ICE Met, ICE Talked, ICE Ate - And Other News

Feb. 27, 2024

Last Wednesday, ICE had another in-person meeting, the second this year: ICE Gathers  - James Eterno Legacy, Retiree and TRS Election - is Tom Murphy Toast?, Whither COPE

Sixteen people showed up, some original ICErs from its founding over 20 years ago, and some newcomers. 

We met for 3 hours and everyone got a chance to talk about the retiree election, the TRS election, a PhD student talked about his thesis on the UFT, Chicago and LA. I have always learned new things at ICE meetings and the congeniality is affirming. We will meet next in person during spring break on April 24  - Bring your own Matzoh. 

Of course there was sadness over the death of core ICEer James Eterno, whose funeral was the day before. Many of us saw each other at the wake. So there was some communal feeling.We talked about a possible memorial for James. Maybe even see if UFT was willing to take part. But the key was the decision to keep ICE going as a tribute to the efforts James put into ICE. This reso was presented and there was agreement on going forward. Over the years, James maintained the blog and I did the listserve and handled meetings. The blog is a key and we are hoping people will step up and contribute. Send me something if you have something to say. Once things settle down in the Eterno household. we hope Camille will take on some role.

Resolution for the Independent Community of Educators to Continue the Work of James Eterno

Whereas the late James Eterno was a co-founder of the Independent Community  of Educators (ICE-UFT), was a UFT Presidential candidate in 2010, was part of the committee that formulated the extensive 2010 ICE-UFT platform 

(http://uftelections2010.blogspot.com/), a long time Chapter Leader, a 12-year member of the UFT Executive Board and fierce advocate of labor unions,

Whereas James was determined to keep ICE  as a vibrant group that meets regularly and continues to contribute its experience in organizing in the UFT and fighting for a better, militant, democratic UFT,

Whereas  James  was a key organizer in the United  for Change coalition in the 2022 UFT election, ran as an Executive Board candidate in UFT elections over 25 years for UFC, MORE, ICE/TJC and New Action as a strident supporter of opposition groups within the UFT, while being a fervent advocate for union, 

Resolved that ICE will continue to meet on a regular basis, maintain its email list serve and the ICE blog in order to continue the work James did,

Resolved  that ICE will continue to be open to all UFT members, regardless of caucus affiliation, political persuasion or otherwise

Resolved that ICE will continue to serve as venue for civil, open discussions, where union members can respectfully disagree, yet still find common cause in fighting for strong unions and good public schools for all,

Resolved that ICE will continue to demand and advocate for a UFT that embraces a variety of viewpoints, open debates on collective strategies, militant unionism, responsive union leadership and engages an active membership,

Br it further resolved that ICE will continue to support and participate in union elections as members of coalitions and caucuses that fight for; responsive leadership, engaged membership, and rank and file militant union.

 

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Here is some other important news with links to what is going on - so much I would have to spend the day working on it but it's beautiful out, so here's all I got.

  

Statement on ASFCME Trusteeship of the Retirees Association of DC 37 

 

Bennett Fischer and Marianne Pizzitola on WBAI with Daniel Alicea "Talk Out of School"

 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/conversations-with-bennett-fischer-and/id1490313171?i=1000646815704

 

Hey, union family:

I’m inviting to join me for a very special broadcast of Talk Out of School on WBAI 99.5 FM.

I speak to retired educator and union activist, Bennett Fischer.

Bennett, along with over 300 retirees, is running on the Retiree Advocate slate to lead the Retired Teachers Chapter within the United Federation of Teachers.

Retiree Advocate (RA) is political caucus in the Retired Teachers Chapter (RTC) of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT).

They will challenge Michael Mulgrew’s deeply entrenched Unity caucus with a full slate of three-hundred retired educators — teachers, paraprofessionals, therapists, counselors, nurses, secretaries and other UFT titles - in the triennial chapter elections this spring.

For nearly three years, Retiree Advocate/UFT and our allies from across the spectrum of NYC municipal unions, have been fighting to preserve our traditional Medicare benefits, as they face attacks from the mayor's office, the Municipal Labor Committee, and Mulgrew, the architect behind the city’s privatized Medicare Advantage plan (MAP).

Health care decisions should be between us and our doctors. Big private insurance corporations should not profit at the expense of our health. Thankfully, RA and NYC retirees are fighting to preserve and strengthen NYC laws that protect our benefits.

This upcoming spring retiree chapter election may have a big impact on our union leadership in regards to the fight to stave off attempts by the city to force all Medicare eligible city retirees into the highly litigated and much maligned MAP.

Learn more about RA

In the second segment, I speak to Marianne Pizzitola, president of the New York City Organization of Public Service Retirees. Her organization, comprised of NYC retirees from our city’s unions, has been leading the fight against the city and the top establishment union bosses who are partnering in cost savings healthcare givebacks that endanger the healthcare benefits of retired and active city workers.

