No Reckoning for Eli Broad on KB Homes

The "B" in KB stands for Broad, as in Eli.

Sub-prime mortgage shenanigans helped fuel Eli Broad's philanthropic contributions to the ed reform movement that have unleashed the same forces of de-regulation, market-based concepts and privatization. And also the same type of financial shenanigans that we see in the BloomKlein administration in NYC. As Ann Cook pointed out at a parent forum on mayoral control the other night: the CEO one person in charge dictatorships means no accountability.

John Lawhead to ICE mail:

This NY Times article is mostly about the construction giant, KB Home. It neglects to mention the name of Elli Broad who made his fortune from the company. Poor Henry Cisneros. The billionaire Broad gets to ride above the fray. Maybe it's because Broad is such an important household word in education. To link him to the mortgage crisis would be like associating Bill & Melinda Gates with the mountains of outstanding college-loan debt...

Would that "the reckoning" weren't just for Henry but alas, the sacred dogma is not to be disturbed. Working class city kids must only hope for escaping their communities by way of college and a professional job title (if not home ownership).

As the Clinton administration’s top housing official in the mid-1990s, Mr. Cisneros loosened mortgage restrictions so first-time buyers could qualify for loans they could never get before.

Then, capitalizing on a housing expansion he helped unleash, he joined the boards of a major builder, KB Home.

For the three years he was a director at KB Home, Mr. Cisneros received at least $70,000 in pay and more than $100,000 worth of stock.

Where ICE Stands

As the Independent Community of Educators is about to reach its 5th anniversary (on Halloween, of course) we put this outline of some of ICE's basic positions without going into depth, which we will be doing on the ICE blog and web site. But you get the idea. I'll be writing more reflective pieces on the evolution of alternative views in the UFT over time.

Share with your colleagues. Contact me if you need a hard copy of an emailed pdf.

Click to enlarge.

TAGNYC: The Two Big Lies

Share a copy with your colleagues.

Click to enlarge.

John Thompson in the Trauma Ward

I often get tongue tied when trying to discuss what it was like teaching elementary school in one of the hard core poverty areas of Brooklyn. Or finger tied when trying to write about it. One year I'd have the sweetest kids. Another a difficult, problem-laden class (but still with a lot of sweet kids - mostly girls.) They all looked the same - 65% Hispanic and 35% black. But, oh what differences.

Thank goodness for John Thompson over at TWIE who says in two short paragraphs what would take me 5 pages.

If you do not understand why high poverty magnet schools have little in common with neighborhood schools, check out my neighborhood’s middle school..

It's the Trauma. Duh!

Surrender of Tenure in Chicago....

...a precursor for New York

by George Schmidt

10/16/08

The Chicago Teachers Union has surrendered tenure in all but the flimsiest thought. Tenure exists now for teachers at "successful" schools, but not for teachers at "failing" schools. Since most of our schools are "failing" (Chicago is much more segregated than New York City, and with much more dense sections of complete poverty) that means just about everyone.

Basically, Chicago began surrendering tenure with the surrender of seniority in the mid-1990s, and has been surrendering since. There was a brief time under Debbie Lynch (2001-2004) when the union wasn't as big a part of the problem, but that is now over and things are worse than ever.

The CTU "Fresh Start" (peer lynching policy, I'm calling it) is based on the monstrosity from Toledo Federation of Teachers (Dal Lawrence) and is now being exported from Chicago via AFT to everyone else.

Randi knows this.

She's lying if she doesn't admit that she is giving away tenure, bit by bit, with Chicago serving as the role model and a couple of other places (e.g., Washington D.C.) coming in a close second because AFT isn't organizing and supporting resistance to people like Michelle Rhee. Of course, the greatest surrender of all is New Orleans. But that, too, is a much longer story.

George Schmidt
Editor, Substance

www.substancenews.net

Ed Note:
Chicago is years ahead of NYC in mayoral control and has had all the horrors that hit here years before. Ed Notes was out there warning people in the UFT about mayoral control from way back in 2001. On the day Randi came out in favor (May 2001) I went to an Executive Board meeting that night and placed a leaflet with the Chicago story in front of every UFT Executive Board member. Of course they knew and went along for the ride. Dumb? I think not. Mayoral control fits the AFT/UFT vision of education. Thus, they will not make a stand against it, though they will have their committee on governance make some namby pamby noises about checks and balances. And thus they will do nothing to try to stop Bloomberg from another term, the truest spirit of collaboration. Their problem is how to convince the members to go along. But they have the answer: scare them with the financial catastrophe that is to come, making reference to the strike in '75 as a failure. Sure, it was a failure because Al Shanker sold it out. We can expect nothing less than a total sellout – on mayoral control, on Bloomberg, on rating teachers based on test scores, on unfairly closing schools, on ATRs, on the rubber room, on grievances, on just about any issue you can bring up. The only hope is for teachers to wake up and forge a militant opposition to Unity.

Spinning Randi Attack on Green as "Tongue in Cheek"

They must have put Kool-aid in the coffee. Or the UFT PR department is trying spin control over our report on Randi Weingarten's remarkable assault on reporter Elizabeth Green at the DA on Weds. This comment from a union flack on my report of Randi's attack on reporter Elizabeth Green is indicative of the way they will try to spin it.

I don't want to resort to "fighting words" by saying you "lied" or "failed," but you did in fact completely misrepresent Randi's words, tone, and intent in reference to Liz Green. Randi's words were tongue-in-cheek and did not lend themselves to misinterpretaion except by those people who desired to do so. Randi to my knowledge has many time expressed respect and appreciation for Elizabeth's reporting. Please don't tar Randi in this way on this matter. It is absolutely ill-founded.

Did Randi not say Green's reporting on the DA as it happens "blow by blow," which was entirely untrue by the way, were "unethical?" And did she not during the meeting say, "Do you hear that Liz?" Every single delegate I spoke to did not take these words as tongue in cheek but in fact thought Green had infiltrated the meeting.

