NYC Parents Won't Back Down - Rally Before Film Premiere - Sunday

Please consider coming to this event and help spread the word!

PARENTS "Won’t Back Down"

FROM FIGHTING THE CORPORATE TAKEOVER OF OUR SCHOOLS!

The film “Won’t Back Down” is backed by conservative billionaires Rupert Murdoch and Philip Anschtuz. The law portrayed in the movie, called parent trigger, claims to be about parent empowerment but actually promotes the privatization of public schools and blaming teachers for struggling schools. The movie claims to be 'inspired by actual events' but not a single school in the country has successfully used Parent Trigger. 

This Sunday, at the red carpet world premiere of the movie, JOIN us in showing Hollywood & the paparazzi the REAL parents who "won't back down."

=> Sunday at 4:30pm

Ziegfeld Theatre

Meet at corner on 54th st. and 6th Ave. Midtown

Subways: B, D, E to 7th ave, N, Q, R or F to 57th St.-7th Ave.

For more info, call or Email Julian Vinocur (212) 328-9268, julian@aqeny.org

Irony: Chicago Community Organizers Supported the Teacher Union

Obama's successors in Chicago take a different tack towards teachers.

The collaborative and other neighborhood groups were working with CTU President Karen Lewis and her caucus years before she ran and beat the CTU old liners. That partnership helped lay the groundwork for her election..... They are the shadow strikers. Behind the bullhorns and police lines, hundreds of community organizers and their compatriots strategized, marched and danced last week in solidarity with the Chicago Teachers Union. Quiet as it’s kept, the city’s robust community-organizing movement has been a potent sister act for the CTU. --- SunTimes


The comment and the article below illustrate the work that unions in today's world must do to win anything.

For teachers this is particularly important. Call it social justice and member-driven unionism -- for those critics who say a group like MORE should only pay attention to bread and butter issues -- that our job is not to worry about the kids. Unless the union worries about the kids they will find themselves standing alone. And don't forget. The parents of the kids are also workers and their support has a duality to it that resonates throughout.

Indeed, when we were forming the Grassroots Education Movement in January 2009 we heard about a GEM in Chicago that was aligned with the CORE Caucus and we adopted the name GEM here in NYC. GEM here is not the same as Chicago GEM, which was not a teacher oriented group but a coalition of community groups.


From a comment on the MORE Discussion list

The article linked below high lights some things about the Chicago struggle that I think are very important.

One of the most important lessons from Chicago, for me, is that it is possible for unions in the US to use strikes around contracts and collective bargaining as just one tactic in a larger ongoing strategy around a larger program of demands that are in the interests of all working people. Democratized, militant unions, in this strategic framework, become one player -- albeit a major, leading player -- within a larger movement involving other people and organizations, and a political campaign to change legislation and build political power.

I have not really seen unions do this in the US before. The strike and the contract are seen as settling certain specific issues, within a much larger agenda that goes far beyond the members of the union. This is what it means to politicize day-to-day problems beyond the union contract. It also presents an incredible example of how to break down barriers between teachers and working people in general.

In Chicago community organizations "were working with CTU President Karen Lewis and her caucus years before she ran and beat the CTU old liners.... The organizers are leveraging the strike to elevate causes that can’t be negotiated in the teachers’ contract. Things like smaller class sizes, an enriched curriculum, even “fighting to have books available on the first day of class”.... After the settlement, organizers can mount a citywide campaign to address the formidable list of concerns left on the table. The likely closing of dozens of public schools by next summer. Stark inequities in school resources. Crushing, unceasing street violence. “I wish a contract could settle everything, but it’s a much longer fight,”

http://www.suntimes.com/news/washington/15143757-452/shadow-strikers-marched-with-ctu.html#.UFi0TFMB1To.facebook

Below the break I included the entire article:

ATRs Meet Today/Send Letter to Chicago Teachers

...the stories from teachers with lunatic principals keep rolling in.

