Mulgrew Offers Tepid "I Give" on Medicare Advantage, Bennett, Marianne and Arthur response

I disagree with President Mulgrew's analysis. UFT retirees are neither fearful nor anxious. We are clear-eyed and steadfast in our opposition to the privatization of our public Medicare benefits. We are not the panicked old fogies that President Mulgrew pictures us to be....Bennett Fischer, newly elected CL of the RTC/UFT responding (full text below) to Mulgrew's withdrawing support for Medicare Advantage

Dear Norm,
I cannot believe the letter I got from Michael Mulgrew.  He is trying to put forward that only the City and the Mayor were pushing this plan.  After everything, he still thinks we are stupid sheeple.  What a lack of respect.  It would be funny if we didn’t know about the Herculean struggle the retirees waged to save their healthcare.  How does he have the chutzpah to say these things.  I cannot believe it.  It makes Unity’s credibility even weaker.  They really do think the membership is brainless.  It is such an insult. 

Susan Steinmann, UFT retiree

Monday, June 24, 2024

I'm getting ready to leave for a Retiree Advocate retreat today to try to make sense of what just happened. People are reaching out from all over and there is lots of talk about what it would take to defeat Unity in next year's election. But RA is going to focus on how best to run the 70k chapter, with or without help from the official union. We have lots to talk about.

There is more than a bit of sweet irony in Bennett's election and response since the last time he communicated with Mulgrew on the healthcare issue, Bennett was fired from his part-time UFT job.

Yesterday Mulgrew sent out his announcement. Today there is supposed to be an emergency meeting of the MLC (Municipal Labor Committee) today - I wonder why? There are also leaks that MLC is going broke due to enormous costs associated with hiring healthcare consultants' high fees for giving advice on how to create an abyss. MLC should ask for their money back.

Here is a video response Marianne made. She is somewhat magnanimous thanking the UFT for relenting. I find it funny that Mulgrew called me a liar at the May RTC meeting when he refused to take my leaflet. Mulgrew time and again claimed MedAdv was no different from Medicare -- "It's Medicare Part C," he would say - time and again. Exactly who is the liar?

Please read through the fantastic analysis by Vincent of the RTC meeting at the end of this piece.

Massive Fix Para Slate Victory - Is the Unity Machine Crumbling?

Paraprofessionals are stuck with a chapter leader against whom they voted overwhelmingly. In Unity world, that means little. As long as the sitting CL serves Mulgrew, who cares about membership?... Arthur Goldstein, UFT Paraprofessionals Overwhelmingly Reject Unity

Let's do some math. Total Slate Votes: 3408

Fix Para Slate: 2516. Unity: 892. 

Let's see if I can figure out the percentages. 

 

2516/3408 = 74% for FPS. 

 

892/3408 = 25% for Unity.

Holy Shit - the para opposition to Unity actually got a higher percentage than the retiree's 63%. 

 

Oh, by the way, there are something like 27,000 paras eligible to vote and Unity ran a big GOTV campaign - and only got 892 votes out of a potential 27k?

Friday, June 21, 2024, 12:01 AM

- phew - I survived the Longest Day - And I didn't go to the yoga class I registered for in Times Square. But I did take a 7:30 AM hot yoga in Rockaway yesterday - and I'm still awake. Today starts the long decline in sunlight down to the dim of winter. Brrrrrr.

Back in April I wrote about the upcoming  UFT's 3 Consequential Elections, TRS, Retiree and Para. Here are three posts I put out on the latter:

• Migda Responds to the Mulgrew's and Barr's Unity-U...
• VOTE TODAY and Get out the Vote; Fix Para Pay Town...
• Sophomoric, Bullying Attack Memes on Oppo Para by ...

Despite winning only the TRS, all three have turned out to be bad omens for Unity Caucus. Arthur is reporting on the shocking outcome of the para election:

• UFT Paraprofessionals Overwhelmingly Reject Unity

Despite only involving 8 wins for the Fix Para Pay slate, that election has just as deep consequences in some ways as the retiree election.

Some Press Reports on RTC Win Plus Photos and video montage

Video highlight of RTC meeting as power is transferred.

 

https://youtu.be/SgoftvNKws8?si=XH_O25L70xzcxOk8

50 turned out to the after meeting party

Earthquake in the UFT/Unity Machine as regular Unity voters desert the mother ship for RA in 30 point vote swing

There is no joy in Mudville. Mighty Unity has struck out.

Unofficial totals rough numbers: RA 17,000+, Unity 10,000+

What exactly did RA win? Due to the wrong winner take all (instead of proportional rep) system, RA gets it all:

10 officers, 15 ex bd (I am one) and all 300 delegates to the DA (not AFT). I reminded a long time Unity guy at the count that if they had prop rep they would have had over 100 delegates and over a third of the officers and ex bd and I believe that would be better for the union. I reminded him that 3 years ago RA asked for 5 out of 300 DA position so our voters would be represented and were turned down. I imagine with us in charge we will actually call for a fair system.

The major impact on the union goes beyond the RTC. Our 300 delegates are packed with long-time and experienced former CL, Del, Ex Bd members - and UFT Pres candidates. (Our saddest moment is thinking about how James Eterno will not be there with us.)

Let me note that Unity has been planning on some carve out of the 7k para retirees from the RTC chapter. Let's see if retired paras go for it. I bet they don't.

And don't forget the para election where all 8 slate candidates on the Fix Para Pay slate won. But Unity won all 268 delegates and the rest of officers and ex bd. Unity did some rigging of this election. But look for the FPP slate to grow and be part of the oppo next year.