At an impromptu press conference on the street after the meeting with a few reporters, Green amongst them, nothing was said by Randi to Green that I could discern.

When under pressure Randi tends to lash out at someone as a way of creating a common enemy to deflect incoming at her. Her reponses are instinctive and not always well thought out.

By the way, Randi showed us just what a fighter she was when she proclaimed she told Tweed "Fuck You!" at one point. Well, that convinced me.

UFT's Paul Egan Makes the Case...

...for the uselessness of the UFT

In opposing the ICE amendment to the term limits resolution, UFT District 11 (Bronx) rep Paul Egan made the astounding argument that if each individual in the room went home and called their city council rep that would have a greater impact than if the UFT as an organization took a stand and pressured the reps to deny Bloomberg another term of office. Even Weingarten seemed astounded and cut him off. Hey Paul, any chance for a dues refund?

The DA's provide so much material. I may take it all for tryout at Caroline's Comedy Club.


Note: Check the sidebar under the "UFT and Bloomberg Term Limits" for a running account of our posts on the subject.

You Can't See It Any Better

Don't miss NYC Educator's latest. Here is a delicious slice:

Because that's what the GOP is all about. We'll stick with you right up until you're born, but from there on in, you're on your own, kid (unless you're an investment bank or something). No health care for you. Unqualified inexperienced incompetent teachers, but let's hope at least they aren't unionized. Perish forbid that nasty Barack Obama should open up the health plan US government employees have to Joe Sixpack, Joe the Plumber, or any of the regular Joes Maverick Johny supposedly pals around with while driving his 13 cars between his nine homes.

Make sure to eat the entire pie. It's fairly small but packed with goodies.

ATR Report from the Front Lines of the Delegate Assembly

With momentum building and over 100 schools signing petitions supporting ATRs, Unity tried its usual tricks at Tuesday night's Exec Bd meeting by removing provisions from the ad hoc committee tying the ATR issue to class size and calling for a UFT rally at Tweed supporting ATRs.

The large number of ATRs that consisted of experienced teachers and first year Teaching Fellows had an impact. With the usual one hour plus Weingarten filibuster squeezing a massive agenda into a short period of time, the ATR debate finally came up around 6PM. HS VP Leo Casey started the ball rolling with one of the phoniest speeches in the history of the DA. Full of false emotion about how an injury to one was an injury to all. Tina Fey will be doing Casey pretty soon.

Then John Powers, Chapter Leader of Liberation HS who has burst upon the scene in the last year with his push to stop the GHI/HIP merger, made one of the great speeches I've heard at a DA. In amending the Unity motion he called for the provisions they took out the night before –the rally and the tie to class size reduction.

John knew how to throw some praise the union leadership's way to keep the Unity dogs from chewing at his leg as he spoke. John was so effective that just as he was cataloging the 2 previous motions on ATRs passed by Unity over the last year which have had no impact, Randi jumped in to interrupt him - her usual tactic designed to throw effective people off their game. (In fact she has no right to do that unless you are way over the time limit.) But John handled even this well and finished up his speech with a great summary. It was one of those times I wish I had a recording. (Maybe Elizabeth Green's supposed "spy" has a copy - see previous post.)

Randi then tried another maneuver. At first she ruled it was a friendly amendment that could be included with the Unity motion to be voted on as one. But a little bird whispered in her ear and she then tried to separate it from the rest because of the way John had motivated it which had implied criticisms of the leadership.

James Eterno and others called out they were voting on the amendment and the motion, not the method of motivation. I actually was looking forward to having Randi signal the troops to vote against John's call to reduce class size by assigning ATRs. But she thought better of it, knowing full well she could hold the usual UFT rally like she did the rubber room rally last year to mollify people and then forget the issue. I mean there was a real threat the ATRs would hold a rally without the UFT and that is just too dangerous for Unity.

So when the vote was taken, a number of people in the Unity crowd weren't sure what to do. Did Randi signal up or down? Obviously they were prepared to vote the amendment down of she had separated it. Randi is certainly good at sensing the political wind and she made it clear this was a "go." It passed overwhelmingly, a victory - sort of. Now the ad hoc committee needs to get people from those 100 plus schools while getting more schools to sign the petition and bring people from these schools out to the rally since the UFT Leadership will only bring out the usual 1000 people.

Marjorie Stamberg the key organizer of the ad hoc ATR teachers sent the following report on the DA and the ATR's.


We Got the Rally
by Marjorie Stamberg

We got the rally! They changed gears over night from the e-board. Now the hard work begins to build it in the schools and bring out everyone to make a strong statement that the whole union stands with the ATRs, and we will not allow our colleagues to be victimized.

Due to the hard and dedicated work of so many people, we were successful tonight at the Delegate Assembly. We had a great presence outside the meeting, of ATRs, RTRs (the teaching fellows who face termination) and quite a few of us union activists who have been working on the issue. I think this really had an effect, and made clear to the leadership how teachers across this city are outraged over the disgraceful way the ATRs have been treated.

We handed out hundreds of copies of our motion calling for a mass rally, the fact sheet entitled "The Real Facts About ATRs" and a reprint of the dramatic scene at Canarsie HS when teachers were excessed en masse. I reported yesterday about how the UFT exec board had come up with a counter motion that paralleled ours, but omitted the key issues of smaller class size, and the city wide rally. After the e-board last night, we had decided that we would present an amendment to put these two points back in, because that way we could get a discussion on the floor. So that's what we did

John Powers spoke passionately to motivate the amendment. He talked about the 2005 contract which gave up seniority. He made the point that there have been two previous motions passed on ATRS that didn't have any teeth to them and kind of faded away while....the ATRs multiplied. Even before he started talking, Randi Weingarten said she considered the amendment to be "friendly" and "within the four corners of the original motion" -- quite a change from the reception we got last night. So obviously, the leadership decided that they better get out in front of this, rather than just opposing it. Good!

