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!
Sunday, September 29, 2024
NYC Retirees Protest with National Organizations Against Mayor Eric Adams Monday, September 30, 2024
Saturday, September 28, 2024
Stop the Steal - of UFT "Official" Retiree Web Page - Striking Back at Unity Caucus War on Internal Critics
Oh Susan Pulice, Puleeeeze!
The admin of the RTC’s Facebook group, along with her Unity caucus accomplices, remain embroiled in scandal as they seek to take away our union resource in plain sight. Arthur Goldstein digs deeper into the hypocrisy of the union’s ruling 1% party over this attempted heist of our dues. Calls for potential crowdsourcing to take legal action mount as the union counsel and top leadership drag their feet seeking to negotiate for their partisan agenda....EONYC
....there is the UFT Official Facebook Group for the RTC. That is run by one Susan Pulice, a Unity member. The most recent number I can find suggests our dues pay her in excess of 38K per year, along with perhaps a UFT pension.... they say, they don’t own the site. It’s in the name of Susan Pulice. There are compelling reasons why RTC should take over the site. They’ve been laid out, in pretty graphic detail, over at The Wire.... You could argue that every single person who signed up on Official RTC Facebook site, myself included, expected it to be a UFT site. You could argue that they did not, in fact, sign up for “The Social Spot—A Unity Community for Retirees.” You could, in fact, argue, that by walking with 6300 subscribers, that a fraud had been committed on those who signed up. You could argue they have stolen our built-in base, and that Unity is fine with that.... You could argue that this site represented itself as a union-sanctioned site. You could argue that the union announced as much in New York Teacher. You could argue that Pulice, by asserting ownership, was actually robbing the union of a resource created in the name of the United Federation of Teachers. You could, in fact, argue that ownership of the site was meaningless, and that the only important factor was who administrated the site........Arthur Goldstein, The Wire, Sept. 28
Call the FB police on Pulice.
Unity attacks Retiree Advocate for "consorting" with Marianne Pizzitola while the Unity hacks consort with the indicted Mayor Adams and other corrupt union leaders in the MLC to steal our healthcare.... The Norm.Unity has a lot of damn gall lecturing us about whom we may affiliate with. We are fighting to make things better for us, and for rank and file. If our so-called leaders won’t help us, we’ll help ourselves....Arthur
There is real danger in taking a conflict-averse stance and rely on back door negotiating alone without bringing organizing muscle behind those negotiations. Yes, negotiate, but with force... Norm
And what a joke the UFT service is. I called the MSK call center directly on June 7 and she made a surgeon and oncologist appointment on June 11. She took all my information for getting my records and sent me what I had to do online and when I saw the docs 4 days later they had everything in hand. My operation took place on June 26. Instead of going through a UFT middle person I did it directly. Who would you trust? An MSK expert call center person or some UFT service? Amen.
Wednesday, September 11, 2024
Elections Have Consequences: PR Blitz to Breathe Life Into Mulgrew, Make UFT More Responsive (finally), Unity Tries to Avert Defeat
Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024
The recent Unity major losses in elections has created a sense of panic in the upper halls of the UFT, and some shake-ups. At the AFT convention in Houston in July Staff Director LeRoy Barr lectured the staff, blaming them and absolving leadership, telling them the opposition was well organized and coming for their jobs and they better start campaigning immediately.
Calling the opposition well organized shows how much LeRoy doesn't know - but I actually have faith that LeRoy knows the opposition real well and was just blowing smoke to scare the staff into worrying about their jobs. (Don't worry boys and girls, those who actually do their jobs instead of being Unity shills will be safe if the oppo wins.)
So, the best thing Mulgrew has going for him is the state of opposition. But expect a Unity full court press- like this:
Need someone to talk to? We're here
I think of the Reagan comment about government and we're here to help. After decades of not helping, Unity lost an election and now wants to help? But do they even remember how?
Mulgrew never takes responsibility and puts blames on others
Mulgrew supposedly reamed out the staff before school started and shook up the hierarchy. Anthony Harmon is off to NYSUT and Ellie Engler has been brought back to be co-staff Director in his place. Where does that put LeRoy Barr? Probably not in the dog house with Mulgrew's dog, but Mulgrew may have ordered him to get rid of his cat if he has one so as not to come on a certain VP candidate's radar. Is Mulgrew blaming LeRoy or his cat for the recent big election losses? Mike Sill, who I like (the kiss of death) has moved into something or other. Insiders say morale has sunk at 52 where people see these moves as moving deck chairs.