You have certainly changed the dynamics in the NYC labor movement: Ray Markey President New York Public Library Retirees Association, President (Ret) New York Public Library Guild Local 1930, VP (Ret) DC37 Executive Board AFSCME -- comment on Arthur's Substack

IMPORTANT NOTE: The final RTC meeting, (the last for the next 3 years under Unity control) of the year will take place on Tuesday June 18 at 1 PM at 52 Broadway, followed by RA inviting those who show up to join us at a local establishment. Randi is the guest at the RTC meeting. Who knows, she might even drop in at the RA event.

Sunday, June 16, 2024

I was wrong. The wrongest one of anyone. 

• Norm Handicaps the 2024 Retiree Chapter Election - 35% is bad, 45% and above is a winning formula going forward
  

And Arthur never doubted. https://arthurgoldstein.substack.com/p/a-new-dawn

 

At most I expected RA to lose with about 45%.  63% was beyond comprehension. This is a tale of a massive shift in voting sentiment amongst retirees. Can the same shift occur in the general election next year? It now seems possible -- if the forces opposed to Unity can actually unite - always problematical, which I will delve into at some other time. Let me catch you up on Friday's historic events with some instant analysis.

 

I left you on Friday with a last minute 12PM early update that presaged the tsunami about to hit the UFT, Unity Caucus and the opposition movement. I called Jonathan who saw the 28k as good for us while I felt we needed 33-35k with many new voters to win. I didn't account for the massive shift of Unity voters. I turned off my computer and was about to leave when Bennett texted early sampling showing us winning each batch by a lot, so I turned on my computer and updated with those early returns:

RA  Unity

34    25

22    13

17      8

23    16

19     12

 

So this was my 12:15 report:

• UFT Retiree Chapter Election Vote Count 11 AM Update - Over 28k ballot returns.

I got back to the count at 1 and Jonathan was just getting there and said "We won and its over 60%." Only a relatively few votes had been counted but the sampling was going our way.

When I entered the counting room and saw the faces of the Unity crew, the story was told -- but this was 1PM with less than half the ballots counted. I texted Bruce Markens, one of the heroes of the opposition since the early 1960s and he said he'd come down to the vote count. The last time he went to a vote count was when the members turned down the 1995 contract. Bruce is two for two. Let's get him there for next year's election. RA core people were showing up and at some point we had to rotate into the viewing room. As usual, Yasmin, in charge of elections, was gracious -- we even got to share the pizza and drinks with the counting staff who took a lunch break with about half the ballots counted.

 

As the afternoon went on, the Unity crew huddled in the corridor and phone calls were being made to HQ. RA people were stoic. We never gloated.

 

Press Release: ICE-UFT Demands Transparent and Efficient Ballot Count and Reporting Results by the American Arbitration Association (AAA)

Reprint from the ICE blog

Press Release: ICE-UFT Demands Transparent and Efficient Ballot Count and Reporting Results by the American Arbitration Association (AAA)

New York, NY – The Independent Community of Educators within the United Federation of Teachers (ICE-UFT) is demanding that the American Arbitration Association (AAA) implement a transparent, efficient, and equitable ballot counting process for the upcoming UFT elections, including those for the UFT Retiree Chapter, Paraprofessional Chapter, and all other contested elections. ICE-UFT insists that all members, regardless of caucus affiliation, must be treated equally and provided with equal access to observe and participate in the ballot count and access to all data generated during the entire election process.

(See Education Notes for more background: Can AAA Competence, Management and Reporting Process be Trusted in UFT Elections?)

 

This demand follows numerous issues observed in previous elections, including inefficiency and delays on the part of AAA, frequent machine jams, and extremely limited observation opportunities for members. Additionally, concerns have been raised about private communications between the UFT officers, all members of Unity Caucus, to which others were not privy, and AAA, as well as delays in announcing results. During past UFT election counts, requests for school-by-school data were denied, with AAA stating that only UFT officials had access to those reports.

 

“Transparency and fairness are non-negotiable in our union elections,” said Norm Scott, spokesperson for ICE-UFT. “We demand that AAA conduct the ballot count in a manner that is open, efficient, and equitable, ensuring that representatives from all caucuses have the same opportunities to participate and monitor the process. Any deviation from this standard undermines the integrity of our elections and the trust of our members.”

 

ICE-UFT’s demands include:

 

1. Equal Access for All Caucuses: Representatives from all caucuses must have identical opportunities to monitor the ballot count and raise any concerns in real-time.

2. Transparency in Procedures: AAA must communicate and adhere to clear, consistent procedures throughout the counting process to ensure transparency.

3. Efficient and Accurate Counting: The counting process must be carried out with utmost efficiency and accuracy to reflect the true will of the UFT membership.

4. Access to All District and School Data: Full access must be provided to all district and school data related to the elections to ensure complete transparency.

5. Access to ballot process during the voting period: Regular reports on numbers of ballots received, a report on number of ballots that were returned due to wrong address, number of ballots returned past deadline of reception, modification of the 8AM due time in final date of return to account for late mail delivery.

6. Prompt reporting to all caucus election committee reps on day of the count instead of being told to wait for the official AAA report.

 

ICE-UFT emphasizes the critical importance of these measures in the ballot counts for the UFT Retiree Chapter, Paraprofessional Chapter, and all other contested elections.

 

“These problems have cast doubt on the integrity of the election process,” continued Norm Scott. “We cannot allow these issues to persist and compromise the democratic principles our union stands for.”

 

ICE-UFT’s call to action comes amid increasing concerns about potential discrepancies and biases in the ballot counting process. By demanding these measures, ICE-UFT aims to uphold.

 

This press release is intended for immediate distribution.

 

For more information or to arrange an interview with Norm Scott, please contact him at (917) 992-3734 or via email at normsco@gmail.com

 

**About ICE-UFT** 

The Independent Community of Educators within the United Federation of Teachers (ICE-UFT) is dedicated to advocating for the rights and interests of educators and supporting democratic practices within the union. ICE-UFT works tirelessly to promote transparency, fairness, and inclusivity in all union activities.