So now we have to continue and double the hard work we began. We can't count on the leadership building this. For it to be effective, we have to continue the grassroots work we've begun. We have reached more than 103 schools, and gotten hundreds of signatures. Now we need to get back to the people who signed and tell them that they're support had an effect. Now we need to reach others in the schools and build the rally.

One important thing that happened was getting to talk to so many teachers, in the big high schools, but also the "small schools," and the elementary and middle schools. We are also working with the teaching fellows, who are actually in more peril at the moment than anyone. So we showed we won't be divided.

I think we're going to want to have a meeting to start organizing this, and it will be important to get as many different schools represented as possible. I'd like to canvas people as to when might be a good time. Sometime next week? Tuesdays or Thursdays are out, unfortunately. On the weekend?

We have to talk with the leadership about setting a date for the rally. The place we want is in front of Tweed courthouse-. I think in those schools that have been hard hit, like Lafayette, Tilden, Canarsie, etc, it would be great to really bring out those schools, including students and parents. And we'll want some sizable groups from some of the other big high schools.

So let's brainstorm ideas and come up with a plan, Sam. Doggone it, we're gonna do it. You betcha. (sorry, couldn't resist)

Also, please talk to the ATRs in your school-- this is everyone's fight!

--Marjorie


Thanks to all who worked hard the last few weeks to bring the ATR issue to fore. There are many unsung persons who stepped forward to voice their opinions and galvanize support, and let's give special credit to the Ad Hoc Committee to Let the ATRs Teach and to Marjorie for initiating and coordinating the campaign.

We should not underestimate the significance of our success in getting the rally nor the difficulty of the task to make it a successful demonstration. I believe this campaign can bring out the latent energy of hundreds of teachers to fight in their interests and the interests of their union. One example: When I got to the DA today, a Lafayette teacher (not an ATR) who had decided to come to the DA for the first time was already out in front passing out the ATR motion.

Robert

Weingarten Attacks Green at DA

UPDATED

In a typical attempt to put up a straw man - or woman- as a way to distract delegates from the attempt to convince than that 4 more years of the hated BloomKlein gang would be tolerable, Randi Weingarten suddenly turned on former NY Sun reporter Elizabeth Green who is now reporting for Gotham Schools.

"Liz Green is reporting this meeting blow by blow as it occurs," Weingarten bleated. Liz, this is a private meeting and what you are doing is unethical. You are a better reporter than that." She went on to talk about how there are always leakers. Usually she looks my way when she says this but I was lurking way in the back of the vistors section after being banished there by Weingarten a few years ago. Speaking of leaking, I went out to pee, so I am not guilty of leaking (to Elizabeth). But I did call Elizabeth to leave a message that she was under assault.

Weingarten in an extraordinary show of demagoguery, left an impression that Green was somehow listening into the meeting. A number of delegates thought Green was in the room blogging live when in fact she was in front of the building interviewing ATRs at the time.

Green was outside inteviewing ATRs and had gotten a call from a delegate that the meeting was overflowing and about to discuss the term limit question. That was what appeared on the Gotham Schools blog.

Below are excerpts from Green's post at Gotham Schools that Weingarten referred to, clearly purely on hearsay. Green wrote, "It’s standing room only!” my source at the meeting just said via cell phone."

That's it? Calling Green unethical for telling the world it's standing room only? Maybe the real story is that DA's are held in a room that holds a max of 850 when there are over 3000 delegates (about a thousand showed up and many will not return after this wonderful experience.) Was Weingarten worried the fire marshalls would read Green's blog and rush in with hoses and axes?

No reporter has consistently pointed out the holes in the Tweed cheese and reported the point of view of teachers over the past year than Green.

Weingarten owes Green a public apology.

Right now at 52 Broadway, pressure to stand firmer on term limits by Elizabeth Green

The teachers union will vote on its final stance on term limits this afternoon, at a meeting of the union’s delegate assembly that is beginning now. (”It’s standing room only!” my source at the meeting just said via cell phone.) The expectation is that the delegates will support the resolution passed last night by the executive board, which urged a voter referendum rather than Bloomberg’s proposed City Council route for changing term limits.

But new amendments could be added, and whatever debate occurs will likely turn on how strongly the UFT should oppose Bloomberg. The resolution passed last night does not state a position for or against term limits, and it does not challenge the mayor on any points; rather, it projects, as president Randi Weingarten’s first statement did, a sense of the seriousness of the economic crisis — and keeps open a door for supporting a third Bloomberg term through a referendum. The idea communicated last night, according to one source who was there, is not to spend too much “political capital” on fighting the mayor on term limits, when other fights (such as the budget) are around the corner.

Not everyone at the union wants to play this safe route. Among teachers, there is a lot of animosity toward the Bloomberg administration, especially among the veterans who are the most active in UFT politics, and some are voicing that. Today, an opposition group that often pushes Weingarten, the Independent Community of Educators, will push its own resolution, which would have the union cut off funding from City Council members who vote for changing term limits, a member of ICE’s steering committee, Jeff Kaufman, told me. (The union’s PAC, UFT COPE, gives thousands of dollars to Council members each cycle.)

So far Weingarten has tended to angry members by drawing a line between him and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein: Klein is the bad guy, and she agrees he’s bad; Bloomberg is okay. But it’s hard to imagine Bloomberg tossing Klein, so supporting Bloomberg will be very difficult for Weingarten.

We’ll keep you posted on how the union votes.

Here is the link: http://gothamschools.org/2008/10/15/right-now-at-52-broadway-pressure-to-stand-firmer-on-term-limits/

Note Green mentions Jeff Kaufman, who was not at the DA (for those Unity huckleberries who look to blame the 10 plagues on Kaufman).

ICE Amendment on Term Limits Fails at DA

Click to enlarge

Resolved, that the UFT unequivocally oppose the city council’s bill to extend term limits and the UFT will seriously consider withholding endorsements and COPE money from any Council member who votes in favor of this legislation that circumvents the will of the people.