She will share updates on the fight the NYC retirees are waging to preserve their hard earned benefits. We also have an very interesting conversation about the upcoming RTC election and the history behind the misuse of the Healthcare Stabilization Fund.

Learn more about NYC Retirees

You don’t want to miss tonight’s broadcast! You can listen to the livestream on your computer or mobile device at wbai.org

The show will be available to download as a podcast on Apple, Spotify, and here, at The Wire.

Listen live

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DC37 Retirees Robbed of Voice

Union bosses prevent them from fighting for Medicare.

Arthur Goldstein

Feb 24, 2024

https://arthurgoldstein.substack.com/p/dc37-retirees-robbed-of-voice?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1752095&post_id=142008068&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=3qu3t&open=false&utm_medium=email

ICE Gathers Today - James Eterno Legacy, Retiree and TRS Election - is Tom Murphy Toast?, Whither COPE

The past 2 weeks has been wrenching for the many James Eterno fans since he passed on Feb. 6. The past 2 days with the viewing and funeral have brought out hundreds of people. Monday night was very touching seeing so many people who have bonded over the years in union struggles. Watching the coffin be lowered yesterday was beyond sad.

In the months before his stroke in May, James was bugging me to start calling ICE meetings again and we were about to begin but I felt paralyzed without his counsel.

Today's pre-planned ICE meeting seems so fitting. Jews have healing shiver after funerals. We will talk about James' legacy and how hard he worked to keep ICE going after we started working with MORE, especially after ICE left MORE. Given his efforts, we have no choice but to continue ICE in some form. We will have a rice pudding ICE meeting to help us heal. I hope we can talk about the possibility of a memorial for him to celebrate his work.

There's lots to talk about regarding the RTC and TRS election (we may have a candidate at the meeting).

The RTC election is looming and how well Retiree Advocate does can be a game changer in the UFT -- I will expand on this in my next post. Our super successful press conference last Friday where we announced we have a full 300 member slate to run and also introduced some of the 10 officer candidates is a good sign. We had heard that Mulgrew is so insecure he wanted to keep Murphy who he knows will be unfailingly loyal and would not trust someone else.

Arthur posted this tweet:  

We're hearing that @UFT RTC boss Tom Murphy will be replaced with another Mulgrew lackey, who will continue the fight to decimate our health care. Her working motto is, "I'm not Tom Murphy." Appealing though that may be, protect your rights and vote for @RetireeAdvocUFT.

There are some rumors former UFT Spec Ed VP Carmen Alvarez may be the candidate. We remember her shameful testimony at the City Council hearings begging them to change the law so she could have the choice of opting out of the very plan the union was pushing. As a UFT staffer since 1990 she could afford to pay for opting out. 

If Carmen is campaigning inside Unity for the position does that make Mulgrew feel condideent if he does prefer Murphy? Or has Murphy outlived his usefulness and the RA threat is so real they feel they have to make a change? Will Mulgrew run again in '25 or will be fazed out as it seems Tom Murphy may be as RTC head?

We will share ideas for the election campaigns at the ICE  meeting. And lots more.

A PhD candidate doing a thesis on the UFT compared to other unions will be at the meeting.

And if there is time, we will talk about the concept of COPE and should people withdraw in protest or call for some level of more democracy.

James was one of 20 or so founders of ICE 20 years ago in late 2003 when I called a bunch of key people together to discuss the deal New Action was making with Unity for the 2004 election. James, Camille, Ellen Fox and Lisa North left New Action to become part of the future ICE core.

ICE ran in the 2004, '07, '10 UFT elections before merging with TJC and others into MORE.  James was the 2010 presidential candidate against Mulgrew who was running for the first time and Camille was the UFC candidate vs Mulgrew in the '22 election. James got the most VP high school votes in the 2016 election but due to UFT election manipulation rules the VP position are voted on by all UFT members.

ICE was different, with no official membership - just show up at a meeting - no steering committee, few if any limits on what could be discussed - open meetings to all, even from other caucuses. 

One thing that James was so much part of was the sense of family people connected to ICE felt about the group and each other, a feeling I never felt on other groups I was involved in where they were run like a business. ICE has been as much a social group as a union political group. A space where you felt safe enough to bring up issues that would be uncomfortable talking about in other groups. Where you could disagree with the prevailing winds and not get cancelled.

We set up a zoom this past November and an in-person during the Xmas vacation. And that was so great even if only a dozen. We talked about issues for almost 3 hours. And everyone seemed to leave happy. We propose an every two month schedule on the Wednesday during school vacations so in-service people can attend. The meeting today meets that schedule. The next one would be April 24.