WE WON! AGAIN! Came through as RTC Meeting Began, Mulgrew Refuses to Read my "Lies" - er - Leaflet Exposing Aetna

Michael Mulgrew can't handle the truth.

Today I head back to the city for the DA where I will give out the same leaflet I handed out yesterday based on the Wendell Potter article on Aetna/CVS plans to shun members they can't make enough money on

It got a good reception. 

But not from Mulgrew.

When I attempted to hand him some truths about the company he has been pushing as the greatest thing since pumpernickel he refused to take it saying "I don't want more of your lies." The bad news on Aetna exposes the misinformation coming out of Mulgrew. A guy got up at the meeting yesterday to point to how he found out something in Emblem that has saved him thousands of dollars. He didn't accuse them directly but before the meeting he told me he had tried to tell the UFT about what he found  - deaf ears. A woman pointed out that with MulgrewCare it would cost her $8000 more in drug costs. 

Mulgrew's reaction indicates his state of mind - as does the general Unity state of mind - desperate to hold onto power and threatened for the first time with 3 Consequential Elections. TRS is over - sort of. With so many violations of the law, there may be protests from both sides. The para and retiree chapter elections are on full bore.

Arthur update:

• The Elephant in the Room: MICHAEL MULGREW AND UNITY WANT YOU TO: A: BE STUCK IN AN INFERIOR ADVANTAGE PLAN, OR B: PAY EXTRA FOR THE PLAN YOU NOW HAVE.

Wednesday, May 22, 2024

I reported on the upcoming Retired Teacher Chapter meeting yesterday:

• Today - Retired Chapter Meeting, Unity Exec Bd REJECTS Call to oppose Tier 6 Architect

The big news as the meeting began was a major win (and loss for Unity leaders) on healthcare.

Just before the meeting began we heard about the win in court. Someone got up before Murphy started the meeting to announce the court win -- to some applause but not much, given the Unity crowd. I called out - "info you won't get from the leadership at this meeting." Boy, did the Unity gang look like they had egg on their faces.

As usual, the meeting was loaded with fluff. There were about 230 people who signed up in person -- though it looked like less had shown up --- still a heavy Unity crowd. And about 1200 on line. Murphy loaded the meeting with speakers, as usual, to avoid having to face the music on healthcare. LeRoy spoke and they had some City Council members do filler. They also gave out free Biden/Harris tee-shirts and I took one for my wife.

I had my hand up for much of the meeting but Murphy made sure to avoid me. Oh the look on his face when he looks my way. At one point a woman in the back row called out, "Why won't you call on him. He comes to every meeting and raises his hand." When Mulgrew talked about the reforms to Tier 6 I wanted to yell out "point of information" to ask why the UFT endorsed Micah Lasher the architect of the Bloomberg campaign for Tier 6. But I was being civil.

 

Murphy accidentally called on me once and then realized his mistake. I got two words out and he said, "What's the question?" And they want civility. 

At the end he said he would take a few for the Good and Welfare part of the meeting, where you can say anything you want. But not in Murphyville. He declared you can only announce an event. So I had my hand up to announce an event: right after the meeting I would be outside to read my leaflet out loud. But Murphy adjourned the meeting. It was 2:15 and the meeting was supposed to last until 3. Oh so much civility. 

Here are reports on the court case, which we note that in the court the UFT lawyer consulted with the city lawyers, so no matter what they say watch what they do. They oppose the court action.

Late breaking: The city will try a final appeal but they have to have the court say it is OK, which I feel they will do. And Mulgrew and the Unity gang will be along to pray we lose so they can institute they plan to offer us a pay for choice plan.

Free is better.

 

WE WON! AGAIN!

Today, the Appellate Division, First Department, of the NYS Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the retirees’ victory in the class action case of Bentkowski et al. v. City of New York.   This is the so-called nuclear option case dating from July 6, 2023, in which Judge Lyle Frank ruled that NYC municipal retirees are entitled to Medicare and supplemental medigap coverage, fully paid for by the City of New York. The full statement of the ruling can be read here. What's Next? Marianne Pizzitola, founder of the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees, the group that initiated the lawsuit, posted a Facebook interview with Jake Gardener, the lead attorney on the case. Asked what the City's next steps might be, Gardener speculated: The City could seek permission to appeal to the Court of Appeals, which is the highest court in the state. But because the decision of the First Department was unanimous, very detailed (10 pages long as opposed to the more usual 1 or 2 pages), and thoroughly considered (over 2 months to make a decision as opposed to the more usual 2 or 3 weeks), he thought permission would likely be denied. The City could ask permission to reargue the case before the First Department. This is a move that is only rarely taken, and seems unlikely given the weight of the court’s decision today. Still to Come Two other cases are still pending. NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees v. Renee Campion: Judge Lyle Frank ruled that the City’s attempt to force retirees to pay for their own medigap coverage was a violation of NYC Administrative Code 12-126. This case is currently in the Court of Appeals. Margaretann Bianculli et al v. City of New York Office of Labor Relations et al.: The City tried to levy a copay against retirees for each medical encounter. This case is currently before both the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals. Now What? On the Facebook video, Marianne, Gardener, and our other stalwart lawyer, Steve Cohen, emphasized that the real power behind all these cases is us. We the retirees have done our research, sent in affidavits, testified before City Council, turned up in court, turned out in the streets. We have donated out of our own pockets (and must continue to do so!). This fight is not just for ourselves alone, but for future City retirees – and for all those facing the financialized behemoth that is Health USA.