This ICE amendment calling on the UFT to ask its supporters on the City Council to turn down the term limits extension that will give Bloomberg 4 more years was turned down at the DA.

ICE's Lisa North, chapter leaders of PS 3 in Brooklyn started the ball rolling. But due to a procedural question, James Eterno made the amendment with an excellent argument.

In a Unity packed Delegate Assembly, it garnered between 25- 30% of the vote (there was no count,) signs that even some Unity delegates voted for it. Are they also getting fed up with the constant UFT retreats?

Here is a jpg of the hard copy of Education Notes I gave out at the DA focusing on the term limits issue, an abridged version of a previous post. If you are interested in distributing it to your school email me at normsco@gmail.com and I'll send you a pdf or mail you a hard copy.

Note: read our previous posts on the term limits battle in the UFT. Elizabeth Green's report at Gotham is here.

UFT Seeks to Coopt ATR Issue at Delegate Assembly

They sit practically silent on issues crucial to teachers. But when people get so fed up with UFT leadership's inaction and start to organize themselves, they jump in and coopt the movement. The goal? To subvert, undermine, obfuscate, divide. (Add any other words that fit.) Prime Example (amongst numerous ones): rubber room protests coopted by the UFT.

Now things are repeating themselves with ATRs, who have begun to meet and organize outside the UFT structure and are becoming a strong lobbying group. So the UFT seeing their resolution being handed out at this afternoon's DA and with over 100 schools signing their petition, came up with their own emergency – for the leadership – reso to try to undercut the growing anger and militancy.

What's interesting about the mostly senior teachers organizing the campaign is that they are allying with some newbie Teaching Fellows who are also ATRs. I received this last night.

Mr. Scott,
I am a first year teacher. I have an issue getting assistance from the UFT. NYC Teaching Fellows hired ~1900 new teachers. 220 were unhired by schools on opening day. Those of us were assigned to the "teacher reserve" and loaned out to schools the program says we have a contract that allows them to boot us by Dec. 5th I have contacted the UFT many times about negotiating this issue working on helping us, etc.

Some 56% of the 220 were hired in the meanwhile (according to the NYC Fellows program who will not supply that data for us). So we have roughly 100 dues-paying members asking the UFT for help (I have an organization of almost 25 of them-- can't reach the rest of them.)

The UFT has ignored, stalled, and wasted our time.

It hasn't taken this new teacher much time to "get" the UFT.

Here is Marjorie Stamberg's report from yesterday's Exec Bd. meeting.

Robert and I went to the E-board tonight, as well as three other teachers who have been supporting the ATR issue. Robert and I both spoke at the open mike, and submitted the petitions -- which have come in from over 103 schools at last count, and a list of high schools that run off the page. I said it was good the NY Teacher finally had a spread on ATRs, but how come we had to learn from the NY Post that there are more than 1,400 ATR teachers. And how we're sick of hearing how well the open market works, when teachers are sending literally hundreds of resumes and never even getting a call for an interview.

Robert spoke powerfully on the situation of ATRs at Lafayette. He ended, saying, "Let the DOE eliminate the anti-ATR New Teacher Project consulting contract, counter-productive testing programs, and high executive salaries. Let them consolidate some schools. But Let ATRs Teach and keep all teachers in the classrooms."

Unity's plan for the D.A. tomorrow:

The ATR issue is so hot, and there is such strong feeling that the union has not been fighting on this issue, so now that we're building a movement, the UFT leadership is rushing to get out in front. Thus, their tactic tonight was to put up their own motion, as a counter to ours. It is signed by five of the top officers and Unity people (Casey, LeRoy Barr, Mike Mendel, Mike Mulgrew and Karen Alford). They passed it at the E-board and will put it up for a vote tomorrow night at the D.A. as a "special order of business."

I scanned their motion and am attaching it here for those who want an advance look at it. [Ed Note: I'm not including it here. Email me if you want a copy. You can see the Ad hoc committee motion, their petition, which all of you should pass around your schools, and their fact sheet by clicking on the links at the top of the sidebar.]

Many of the points they raise piggy back on ours in a soggy way. Other points pat themselves on the back for what they've been doing for ATRs (!). Most importantly, however, two elements are not there. They do not make the link to smaller class size, which is our link to the parents and community. And the key element missing, of course, is the centrality of the petition and our motion -- the call on the UFT to mobilize the membership and hold a mass rally outside the DOE to say there be no more hiring till all ATRs who want positions are placed.

Naturally, they don't want to make any powerful statement that would challenge Klein or Bloomberg. That is clear from the discussion they had on term limits.

Their own conclusion that they are going to deal with this issue by talking about it on blogs and on the NY Teacher is so empty that even some of their own supporters can see how hollow it is.

I think tomorrow we have to make it clear to everybody that what's happening to the ATRs is not going to be solved by soft-soaping the issue. If the UFT is not willing to go into the street over this, it will get a lot worse--they'll just keep on closing schools with abandon.

I think we need to insist that teachers at over 103 schools at last count signed petitions calling for action and that this represents a widespread feeling among the membership. A mass mobilization of the whole union would be a powerful show of support for the ATRS--that we are all behind them!And we need to link this to the issue of lowering class size by assigning teachers to classrooms.

We may end up amending their motion. That way we can for sure get our call for a mass mobilization on the floor, whereas presenting a new motion requires support of two-thirds of the delegates to even get discussed. In a way, amending their motion makes the counter-position even clearer. The fact that they feel obliged to present something highlights the situation and the fact they are not putting any muscle behind their demands, and we are calling for mobilizing union power. But when this is put forward we need a real vocal show of support.

We need people to help pass out the motion and the ATR fact sheet, contact lists tomorrow night, and help talk to the press outside --so please come as early as possible.