The Curse of the ATR

We thought that we had heard it all, but this one's really novel: a fellow lands in the ATR after being accused by his Principal of trying to put a curse on her.  This new contributor goes by the name of Burn Down the House. -- burndownthehouse---http://nycatr.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-curse-of-atr.html

The story above is pretty funny. A newly minted ATR after winning his 3020a hearing after the principal claimed her house had burned down due to the curse ---and the stories from teachers with lunatic principals keep rolling in.

[Must read - In the "you get what you pay for" category - how an experienced teacher ATR doing a good job with a difficult class was shunned for a brand new teacher who is having diffuculty: The Invisible ATR]

One major issue in Chicago was the fate of their version of ATRs. Teachers are paid for only a year (or less) when their schools close in Chicago and if they don't get a job they are laid off. The union was demanding teachers get hired from this pool of laid off teachers.

Here in NYC these teachers are paid forever, a significant difference and I would guess a key point in the level of union activism in Chicago vs here. Our ATRs are not treated very well -- a major aim of Bloomberg is to go to the Chicago model but the UFT leadership has seen the handwriting on the wall -- if they allow this to go they would face some serious opposition to their control of the union. So the UFT would also be happy to see the ATR issue go away so they are willing to allow a degrading of the conditions -- rotating to a new school every week, no representation within the union, etc. Those who are not resilient or are ill, may just go away by leaving. With every batch of closing schools the pool will be replenished, an ebb and flow. Eventually the closing schools mania will slow down as schools that replace them fail.

Before the updates from the ATR world from http://nycatr.blogspot.com/
here is a report from the so-called "job fair":

If anyone had a chance to attend the job fair this afternoon, saw it was a joke.  I would guess only 5 schools showed up  I even saw one pair from a school get up and leave shortly after 4:30 when they saw what a waste of time it was.  I thought I would see people I knew and only saw one, not a lot of teachers there, maybe a couple hundred.  Most everyone I spoke with were new ATR's and were really in the dark.  Told all to check ednotes and become a member of the GEM/ATR group.  I ended up talking with and answering questions from a small group of ATR's.  As I left, I stopped by the UFT table and spoke with four of our representatives sitting there speaking to no one but themselves.  As I drilled them softly about Union politics and issues, I was told not to be sarcastic by one of them as the conversation progressed.  I then ended the conversation and told them I was doing more to inform our members then they would just sitting there.   Spoke to a disgruntled former AP in the ATR pool outside.. 

Another Manhattan HS ATR placed in a school in the same building I am in this month, told me she received an invitation for the Queens, Brooklyn, SI fair last week but not one for today 

I also received an email today from HR stating that I am part of an initiative to have field supervisors come and observe in my substitute teaching role.

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NYC ATRs send warning to Chicago

Chicago teachers have a new contract that will require the city to "hire back" 50% of any teachers that lose their positions due to school closings; in order to meet the quota, some teachers will be retained as part of a "substitute pool" (see here). In other words, the Windy City will have its very own version of Gotham's Absent Teacher Reserve.

When the GEM/ATR Committee heard about this, they sent some words of warning to their brothers and sisters in Chicago. The GEM/ATR communique is must reading for teachers in both cities.


Dear Sisters and Brothers in the Chicago Teachers Union,

The GEM/ATR Committee's advice on how to be vigilant in protecting the integrity of hiring pools:

1. We wish to warn you that, if left unchecked, Chicago Public Schools will probably hire new, inexperienced teachers, from organizations such as Teach for America recruits, instead of teachers from your hiring pool. We are saying this based on our experience in New York City. The administration uses budget formulas which powerfully incentivize principals to hire new teachers instead of the excessed teachers from the closed schools. Our administration then presents the fiction that the excessed teachers are undesirable/unemployable, when in actuality the administration just wants to hire new teachers over older teachers, because they cost less to the schools.