At a staff meeting, staff actually received copies of the Labor Notes, "Secrets of a Successful Organizer," a bible on the left, especially in MORE where for years I sat through bouts of the same Labor Notes training where we were told to keep a tally sheet of our staff, something I managed to figure out on my own in the 1970s. After all that training I didn't notice an enormous uptick in organized schools in the last election, but if you want to see a preview of the lessons your beloved UFT rep will bring to your chapter, see the list at the end of this article - and even read up to prep for their visit -- and be ready for How to Be a Good Listener.
See how well they listen to you and how they tell you they can really do nothing about your principal.
So what irony that Unity is trying to emulate the "successful" organizing of MORE, a caucus in its 14th year of existence and not in a position to run head to head against Unity - and never will be no matter how much Labor Notes training they undergo.
Thus MORE may be forced against its will to work with other caucuses and groups in a potentially winnable year, though I imagine from my last days in MORE when I pushed back against those who wanted to run not to win that there is still a faction that either wants to run alone (the Greta Garbo group) or not run at all. The latter is ironic since I was one of the few voices in MORE's first election in 2013 urging MORE not to waste resources on running and use the time to build its infrastructure as a new caucus, one of the many battles I lost in MORE. In the decade since, MORE did build infrastructure, but given the size of the school system, it's still a blip. Maybe next decade.
What's left of UFC? New Action and Retiree Advocate and maybe MORE which is still deciding
The other main strands of the opposition is a resurgent New Action back from the 2019 dead and the new king of the hill, Retiree Advocate, whose victory and 300 delegates are game changers in the UFT. They may be the heart of the oppo movement this year. I will have a lot more to say in about a week on where the election movement stands at this point.
ICE is an open end discussion group -- a listserve and a dormant blog - but we did zoom Sunday night to discuss the state of the UFT election. Always a great and eclectic group of people that ICE attracts. I always come away from an ICE event feeling better -- a reason to keep us getting together where we hear some of the smartest analysis.
Solidarity is trying to make a claim but has internal battles and I maintain without the force of Lydia's personality and leadership it can't be more than bit player -- but watch the squawks of some of them claiming equality with the other caucuses. Squawk away since one of the requirements may be for caucuses to show they are legit by showing at least 25 CL and delegates as proof they have people who can get elected in their own schools.
So fundamentally, the hope from the UFC coalition from the 2022 election would have opposition infrastructure in place for this election died soon after the election ended when MORE lost interest and the rest of the group drifted. That UFC in essence died is the best friend Unity has in its chance of winning as those wanting to defeat Unity were set back to ground zero.
Unity will flood the schools with staff offering to help and Mulgrew promos, but will that help or hurt?
Unity relies on a chain of command -- central - borough- district - school Unity and associated CL to get the message to members. Even in the 2022 UFT election, the Unity vote totals dropped as most rolled their eyes at the glossy flyers. The problem for the oppo was that the members also generally rolled their eyes at them too. The goal for the oppo this time is to turn those lonely eyes to them if they expect to win. And to vastly expand he base from the usual caucus suspects. I ruminated on this point on Aug. 7:
Expect many visits from your District and borough special reps. But also expect most people to yawn. There are weak links in this chain - some clueless Dist reps and most importantly, a waning loyalty at the school level from the Unity faithful. Seeing the possibility of the opposition actually winning next year, some in Unity "light," as they are known, may be rethinking their options. Why not give up your paltry after school patronage job and sign up with the oppo to get an early foothold?
The weakest link in Unity is still Mulgrew himself.
Reports from UFT Chapter Leader training, Aug 28:
It was like a bad PD, person after person talking and I zoned out;
they meant well but they lost the new people like me....
Mulgrew’s rambling about cell phones. It’s not coherent - but maybe that’s because I’m starving. Now he’s talking about “we don’t always go Democrat in fact maybe we will vote Republican one day.” Now he's talking what why it's not that big of a deal if they get rid of the Dept of Ed at the federal level...Aside from the minor detail of civil rights being violated all over the nation, what could go wrong? Thinks ranked choice voting is stupid and dangerous... Elizabeth Perez gave him this big intro and said “he has squirrels in his head” and I can’t stop laughing.... Squirrels in his head would explain a lot. Sounds even worse than RFK Jr.'s brainworm.... Michael droned on and on and talked about how a high percentage of teachers get cancer. The whole thing was awful. And then asked who wants time for questions? No one raised their hand. Who wants to leave? The whole room...MM is the Manchurian CandidateOy! Mulgrew so Trumpian and is fundamentally a Republican, so I'm not surprised -- he probably wished he had been invited to the Republican convention. By the way -- while the AFT and NYSUT have geared up to back the Dem ticket, the usual UFT political operation has been dormant until recently.