It's hard to describe what ICE is at this point, given James Eterno's illness and the stillness of the ICE blog which he assiduously maintained over the years. Some mistakenly believed it was his personal blog but James always rejected that idea. He wanted ICE to remain a presence.

 

JOIN US TODAY - Retiree Advocate Campaign Kick-off - 1PM at 52 Broadway followed by celebration - And Party Afterward

See video here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/127ZCDRrE7657PqwABWonWGnGQZbL5QI8/view

 

300 retirees sign up to run a full slate in the chapter election - and we had to turn people away. 

 

 

TAKE BACK OUR UNION

 

Retiree Advocate/UFT announces its run in the spring 2024 UFT Retired Teachers Chapter Election

Retiree Advocate/UFT, a caucus of retirees within the United Federation of Teachers, will open its campaign to win control of the 60,000-member UFT Retired Teachers Chapter in the spring chapter elections. Candidates will be introduced at the press event and will greet the public immediately following, at the White Horse Tavern, 25 Bridge Street, New York, NY.

Retiree Advocate/UFT is fighting to preserve the Medicare benefits that UFT President Michael Mulgrew, the Municipal Labor Committee, and the NYC Office of Labor Relations are trying to take away from NYC municipal retirees.

What:       Retiree Advocate/UFT Campaign kick-off event

When:      Friday, February 16, 1pm

Where:    52 Broadway, New York, NY - in front of the UFT

 

From the WIRE:

A group of retired teachers chose to take back their retiree chapter! Let's support them. If you are available to support them in a kick-off event, tomorrow, in front of UFT HQ, join them for a day of celebration to launch their campaign!

Retiree Advocate/UFT, a caucus of retirees within the United Federation of Teachers, will open its campaign to win control of the 70,000+ member UFT Retired Teachers Chapter in the spring chapter elections.

Candidates will be introduced at the press event and will greet the public immediately following, at the White Horse Tavern, 25 Bridge Street, New York, NY.

Retiree Advocate/UFT (RA) is fighting to preserve the Medicare benefits that UFT President Michael Mulgrew, the Municipal Labor Committee, and the NYC Office of Labor Relations are trying to take away from NYC municipal retirees.

---

What: Retiree Advocate/UFT Campaign kick-off event

When: Friday, February 16, 1pm

Where: 52 Broadway, New York, NY - in front of the UFT

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Editor’s note: Clearly, this election for the retiree chapter is a referendum on President Michael Mulgrew. The embattled Mulgrew is the self-proclaimed architect of the unpopular, highly litigated, privatized Medicare Advantage Plan that he, along with the City and MLC, seek to force on all city retirees.

Many UFT members are frustrated with Mulgrew’s handling of the depletion of our benefits, like healthcare and pensions, by acting unilaterally and his stifling of union democracy.

The Retiree Advocate slate of officers and 300 delegates will receive cross-caucus and independent members’ support and endorsements.

The New York City Organization of Public Service Retirees, a labor organization with over 20k retired municipal workers, including retired educators, and led by Marianne Pizzitola, has also signaled support for the Retiree Advocate/UFT member-driven campaign to take back their union.

Visit the RA Facebook page to learn more.

Visit RA Facebook page

Will Mulgrew Flip Flop on Mayoral Control Like Randi did in 2009?

Randi and Bloomberg do the flip in mayoral control renewal 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deja vu all over again?

Mulgrew at the Feb. 2024 DA on Mayoral control – 

-----when it sunsets, know what our position is. Want to be a little bit more. Position mayoral control, went through Cleveland’s, Boston’s, New Haven’s – they have mayoral control, the mayor chooses the final decision making panel (i.e. PEP), but the Mayor may only choose from people selected by nominating committee, of which they often have little control. Once put on these boards, they’re on a fixed term, mayor can’t do anything about it. Not saying what want, but have to dispel myth that changing mayoral control from way it is here—with mayor picking majority of PEP—is only version of mayoral control. People here fired for not doing what they’re told – that’s crap. Goal of last week was to tie different things together. Has the mayor supplanted school funding (yes), was there a financial reason (no)... How do you give the mayor any sort of control, who supplants funding, who removes money from funding despite being bound to lower class sizes by NYS law. One thing in that law that allows process to be stopped. Happens in a year in a half. Had all the money we needed and since then 2.5 billion dollars have been taken out of the capital plan, because trying to use financial review period to stop the law. ... Nick Bacon Notes at NAC

 Let me take you back to the 2009 battle over renewal of mayoral control:

Chalkbeat/Gotham Schools: The frustration began with a May 21, 2009 New York Post column, in which Weingarten indicated that she is open to allowing the mayor to continue appointing a majority of members to the citywide school board. A union task force recommended in February that the state legislature reverse that majority as a way to strengthen the board, known as the Panel for Education Policy or PEP.