 

New York Appellate Division Affirms City Retirees’ Right to Promised Medicare Benefits

Today’s Ruling Bars City From Forcing Retirees off of Traditional Medicare

NEW YORK, May 21, 2024  — Today, the New York Appellate Division issued a unanimous decision holding that the City of New York cannot force its roughly 250,000 elderly and disabled retired municipal workers off of their longstanding Medicare insurance and onto an inferior type of insurance called “Medicare Advantage.”  Unlike Medicare—a public program that has protected City retirees for the past 57 years—the City’s proposed new Medicare Advantage plan was a private, for-profit endeavor that would have limited retirees’ access to medical providers, prevented retirees from receiving care prescribed by their doctors, and exposed retirees to increased healthcare costs.

The Court confirmed what retirees have been arguing for months: that they are entitled to the healthcare they were promised for over 50 years.  These retirees built their lives around this healthcare promise.  As the Court ruled today, denying retirees this healthcare would imperil their lives and violate the law.

The decision is available here.

Jake Gardener, a partner at Walden Macht & Haran LLP, counsel to the retirees, says, “We are grateful to the Court for recognizing the healthcare rights of retired City workers.  Because of the Court’s thoughtful, well-reasoned decision, hundreds of thousands of senior citizens and disabled first responders will be able to receive the medical care they desperately need.”

Marianne Pizzitola, President of the New York City Organization of Public Service Retirees, one of the lead plaintiffs, states, “Retired City workers dedicated, and in many cases risked, their lives for the City for relatively low pay.  In return, they were promised certain basic healthcare benefits when they retired.  The City’s attempt to break that 57-year promise is shameful and, as the Court ruled today, unlawful.”   

Steve Cohen, a partner at Pollock Cohen LLP, also counsel to the retirees, says, “The City owes these retirees a debt of gratitude for their service.  Instead, it has been trying to deny them the healthcare they were always promised.  Fortunately, retirees fought back and they won.”

 

Is Unity suppressing retiree vote, Today - Retired Chapter Meeting, Unity Exec Bd REJECTS Call to oppose Tier 6 Architect

Unity plays hardball and the oppo tries plays by marquess of queensberry rules. -- James Eterno

Point of order, Mr. Murphy. Where is the Motion period for today's meeting, as required by Roberts Rules? In fact there has been no motion periods at any meeting this year.

Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Oh, I'd love to make that motion today, but have been overruled by my colleagues and I'm a team player. But James' point about how the oppo tries to play nice is more pertinent than ever. And how about the Unity crowd claiming to oppose Tier 6 while endorsing an architect? Makes one want to be uncivil.

RA and Unity are in GOTV faze - contacting all UFT retirees to make sure they get their ballot and vote -- which requires actually going to a mail box. I will speculate on the outcome in a day or so. Unity is focused on getting out their vote while the main threat to them comes from those who usually don't vote. So why not make it harder for them?

 

Ok, I've got to catch the ferry to the city for the May retiree chapter teacher meeting where we can hear Tom Murphy and maybe Mulgrew and even today possibly Randi pontificate on every issue but healthcare. With the chapter election on, expect lots of gaslighting. I'd love to be positively uncivil.

 

I didn't make it to the UFT  Exec Bd last night to see the predicted outcome of our reso calling for the DA to vote on the Tier 6 champion, Micah Lasher endorsement, as I reported yesterday:

• Another Unity/UFT Sellout - Backs Micah Lasher, Bloomberg pro Tier 6, Charter School, Student First Acolyte - for State Assembly

Nick has the gory details in his report:

at the NYSUT assembly, every delegate we send is a member of Unity Caucus. There is no proportional representation, certainly no independents, and all positions are elected at large (high school members don’t even get to elect their reps, or I’d be at the RA too). In other words, Lasher, with his history of anti-UFT activities, only got an endorsement because every NYC teacher in the room was a member of Unity. Your average non-Unity teacher would not have voted yes to Lasher. Good luck fighting for Tier 6 if we’re sitting there deciding to send our COPE dollars to elect one of its architects. We must reform the endorsement process, as, again, I argue here.

• Why the UFT endorsed an architect of Tier 6 – UFT Executive Board Minutes 5/20/24

Nick points to the perils of winner take all, as is the retired chapter election. I wouldn't want our side to have total control either. But at least if we win, our 300 DA candidates have a variety of views and no caucus discipline. Since UFC got about one third of the total vote, in a proportional system we would have had over 200 NYSUT and AFT delegates, a better mix for the benefit of the UFT. But Unity doesn't care about the betterment of the UFT.

Unity actually had the nerve to claim Lasher has reformed and now supports public schools. Which is why the charter and Bloomberg crowd are pouring in money. Sometimes I smack my head when I hear Trumpies repeat FOX mantras. Unity is actually worse.

Is it time to be uncivil?

 

Unity has been attacking Retiree Advocate for being uncivil, which I find funny since I fight in the RA organizing group to be more uncivil and am in the minority. My colleagues seem to go out of the way to be civil, which is maddening to me. Like they worry about Unity heckling while I say fuck Unity. To me the Unity campaign to keep the oppo under control works, as my pals are convinced that making too much noise will cause us to lose votes. I say, the people objecting are Unity and we can be tame pussycats (which we are) and they won't vote for us. I think the oppo tails the anger of many in the rank and file who want to see more fire from the oppo. When New Action was on the UFT Ex Bd 25 years ago I was often disturbed at the way they responded - or didn't respond - to Unity attacks.

The late, great James Eterno, who when in New Action was the most aggressive, used to repeat endlessly -- Unity plays hardball and the oppo tries to play by marquess of queensberry rules.

 

I'm particularly pissed at the actions of the Unity controlled election committee which denied us other than 1 rep while they pack the meetings with 4 Unity. The latest is that at the June 14th vote count we will not be able to observe directly but through a barrier. Until recent elections we had full access. That is not observing. I also object to the delays - we pay AAA a fortune and they can't run more scanners, which break down constantly and delay the vote. In elections in years past we had faster results. I intend to make some noise at the count. I don't trust Unity and I don't trust the cozy relationship to the AAA. LeRoy Barr, the head of Unity Caucus, consults with them and claims he is representing the UFT, not Unity. Sure.

