn has no chance of becoming Mayor. At least she says she is holding strong to layoffs, all be it while throwing seniority rules under the bus."

----Comment from a teacher after reading article with these comments: 

As for how to conduct teacher layoffs, should they be necessary, Quinn said that selecting instructors for dismissal solely through seniority, rather than on teacher effectiveness, is plainly nuts. Bloomberg had pleaded with Albany to end the so-called last in, first out system, but Albany told him to take a hike.
"Having a system that is based exclusively on seniority does not make any sense," Quinn said.
She also backed the concept of letting go teachers who are paid to do nothing because they were excessed from positions and have been unable to find new jobs in the school system.
Quinn said they should be removed from the payroll after they have had a fair chance to look for work - perhaps after a year, certainly after two.

I would have delivered more than postcards. Quinn is a Bloomberg sucking slug. Today's Times
Unions Weighing New Plan to Avert Teacher Layoffs has an article about how her influence is growing and she is the leading candidate for mayor. UGH!

Fight Back Friday

Press Conference at City Council President Christine Quinn's Office

June 10, 2011 

On June 10, 2011 parents and teachers held a press conference in front of NYC City Council President Christine Quinn's mid-town office to deliver post cards calling for no cuts to education. This was the culminating event of a Fight Back Friday with schools around the city participating.

Quinn, the leading candidate for mayor who has backed Bloomberg came out against following seniority for layoffs.


http://youtu.be/OEGfptIQY4s

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn understands hard budget choices she, Mayor Bloomberg must make

Editorials
Friday, June 10th 2011, 4:00 AM

Corkery/News

Teachers at PS 193 Fight Budget Cuts in a Special Way

Teachers at PS 193 in Brooklyn decided to rewrite the lyrics to a well-known song from Grease. They performed it on the morning of June 23, 2010 in front of the school. Some arriving parents and students got a great kick out of seeing their teachers fighting for them. Ed Notes was there to cover.




WANT TO DO A PERFORMANCE AT YOUR SCHOOL? 
CONTACT ED NOTES FOR VIDEO COVERAGE

ALL OUT FOR JUNE 4TH! STILL!!!! We stand united in saying no layoffs, not now, not ever.

I know, they are saying there will be no layoffs. Bloggers like Accountable Talk predicted it, knowing full well BloomKlein couldn't stand to let the newer teachers go. But first they tried to pull their anti-seniority ploy. I still think that is coming next year when as closing schools swell (after the one year moratorium) so will the ATR pool and major costs to the city.

As one commenter on ICE mail said, in 1995 Giuliani and the UFT agreed on a 2 year freeze due to massive threatened layoffs. The next year the city had a billion dollar surplus. As The Who said, "We WILL get fooled again!"
This was no brilliant move today, but planned all along. They tried to drag Mulgrew into it and first reports had the union complicit but they cleared that up. What difference in reality whether the union agreed or not? They have no power to do anything about it. And for all we know, who can tell what backroom deals there are. Could BloomKlein and the UFT be playing good cop, bad cop? You know me, I'm always suspicious.

Or maybe they just got scared by our 20 and growing school demo on Friday.

Here is the point. These are little actions at the school level. But overall they have a bigger impact in that people will be taking action. That has been missing so far. A sense of resistance. Now, I am getting calls from people about stuff their principals are doing and they are not sure what to do about it. They are acting as individuals and leaving themselves at risk. But if the chapter was really organized they would have a mechanism to fight.

So this June 4th thing (and they may do it again on June 11) is not just about budget cuts and info picketing or giving out "pink hearts instead of pink slips" like the AFT/UFT wants with no sense of how that plugs into building a long-term union spirit at the school level. But look at it beyond the school level. Schools are excited that other schools are doing it too. People want to talk to each other, something the UFT never tries to promote - they want each school isolated and forced to deal through the district reps, some of whom try to keep the CLs from sharing school info with each other at district meetings. That is why people are gathering at Tweed on Friday afternoon for a rally/party meet each other - similar to the great rally at Bloomberg's in January. Starting to end school level isolation and building school to school relationships is an important component in these events.

The entire June 4th toolkit is available at the GEM blog - well actually the links to the scribd pdfs are available. Click the link of the doc you want and when you get there look for the green download button. If you are taking part and want to post pictures and video we are working on it. Send along links to you tube and pics.

Here are a few posts from Wed night, starting with the June 4 coalition press advisory, followed by PS 24's Sam Coleman email and an analysis by Marjorie Stamberg.

Press Advisory -June 4th Coalition

Date: Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Contact:

Sam Coleman: 646-354-9362, Teacher PS 24, NYCORE/GEM

Parents, Students, and Teachers Rally to Demand Mayor Bloomberg Prioritize Public Education Spending and Withdraw Proposed School-Based Budget Cuts and Teacher Layoffs

When: Friday, June 4th, Morning Pickets and Day-Long Actions (times and events vary by school community)

Friday, June 4th, 4:30 PM @ TWEED

Where: School Communities @ PS 24K, PS 15K, PS 30M, PS 197M, Jamaica High School, PS 123M, PS 193K, PS 41M, PS 84K, The Brooklyn New School, Prospect Heights International High School, PS 202K, PS 3K, PS 307K, IS 218, PS 89K, PS 321, PS 197M, The Earth School, Banana Kelley, Fredrick Douglass Academy 5, Benjamin Banneker High School, East Flatbush Community Research School, Humanities Prep and many other school communities city-wide.