Weingarten’s Post op/ed dismayed some members of her own union. “I was quite disappointed and angry, actually,” said Lisa North, a teacher who sat on the union’s task force to consider revisions to mayoral control.

North said the task force never seriously considered recommending that the mayor keep his majority of appointments, and so when union delegates ratified the committee’s final recommendations, she expected Weingarten to promote them. “The delegate assembly is supposed to be the highest authority of the union, and it voted for it,” she said.

I wrote this in June, 2009 - Weingarten Didn't Flip on Mayoral Control-- UFT positioning is akin to planes spreading tin foil to try to fool radar.

We opposed the very idea of a phony UFT task force dominated by Unity Caucus that would give cover to Randi's doing what she intended to do anyway over the past 7 years. (I have been a lone voice in ICE urging boycotting these farce task forces.) I spoke to Philissa (Kramer of Gotham) and made the point that Randi's flipping on the constitution of the PEP panel is just flack covering Randi's consistent support for mayoral control. More egregious, I told her, is her modifying the report of the UFT task force that spent a year addressing the issue that was voted upon at a delegate assembly. One of the few good things the report recommended was taking away the mayor's ability to appoint a majority of the PEP. That is where Randi has flipped. The task force was c0-headed by UFT VP Carmen Alvarez, who has been racing around the city representing the UFT on panel discussions and trying to give the impression the UFT supports checks and balances. Tsk, tsk, Carmen.

“I do feel betrayed,” said Michael Fiorillo, another chapter leader who sat on the union’s task force. “I just wish I could say I felt surprised.” He said Weingarten has veered away from members’ consensus on other topics in the past, and so he had early doubts that she would hold firm on the task force’s recommendations. (Fiorillo ultimately voted against the recommendations, saying they weren’t aggressive enough curbs on mayoral control.) “My guess would be the sense of betrayal would be stronger among people outside the union,” Fiorillo said, noting that union members were accustomed to watching Weingarten change her mind.

Weingarten doesn't exactly change her mind. What she does is throw up lots of tin foil like those planes trying to foil radar detection do in manipulating public perception of where the UFT stands. It is necessary to see through the flack and keep one's eye on where the real plane with the bomb is.

Why does the UFT leadership love mayoral control? Because it allows them to negotiate in back rooms with one person instead of opening up the process to democratic scrutiny. Totalitarians behave that way. When Obama was talking in Cairo today about bringing the light of democracy to places of darkness he might has well been talking about mayoral control and the UFT.

As I said then I do support the UFT current position of opposing the mayor choosing a majority of members on the PEP but will they stick to that position? Mulgrew still claims to be for mayoral control. If the mayor can't appoint a majority is it really mayoral control? Yes in the world of UFT machinations.

 

Viewing and Funeral Service for James Eterno: Feb. 19, Feb. 20

The family and the many friends and fans of James Eterno have been through a ten-month wrenching experience. James' political family in ICE has had a meeting scheduled for Feb. 21 before we learned of James' passing. That will be a very appropriate way to remember him just a day after the funeral. There will be sadness but there will also be laughter.

Viewing and Funeral Service for James Eterno

On Monday, February 19, 2024, we gather to honor the memory of James Eterno, a remarkable individual who left an indelible mark on the educational landscape and the hearts of those who knew him. James, a retired educator and passionate union activist, dedicated his life to advocating for the rights of teachers and students.

Viewing and Prayer Service

Date: Monday, February 19, 2024

• Viewing: 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM
• Prayer Service: 7:00 PM
• Location: Martin A. Gleason Funeral Home, 149-20 Northern Blvd, Flushing, NY 11354

Funeral Service and Interment

On Tuesday, February 20, 2024, we come together once more to bid farewell to James and lay him to rest.

• Funeral Service: 12:00 PM
• Location: St. John’s Cemetery, 80-01 Metropolitan Ave, Middle Village, NY 11379

James Eterno’s impact extended far beyond the classroom. His dedication, resilience, and love for his community will forever resonate. As we gather to honor him, let us reflect on the lessons he taught us and the passion he instilled in our hearts.

May his memory be a blessing and may his legacy live on.

 

Chronicling Democratic Party Immolation - Special Election NY3 - How A Dem Win is really a Loss when they adopt the republican view of immigration

We're fucked ... many Democrats

Sometimes I feel like rooting for Dems to lose due to their ineptness. Note the hysteria over the Republican special counsel appointed by Merrick Garland so he can look like's he's playing fair with Republicans. James Carville even said - what law says all special counsels have to be Republicans? 