J'Accuse: Unity/AAA Delayed ballots suppress the vote

So we were told that ballots were to go out on May 10 but no one we know received their ballot until at least a week later and many haven't gotten it yet. Then when asked, AAA reported "on or about May 10." Really?

I asked a former colleague who is a snowbird and up in Boston now and he hasn't gotten his ballot and probably never will unless he contacts AAA and gets them to send to his summer home. I expect we will have loads of people who ask the AAA for replacements and they do la, di, da and it takes a week to get one and another week for it to get back to AAA? If I were on the election committee I'd demand they extend the deadline for ballots received to a few extra days to make up for the delayed mailing. 

 

But of course that will be rejected, as Unity is all about vote suppression. They are the Republican Party of the UFT.

Now we know by their actions, that Unity is nervous, as Jonathan chronicled: The UFT Retiree Election and “Unusual Activity”.

At today's meeting Retiree Advocate will be handing out our standard leaflet, but I am handing out a supplemental leaflet based on reporting by Wendell Potter damning Aetna/CVS and the impact on Mulgrewcare. Read the entire article here. I modified it for today's meeting.

 

Arthur has some thoughts on the retiree and TRS election (which I will update you on tomorrow.

• Make SURE to VOTE: Your vote strikes fear into the cold, dead heart of the UFT Unity Noise Machine

• Trying Times at the UFT Unity Patronage Mill. --By Arthur Goldstein -- The unofficial TRS election survey results are in; UFT to still file lawsuit against NYC DOE asking for re-run of the election

Educators of NYC comments on the Unity spin on Lasher last night:

Once again @UFTUnity has been loose with the facts. Yesterday, they voted down a UFT exec board resolution that would bring the @nysut endorsement of @MicahLasher to a more direct vote by @UFT delegates. (The UFT has endorsed him via proxy essentially thru a NYSUT vote.) One argument that Unity apparatchiks made is that he is ANTI-CHARTER schools, now. This simply isn’t true. His politically expedient change of tone is not a change of heart. While he no longer heads the charter school PAC, StudentsFirst NY, nothing in his career or his current positions as a candidate for state office in the last 8 years indicates this. While he has called for more *accountability of charters*, such as special education and other areas, you won’t find a SINGLE instance where he says he is against charter schools. Because he isn’t. Lest we forget during his most recent 3 year stint as director of policy for @GovKathyHochul, we see her administration called for lifting the state cap entirely last year and when rebuffed by the state legislature, Hochul worked out a deal to bring back 22 zombie charters statewide — 14 in NYC. Hochul is pro-charter. And you bet your bottom dollar — so is Lasher. The donor money he’s beginning to compile in his run for AD 69 is starting to have privateer Bloomberg fingerprints all over it, too. Lots of former Bloomberg administration folks, and most prominently, Emma Bloomberg and her husband, Jeremiah Kittredge, who used to run the maligned charter lobby operation, Families for Excellent Schools, before it was caught up in scandal. 

Source. https://politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2016/09/lasher-puts-distance-between-himself-and-charter-schools-105111

 

TRS Election Was Consequential - Results Are Out - Ben Gets Over a Third With a Minimal Campaign While Unity Went All Out

Massive Unity failure in GOTV

....Unity also has the school by school data and can tell which of their district reps and chapter leaders actually did the work. The outcomes were so poor for the Unity GOTV effort I bet the leadership is plenty pissed at their own people. Don't be shocked to see some heads roll.

Tuesday, May 14, 2024

 

The shock and awe of only the second ever TRS election for UFT trustee (the last one was over 30 years ago) to the UFT/Unity cult and to the DOE is still reverberating on multiple levels. The DOE clearly violated the law with its electronic voting plan and the turnout was very poor. I'm trying to get totals but roughly Ben got over a third despite a heavy Unity campaign for his opponent. The Unity failure may be the major takeaway from this election. No wonder they were so perturbed at being forced to run an unexpected campaign. They knew they were not prepared. And very upset that this is an election controlled by the DOE, not them. Which leads us to this:

The late breaking news is that UFT legal eagle, Rude Beth Norton, has contacted Ben and Daniel Alicea (the alternate) about joining a union complaint about the election.

An interesting development, given Unity won by two thirds.

Why protest an election they won? Lots of speculation, including the low turnout as a condemnation of the Unity machine which went all out. Do they want a redo?

I wouldn't be shocked to see the UFT use this election as a way to try to change the law in ways to tip future elections in their favor --  like maybe "offer" to take the running of the election off the hands of the DOE. Make sure electronic voting is NOT on the table. And how do they argue that in next year's UFT election they should continue to use the massively expensive paper ballots? And how about letting retirees vote in a TRS election?

 

Despite the Unity win, I'm not betting on there being joy at 52 Mudville today. Some oppo are already talking about doing it again next year.

Ben did quite well given limited resources and campaign

The most unique data we have is the DOE giving us 18 pages listing all schools and how they voted. (I will publish at some point). This is something I've been asking the UFT to do for years in the general election and they refuse but I bet they get that data from the AAA anyway and don't share it. The reason is I wanted to see how our own people did in getting out the vote. This time we can see how the GOTV worked in every school. Now many had zero votes or so few the data is meaningless. I'm betting that where Ben did well it was tied to schools that did petitions for him and it means some person in the building did the work. 

 

I give Ben Morgenroth top credit for the organizing he did and his extensive contacts in enough schools to give him a credible outcome. We all learned a lot about organizing on short notice and I hope we see a campaign every year for the TRS position - they are rotated in 3 year terms and one Unity pension rep must run every year. 

Also expect this election to help form a base for next year's general UFT election, along with the work being done in the para and retiree chapter elections, plus all the school based chapter elections which will lead to new leadership in many schools.