At one point people believed Mulgrew might be replaced. In the last election two years ago they hid Mulgrew with no photos of him on their leaflets (in contrast to the 2019 election when his photo was all over the place). Then came the disaster of last spring's chapter elections - we know the para and retiree results, but have little data on the school levels -- how many Unity were replaced? How many activist CL and Del were elected? I hear MORE caucus claimes over 100.
If Mulgrew were to be replaced that would have happened already to give the new person some serious time as an incumbent, so that train has left the station. Some think he would take something in the AFT but he's a fish out of water there. And besides, Unity doesn't have a very big bench. Like who can replace him? See if you can come up with potential replacements.
Here are some promos for Mulgrew for your joy of reading.
From congestion pricing to Medicare Advantage, the politically nimble leader of the teachers union seems to always come out on top, Bob Hennelly, City and State.... WTF
How about this puff piece from City & State?
Michael Mulgrew: “Shrewd Political Instincts and a Willingness to Pivot”
Class politics
* United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew’s political flexibility has enabled him to almost always come out on top when it comes to the most contentious issues facing his members, from the pitched battle between retirees and the city over Medicare Advantage plans to the ongoing debate over congestion pricing.
reads like an article in The Onion. The "shrewd political instincts" of Michael Mulgrew delivered us a sub-inflation contract (aka pay cuts), an all-out attempt to move municipal employees into a for-profit Medicare Advantage Plan, and an impending watered-down healthcare plan for in-service UFT members. In May 2025 we need to vote Unity caucus and its CEO, Michael Mulgrew, out of office.
UFT Unity's Rehabilitation Campaign
City and State paints a fawning, thoroughly incomplete portrait of Boss Mulgrew.
Unity Thinks They Own Our Union
They don't, and this must change.
Unity Prohibits a Dangerous Sign At the Labor Day Parade
Bennett Fischer, newly elected RTC Chapter Leader, had been
working for weeks to get signs printed for the RTC. He had to get them
approved here. He had to get them approved there. They had to be this size, not that size. You have to make sure this person knows about it. Also, don’t tell that person until that person knows. Red tape galore... On
Friday, UFT Snowflake-in-Chief Michael Mulgrew told Bennett that the
signs would not be acceptable. He contended all signage must be on
message with the Central Labor Council's theme for the parade. So the
RTC, the leadership of which was elected on the basis of opposition to
Medicare Advantage, was blocked from expressing what we stand for.
Prompting this comment from Sean Ahern:
The RTC’s program to defend Medicare was blocked by UFT leadership
at the rally. I think the RTC chapter will have to be more forceful in
the future. It was like Unity is the Principal who just says no to the
chapter leader who is representing the members grievance. Where is the
pushback? I hope a plan for the Oct DA will not be so quiescent.
Secrets of a Successful Organizer Handouts
We've made all the handouts and exercises from our best-selling book Secrets of a Successful Organizer available for download. Feel free to print them out and share them with your co-workers or use in your next union meeting. Disponible en español.
Wednesday, August 14, 2024
UPDATED 8/29/24 : Who Gets Your COPE Money? New Action Goes Beneath the Covers - Parts 1-4
Some illuminating work from David Ginsburg at the New Action site on where COPE money goes. Here are links to parts 1, 2, 3 with a 4th part to come which I will add to this post. I copied selectively from Part 1 for key recipients, with links to each part for further reading. We've always called for a more open reporting from the UFT to members, like this info could be in the never read NY Teacher, but it might actually get more people to read it before lining their bird cages.
Norm
Here is a link to part 4:
PART IV (COMPLETE LIST)
8/14/24
The breakdown below of the 10 largest recipients of our various union
funds alleviates some of the mystery as to who benefited most from our
contributions from 2022 and 2023. This article is not meant to be an
exposé by any means; it is simply meant to help our membership see where
our money is going because we deserve to know. We are in no way
encouraging members to cancel their union dues and/or COPE donations.
Our union needs our support in order to thrive... David Ginsberg
FOLLOW THE MONEY: WHICH LEGISLATORS BENEFIT MOST FROM OUR UNIONS? – PART I (David Ginsberg)
7. Kathy Hochul: $186,500Contributions: 2022 American Federation of Teachers: $69,700 2022 Voice of Teachers for Education: $69,700 2022 United Federation of Teachers: $47,100
Governor Hochul is the first individual to make this list and she does so in a big way, bringing in nearly $200,000 from our teachers’ unions, including nearly $50,000 directly from the UFT. Despite all the money teacher unions have given over to Hochul (both directly and through Super PACs), it has been difficult to ascertain whether or not she appreciates our support. For the sake of this article, we will leave the politics out of it and focus strictly on her policies regarding public schools.