2. Again, from our experience, if there is no enforcement provision and there is no transparency on the issue of hires in your city, your BOE, just like ours, will not fully comply with their agreement. To avoid these problems, there should be a joint committee between the union and a board of education that is supposed to evaluate the actual performance of the agreement (which we supposedly have in N.Y.C.), AND that the results be regularly published so that union members can be informed, in order to mobilize union members to hold board of education leaders accountable. In New York, ATRs --excessed teachers, are in the dark as to whether the agreement is being enforced. We have just learned through the media that our ranks stand at a record 1,800 teachers in the excess pool. (Just from casual conversations, many of us learn of positions that were open but were not advertised/posted, even though they are supposed to be advertised.) In other words, if you do not have enforcement provisions and consequences for the BOE, they will not fully follow the agreement.

3. Union leaders should be given timely information as to the performance of the agreement. By timely, we mean specific deadlines upon which specific information is shared (such as the number of excessed teachers, which licenses, number of new hires, the licenses of the excessed teachers, and proof of advertising/posting of every filled position.)

4. If the agreement/contract is not followed by a board of education there should be consequences to the board, such as allowing more input from teachers and parents as to policy decisions. For example teachers picked by the union, or parents picked by PTAs, would be allowed to vote on board of education policy making committees. To unelected boards of education, we would say: "You should have no fear of getting increased democracy in policy decisions, if you just follow through with the agreement."

In solidarity, the GEM/ATR Committee, of excessed NYC teachers.

(For full disclosure, we are unrepresented dues-paying members of the United Federation of Teachers.) gemnyc@gmail.com

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Also from the blog:

1,800 Teachers in the Absent Teacher Reserve

Rahm Emanuel to Remove His Children From Lab School

Ed Notes Exclusive:
Celebrating the end of the strike and embarrassed over Chicago parent Matt Farmer's revelations of the kinds of privileges children enjoy at the Lab School, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced he will remove his children from the elite school immediately and place them in schools in Chicago's roughest neighborhoods. 

Emanuel made his decision after viewing a video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMUboOIQT48) of Farmer comparing the services  – small class sizes, libraries, physical education, books, working bathrooms – Emanuel's and other kids, the Obama kids included, enjoyed at the Lab school, services denied to the majority of Chicago public school students.

Emanuel was so shaken he was heard to say, "What the fuck."

Emanuel is actively searching for the most under-resourced schools with the highest class sizes he can find for his children. President Obama announced if he should lose the election and have to go back to Chicago he will follow Emanuel's lead and place Sasha and Malika in the same school Emanuel chooses for his kids.

Emanuel felt challenged to prove wrong the Chicago Teachers Union's claims that learning in class sizes over 40 in non-air conditoned rooms with few wraparound services can be harmful to kids. "Mr. Emanuel will show how his own kids can learn in these conditions as well as they did at the Lab school," said a spokesperson for the Mayor.

"Rahm is actively searching through a list of the most under-resourced schools with the highest class sizes he can find to make his point. His problem is that there are so many choices – and the Mayor does believe in  choice – he is having trouble making up his mind from the hundreds of schools starved of resources. He has found classes over 50 but is still looking, sure he can find class sizes that will break the 60 barrier. The more the merrier," said the spokesperson.

After Emanuel's children get the highest scores in the school - and if they don't he will put them up for adoption – he and Obama will make a joint announcement that the school will be closed and all the teachers fired.

Emanuel had no comment other than to say, "A GIANT FUCK YOU TO KAREN LEWIS."

Farmer's video:



Warning: [satire alert]
--------
Emanuel apparently will not be watching the interview below:

I am writing to share a 30-minute interview that we broadcast on Democracy Now! today. As Chicago public school students return to school following the nine-day Chicago Teachers Union strike, Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers Union joined us to discuss the beginning and subsequent suspension of the first teachers strike in Chicago since 1987. Ms. Lewis is also part of the union's Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators - known as CORE and used to teach chemistry at Martin Luther King High School on the South Side of Chicago.

You can watch this interview here: http://www.democracynow.org/2012/9/19/chicago_teachers_union_president_karen_lewis

Socialist Worker: A victory for solidarity and struggle

Here is the other side as follow-up to my last post from Modern School that branded the settlement as a defeat (Modern School Views Strike End as Defeat). 