UPDATE: At 10PM  Suozzi is looking good and the Dems will take that as a way to move to the right. The long-time implications are not going to be good in terms of solving our problems when one party is nuts and the other fundamentally acts like the way the other party did.

And their defense of Biden - who is desperate to get money to Ukraine or Israel but not so desperate to get money for oh say, childcare or children in poverty.

And let me remind you that our own lovable UFT center right leadership is part and parcel of the very same fabric of the Dem party and their policy stances reflect that. And Dem party in NYS under Jacobs is one of the most inept --

If Suozzi wins even by a hair, watch the celebration. But they have to do it all over again in November. Suozzi is on the right of the Dem party and ran to the right of Hochul in the gov race. Jacobs gotta go no matter what.

If you want to see an example of an analysis of the fundamental failures of the Democratic Party and their never taking responsibility for their actions and placing blame on the left or the media of the failure of the public to get their message watch the Sam Seder interview with Luke Goldstein on today's crucial election where I can't really root for Suozzi. Some say if he loses or its close that will send a message to the Dems to shift course from their right wing tack ala the Clintons of the 90s which led down the path to Trump.

The fact that right wing Democrat Suozzi is barely ahead against Mazi Pilip after the Republican George Santos disaster is a sign of the Dem disaster. Part of me wants them to lose so bad they go away and something new and vigorous can grow. Someone compared the Dems to the waffling Whigs of the 1840s from which arose a potent Republican Party in the 1850s.

Immigration is a biggie in this election and the Dems have become the right wing Republicans on the issue of immigration with no alternative narrative. So watch the outcome tonight -- it will be close and to me that's a Dem loss even if they win. The Dems have put $7 million into this campaign while letting APAC savage the Progressive wing of the party -- all people of color, bty. So if you wonder about slippage with people of color ....

They interview Luke Goldstein, writing fellow at The American Prospect

https://www.youtube.com/live/mmHF2jmUjvI?si=Kdmb5HBejFCW73P1

and here is Luke Goldstein's article reporting on the special election being held today in New York's 3rd Congressional District.

NY-03 Special Election Tests Jacobs’s ‘Long Island Strategy’

Tuesday’s primary to fill George Santos’s seat is a toss-up, despite an experienced former Democratic congressmember facing a largely unknown Republican.

by Luke Goldstein

February 12, 2024

While George Santos is busy building a post-politics career as an online influencer, voters in his former district in New York are preparing to wash the stain from the seat in a special election on Tuesday that is being treated as a bellwether for the 2024 campaign

Democratic candidate and former congressman Tom Suozzi has returned to try to reclaim his old seat in the Third Congressional District. Suozzi faces a local Republican county official with little national recognition: Mazi Pilip, an Ethiopian immigrant who served in the Israel Defense Forces before coming to the U.S.

Immigration and abortion are listed as top concerns by voters and have dominated the sparring between candidates, including at the first and only debate of the race last Thursday night. The election will test whether the now dead-on-arrival border package legislation in Washington will backfire against Republicans, as national Democrats hope, and how much staying power abortion still has for voters in a blue state.

Even in a tough swing district, you’d expect the Democratic candidate to trounce the opponent after the scorched rubble left by Santos’s disastrous ten months in office. Yet despite vastly outspending his opponent nearly 3-to-1, Suozzi’s margins in recent polling are razor-thin, with some pollsters designating the race a toss-up. The most recent public poll from Emerson College has Suozzi up 50-47.

More from Luke Goldstein

The special election will put the New York Democratic Party under scrutiny after underperforming the rest of the country with a series of defeats in the 2022 midterms. State party chair Jay Jacobs is a close ally of Suozzi and a longtime chair of the Nassau County Democratic Party, the home of the NY-03 district. Jacobs has fashioned a “Long Island strategy” that’s shifted the party in a more conservative direction to win contested seats across the state. So far, that strategy hasn’t borne out, and Jacobs has received criticism for not tapping into the party’s more grassroots base.

“This race should be the ultimate shoo-in,” said one progressive strategist in New York. “If Suozzi loses or really if it’s even a close race, that raises serious questions about the Democratic establishment in New York, especially for a race in Jay Jacobs’s backyard.”

THE NATIONAL STAKES FOR THE SPECIAL ELECTION are mixed.

For one, the winner will only hold office for roughly eight months before the contest is redecided this November in a redrawn district. The New York Supreme Court ruled last December that the New York independent redistricting commission will have to redraw the congressional map. The decision is expected to shift the seat in a direction more favorable for Democrats in November.

But until then, there could potentially be near-term implications, given the slim majority that Republicans currently hold in the House and constant tumult over the Speakership. Just this past week, Republicans failed to impeach the Biden administration’s secretary of homeland security, Alejandro Mayorkas, by the thinnest of margins, prompting Rep. Matt Gaetz to remark that he’d “never missed George Santos more.”