On Friday, June 4th, Parents, Students, and Teachers will participate in a city-wide day of protest to demand Mayor Bloomberg prioritize public school spending and withdraw his intention to further slash school-based budgets as well as his initial plan to fire over 6,000 teachers. These cuts and proposed layoffs, will siphon approximately 400 million dollars from New York City public school children, this as the IBO projects a city-wide budget surplus in 2010 and 2011 and other government agencies under the Mayor’s control are projected to face no cuts at all. In addition, the education system in New York City has already experienced drastic cuts: approximately $546 million since June 2009's adopted budget, according to the Independent Budget Office. Of this, $261 million came out of classroom funding. These further cuts will increase class size, increase teacher student ratios, services and programs will be cut including after school, remediation, and enrichment; the entire public school system will be destabilized and weakened. As for the layoffs, the Mayor rescinded the proposal this week, and it must be clear we stand united in saying not now, not ever.

This grassroots day of actions grew out from a community public school in Sunset Park, Brooklyn where parents and teachers have been organizing around disastrous public education policies including the issue of testing. Sam Coleman, one of the lead organizers of the event, a teacher from PS 24 said, “The staff at PS 24 decided we could not sit idly by while our students’ education and our livelihoods were being threatened. We realized the only voice that will ever be heard is that of the whole school community; parents, students, and staff. We want to show the public and politicians that we are willing to take action in order to force a change in political priorities. The whole PS 24 community demands fully and equitably funded public education for all New York City children.”

Various school communities across the city will be taking differentiated actions in a unified protest of the Mayor’s education spending priorities. Individual schools will be holding pickets, signing petitions, and form letters, and will disseminate educational materials to spread awareness about the destructive educational policies and decision-making of Mayor Bloomberg and his Chancellor, Joel Klein. The day will end with a group protest at Tweed, where concerned citizens will join in solidarity and make their voices heard after taking community-based actions throughout the day.

Additional Contacts:

Lydia Bellahcene: lillytigre@yahoo.com, 347-463-9809, Parent PS 15, CAPE

Mark Torres: harlem120@msn.com, 212-348-5732, Co-Chair, CPE/CEP

Julie Cavanagh: juliereed15@hotmail.com, 917-836-6465, Teacher PS 15, CAPE/GEM


SAM WRITES
Over 20 schools are planing actions on June 4th before or after school!

We are rallying at Tweed at 4:30 to let the mayor and the DOE know that budget cuts and salary freezes are not an acceptable solution!

Today the mayor announced that he and the UFT made a deal to avoid the layoffs. This is a lie! Our union has not agreed to a salary freeze.
Nor should they. The mayor is playing dirty politics (even for him!). We cannot let him get away with this!

Now more than ever, our voices are needed on Friday. Our union needs to know that we are mobilized and ready to fight for a fair contract regardless of an underhanded mayor baiting us in the press. The families and communities at our schools need to know we are still fighting for our student's education.

- There will STILL be 2000 positions lost due to attrition which will mean bigger classes and more teachers forced into the ATR pool.

- The budget cuts to schools will STILL mean loss of after-school programs, art, summer school and other "non-essential" services to our students.

- With a hiring freeze, and salary freeze, they are STILL spending $5 million on recruiting new teachers.

- Teachers are STILL paying for Wall Street's greed.

We say thanks Mike, but no thanks. We STILL did not make this mess, we will not be forced to clean it up. Tax those in our city who can afford to pay more, ESPECIALLY THOSE ON WALL STREET WHO WALKED AWAY WITH 9 BILLION IN BONUSES COURTESY OF AMERICAN TAX PAYERS!

You cannot negotiate with our union in the press! We will not allow it! No budget cuts, no layoffs, no pay cuts, not now, not ever!

email: sam@nycore.org for questions or to let us know that you are with us.


Marjorie Stamberg writes:
It is crunch time in the UFT and Friday is the first of several important demonstrations where we need colleagues to come out and support the teachers and the students.

The situation is changing daily. Today the mayor declared there will be no teacher layoffs, but there will also be no raises for teachers in the next two years. Oh really? Bloomberg can't decide what raises there will and not be -- this is a contract issue. We have to keep on struggling to make sure the city doesn't try to make teachers pay for the economic crisis that we didn't cause.

Bloomberg's announcement was interesting -- it is clear the city could not afford to take the political hit on the layoffs. Particularly since it would have hit the teachers in many of the new small schools Bloomberg-Klein set up, and which are staffed with first year teachers. The layoffs would have virtually wiped out the teaching staff at these schools.

It is very important that we defend the jobs of ALL teachers and build the union's strength by supporting veteran and new teachers.