Comment: Elizabeth Schulte

A victory for solidarity and struggle

Elizabeth Schulte reports on the proud conclusion of the Chicago teachers strike.

Posted at: http://socialistworker.org/2012/09/19/victory-solidarity-and-struggl

September 19, 2012

 
Chicago teachers on the march during their nine-day strike

CHICAGO TEACHERS are returning to work after a nine-day strike--standing proud after driving back Mayor Rahm Emanuel's attack on their jobs, their union and their schools.

Late on Tuesday afternoon, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) House of Delegates voted overwhelmingly in favor of suspending their strike and going back to work on Wednesday. The tentative agreement that the CTU reached with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) now goes to members for a ratification vote over the next two weeks.

"I'm excited, and most teachers echo this sentiment," said Lawrence Balark, a teacher at Moos Elementary on the city's West Side. "We are going back to work, and standing strong in solidarity in doing so. It was definitely a victory. So many other unions have had to accept merit pay, but I'm proud to say that we held that off."

According to Jackson Potter, staff coordinator for the union:

We feel empowered. We feel stronger as a union. Some elements of the contract weren't entirely what we wanted on the economic issues, but we won some important non-economic improvements in areas such as professional autonomy, language to prohibit bullying by principals, and an appeals process for teacher evaluation and disciplinary decisions.

As Potter added, "We built power, and we will be more effective in our buildings when we return. And this will make us more able to stop abusive principals, to organize the charters and to stop the school closures."
Rahm Emanuel pulled out every weapon in his arsenal--from character assassination to divide-and-conquer tactics with other unions to the threat of a court injunction--but the teachers never blinked. "We're glad to be going back on our own terms," Susan Hickey, an 18-year social worker, told NBC's Channel 5 News.

Modern School Views Strike End as Defeat

The elephant is still in the room:

What about the good teachers who were laid off from low income, low performing schools? What about all those current teachers who will be laid off over the next five years as Chicago shuts down another 120 schools and converts 60 more to private charter schools? How is it a victory for the union, if they will lose thousands of members as a result of these layoffs? How is it a defeat for the corporate ed reform agenda when they will get another 60 charter schools and a weakening of the union as a result? -- Modern School blog

SEE THE OTHER SIDE: Socialist Worker: A victory for solidarity and struggle

Rahmbo will be vicious, closing as many schools as he can and throwing thousands of teachers out of jobs. I don't know that they could have stopped this in the contract. The strike gives them some leverage in the public debate that will come over the closing schools and allows the union to mobilize masses of people to fight these closings, especially if they can sell them as retaliation. 

I don't see that the democratic process inside the union, so unusual -- and I contend that the lack of democracy within top-down teacher unions like the UFT is as much a reason for their decline as the attacks on them --- and national debate that is taking place as a result of the strike as a defeat.

Let's get all sides in the discussion.

NYCORE on Friday night and MORE on Saturday will be talking about the Chicago story. So come on down and chip in.

Substance has also published various voices in Chicago. James Eterno at ICE and I at Ed Notes reprinted some of these: ICEUFT Blog.

Posted on the Big Education Ape, a parent blog. http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/

Here is the Modern School post in full:

Chicago Teachers Strike Ends in Defeat for Teachers and Unions

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) voted today to end their strike. 98% of the 800 delegates voted in favor of ending the strike, according to the New York Times, though the union’s 26,000 members would still have to ratify the new contract, which could take several weeks.

The new contract would give teachers a modest raise and prohibit merit pay, but it would also lengthen the work day by 90 minutes and require that 30% of teachers’ evaluations be based on their students’ test scores. The new contract would also reserve half of new job openings for laid off teachers, but only if they had strong ratings based on these test scores.

Virtually everyone is reveling and calling it a victory for teachers and a defeat for corporate Ed Reform. Mike Klonsky called it a “Big victory for teachers.” His brother, Fred Klonsky, said “Most thought it was a win. Few of those I talked to were satisfied. None thought the strike should continue. All mistrust the Mayor. Most know that the fight doesn’t stop here.”

Am I missing something?