--Marjorie

Well, off to do battle at the DA armed with a hard copy of Ed Notes, the ICE leaflet, the anti high stakes NYCORE testing leaflet, some ATR stuff and copies of our review of the Kahlenberg Shanker book "Al Shanker: Ruthless Neocon."

The mule is loaded and ready to go.

UFT Gives Up the Ship on Term Limits

Personally, I have always been opposed to term limits, as has this union. I am also, as are so many people, very concerned about the economy, and I am grateful the mayor is willing to step up. – Randi Weingarten

Of course Randi is opposed to term limits. She intends to be UFT and AFT president for life.

But that is not this is about.

There has been speculation (in former NY Sun reporter Elizabeth Green's guest blog at Eduwonk "Randi on a Tightrope") on the UFT position on Bloomberg's attempt to overturn term limits. Or “extend” it to 12 years in his words. I wrote a piece about this issue yesterday based on former NY Sun reporter Green's analysis.

Randi's initial reaction in the lead quote was a strong indication that she would straddle the fence and not openly oppose the mayor's plan but call for the voters to decide. Which they have already done. Twice. Maybe 3 times is a charm.

Hey Randi, can we have another vote on the 2005 contract?

It is extremely unlikely there will be a referendum, which Bloomberg would win anyway. The UFT will do little to make it happen and will not hold any of the members of the City Council accountable for their actions. (Note how UFT uber ally Christine Quinn gave up the ship.) They are using the excuse that they need to focus on preventing budget cuts. Sure. We know where Bloomberg with a guaranteed 3rd term will cut: classroom services while keeping all the pet projects: ARIS, high priced consultants, the leadership academy, and a cast of thousands at Tweed. Want to really fight cuts? Get rid of Bloomberg.

Randi's so-called "tightrope" is how to sell the members who despise BloomKlein that she was putting up a fight to stop Bloomberg in the midst of her capitulation to the mayor. The Mad Men (and Women) at the UFT have been using Klein as the bad guy, making it seem he was not attached at the hip to Bloomberg. They may even try to convince the members that they made a secret deal with Bloomie to dump Klein.Unless Klein wants to leave (like for a cabinet position) why would Bloomberg dump the guy who has so successfully outwitted the UFT at every turn and use brilliant tactics to eliminate resistance at the ground level (the chapters)?

Just watch the marketing campaign to the rank and file, who despise BloomKlein, that our priority is to fight the cuts, not stop Bloomberg's bid. What balderdash.

The UFT has been telling the members for two years, "We just have to wait BloomKlein out and get a friendlier mayor," as a way to explain Weingarten's support for mayoral control since 2001.

The current Teachers for a Just Contract (TJC) leaflet nails Weingarten:

Weingarten told us it was all figured out. Our next contract would be negotiated under the next mayor. She accepted the change in the school funding formula, claiming senior teachers would be protected because, if they were already in a school, that school would not be charged for their higher salaries until 2010. Weingarten assumed that then, with Bloomberg gone, the DoE would go back to the old rules. If he is re-elected, all senior teachers will soon become cash liabilities for their schools. Also, the agreement that test scores cannot be used for tenure decisions expires in 2010. Weingarten accepted this, too, based on her assumption that when Bloomberg was gone, it would be a whole new ball game.

Bloomberg has done and end run around Weingarten’s strategy of waiting out unfriendly
politicians. Based on these risky assumptions, she's let the union's muscles go flabby, putting all her faith in the "next mayor." The union held only one street action in the past five years.

Now, her folly is clear. Bloomberg has done an end run around term limits, and around Weingarten's "easy" strategy of waiting out unfriendly politicians. Bloomberg will be hard to beat, and chances are that we will be negotiating our next deal with him and Klein. Thanks to Weingarten, we are in no condition for the tough fight he will put up.

(See complete 2 page leaflet at Norms Notes.)

It all came to pass at last night's (Oct. 14) Executive Board meeting with a convoluted 2 page resolution that will be presented to today's Delegate Assembly with a call to let the voters decide buried in the body. Or rather, the body of resistance to Bloomberg's plans is just plain buried. This is a clear wink to City Council members there would be no UFT battle to stop Bloomberg. Of course, the UFT leadership will do little or nothing to make a voters' choice happen.

A Gotham Schools post before last night's meeting proclaimed,

Whatever they decide, it will be a bombshell, since Randi Weingarten and the union could hold substantial sway over the undecided City Council members who will determine whether Mayor Bloomberg gets an open door to the mayoralty or not.

Bombshell? More like the last chirp of a cricket about to be gobbled up by a lizard.

A correspondent sent the following report from the Exec. Bd meeting

It is a weak reso and a long one. Basically, Uft support and participate in the one NY -fighting for fairness coalition-more than 55 unions and social service organ to protect safety net programs and affirms its belief in the importance of respecting the democratic will of the people and calls for the submission of any change in the term limits law to popular referendum and elect Obama! Doug Haines (New Action) tried to strengthen it - added an amendment- (Mike) Shulman supported him saying the reso as presented would anger the members tomorrow. (Leo) Casey said we have to stay focused on protecting our members and kids because of the attacks and financial crisis. Someone else said that we can't make the council members angry with us-so we can't take to the streets on this. The whole reso is almost 2 pages long.

Go Doug. Some action from New Action. Finally. And someone should look back at Casey's and Peter Goodman's attacks on Klein on Edwize to see just how intellectually dishonest they are.

Today Casey talks about the greed on Wall St. Readers of Ed Notes may remember our challenge to the UFT in April when they held their rally against a paltry millions of dollars in budget cuts. We called on them to march a few blocks away to protest the Bear Sterns $30 billion bail out. But what do you expect when your picture appears in the dictionary under the words "intellectually dishonesty?"

Back to term limits. How about this resolution (if it comes up today, I urge all delegates to support it.)

WHEREAS the voters have spoken (twice) on limiting terms in office to two and there should be no more do overs,

RESOLVED, that the UFT unequivocally oppose the City Council''s bill to extend term limits and the UFT will seriously consider withholding endorsement and COPE money from any Council member who votes in favor of this legislation that circumvents the will of the people.