But primarily, the race is receiving national attention for a check of the national mood heading into the 2024 presidential year. To underscore just how dramatized this storyline has become, a recent Politico Magazine story put as its headline “Nassau County Is Replacing George Santos—and Maybe Picking the Next President.”

Some surrogates close to Suozzi’s campaign have downplayed this Beltway narrative somewhat, at least as a presidential indicator.

“It’s called a special election for a reason and the dynamics are different; we’re not picking the next president, but that’s not to say this isn’t highly important,” said Zak Malamed, who was one of the many Democratic candidates running in the primary to challenge Santos before the congressman’s expulsion.

In an unconventional procedure, national leadership in consultation with the state party got to select the candidate for the special election and cleared the way for Suozzi. Malamed endorsed Suozzi and has been supporting him in the race ever since.

The special election will put the New York Democratic Party under scrutiny after underperforming the rest of the country with a series of defeats in the 2022 midterms.

But the coronation of Suozzi was somewhat more contentious in other quarters. The bad blood is because Suozzi left the seat to make a failed run for governor against Kathy Hochul in 2022. Many believe that Suozzi’s exit opened the seat up for the Santos drama that New York and the country have endured for the past year. Despite that criticism, Suozzi was rewarded by the party that saw him as the safest bet to flip the district.

Suozzi, a conservative Democrat who helped found the Problems Solvers Caucus, also has a mixed record on abortion, a major factor in sinking his bid for governor. Suozzi initially supported the Hyde Amendment, which bans the use of federal funds for abortion procedures, but has since reversed himself. Still, some of his opponents questioned whether his track record on the issue might make him a poor fit for the seat, given how mobilizing the issue has been against Republicans since the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

One lesson New York Democrats took away from the 2022 midterm races is that they didn’t adequately turn abortion into a central issue, which carried Democrats elsewhere. Suozzi seems to agree. He’s shored up support from reproductive rights groups such as Planned Parenthood and gone on the attack against his Republican opponent over her party’s extreme position. He’s repeatedly pressed Pilip on what exactly her stance is on supporting Roe v. Wade or the proposed national abortion ban legislation. Pilip has only offered vague responses about respecting a woman’s “decision,” both bucking the conservative flank of her party without fully committing to supporting Roe either.

Pilip has other issues as well. She hid from the public for a stretch of the campaign, only appearing on the trail occasionally. In her absence, a major controversy broke that echoed her Republican predecessor’s corruption. A New York Times investigation revealed that Pilip’s financial disclosures included a number of inconsistencies and omissions compared to her previous filings for Nassau County, where she served as a legislator. Her campaign immediately corrected some of the errors, claiming they were mistakes, but there are still outstanding questions about her and her husband’s financial holdings.

Despite the national tenor of the race, both candidates have distanced themselves from the presumptive nominees of their respective parties and exhibited nothing but angst about the possibility of them visiting the district. Pilip won’t even say whether she voted for President Trump in 2020 despite being pressed on this question constantly by Suozzi’s campaign. In swing districts like NY-03, with scores of independent and moderate voters, it’s a reflection of the extreme unpopularity of both presidential candidates and even the toxicity of the national brands of both parties. In fact, both candidates also opted not to publicize when House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries each visited the candidates for rallies in the district.

Yet, the adage “all politics is local” doesn’t seem to be holding true so far in the race, where hot-button national issues predominate. While Santos won on relatively parochial issues like crime and migrant busing, this contest is centered heavily on the southern border situation, along with abortion.

Both candidates have exchanged barbs on immigration. Up until the past few weeks, Pilip, an immigrant herself, was accusing Democrats of allowing an invasion at the southern border. The tenor has changed somewhat since the collapse of the border deal brokered in Washington to pair restrictive immigration enforcement with military aid for Israel and Ukraine.

Republicans killing the deal, to avoid delivering Biden another legislative victory, has given Suozzi a talking point in the race to fend off the open-borders charge from Republicans. He’s pushed Pilip to respond to the collapse of the border deal, accusing Republicans of not being serious about solutions. Whether that will change the minds of voters is yet to be tested.

The border package also raises the question of support for Israel and the ongoing war in Gaza. Suozzi is a loyal supporter of Israel and even visited the country in December. For that, he received the endorsement and financial support of Democratic Majority for Israel PAC, even though his opponent actually fought in the IDF. Suozzi has used his backing by the Israel lobby to try to defang his opponent’s charge that his party welcomes “terrorist sympathizers.”

THE MAIN QUESTION HANGING OVER THE RACE is whether the state party can revamp itself after suffering four humiliating congressional losses in 2022, two of which were in Long Island, which also saw wipeout down-ballot at the local level.