How is it a victory for teachers (or students), or a defeat for the corporate ed reform agenda, to accept that 30% of teacher evaluations will be based on unreliable and inconsistent student test data (see here, here and here)? Considering that student test data, also known as Value Added Measures, or VAM, is almost entirely worthless as a measure of teacher effectiveness, it should not be allowed at all. Furthermore, the 30% rule will only encourage more teaching to the test, dumbing down and narrowing of the curriculum, and laying off of perfectly good teachers because they happen to work in low income schools, where student test scores and gains on those scores tend to be lower.

Likewise, how is it a victory for teachers if only half of new job openings go to laid off teachers and only to those who have high VAM scores? What about the good teachers who were laid off from low income, low performing schools? What about all those current teachers who will be laid off over the next five years as Chicago shuts down another 120 schools and converts 60 more to private charter schools? How is it a victory for the union, if they will lose thousands of members as a result of these layoffs? How is it a defeat for the corporate ed reform agenda when they will get another 60 charter schools and a weakening of the union as a result?

Yes, a prolonged strike would have been difficult to maintain and could have cost the union millions of dollars in fines and legal fees if the injunction sought by Mayor Emanuel were to go through, which it likely would. Yes, it would have been difficult to maintain public support. And yes, according to Illinois state law (SB 7), teachers are forbidden from bargaining anything less than the 30% floor they won for the percentage of their evaluations that will be based on student test scores. So, yes, this 30% is certainly better than 50%.

Nevertheless, SB 7 was an attack on collective bargaining and union power. Therefore, by accepting the 30%, CTU is capitulating to state-mandated restrictions on union activities. For the rest of the nation, the message is clear: Collective bargaining does not have to be banned outright, as it was in Wisconsin. It can simply be so hamstrung by legislatively-imposed pseudoscientific mumbo jumbo (e.g., VAM) that it becomes an impotent and meaningless endeavor.

Ending the strike may have been the most expedient tactic under the current circumstances. It certainly is easier, cheaper and less fraught than continuing to fight. And the teachers did halt some of the most onerous concessions that were being sought. However, the 30% should be seen as a defeat, not only because it will cause many good teachers to receive bad evaluations and potentially lose their jobs, but because it will encourage further legislative and legal attacks on union power.

============
The opinions expressed on EdNotesOnline are solely those of Norm Scott and are not to be taken as official positions (though Unity Caucus/New Action slugs will try to paint them that way) of any of the groups or organizations Norm works with: ICE, GEM, MORE, Change the Stakes, NYCORE, FIRST Lego League NYC, Rockaway Theatre Co., Active Aging, The Wave, Aliens on Earth, etc.

The Strike is Over: Who Were the Targets? Rahm, Barack, and Randi

There were comments out there that the CTU was being pressured to settle by Randi and the AFT. No doubt. Get this thing off the front pages, FAST, before it infects teachers all over the nation even more than it has.

I know, in this time of unity and joy we should all unite, but I can't resist.

This strike was a revolt against ed deform on all levels, including the national leadership of the teacher unions. A careful observer at the AFT convention would have noticed the tension between the CTU and the Unity Caucus UFTers who opposed Chicago on school closings, charters and testing resolutions. I heard the expression "assholes" more than once from CTUers (I have a great video I have to dig up of a CTU retiree who smashed them to bits).

The strike was not only against Rahm, but Obama, and most importantly for us, against Randi and the AFT and Mulgrew and the UFT and where they have helped lead the union movement.

Ravitch on Karen Lewis tonight -

The union was fortunate in having Karen Lewis as its president. She was one of them. She had taught chemistry in the Chicago public schools for more than 20 years. She is one of the few--perhaps the only--union leader in the nation who is Nationally Board Certified, a mark of her excellence as a teacher.

Sorry, I can't resist this obvious, perhaps unintentional) comparison to you know who.

Even Joe Nocera in today's Times (and though far from perfect, he is the best of the lot on education) put to bed the idea that the ed deform movement has any value (see below) yet Randi has slavered to convince the elites that she wants the unions to be on board, almost apologizing for the kinds of action Chicago took – before they struck, that is.