Elizabeth Green, from her new job at Gotham Schools (congrats Elizabeth) sent this link to a follow-up story today. Joining Kelly Vaughan and Philissa Kramer, Elizabeth brings a new angle to Gotham's coverage and expect to see more reporting on the actions of the UFT, hopefully with the voices of dissidents included.


This Just in
Another report from the Exec bd meeting with my comments:

Casey and Mulgrew (after last nite's performance-our next uft pres. fur sure! [NOT FOR MULGREW WHO] ) made a real issue of the most important issues to this union - protection of members and the kids we teach who have no choice but the publc schools. They painted this against a very bleak picture of the economy- they spoke of it as tho they were giving us inside information that we didn't know - a hot tip- and we better believe it. It was brought up twice-pres report and on the term limits reso.

Sandy March said that members hate Klein but like Mike. - thought Mike would get rid of Joel.
[SHE HAS GOT TO BE KIDDING]

Perhaps I am mistaken, but the message was-don't expect nuttin' from us except if he challenges us or our kids. Nuttin' else matters. Casey made a point of saying that the ATR situation is important because it harms our members.
[SURE LEO. NOW IT IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE ATRs ARE ORGANIZING]

Green on Randi and Bloomie Term Limits

There's lots of speculation as to whether Bloomberg can have his cake (a 3rd term) and eat it too (renewal of mayoral control of the schools.) Bet he can. And he can expect no more than proforma opposition, if that, from the UFT. Already the governance committee of the UFT has postponed its report on where the UFT stand on mayoral control due to the 3rd term issue.

Why that has anything to do with the concept of mayoral control is beyond me. But you know we have said all along the UFT was in favor (since 2001) no matter what they come out with (as a sop to the members) but have no real intention of fighting for much change other than some tweaks.

Elizabeth Green, former NY Sun ed reporter extraordinaire has been a guest blogger at Edwonk, a place I visit only when someone has a blade planted in my gut, but to read her I will.
Full post here.

Green has an interesting take on Randi's position on Bloomberg and extending term limits. Some think she will try to make a deal in exchange for Klein's head.

Yes, she is relentless in her criticism of Joel Klein, the man much-disliked by her members. But Randi does not just attack; she also tries to work as a partner on school reform. And the man she always publicly declares her partner is Bloomberg.

Of course Randi is Bloomberg's collaborator and partner but I hope Green isn't buying the UFT sham that somehow BloomKlein are not separated at the hip. He is a faithful Bloomie lapdog. Arf! If Bloomberg is a partner, Klein is no less one too.

Here is where Green is off when she says:

... Randi often holds off on taking a position until her union delegates have voted.

In fact Randi decides on her position and then uses her total power and the Unity Caucus political machine, which stacks the delegate assembly and has total control over the Executive Board, to turn that into official union policy.

Green is half right when she says

But another thing Randi often does is make deals, and it is hard to imagine that she will not try to use this time of vulnerability for Mayor Bloomberg to strike a bargain with him — to pledge some kind of support in exchange for some kind of win.

Yes, Randi makes deals. Green is wrong if she think Bloomberg is vulnerable and needs Randi. In their collaborative deals, Bloomberg comes out ahead by buying her off with more money for salaries (of which there will be precious little). But if any bargain is struck UFT members will come out the losers just as they have on all the other "bargains" - loads of givebacks and working longer for "raises."

Bloomberg and Joel Klein have UFT members on the run with ATR brush fires breaking out all over the place and Randi not being able to spend much time doing whatever AFT presidents do while she runs around putting them out.

Like she had to run over to Canarsie HS last week after angry ATRs practically ran District Rep Charlie Turner out of the building. I guess the Unity hacks' whine, "Why blame us. Klein changed the funding formula" followed by "Why are you complaining that a first year teacher has a position while you are a sub, be glad you're getting paid?" are just not working.

After calming the troops (she will defend ATRs "over my dead body") she sent poor Turner back in there the next day. He hasn't been heard from since.

Where was UFT COO (Chief Operating Officer), Mulgrew Who? (I told Green months ago that Mulgrew would not be the president of the UFT.) Wanna bet Randi is running again in 2010 for UFT Pres? She can substitute her name on Bloomberg's press release about how in these economic times yada yada yada the UFT needs her yada yada yada experienced leadership.

After Green's post on Edwonk she got this goodie from a UFT source - which I'll bet is from a certain UFT/AFT president's horse's mouth. You know the old diddie: a source is a horse is a horse is a horse.

Just got a reply on the post below from a UFT source, who adds of the line Randi is walking, “It’s not a tightrope, it’s a micro filament!” The source also sizes up Randi’s next steps by saying there are too many factors for a final deal to be brokered. “The best strategy … wait,” the source says. “No one can deliver on promises at this moment in time.”

Sure. Micro filament. We need to wait, not act. This is what the Executive Board will decide tonight and pass on to the Delegate Assembly on Wed. Wait.

With the membership despising BloomKlein so much Randi might have a bit of a sell but she'll pull it off by using the economic crisis and any other scare tactics she can think of. Maybe throw Bill Ayres name in somewhere to scare 'em.

Instead of doing a full court UFT political press on the city council members to vote Bloomie down, they'll punt. They'll throw a bone to the rank and file by calling for the voters to decide knowing full well that won't happen.

Of course the poor Unity schnooks who went around schools telling people we just have to wait out BloomKlein for the short time remaining and put the next mayor (the preferred Bill Thompson) into power will have to hope the rank and file won't remember that one.

Broad Prize for Most Improved School District Will Be Awarded Oct. 14

The Broad Prize will be awarded on Tuesday, Oct. 14.
See Broad press release at Norms Notes.

NYC won last year.