Those four races arguably cost Democrats control of the House, which Republicans won back by just four seats. National Democratic leadership has made it clear they believe their path back to the majority in 2024 runs through Long Island and retaking those lost seats from the midterms. They’re already dedicating an incredible amount of resources to those races up and down the state, upwards of $45 million from the national party’s coffers. That vast amount of money earmarked for what would usually be state party responsibilities indicates national Democrats might not fully trust the abilities of the Albany bosses to get the job done.

Democrats are also spending big in the special election. Just over a week before the election, the GOP’s Congressional Leadership Fund was forced to pump $2.6 million into TV ads to try to make up the yawning gap Democrats had put between them and Republicans on spending. Prior to that infusion of funds, Suozzi led almost threefold on spending for television and digital ads, at $8 million to $3 million.

House Majority PAC, the main vehicle for Democratic leadership spending, dumped $7 million on the race for Suozzi.

That amount of spending is obscenely high for a special-election race that will just be redecided in November, likely under more favorable conditions for Democrats after redistricting. While leadership PACs expend resources on Suozzi, they have all but refused to lift a finger to protect the incumbent house progressives facing well-financed primary challenges, funded largely by right-wing donors.

Some progressives in New York also question the tactics that the state party has decided to run with under the leadership of party chair Jay Jacobs to win back Long Island.

As Gov. Hochul has consolidated power, the state party for the most part has supported the more moderate candidates in state and local races across the state against progressives.

In contested Long Island races, the party believes tacking right to win over middle-of-the-road Republican and independent voters is the necessary path to victory. In 2022, that more conservative strategy led not just to the losses of congressional candidates but also the unseating of the Democratic Nassau County executive, Laura Curran, and several district attorney candidates who tried to distance themselves from criminal justice reform positions.

The alternative approach would be to try to mobilize more energy among the party’s core base of voters.

Tuesday’s election has been made out to be a referendum on President Biden. In reality, it may be more a reflection of the state party in New York, and whether it’s up for the task in 2024.

And here's another Sam analysis on Dem road to nowhere with their Republican talking points position on immigration:

Biden’s Immigration Deal Fiasco Is Way Worse Than You Thought

https://youtu.be/v36KEI86WzI?si=G-BAjwCXqmAOulb7&t=39

 Immigration lawyer going under the monicker Ronald Reagan points to the failures of current immigration policy and how the proposed "solution" is not a solution.

Discussion of how the US for business interests helped destabilize central American nations and sparked immigration. 

No energy, no will to get the alternative view of immigration out there. When you cede the argument to Republicans - not address the funfamental flaws in the Republican view -- a double disaster for Dems -- policy ans electoral politics.

James Eterno: Mentor, Friend, Inspiration By Mike Schirtzer, UFT Executive Board

Mike Schirtzer gives James Eterno major credit for helping him become an activist in the UFT.

February 11, 2024

James Eterno: Mentor, Friend, Inspiration

By Mike Schirtzer

UFT Executive Board 

It is the day of a UFT Delegate Assembly sometime in 2013. James Eterno looks over at me and says “you’re motivating the resolution..” He wrote it. I helped a bit, but it was his idea. It is my first time speaking at the DA. I’m excited and nervous at the same time. A lot of old timers who had been in the union for over twenty years, our union leadership, and all my comrades in opposition are looking on. Mulgrew points to me. Oh no! But James has prepped me and I am ready. One of the earliest memories of my relationship with James Eterno. 

I started with “Good morning everyone.” President Mulgrew laughed and said “you meant good afternoon.” I replied “for those of us in school all day, it feels like one long morning.” The room broke up laughing. I looked at James next to me, who was hysterical. Later Norm Scott would say “You’re a natural you know how to win people over,” but my confidence was built on the preparation with James. 

The resolution called for the UFT to reject any evaluation system based on test scores, a major plank of the education deform movement, which the UFT leadership, ironically, supported, and our MORE Caucus rejected. Our side of the room was cheering while the front-center, dominated by Unity Caucus members and UFT staff, was hissing and mocking. 

When the first UFT staffer rose to speak against me, James immediately called a point of order. He carried a pocket size Robert's Rules of Order with him. I had no clue what a parliamentarian was, nor Robert's rules, and absolutely no clue what a point of order was. James was the master and he asked, in his cunning, working class New York City accent: “Can we at least have a classroom teacher, someone actually working in a school, speak against this?”  Our crew cracked up. It was classic James, always ready with an answer. Quick, smart, with knowledge of the contract and Robert's Rules, like a rabbi knows the Torah. The contract was James’ Torah.

When he was done arguing with the parliamentarian, James came right over to me and said, “Great job Mike, you were amazing today”. No compliment made me feel better than one from James. We may have won a few people over that day and it was the first of many resolutions we would write together.