Mayoral Control: Despite an immense amount of pushback from educators, parents, and even democratic legislators, Governor Hochul was committed to extending mayoral control for Eric Adams, a notorious enemy of public education, for the next four years. A ruling came down that mayoral control would be extended for two years.
Students and Social Media: In June 2024, Hochul passed the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act into law, which “prohibits social media companies from pushing ‘addictive’ algorithm-driven feeds to anyone under 18 without parental consent” (source: uft.org). Hochul also passed the New York Child Data Protection Act, which “prevents social media platforms from collecting data on children ages 12 and younger without parental consent and from children age 13 and over without informed consent.”
Charter Schools: In 2023, Hochul revealed her FY 2024 budget and it was a blow to public education. Hochul reopened 22 closed charter schools (AKA zombie charters) throughout New York State; 14 of which were located in New York City. This was actually a decrease from Hochul’s original proposal, “which could have allowed more than 100 charter schools to open in New York City.” The UFT, who had backed Hochul without seeking input from its general membership, was not pleased. Do not be fooled by the letters next to candidates’ names. Pay attention to their actions.
Smaller Class Sizes: On September 8, 2022, Governor Hochul signed the class size bill into law that would reduce class sizes for NYC schools. While it remains to be seen how willing the City will be to enact these laws, Hochul’s support is certainly appreciated.
Funding: On the surface, the governor seems like an ally. After all, the governor originally approved $825 million (2.4%) in additional funding for New York State schools for FY 2025, $340 million of which would be going to NYC schools However, if you look past the headline, a more grim picture quickly appears.
We can start with the fact that both City and State were expecting more money under Hochul’s original proposal. NYS had anticipated a $1.3 billion increase in funding, a difference of about $500 million from what the governor proposed. Additional funding for NYC schools was short $131 million from what city officials were estimating. These cuts occurred because of Hochul’s approved budget, which introduced two underhanded changes that are extremely detrimental to school aid – a change in the Foundation Aid formula and a change to the “save harmless” contingency, both of which you can read about in this excellent article by Julian Shen-Berro of Chalkbeat.
Hochul’s first change disrupts the formula for calculating Foundation Aid. Instead of using rate of inflation on a year-by-year basis, Hochul decided to determine funding by using the average rate of inflation over the last 10 years. Given our soaring inflation over the last few years, changing the funding formula to use a 10-year average decreases the amount of funding our schools receive.
The second change was just as subversive as the first. Hochul sought to essentially put an end to the “Save Harmless” contingency that ensures that schools will not lose funding if their enrollment drops. “Save Harmless” (also called “Hold Harmless”) has been enforced for decades. Liz Rozenberg of City & State New York explains that if Hochul gets rid of this provision that has served as a lifeline for many schools, “50% of the 673 districts that receive foundation aid will lose funds” Funnily enough, Hochul received so much pushback from both sides of the aisle on this issue that she removed her proposal to end “Save Harmless” a couple of months ago (more info here), so it will not appear in the FY 2025 budget.
Teacher Recruitment: In 2023, Hochul signed state legislation to “spur teacher recruitment – with a focus on increasing diversity – through the state.” Hochul pointed out that New York State needs to add nearly 200,000 teachers over the next decade “to meet workforce needs.” We always hear about and witness teacher shortages firsthand in our schools, so any push towards increasing those numbers is a good thing.
As you can see, Hochul has done some good things and some terrible things for public schools and educators. Is she worth the political donations she has received? You decide.
10. Carl E. Heastie: $51,125
Contributions: 2022 NY State United Teachers: $25,000 2023 VOTE COPE (NYSUT’s non-partisan action fund): $1,125 2023 NYS United Teachers: $25,000
Heastie is the Speaker of the New York State Assembly, which may explain why he received more than double the donations of the next highest individual legislator. Heastie is a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to educational policy. According to this New York Times article from 2017, Heastie supported an extension of mayoral control, but refused “to bend to the Senate’s demands to increase the number of charter schools in the state as a condition to extend mayoral control of the city’s schools.” Heastie continues to support mayoral control, which has become an increasingly contentious issue during Eric Adams’ tenure.
On the other hand, Heastie was supportive of the class size reduction act, which should serve as a benefit to students and teachers, assuming there are no detrimental caveats. The long term plan to decrease the maximum allowable number of students per class sounds like a great idea, although it remains to be seen if the City will actually abide by all of its stipulations.