According to its website, the Broad Prize is awarded each year to honor urban school districts that demonstrate the greatest overall performance and improvement in student achievement while reducing achievement gaps among low-income and minority students. http://www.broadprize.org/about/overview.html

It might as well be Broad Jumping for how real the NYC results were.

I guess they didn't account for credit recovery, phony test scores, phony grad rates, etc. But the Broad Prize is all about ideology, not education. Oh, lookie: they have merit pay got rid of seniority, eliminated much of the union opposition, etc. So they cheated to show results? Big deal.

Leonie Haimson sent this to her listserve.

An analysis of NAEP scores between 2003-2007 shows that NYC came in 11th out of 12th of urban school districts in terms of gains. http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2008/07/comparative-naep-results-help-cut.html

There was no closing of the achievement gap in NYC in the NAEP scores over this period, either in math or in ELA, for any grade level tested.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/eduwonkette/2008/07/new_york_city_achievement_gap_1.html

The NAEPs are considered the “gold standard” of assessments in terms of reliability.

As for the NY state scores, there has been no narrowing of the achievement gap in NYC if scale scores are analyzed.

http://www.nysun.com/new-york/achievement-gap-in-city-schools-is-scrutinized/83215/

How can we be assured that the decision to award the Broad Prize is not determined more by politics and PR spin than actual improvements, and that this year’s winner deserves it more than NYC did last year?

I received a press invite to attend the ceremony at the Museum of Modern Art tomorrow. I remember seeing Picasso's Guernica there before it was moved back to Spain. Watching the Broad prize distribution ceremony will be like old times, only with more horror.

Some in Australia Prepare "Big Welcome" for Joel Klein Visit

To be forewarned is to be forearmed! - Leonie Haimson

And forewarned and forearmed our Aussie friends will be. It looks like the blogging efforts of the NYC Public School Parents blog, Eduwonkette, Ed Notes, NYC Educator, A Voice in the Wilderness, Under Assault, Diane Ravitch and all the other watchdogs of the Joel Klein theory of shock doctrine management of schools have had their words reach into the Land of Oz. One of our correspondents in Canberra, Trevor Cobbald of "Save Our Schools," has been helping prepare the way in giving Klein the reception he deserves when he visits in November.

According to the Australian paper the Age, the Australian teachers union and education advocates are not buying the unreliable NYC school grading system that Joel Klein is pitching to them down under. Don't expect the union to lie down and roll over like the UFT.

The federal president of the Australian Education Union, Angelo Gavrielatos, said the Australian Government should not be importing "flawed" approaches from the US, a nation that was consistently outperformed by countries such as Finland which did not publicly rank schools.

Canberra-based public education advocacy group Save Our Schools last week called on Ms Gillard to release the details of her performance reporting plan to ensure it did not reproduce the problems of the New York system, which it said had led to league tables and dissimilar schools being compared with each other.

"Let us have an informed debate while Klein is here and not just a one-sided presentation to bolster Gillard's secret negotiations with state and territory governments," SOS spokesman Trevor Cobbold said. "It seems it is all being decided behind closed doors with the axe of Commonwealth funding held over the heads of state and territory governments to ensure compliance."

Doesn't Klein have a school system to run? I guess it's not that hard a thing to do as he and Michelle Rhee seem to have a hell of a lot of time for politics. But that is what this ed reform thing is all about, mate! Well, guys, throw another shrimp on the barbie for Joel so he doesn't go home hungry.

Full story: http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/a-new-york-state-of-mind-20081012-4yyk.html?page=-1

ATR Urgent Campaign: Gather Outside the UFT Delegate Assembly

Update from the ATR ad hoc committee
If you are an ATR or know of any or if you want to support ATRs please circulate their petition around your school and post their fact sheet. Also urge your delegate and chapter leader to support their motion at the Delegate Assembly. Every teacher is potentially an ATR. The DOE can manipulate just about any school into being closed by packing it with kids and withholding resources.


On Wednesday, October 15, we will gather outside the UFT Delegate Assembly, starting at 3:30, 52 Broadway. Please join us outside and stay for the D.A. if you can. We'll be there with press packets, petitions, fact sheets -- we need to get out the ATRs real story.

We're calling on the UFT to hold a rally in front of the Department of Education and demand all ATRs who want positions be placed before any new teachers are hired. We also need to advocate for teaching fellows who have been told they will be "terminated" if they are not placed in positions by December.

Here's the update:

We're starting to push back against the slanderous ATR teacher-bashing in the media, as well as the wall of silence from the UFT on the "invisible" ATRS. It looks like several reporters are working on stories for the NY media. And after months of near-silence, the New York Teacher finally has a two-page spread on ATRs, including personal accounts from the teachers themselves.

Petitions are coming in from many schools--both the big high schools, and also, importantly, from some of the new "small schools". This is important because we need unity between us union-savvy veteran teachers and the newer teachers whom the DOE has tried to separate out in the small schools.

Some teachers will also present the petitions at the UFT Exec Board meeting on Tuesday October14, 6 pm, at 52 Broadway. Come if you can!

There's still time to petition at your school.

Here is the petition, the motion that will be presented at the D.A., and a fact sheet entitled "Not the NY Post -- The Real Facts about the ATRs."

----Marjorie Stamberg, ATR Ad hoc committee

View pdfs
The Real Facts About ATRs
http://a.nnotate.com/php/pdfnotate.php?d=2008-10-13&c=yUucG6w9#page1

Petition to UFT: Let ATRs Teach
http://a.nnotate.com/php/pdfnotate.php?d=2008-10-13&c=LoVTXkJZ#page1

ATR Motion for Delegate Assembly
http://a.nnotate.com/php/pdfnotate.php?d=2008-10-13&c=yUucG6w9#page1

Michelle (Take no prisoners) Rhee Swings the Ax

Michelle Rhee appoints a principal over parent objections in July. Then fires her on October. There's stability for you. It seems the principal fought for resources for the students and parents. Fighting for kids? A no-no in Rheeland.