Randi will slither out of this, but must it gall her that Karen Lewis is being raved about and has become a hero to teachers all over the nation -- along with Diane Ravitch. Will Karen be a threat to Randi nationally? I'm betting not for a long time due to the way the AFT is structured - the control Unity Caucus exerts over it.

There are going to be lots of blog posts and all sorts of articles all over the place so I'll let you find your own. I'm interested in comparisons between Chicago and the rest of the teacher union world, in particular here in NYC.

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Contract details
The details are posted  online below for  review before voting. Included are pay scales, frequently asked questions and a thank you flyer to the parents and students of Chicago. The text will be voted on in a few weeks. http://www.ctunet.com/for-members/strike-central

Reality-Based Educator commented right out of the box tonight:

Chicago Teacher Strike Suspended

I couldn't be prouder of my fellow teachers.

They stood up to the corporate reformers, they stood up to Rahm "F---ing" Emanuel, they put the Obama education agenda on trial, they got people talking about class size and liberal arts and humanities classes and the absurdity of VAM and the damage poverty does to children.

Then they showed how democracy works by taking the extra two days to read over the contract in detail, talk about this with their colleagues and families, then call for a suspension of the strike.

The concern trolls in the corporate media hated that last part.

How dare they show how a real democratic operation works rather than operate as some top-down organization wherein the members do what the leadership wants!

----
As CTU said in a statement:

“Our brothers and sisters throughout the country have been told that corporate ‘school reform’ was unstoppable, that merit pay had to be accepted and that the public would never support us if we decided to fight. Cities everywhere have been forced to accept performance pay,” the statement said.

“Not here in Chicago. Months ago, CTU members won a strike authorization, one that our enemies thought would be impossible. Now we have stopped the board are imposing merit pay! We preserved our lanes and steps when the politicians and press predicted they were history. We held the line on healthcare costs. We have tremendous victories in this contract; however, it is by no means perfect. While we did not win on every front and will need to continue our struggle into the future, we soundly defended our profession from an aggressive and dishonest attack. We owe our victories to each and every member of this rank and rile union. Our power comes from the bottom up.”

Are you listening, Randi?

How about you, Mike?

I know you are.

Because what happened in Chicago must scare the shit out of you guys...

Nocera
Joe Nocera actually wrote some good stuff today in the Times, being one of the first main-stream columnists to lay the myth of ed deform to rest (unlike Kristof and Brooks to name two. And Paul Krugman, where you on education - fear of having to slam Obama?)

The Chicago teacher strike exemplifies, in stark terms, how misguided the battle over education has become... City Hall is fighting to institute reforms no top-performing country has ever seen fit to use, and which probably won’t make much difference if they are instituted. 

 Yes, Nocera is one of the first to say what Diane and Leonie have been saying for many years. Actually the "reforms" will make a difference -- and have -- negatively.

But Nocera also gets this wrong:

The teachers are fighting for the things industrial unions have always fought for: seniority, favorable work rules and fierce resistance to performance measures.

He lumps these new union leaders in with the old union bosses. Their fight goes so far beyond narrow industrial bread and butter issues. Funny how I get criticized when I promote the idea of social justice unionism -- "stick to the issues that concern teachers" -- like kids and their parents don't concern teachers. And yes this contract we help up partly by teachers who felt the kids were shortchanged but read The Catalyst for details of the debates that took place inside the union yesterday and today and other good reporting.

You might also check out Richard Kahlenberg at The New Republic:

Can the Chicago Teachers’ Strike Fix Democratic Education Reform?

Whatever the particulars of the final resolution to the strike, the dustup will be successful if it shakes up the wrongheaded, yet increasingly bipartisan, sense that teachers and their unions are what ail American education. Students in Chicago and other big cities face significant challenges, including poverty and segregation and, yes, some incompetent educators. But Democrats need to get about the business of real education reform that addresses all of these questions—without demeaning the vast majority of teachers.