Thanks to James’s mentoring and support, what could have been an embarrassing experience that might have made me gun-shy in the future, instead, built my confidence as an activist. Needless to say neither James nor I made many friends in the Unity Caucus that day. But James helped me discover a relaxed way of addressing even hostile forces in a manner that has worked for me over the past ten years.

James was a thorn in the side not only of union leadership, but even our comrades as well. It was fine to disagree with him and Norm. Boy did we disagree. We’re New Yorkers and trade unionists. Our disagreements may be a bit loud for others, but it was how we communicated. We never got mad, never hurt each other, and always laughed about it the next day. 

He had the unique ability to get under your skin but still make you love him at the same time. I think everyone knew he was coming from a good place, a love for our public schools and union. Over the years our debates made me a better union organizer and human being. He taught me you can disagree but be civil. On any union or contract question in my school he was my go-to. He was a lot of people’s go-to for his encyclopedic knowledge and the process of collective bargaining. 

Having a mentor like James Eterno had a major impact on so many people. Read the many comments on the ICE blog. After all, he was the chapter leader of one of the largest high schools in Queens, Jamaica High School. He served for a dozen years on the UFT Executive Board with New Action Caucus and then the Independent Caucus of Educators (ICE), which had merged with TJC and others to form MORE in 2012. That was when I first got involved in union politics. Outside of Randi Weingarten or Michael Mulgrew, James was one of the only UFT people recognized citywide. 

Needless to say, ICEers are devastated by the news of James' illness and death. ICE, whose open meetings always revolved around some kind of food - people don’t fight as much when they are not hungry -  continued to meet as an informal dinner group over the years. I was invited and made to feel very comfortable in what seemed to be a group with a sense of family that still resonates. Camille and James would often attend, sometimes with their kids. Norm would dominate with his rice pudding and long drawn out sermons that James and Camille would laugh at days after the meeting ended. Camille always joked that anything Norm says starts with a comma and ends with the ‘68 strike. One hilarious meeting was when James, Camille and I argued against Norm as to whether we should run in an upcoming union election. We were livid with Norm. We won the debate and Norm, as always, ended up leading the cause he had spoken against. 

We worked to win back Executive Board seats and celebrated when we finally brought one of James’ first UFT loves, New Action Caucus, which he had left in 2003, back into the opposition fold due to his willingness to reach out, forgive old grudges, and work together to win these seats. One of the best phone calls I ever received was from James telling me “Congratulations we won the Executive Board seats”, he was as excited as I was.

We were always planning, plotting, one strategy session after another. Often on daily chats and phone calls until he was felled by a stroke in May. We tried to keep MORE as a place for regular rank and file where everyone would feel welcome. We challenged the union leadership at DA’s, Executive Boards, district meetings, borough meetings, wherever and whenever there was a public platform. We challenged Unity on the state level at the 2014 NYSUT convention where James was a driving force, along with a local Long Island President Beth Dimino. James and my other UFT hero, Julie Cavanagh, decided I should be one of the two speakers along with Lauren Cohen representing MORE. Julie and James revised and edited the speeches (Video here.) 

When we got pushed out of MORE, James was half “I told you so,” always a naysayer to the far left influences within the group, but also upset that so much of his work had been lost. He mended fences with key players in MORE along the way. Despite being very anti-Unity, he gave me his blessing to run with them  when I had the opportunity. With James it was never personal, only political.

In the last few years James was a driving force in bringing the various UFT opposition groups together and forming the United for Change coalition of seven or so different union groups (not an easy feat) to run against Mulgrew and Unity. He willed it, even though these groups had different ideologies and personalities. His crowning moment came when his wife Camille, a fierce and outspoken unionist, was the 2022 UFT presidential candidate, echoing James’ 2010 presidential run against Mulgrew.

Although we ran on different slates, Camille, James and I had a hearty laugh on the night of the election results. Camille didn’t win, but we still enjoyed talking the night away. Our love for the UFT may have taken us down different paths, but it didn’t divide us. 

Being part of a chat group that touched base regularly often made my day. When my mom died James and Camille joined the rest of the group in a Shiva call. Not hearing his voice almost daily over the past nine months has left a major gap. One good friend told me upon hearing of Jame’s death, “some of the people who work at UFT don’t love the union as much as James did”. No truer words have been spoken. 

He was not only my good friend, but my mentor, my teacher, a fellow New Yorker, traveler, dad, husband, social studies teacher and dedicated unionist.

It’s been hard the last few months, since he got sick, to feel passionate about union work. Now that he has passed I wonder if that passion will ever return but just thinking of him and the work he did will inspire me.

I will miss James so much. I miss him more than these words can express. I loved him as a brother in arms.