For more on Ed in DC read union Exec Bd member Candi Peterson's blog The Washington Teacher. In the DC teachers union, an exec bd member can actually disagree with the leadership. Unike the Unity monolith here in NYC.

Update: - http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1008/561119.html


Posted by Leonie Haimson:

Michelle (Take no prisoners) Rhee swings the ax – and removes a principal that she had just hired in July. It’s beginning to sound in DC like the last stages of the French Revolution.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dc/2008/10/rhee_swings_the_ax.html

As is customary with personnel matters, Rhee did not explain her reason for the abrupt move, which sparked a torrent of e-mails and phone calls to The Wire from angry parents.

BenZion was not the first choice of a school community panel that screened principal candidates this summer. But Rhee chose her nonetheless.

"Dr. BenZion took her job seriously and believed it was her job to advocate for the resources we needed, said PTA president Earl Yates. "You have to speculate there was some head-banging."

BenZion did not respond to an e-mail request for comment. In a message she sent to the Shepherd listserv, Friday afternoon, she said:

My Dear Parents,

You have heard by now, that the Shepherd school community has lost its principal today.
According to the Chancellor I am not the right fit to this community and it is best for the children that I am replaced.

I feel as if the flower has just began to bloom and was just stepped on. It has been a privilege to get to know each of you.

Motion on ATRs for the UFT Delegate Assembly

Read the call of the ATRs we posted a few days ago. Here is their motion which they will try to present at today's Delegate Assembly.

Motion

ATR Urgent Situation

WHEREAS, at the start of this school year, classes are more crowded than ever, state money budgeted for reducing class size is used for other purposes, and more than half (54 percent) of New York City schools have seen their class sizes or student-teacher ratios increase in recent years; and

WHEREAS, almost 1,400 teachers are assigned to the Absent Teacher Reserve, in many cases because their schools have been reorganized out from under them, and due to the new funding formulate which works against senior teachers; and

WHEREAS, these teachers are highly qualified, yet are kept in substitute pools, and sometimes even prevented from teaching; and

WHEREAS, the mainstream media, the mayor, the chancellor and the “New Teacher Project,” funded by the DOE, are scape-goating teachers in a publicity barrage, trying to break our contract and put ATR teachers on unpaid leave after a year or 18 months; and

WHEREAS, ATR teachers are facing stepped-up harassment from principals such as formal observations in classes outside their license area, truncated or no pre-ob conference, and where the sub has not had the opportunity to know the students' particular interests and abilities; and

WHEREAS, many new teachers in the Teaching Fellows program have also not received assignments and are facing the threat of being terminated in December and dropped from the program if they do not find a position; and

WHEREAS, this is a vital issue for the UFT and affects all union brothers and sisters—teachers, paras, secretaries, speech teachers and pathologists, counselors, social workers/psychologists, and others -- by enabling the DOE to drop tenured staff from their positions and leave them in limbo; and

WHEREAS, students suffer when the DOE refuses to reduce class size while keeping qualified teachers out of the classroom; and

WHEREAS, the UFT has called for a moratorium on new hiring until the ATRs are placed, yet this proposal has been ignored by the Tweed, the Mayor’s Office and the Media.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the UFT will organize a mass citywide rally to show our unity and strength, calling on the NYC Department of Education to reduce class size and give assigned positions to all teachers in the Absent Teacher Reserve who want assignments before any new teachers are hired; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Teaching Fellows, many of whom gave up jobs and traveled to NYC to become teachers, not be terminated, and instead be placed in positions in the DOE, before any new teachers are hired.

The Delicious Irony of the UFT Suit on Political Freedom

In the entire world of UFTdom, this lawsuit has to be one of the funniest things to come out of 52 Broadway in a long time.

With only weeks to go before the November 4 elections, the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) today [Oct. 10] filed a federal court lawsuit claiming that a New York City Department of Education policy banning educators from wearing campaign pins in schools violates their constitutional rights to free speech and political expression.
- UFT press release, Oct. 10, 2008. [Full release at Norms Notes.]

Ahhh, the hypocrisy of this defense of free speech by the UFT/Unity Caucus, the very organization that has its people pull opposition literature from mail boxes and has taken the astounding stand that groups critical of the leadership only have the right to go into schools to communicate their views once every three years during the 6 week UFT election period.

“The ban on members wearing lapel pins is bad enough,” Weingarten told reporters. “Now the Department of Education wants to restrict the communications between the UFT and its members through the regular channels utilized for such communications such as union bulletin boards and employee mailboxes, both of which are out of students’ view.

Unity Caucus chapter leaders have refused to allow anyone but them to post material on the UFT bulletin boards. UFT district reps have gone into schools and removed ICE and Ed Notes from mailboxes.

Have you been to a UFT Delegate Assembly and seen Unity delegates hoot and boo members of the opposition? You'd think you were at a Sarah Palin rally. Just short of, "Kill Jeff Kaufman. He's a terrorist."

The UFT's filing of a law suit against the DOE for banning teachers from wearing political buttons as an attack on free speech is akin to John McCain's attempt to distract people from the economy by raising straw men. And talk about character assassination.

"Are these the kind of leaders we want running our union" is a question asked by the card mailed directly to thousands of teachers' home? Distorting the ICE/TJC platform and going after Randi Weingarten's opponent in the 2007 election Kit Wainer's personal political views.

Remind you of the scare tactic character assassination of Barack Obama by the McCain campaign? It is a perfect example of the kinds of attacks the UFT/Unity Caucus machine engages in to slime the opposition.

Unity Caucus' Jeff Zahler, now Director of Staff at the American Federation of Teachers, told a Delegate Assembly he was proud of the Unity Caucus campaign literature that attacked Wainer for his socialist views. The only thing they didn't include was connecting Kit to Bill Ayres.

Here is a link to some ed notes commentary on the Unity slime literature.
http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2007/03/unity-propaganda-machine-treads-in.html