This is worth repeating:

 

Massive Unity failure in GOTV

On the reverse side, Unity also has the data and can tell which of their district reps and chapter leaders actually did the work. The outcomes were so poor for the Unity GOTV effort I bet the leadership is plenty pissed at their own people. Don't be shocked to see some heads roll. 

We are looking at the data for certain districts with big mouth DRs who attack the oppo -- so far it is not looking good for them.

I always argue with my oppo friends - any progress we make is not due to the organizing we do but in the failures of the organizing of Unity and the increasing level of incompetence at the top. They are the gift that keeps giving. 

 

Oh, if the oppo ever did really get organized.

 

The campaign TRS campaign has brought crucial issues to the attention of many UFTers, like:

• Tier 6 - Accelerating the campaign for changes
• Reduction of interest from 8.25 to 7% for UFTers only: Randi's 2009 folly cost me $22,000 this year.
• The rubber stamp role Unity reps must play due to dictates of the UFT/Unity leadership.
• The value in having at least one non-Unity choice to push back on important issues, like the fees paid, especially to private equity.
• The learning experience an ad hoc group of people who organized this campaign outside the usual caucus structure gained. 
  

 

When I got my last TDA statement I calculated that Randi's move to 7% cost me $22,000 last year. Randi will be at the retiree meeting next Tuesday and I'm tempted to hold up a big check for her to sign for 22k.

 

I'm still concerned about the state of the opposition and if there will be an organized opposition capable of challenging Unity seriously next year. (More than one slate running against Unity will be a disaster). UFC has not really operated other than some people working together on the Ex bd.  It is impossible to calculate the impact of the loss of James Eterno and the work he was doing on the ICE blog. Last night at the RA webinar (attended by almost 150 people) one person gave James a shout out.

 

Ad Hoc Campaign

That the idea to run in the TRS election, find a candidate, and create and execute a campaign came from a small group chat one evening and not from the active UFT opposition caucuses (though members of some caucuses were involved). 

 

The process has broader consequences for the way the usual suspects in the UFT opposition have functioned. As a member of that chat, I was impressed by the open method of dialogue and the free back and forth that took place over the next few weeks. 

After my experience of being part of the founding of 3 oppo caucuses over the past 50 years, I realize that the processes and rules inside of caucuses, with some rigidity, can temper a free flow of ideas. No caucus I know could have responded as quickly and effectively.

 

These informal chats also led to last year's health care petition campaign, the para election slate and other initiatives. Some had objected that the people involved weren't going through a UFC multi caucus process where each caucus could veto an action or delay by saying they had to go back to their caucus steering committee. That process is like death by a thousand cuts. I know, people charge that process is democratic and having small groups decide to take an action is undemocratic. Guilty. I'm too old to wait for messy democracy to unfold. But the process is actually democratic in the sense if the idea is good people will sign on and if not it will bomb. 

 

So far the process of open dialogue in small groups of compatible people seems to have worked out. When challenged, my response it "Build it and they will come." So far we have seen the caucuses see the value of the idea and join in supporting it without going through a cumbersome process like we had two years ago with UFC.

I can't tell what the future will bring, but the relative success of the TRS dissident election is a hopeful sign.

 

Below are commentary from Arthur, always valuable.

May 8, Vote for Ben to End Unity Monopoly of Pension Reps, Join Election TOWN HALL - Thursday May 2, 5:30 PM

...most of those leaders are hired staffers, who, through a Tammany-like patronage system, are selected and kept primarily based on their loyalty to top brass. If UFT’s officers had something to show for this – raises that met inflation, healthcare that wasn’t deteriorating and on the verge of collapse, or a pension system that wasn’t profoundly unequal for union members, that would be one thing. Instead, we have a record of losing, at least where everyday members are concerned. (Union officials who play ball, it turns out, are doing just fine.)... New Action

...if Ben wins, watch the UFT/Unity gang complain and call for a redo.

Tuesday, April 30, 2024

 

In case you hadn't noticed, there is an historic election for one of the three Teacher Retirement System (TRS) reps for the first time in almost 40 years as Ben Morgenroth challenges the total Unity Caucus control over how decisions about our pensions are made. 

Elections will be in the schools on May 8, run by the incompetent DOE. I'd bet many schools don't even hold an election, a violation of the law that will be ignored - if the Unity candidate wins -- but if Ben wins, watch the UFT/Unity gang complain and call for a redo.

 

There will be a town hall this Thursday, May 2 to discuss the election. The Unity candidate has been invited to show up, but don't hold your breath. If Ben wins, Unity will still have the two other reps and thus still a majority rule. So even if you are a Unity supporter, a vote for Ben offers some range of conversations instead of Mulgrew dictating decisions. Frankly, I no longer trust the decision making at the top, which seems to operate like a bug business and has ties to certain companies that might affect decision making on our pensions. We want some independent thinking even if only one voice who would open up what goes on there to more scrutiny. 

 

Ben has helped lead the battle for changing Tier 6 and would use his voice if elected to advocate for change.

UFT Ex Bd HS rep Nick Bacon posted on the New Action site:

On May 8, YOU decide who represents UFT Members on the pension board. I hope you choose Ben. 

 

Retiree Advocate (RA) Shows Some Muscle at UFT Retiree Meeting: Mulgrew, Tier 6, Paras and Happy Retirees

UFT's Tom Brown kept declaring how happy UFT retirees are. I maintain it is Retiree Advocate retirees who are the happiest because we know we are figthing the machine that wants to change our healthcare and enjoying the battle. To me, the Unity crowd does not look all that happy. Maybe a bit depressed over the possibility RA can win the chapter election and their gigs at the UFT.

Check out the updated Retiree Advocate web site: https://www.retireeadvocate.org/

Saturday, April 20

 

Being ordered around by a 70 something and an 18 year old.