On other issues, Heastie seems to be playing the fence. When asked about Hochul’s proposed changes to the Foundation Aid formula, Heastie said, “We would, of course, make sure the districts are whole, but we are open to re-examining the Foundation Aid formula. But we want to make sure that our rural and suburban districts aren’t harmed by any proposal.” Any type of concession that would favor Hochul’s agenda would be a tragic mistake that would take away major funding from our public schools.
14C. Melinda Katz: $25,000
Contributions: 2022 United Federation of Teachers: $10,000 2023 United Federation of Teachers: $15,000
Melinda Katz is the current District Attorney for Queens County. Katz previously served as Queens Borough President and held positions as an NYC Councilwoman (2002-2009), and as a member of the New York State Assembly (1994-1999). Katz has proven to be friendly towards our union and public education in general. In 2008, Katz co-sponsored a resolution to “reform city school planning to better address the problem of overcrowding.”
In 2017, when 3,500+ students, teachers, parents, and alumni signed a petition to remove Interim Acting Principal Rosemarie Jahoda from Townsend Harris H.S., Katz stepped up by writing a letter to former Chancellor Carmen Fariña in support of their cause (source: Chalkbeat). Jahoda was ousted two months later.
17. Letitia James: $24,000
Contributions: 2022 VOTECOPE (NYSUT): $10,000 2023 VOTECOPE (NYSUT): $14,000
One of the most notable names on this list, James is the current Attorney General for the State of New York. James and NYSED Commissioner Betty Rosa have made a concerted effort to further diversity, equity, and inclusion requirements (DEI) for public schools (James, Rosa DEI letter). James and Rosa also threatened schools with lawsuits should they make enrollment difficult or impossible for migrant students (source: NY Post).
In 2016, when she served as NYC Public Advocate, James sued the New York City Education Department for the failure of SESIS, a computer system meant to track students with disabilities (source: NY Times). According to the lawsuit, “children (were) deprived of necessary assistance and the city lost out on hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicaid reimbursements” because of the system’s shortcomings. SESIS often deleted student information and was unable to provide data on IEPs. In the meantime, SESIS is still around, although it will supposedly be replaced at some point.
James has also filed several lawsuits against charter schools over the years. In 2014, James pushed a lawsuit to “block the co-location of charter schools with existing district schools” (source: Brian Lehrer Show). Two years later, James filed a civil rights suit against Success Academy for failing to identify and provide adequate services for students with disabilities in an attempt to drive the students from their network of schools (source: NY Post).
Despite James’ lawsuits, former attorney general candidate, Zephyr Teachout, didn’t seem to think James went far enough. Teachout wanted to implement a larger investigation into the hedge fund managers pushing for charter expansion. Teachout, a former special education teacher’s aide, named names of billionaire supporters of charter schools.
20. Robert Jackson: $19,800
Contributions: 2022 VOTE COPE (NYSUT): $19,800
Senator Jackson represents the 31st District of New York. In 1992, as President of Community School Board 6 in Manhattan, Jackson led a lawsuit against the State of New York in order to get equitable funding for NYC students. Jackson felt NYC students weren’t receiving proportionate funding, and he was right. Despite comprising 39% of the student population of New York State, they were only receiving 32% state education aid (source: Baruch case study).
In 2008, Jackson, then serving in New York City Council’s 7th District, co-sponsored the same resolution to reform city school planning to address overcrowding as Melinda Katz (see above).
Most recently, to the benefit of all Tier 6 members, Jackson served as the primary sponsor on a bill that amended the calculation of our Final Average Salary (FAS). Now, our three highest consecutive years of earnings will be used to calculate our FAS instead of our five highest consecutive years. In other words, future retirees can expect a little bit more money when they receive their pensions.
Furthermore, Jackson is an advocate for public schools. In 2022, pro-charter super PAC, New Yorkers for a Balanced Albany, spent nearly $100,000 in an effort to defeat Jackson in his re-election bid. Jackson still managed to trounce his opponent, Angel Vasquez, “a former teacher, who later worked as a deputy political director for the United Federation of Teachers.”
FOLLOW THE MONEY: WHICH LEGISLATORS BENEFIT MOST FROM OUR UNIONS? – PART II (David Ginsberg)
This article is the second installment in a multi-part series. For the first installment, see here.
FOLLOW THE MONEY: WHICH LEGISLATORS BENEFIT MOST FROM OUR UNIONS? – PART III (David Ginsberg)
This article is the third installment in a multi-part series. For the first installment, see here. For the second, see here.
Please check back for our next (and last) installment in this series where we will provide a complete list of those who received political donations during fiscal years 2022 and 2023.