Here are upcoming protests, there may be others as well:

---Friday June 4, protest at Tweed-DOE headquarters, 4 pm, a protest called by two teacher groups, the Grassroots Education Movement NYCORE--New York Coalition of Radical Teachers. Directions: any train to Chambers St or City Hal).

This demo is calling for no teacher layoffs and no budget cuts. They are going to give out "pink slips" to the DOE top brass--the guys in the suits getting the 5 and 6 figure salaries while everything else is getting cut. The protest is culminating many local school-based activities and leafleting on that day.

June 10 is a picket protest outside Bloomberg's house on the upper east side to support the embattled teachers at Bronx HS of Science. Peter Lamphere, the chapter leader is facing major harassment as are all the math teachers at Bronx Science -- who were all U rated two years ago! The case went to arbitration but there are still many issues and we need everyone to come out and support Peter and the teachers at Bronx Science.

On June 16, the UFT is having a mega demonstration at City Hall with the other NYC Municipal Labor Committee public unions. You know, where they bring up the jumbo-trons and the rat and the whole nine-yards. This will be a big labor turnout--a gathering of a big chunk of the city labor movement. I am critical that the Delegate Assembly was called off for this demo -- that was an important place for teachers and their delegates to speak their piece about any proposed settlement. Still, it is important that everyone who possibly can, come out.

That's it for now -- I'll keep you posted with my "take" on rapidly changing events.

Marjorie

IS 218 Protests Budget Cuts; UFT Doesn't

Newly elected IS 218K Chapter Leader Tom Crean sends this along. Too late for publication in the NY Teacher? Did the UFT consider Edwize or the UFT web site? Really fighting budget cuts, not their thing - the only way they know how to cut the cuts is by selling off future teacher pensions.


Letter to chancellor. Click to enlarge


Below is a brief report meant originally for the New York Teacher about a June 12 protest held outside my school, IS218 in East New York against the savage cut in our budget. Apparently it was too late for publication.

I also attach several photos and a letter the school’s UFT chapter sent to Joel Klein. Now that the budget has been passed by the City Council and the huge cuts to the schools which were spread so unevenly have been left intact it is necessary to ask: why did the UFT leadership do so little to publicize the plight of schools like 218?

When the full scale of the cuts for the school year 2009-10 became clear a few weeks ago, the union should have been organizing protests outside every school in the city building up to an emergency rally outside City Hall. After initiating the 50,000 strong rally on March 5, they restricted themselves to writing letters to the newspapers and urging teachers to fax their public representatives.

The real position was revealed in a press statement by Randi Weingarten dated May 19:

“Although the school budgets issued by the school system today do not, by any means, amount to a full restoration of items and services on the chopping block, getting the cuts down to the 3-to-4 percent range in this tough economy is a huge improvement over the prospective budgets that amounted to a 7 percent cut for schools. We at the United Federation of Teachers and other advocates who worked tirelessly and fought so hard in Washington and Albany for funding to minimize the brunt of expected city cuts will continue to seek budget restorations from the City Council in the weeks ahead. But we are still pleased to see that the Mayor and the Department of Education have gone a long way to protect the classroom and maintain services for students in these difficult times.”

This is the logical conclusion of “shared sacrifice”; so much for opposing cuts to the most vulnerable!

Tom Crean, newly-elected chapter leader at IS 218

Teachers at IS 218, East New York Protest Cuts

On Friday June 12, between 7:45 and 8:30 am, over 50 teachers, parents and students rallied outside Sinnott Magnet School (IS 218) in East New York against the vicious $1.4 million cut in their school’s budget by the DoE. Despite the rainy weather it was a high energy protest. Teachers held signs that read “No More Budget Cuts” and chanted “They say cut back, we say fight back!” The protest was also attended by City Councilor Charles Barron.

Even taking into account declining enrollment at IS 218, $1.4 million represents a 10% cut to the school’s budget, far in excess of the 4.9% announced citywide. Twenty teachers, nearly a third of teaching staff are being excessed. The cut is so deep that it compromises the school’s instructional integrity with potentially grave consequences for student achievement. There is no money for after school programs, intervention for at-risk students or even basic school supplies. As the teachers said in a letter to Joel Klein, “This will literally rip the heart out of our school.”

It is a cruel irony that IS218 is being targeted for such a deep cut when it has shown enormous improvement on the state’s standardized tests Between 2006 and 2009, on the state ELA test, the proportion of IS 218 students who scored level 3 or 4 rose from 32.1% to 54.4% On the state math those scoring level 3 and 4 rose from 43.2% to 71.0% during the same three year period. During the 2006-7 school year the school received an A grade from the city which went down to a B last year. So if IS 218 is doing so well according to official criteria why is the DOE gutting it? Some teachers are concerned that this is possibly a step towards closing the school altogether.

It was pointed out by a speaker at the protest that some other schools faced massive cuts, such as the Boys and Girls High School in Bedford-Stuyvesant which faces a 16% cut or over $3.1 million. These attacks on education, are nothing short of criminal. The speaker went on to ask, “There are billions for the banks, why can't they bail out the schools?”