 

I'm taking a few minutes off from my wife ordering me around to prep for the 30 people coming for Passover on Monday night. The young cousins bring pot and that's the only time each year I take a few puffs. I start the seder stoned and then tune out. 

 

I'm also on 4 days of video duty (Thursday, Friday, Saturday night and Sunday matinee) at the Rockaway Theatre Company for these final weekend of the spectacular Urinetown 

which  saw for the 5th time last night - with two more to go.

 

I'm not a spectator for this weekend as I get to follow directions from an 18 year old college freshman film student who is one impressive young lady. I love learning from teenagers. And by the way, let me say that media has been trashing today's youngsters while the theater loving teens and young 20s I meet and work with are amazing. (Our stage manager is 21 and our sound guy about the same age.) My message to parents: Get your depressed child into a theater program.

 

Last Tuesday, the morning of the Retiree chapter meeting, I posited: Expect The Usual Fiasco, but I actually had fun - before and after the meeting. During, not so much. This post is about the before and after and a bit about during. I'll post the Mulgrew part later, but if you can't wait, here is Arthur's meeting report from remote.

 

A bit over 200 were there in person --- a usual crew of Unity loyalists who shun us when we try to hand them a leaflet, but it seems about half the people are not. There were over 4k on line. There was some noise when people pushed back against Mulgrew. It resonates with the online crowd to hear some pushback.  

 

Our Retiree Advocate crew showed up before the meeting to hand out our main leaflet - check it out here - along with RA buttons and did so with verve and enthusiasm. Bennett was called upon to ask Mulgrew a question and a few other voices were raised, but let me not get ahead of myself. I view these meetings as organizing efforts to grow the retiree oppo base and we inch forward.

 

 Many people put on our buttons and signed up for our emails. We always meet some new people at these meetings and we find very receptive people. 

 

We also handed out the notice we were having a meetup after the meeting at a local bar, where we ended up with almost 20 people. Only a little over 200 attended the in person, so that is not too shabby - and others told us they would have come but had some priors. Over the past year at the RCT meetings we have added people and lots were wearing our buttons. Some joined us at White Horse Tavern afterward for food and refreshments. Unfortunately I was due for a blood test for my newly discovered diabetes the next morning and had to avoid the beer.

 

Here's our chapter leader candidate Bennett Fischer saying a few words. I can't say enough about how capable Bennett is in almost any arena he takes on. I have enormous confidence in him -- but also our 10 officer and 15 chapter exec bd (I am the only one I have no confidence in) candidates. Plus the other 275 delegate assembly candidates who we are having a zoom with tomorrow night. If we win, it will be a new chapter in the history of the UFT.

 

The biggest Unity crew I've ever seen at an RA meeting also handed out a leaflet. I felt bad for them having to hand out a leaflet on how great a leader Tom Murphy is and they looked depressed doing so. 

 

Our organizing efforts have forced Unity to put out their own leaflet where found out for sure Tom Murphy is really running, and they actually had 5 people distributing, including former HSVP John Soldini and retired para rep Shelvy Young Abrams. But RA has about a dozen doing the work, a sign that if we win we will have an activist chapter driven by members.

 

Unity Caucus with Murphy leaflet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The leaflet was LOL at points -- word was out that there were some people contending to replace him but he threw a bit of a fit and Mulgrew supported him. It's the king who decided in monarchies. Murphy's 75K retiree consultant  NYSUT gig might be threatened.

 

 

 

 Arthur has a few words on the Murphy leaflet:

The notion that Murphy is an independent thinker is absurd on its face. Clearly, the Unity notion of serving the union means fawning over Michael Mulgrew and stroking his fragile ego. (In fairness, Murphy is quite good at that.)...Murphy is a “guardian of civility.” Let’s first address the fact that it’s not true at all. Murphy shows blatant contempt for opinions that vary from Michael Mulgrew’s. He refuses to let passionate members speak at meetings. Then he marvels that members shout at him. (Why do people raise their voices when Tom doesn’t allow them to speak? Go figure. It’s a great mystery.)

The Tom Murphy/ UFT Unity Campaign: Hubris, Insinuation, Misdirection and Lies

https://arthurgoldstein.substack.com/p/the-tom-murphy-uft-unity-campaign?

Murphy is running a platform of civility -- don't dare call out during our meetings and if you have a postage sized sign he will be uncivil. Remember this?

• Retired Teacher Chapter Leader Tom Murphy Calls for Decorum - After screaming at people for posting signs in back of UFT meeting hall and calling security

Paras on agenda

Retired Para Chapter chair Shelvy Young Abrams is being handed a big role in the Unity RTC unit -- to try to organize and mobilize the 7k para retirees into a force of resistance to the growing influence of Retiree Advocate and she has a chance since few retired paras have gravitated to the opposition. The whys are worth examining -- maybe at an ICE meeting.

Tier 6 -Suddenly (I'm Tier 1 - I say, Smirking)

Aside from the Mulgrew appearance, which I will address in the follow-up to this report, we heard from UFT Treasurer and TRS pension rep Tom Brown, always an entertaining speaker, listed decades of UFT/Unity achievements and continuously pointed out how UFT retirees are the happiest people in the world. I almost broke out into song:

 

Happy days are here again

The skies above are clear again

So let's sing a song of cheer again
Happy days are here again

 

Brown was followed by current Unity TRS candidate Christina McGrath - Unity has had to put out leaflets for her to counter our campaign for Ben Morgenroth. Before Ben was a candidate, he was pushing the UFT to do more to change Tier 6 --- and he has made Tier 6 reform a major part of his campaign. So of course Unity, which has done barely anything on Tier 6 for a dozen years, suddenly wakes up and McGrath was chosen to make a presentation on the changes they are asking for. 

 

RA's Bobby Greenberg asked a seemingly innocent question. I'll paraphrase:

It's nice to hear how many great things we've done over the decades. Congratulations. So if we've done so well, and everyone should be in Tier 1 but we'll take Tier 4. How did we go from Tier 1 to Tier 6? Or even Tier 4 to Tier 6? 