Wednesday, August 7, 2024
What it will take to Change the Leadership in the 2025 UFT Election? ? Build it and they will come, and if they don't come be very worried
Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024
The prospect of defeating the 62 year Unity Caucus machine in a UFT election may seem like a field of dreams, but breaks in the Unity facade after the recent retiree, para and TRS elections (UFT's 3 Consequential Elections) offer glimmers of hope. But only glimmers.
Is there enough anti-leadership buzz at the teacher level in the schools similar to what we saw in the retiree and para chapter elections this past spring? Did similar uprisings take place at the recent school chapter elections or was it the same old, same old?
I haven't a clue. There is an every 3rd year turnover year and Unity Caucus tries to incorporate new CL as soon as they can and subject them to their own internal propaganda machine to make sure they don't drift to the opposition. CLs know they need some level of support from the Dist Reps (who are the main recruiters) and are often reluctant to get involved with oppo if they even know they exist (oppo footprint is fairly small). In fact many new CLs don't even know what Unity is. The DR line is: Psssst, do ya want some free trips to conventions or a PM staff position?
Thus the opposition has never been able to reach very deep into the schools and when election time comes we know that having a strong voice in a schools advocating for the oppo and getting out the vote during the election directly affects the vote totals. The standard method the oppo has used of racing around to hundreds of schools where there are no contacts and stuffing mail boxes has had very little effect on vote totals. Most of this work has been done by the active caucuses and their supporters.
That has never been enough and I maintain will never be enough (other than in high schools which no matter the caucus over the past 40 years has almost always voted oppo). I've been arguing that unless this base of an active oppo voice expands way beyond the current caucus outreach, Unity will continue to win at the middle and elementary school levels. Even if we won an election due to retiree votes but lose the bulk of the school vote, it would be a weak win and a strong win is necessary to transform the UFT. (In Chicago and LA, there were strong wins and no retiree votes.)
We might know more at the October 16 first DA of the year or at a September chapter leader meeting. Leadership always gets a head start by organizing borough CL meetings at the end of this month. I suggest that people who want to build a winning team try to reach out at these meetings and test the waters.
What I term "the usual suspects" (TUS) in the opposition seem a bit too optimistic for my taste, with some discounting the difficulties of putting together a winning coalition and relying on the same old, same old. I sense that they think putting together similar coalitions as in the past will work this time under the new conditions based on recent election outcomes. I'm the Debbie Downer in that sea of optimism. I'm looking for the unusual suspects.
I've been posting in this issue recently
- Can Unity Be Beaten in 2025 UFT Election?
- UFT 2025 Opposition Election Update: What are the Possibilities? A slate of people, not caucuses
and have received push back from some of TUS, many of whom are long-time activists in the opposition, with the major disagreements coming from the caucus people who think my calls for broader participation in the process of organizing is disparaging the work of caucuses.
That is misinterpreting my position.
I do think active caucuses that actually want to win the election (not always true in the past - see 2019 election and MORE Caucus) must be a necessary component of any effort to unseat Unity. The question is what is left of the 7 groups from 2022 that are still active? ICE without James and Solidarity without Lydia are dormant.
So, we have Retiree Advocate, New Action and MORE, and from what we hear there are factions within MORE that either want to run alone as they did in 2019 or not run at all so they can focus on their agenda, though the majority seem to want to not miss the boat in case the oppo does win. We don't know yet if MORE will be on board. So what is left of UFC? NAC and RA, which itself is cross-fertilized with NAC.
And then there is a growing list of open and behind the scenes Unity defectors -- at least at the school level - call them the Unity Light Underground Caucus.
Plus consider that there are independents who do not want to be connected to a formal caucus but might be interested in playing a role in the election.
I have disparaged the process of caucuses in the past, even my own caucuses because the process of operating a caucus bogs down the ability to act -- I won't get into details but I no longer have the patience to wait for the caucus process to play out in an election campaign.
The democratic process caucuses operate under sometimes are not so democratic as power is distributed to a few at the top no matter how "democratic" they supposedly are. I know, because at times I have been one of those few. Most people who sign up for a caucus do not want to do much heavy lifting on a regular basis and power flows to those who do.
So fundamental decisions in the caucuses are mostly made by a few people and putting these few people in control over the election process shuts out potential voices of the rank and file.
The 2022 UFC coalition followed this pattern and I keep contending that the actual vote totals in each division (other than retirees) fundamentally didn't change from the 2016 election where MORE and New Action teamed up.
Supposedly with 7 groups involved in 2022 one would have expected a surge in votes for the opposition. Instead we saw the % go up due to Unity drops in votes but the oppo didn't pick up those votes. Even in HS which we won, the total votes for oppo went up only by 300 votes (2650) over 2016 despite a massive focus and blitz on member mail boxes. There are almost 20k high school teachers and the poor totals show a failure to GOTV in significant numbers even in schools where UFC members were located.
The entire process involved relatively few
people in the negotiations though of course the caucus members may have
been involved to some extent, and relatively few people actually active in the campaign (more were involved in the petitioning, which is always draining). Last time the 3 major caucuses were Solidarity, New Action
and MORE, with ICE joining in and the Eternos playing a prominent role. And there were other groups and individuals involved in the UFC organizing committee. And UFC did run 400 people but relatively few of those played an active role in the election.
A process where caucus leaders decide on platform, candidates, and election strategy behind closed doors and then spring it all on the membership leaves the latter in a position of not being involved other than being asked for their votes. The failure to involve a broader coalition beyond TUS will keep the election limited to the outreach each caucus has -- limited outreach that does not go very deep into the schools. Not a winning strategy.
A new paradigm must be found that runs deep into schools beyond where TUS reside and engages more of a rank and file, not only to vote, but to get involved at ground zero of a campaign. I will repeat: Relying on caucuses to plan and run a UFT election campaign ends up being in the hands of a few people who become the dominate players and deciders in the election, a process that excludes 99% of UFT members other than asking for their votes.
I'm urging a big reach-out to the vast unknown of the rank and file to check the pulse to see if something similar to retirees and paras is brewing with teachers. Unlike past elections this one can be a serious attempt to change the UFT leadership. Is there's a buzz out there with people stepping forward who would be factors in organizing in their schools and districts? Or the usual apathy? If so, Unity may have nothing to worry about.
There needs to be deep roots into the schools and not just the surface roots the caucuses offer in order to win the entire election and dislodge Unity once and for all.
And if that happens? Keep an eye on how a winning coalition transitions from challenging Unity to running the UFT. I hope I'm around to watch it happen.
Tuesday, August 6, 2024
Progressives Celebrate Walz, Pushback on Shapiro Who Was a Corp and anti-pub ed fave
The Dem Party Centrists did not win this one for a change. Harris shows a willingness to defend progressive policies instead of running away from them. Feeding kids and better healthcare are good things.
While his background was tailor-made for moderate voters, his policies as governor have been firmly liberal, reflecting what his allies call “prairie populism.” He signed into law a Democratic wish list of bills on marijuana, paid family leave, abortion rights and gun control, something Ms. Harris highlighted in her announcement of him as the pick. Republicans call him a left-winger in homespun clothing....nyt
Just as the broad-based Dems and associates have engaged in wild enthusiasm over the Harris ascendancy, today the progressive wing of the party, relieved it was Shapiro, seemed overjoyed at Walz.
I'm tired of Dems playing it safe. Go for the gusto. Here is recent NYT take:Sunday, August 4, 2024
Ravitch on the potential horror of Josh Shapiro gov of Penn as vp plus Sam Seder Interview with Jennifer Berkshire on ed wars and both party failures
Wednesday, July 24, 2024
UFT 2025 Opposition Election Update: What are the Possibilities? A slate of people, not caucuses
- Can a broad coalition be built without caucuses controlling the process? Let's avoid having a narrow group of people make fundamental decisions.
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- Anonymous comment: Can Unity Be Beaten in 2025 UFT Election? What was right and wrong with the UFC Coalition
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Sun Tzu famously said that battles are won or lost before they begin. The general UFT election is now one year away and currently there is NO organized group right now ready to take on Unity. That fact alone is bad enough. The other fact is that another coalition effort will probably face the same challenges it did last time. Add to that, MORE has turned off a lot of rank and file UFT members with their radical/world political agenda that has nothing to do with our working conditions. Unity can be beat but a hardcore force must start NOW. Wednesday, June 26, 2024 at 11:38:00 AM ED
With Lydia, the heart and soul of Solidarity, out of the DOE, we have heard little from them. I know they do have a council, but other than that, they have not had any imprint on the UFT.
That leaves New Action and MORE as the caucuses with active UFTers and Retiree Advocate as the remaining members. RA with its big win is now very influential and also reps the biggest block of people in the UFT.
A new game in town is the Fix Para Pay group that won seats overwhelmingly in the recent election. Paras represent a major block of 27k members in the UFT and a slate in next year's election must include them. If retirees and paras go oppo that is major and puts the 19 functional Ex Bd seats into play.
And there are new players emerging, though I'm not sure where that's going yet.
As for EONYC - the Daniel Alicea operation, he has joined New Action. But The Wire has great outreach and will be influential. Daniel is not limited by New Action in independent activities.