How uncivil of Bobby to dare bring up such a major failure of COPE and UFT Leadership which sat on its hands in 2012 when Tier 6 was foisted on us. Leadership realized that Ben and New Action had seized on the fact that 55% of UFT members are Tier 6 and that is a major campaign issue Unity is trying to get out from under. Ooopsie.

•   fumfering" --> "A Yiddish word meaning to "mumble", most often used to mean to be evasive; can also mean to putter aimlessly or to waste time."

I won't even waste your time with their lame response.

The Unity crowd was not only caught flat-footed in 2012 but actually told their people it wasn't all that bad. Now that 55% of UFT members are in Tier 6, and people like Ben Morgenroth are raising it time and again, they see the political danger, so they are putting on a campaign to make people believe they are fighting for them.

Daniel, in a brilliant feat of investigative reporting, lays waste to them with this post on The Wire. Here is a segment.

Mulgrew, and his Unity Political Machine, did nothing to STOP Tier 6.

They rolled over when it was proposed in 2011. And when finally enacted in 2012. Now, we are left to pick up the pieces. Struggling to glue back and fix the damage they allowed to happen.

Dan Alicea

 

... we are in the struggle of our lives to try to FIX Tier 6 because more than 10 years ago he did nothing to STOP TIER 6.

Lost in Mulgrew’s trademark verbal acrobatics and rhetoric about trying to FIX Tier 6, along with his snail’s pace, piecemeal lobbying campaign, is the fact that he dropped the ball. We’re here because he failed to organize us to use our collective union power to STOP the agenda to deplete our pension benefits. 

We were NOT caught off guard. Bloomberg and Cuomo telegraphed their Tier 6 intentions. It wasn’t a surprise. It was a long time coming. 

For the ten months before its passage in April of 2012, there were no organized UFT rallies. No large scale, coordinated lobbying campaign coming out of 52 Broadway. Not even a single UFT resolution was passed against it by the executive board or delegate assembly during the year before Tier 6 was enacted. Next to nothing in Mulgrew’s web communiques to members before — and only after the legislature passed the new pension reform.

There was no major UFT-centered action, mobilization or pushback whatsoever to STOP TIER 6 — which still threatens the financial futures of a generation of educators today and has led to a mass exodus within our profession. 

You’ll find little to nothing in the mainstream press archives containing any public remarks by Mulgrew against Tier 6 prior to its passage. No prominent mentions about it on our union website during this time. He skirted his fiduciary duties and let Dick Ianuzzi and Anthony Pallotta of NYSUT be the primary mouthpieces to speak out against the proposal while the UFT communicated little about a ‘Stop Tier 6’ fight. All while it posed an existential threat to our UFT union family. 

In fact, in early 2012, when Mulgrew shared his annual January testimony to Albany’s legislature about the proposed budget, Mulgrew only dedicated a small fraction of his time to say he only had “strong reservations” about the “idea that we need a new pension tier.“ 

Strong reservations about the idea? That’s it? 

That’s it. Mulgrew shrugged.

Unity insiders have confided, in hindsight, that they believed Mulgrew when he told them behind closed doors that the defined pension benefits were in jeopardy. They say there was a sense of inevitability about the looming draconian changes and so they maintained a business as usual posture.

Perhaps Mulgrew miscalculated that if Albany gave Bloomberg what he wanted, Bloomberg would finally negotiate contracts with the city’s unions once again? If so, the gamble failed miserably as Bloomberg left office while the city’s labor contracts, including ours, remained expired.

Even in more recent years, we’ve heard folks like UFT treasurer and TRS teacher-member Trustee, Tom Brown, continue to downplay the severity of the Tier 6 giveback, as evident in a 2022 executive board meeting where “Brown and other Unity-elected members made the argument that Tier 6 was essentially fine, better than what (the mostly non-unionized) rest of the country has, and that improvements are being made anyways.”

Brown went on to falsely claim that “Tier 6ers don’t have ‘less net compensation’ than Tier 4ers.”

After Tier 6 passed in April of 2012, Mulgrew, to his credit, refused to receive an award with Bloomberg and Cuomo at a SOMOS gala, shortly after. Something about the optics of attending a party and being really mad.

Daniel follows in the footsteps of the great James Eterno, who in March 2012 nailed the Unity leadership on Tier 6 with this post on ICE:

• James Eterno: TIER 6 A HUGE DEFEAT FOR THE NEXT GENERATION, March 2012 - from the ICE blog

 James pretty much said what Daniel says a dozen years later:

No spin from NYSUT or Leo Casey or President Mulgrew on the legislation to stick anyone hired in April or thereafter with a Tier VI pension...No spin from NYSUT or Leo Casey or President Mulgrew on the legislation to stick anyone hired in April or thereafter with a Tier VI pension...What about those COPE contributions?  We don't seem to have much influence with the legislature these days.

For those yet to be hired, the legislature and governor wiped away virtually all of the pension gains we made over the last thirty years.  A new teacher or new state employee will have to work until they are sixty three to receive a full pension which will only be 55% of final average salary according to what I read.  Final average salary has been increased from the average of the last five years of employment instead of three.

I remember when I started working and all of the people who were on Tier I told those of us who were on Tier IV how horrible our pension was.  Now we will have to face the Tier VI people and tell them they are in it for the real long haul if they want to make teaching a career. It is the same for other civil servants across New York State.

It struck me that in 2012 James talks about those who were about to be hired. Now over half are in Tier 6 and have been hired since then - think of the massive turnover in a dozen years.

I'll get to the follow-up on the Mulgrew part of the meeting, the following day's DA whee Unity rejected reform of the dental plan.

Great news for the next RTC meeting on May 21: Randi will be there. Oh, the joy!