Still, I think relying on retirees to carry the day in forming an election slate is the wrong approach. But RA members must have a role but active UFT members must lead the way. But where will they come from? I would ask how many CL and Del to NA and MORE have after the recent chapter elections? I have no answers yet but those numbers would be a key to how much outreach an oppo would have in the schools. (Though in 2022 other than high schools I didn't see much growth in the elem and ms despite the CL in the caucuses.)
We'd need almost 800 to fill a slate next year. That won't happen without a broad appeal. (Some are saying don't worry about the AFT/NYSUT delegates - let Unity have them. I absolutely disagree. That would be like RA only running officers and letting Unity have the DA.
- Unity got slammed, losing votes in all divisions compared to the past.
- I
thought newbie UFCers who actually thought we would win would be
crushed - instead many were excited and already talking about 2025.
- UFC
didn't pick up what Unity dropped (except possibly in retirees and a
little bit in high schools), just about matching the 2016 oppo numbers.
Beware of those calling this a great victory. At this rate of growth I
will be 101 when the oppo wins in 2046.
- UFC gained from 2019
oppo disaster and restored a sense of an opposition, getting the most
votes the oppo has ever gotten, winning the high schools with 55% and
almost winning the middle schools with 44% and closing the gap in
elementary and winning 33% overall, the closest in a long time. Despite
the gains, UFC did not get out the vote as well as I expected. I began
the campaign thinking we could win all three teaching divisions. While
we did get 44% of the teacher vote, that is due mostly to Unity's
failure to bring out its vote, not due to UFC getting a big turnout -
matching 2016 is still status quo - as is winning the 7 HS Ex Bd as we
did in 2016. Let's say UFC could win in 2025 or 2028 -- with these
numbers? I'm not sure there is enough of a union underneath to deliver.
- Is spending enormous time and money flooding teacher mail boxes with lit - for both Unity and oppo - really worth it. Also - we thought social media would bring out votes -- it didn't. Few will agree with me on these points but I will continue to stand by them. The numbers prove it.
- Possibly
the biggest achievement of the 2022 election may be the very existence
of a United for Change broad coalition. While formed as a temporary
vehicle for this election, there are signs UFC will continue in some
form while giving each caucus space to develop. The 7 electeds represent
all the groups and the candidates have pledged to continue working
together. I love that they come from MORE, Solidarity, New Action, ICE -
but also they are broad-minded to see outside their own caucus. Preliminary meetings indicate excitement at working together.
Thousands of UFT members voted for UFC, not for any one caucus. I remind you of the 2019 disaster when 3 caucuses ran independently. So the rank and file want a coalition and are not happy with fragmentation. Caucuses should not get the idea it was them. It was the idea of a united opposition that got these vote.
So only some kind of coalition is necessary. But I do not trust the same process as took place in 2022 - behind closed door secret meetings where each group had veto power - an unworkable situation going forward.
France’s Left Has a New Star, and a Fresh Crisis
Marine Tondelier, leader of the Green Party, helped bring the left together to win France’s parliamentary elections. Now can she help keep it from falling apart?
“Our voters are screaming, ‘Do not betray us!’’’ Ms. Tondelier said in an interview last week in the modest headquarters of the Greens in the 10th District of Paris, an area once known principally for its two big train stations but which has, of late, acquired a hip reputation. “We have to be a government of combat, a government of action, of social justice,” she added. “It won’t be simple, easy, evident or comfortable, but we must make the effort.”the parties of the alliance — the Greens, the Socialist Party, the Communist Party and the far-left France Unbowed of Jean-Luc Mélenchon — squabble. They have deadlocked over nominations for prime minister, taken to reciprocal insults, broken their promise of unity and generally floundered.France Unbowed, whose pugnacious Mr. Mélenchon sees himself as the figurehead of the entire French left, has accused the Socialist Party of “vetoing any candidacy from the New Popular Front with the sole aim of imposing its own.” Olivier Faure, the Socialist leader, responded that he did not see “why the word of one should be imposed on all the others.”
All this has been too much for Ms. Tondelier, who by Wednesday was in an incandescent mood in an interview with the France 2 television network. “I am angry, disgusted and fed up,” she said. “And I feel desperate at the spectacle we are offering the French people.”
Every minute of the “ridiculous” internecine fights of the left only “won votes for the National Rally,” she said.
The left’s travails and divisions are nothing new. But for the seven million people who voted in the decisive second round of the election for the New Popular Front, the current disarray is dispiriting. Ten days ago, they danced in the streets. Their hopes were as varied as an improved minimum wage and protection for disappearing bird life in the French countryside.