How interesting that the writer of Shanker's bio which pointed to how much of ed deform Shanker signed on to and promoted (abandoning the real fight against poverty as a cause of poor school performance and signing on to the "you can improve schools without resources or reducing class size but by improving teaching" essence of the deform movement.

Substance does not have the stories yet but check this one out:

Chicago you are not alone... World-wide support grows for Chicago Teachers Union strike

Below is a full news article:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/18/13938248-chicago-teachers-agree-to-end-strike-classes-to-resume-wednesday?lite

Chicago teachers agree to end strike, classes to resume Wednesday

Eterno on Chicago – the Positive Spin

I want to post this from James as a follow-up to his and my post yesterday from Susan Zupan, a Chicago teacher unhappy with the contract. Note how the press (and Unity slug Peter Goodman, who I'll deal with later) have been slamming Karen for losing control of her own members because she used inflammatory language. Really amazing but not surprising given that their worlds run top down and she is supposed to sell it to them and if they don't want to buy, beat them over the head with threats and scare tactics like Unity does here in NYC. For those not aware, Susbtance where all these articles are coming from is run by George and Sharon Schmidt, both CORE members -- and George works for the CTU but doesn't feel he has to shut down Substance from presenting wide points of view. This is what democracy looks like but Mulgrew/Weingarten/Goodman need the space telescope to recognize it.

James posted on the ICE blog:

MORE CHICAGO

This morning I wanted to write an account of last week's UFT Chapter Leaders' meeting but instead I have been listening to Chicago radio, reading blogs and of course Substance for any news on the strike. I believe this is a crucial point in labor and education history.

Reviewing yesterday's post reminded me that I copied a piece that was quite critical of where the Chicago labor dispute may be heading so today we offer a different view in the form of a comment in Substance from Jessica Marshall.  Ms. Marshall doesn't think the strikers can hold out for much longer however she states that the strike should be seen as a huge victory when put into context.

By: Jessica Marshall

Strike is a tactic; not a strategy

I'm disappointed to read here, and in a different article, the idea that ending the strike and eventually even accepting the contract is tantamount to selling out. The idea put forth by George S. that we stay out on strike for weeks and weeks is irresponsible and unrealistic.

Reminder: Our strategy is to build schools that Chicago students deserve and that respects the people who work in those schools. We do this through building unity with parents, students, community, labor and others.

Our tactic was to use a strike, withholding our labor, in order to push the Board to negotiate with us and move on their position. We also used the strike to strengthen our ties with the above mentioned coalition partners.

In many ways we have been successful. Public opinion is on our side, the contract proposal defeats merit pay, limits test scores influence on our evaluation, restores language from previous contract that the board threatened to remove, adds language to provide some, though limited, hopes of job security for displaced teachers, etc.

This contract is not the contract of our dreams. However, given the balance of forces and the current political realities this is an absolute victory for our union. In other cities around the country they are taking setback after setback and merit pay and other schemes are being shoved down their throats. We have shown through the strike that we can stand up to the deformers and slow down their agenda. We've inspired educators and the labor movement around the country to stand up.

Complete victory? Nope.

Good use of the strike as a tactic? Absolutely.

Now we move forward and continue to build our coalition and fight for our kids and our members. A strike is not the only tool in our toolbox and while it is effective it can also backfire and break the unity that we have built. We do not have a union membership committed to weeks on end of strike; while some do, most of my members certainly don't have that stamina. We will not enjoy endless weeks of parent support; especially as working class parents risk their own jobs and are struggling to figure out how to care for their children. Finally, do we believe that a judge will not grant an injunction? And if he does, is our union prepared to send our leadership to jail to defy the injunction? Are our members ready for this level of action? Is this even an appropriate step to take?

This is not a game; to push for a strike for strike's sake without an accurate, objective look at the balance of forces is irresponsible at best and dangerous for our union and the unity we have built.

I'm betting that this type of discussion is taking place right now at the House of Delegates meeting. People in Chicago have been damaged and struck back at the empire. If they choose to hold onto their ammo to fight another day, I'm with them. If not, I'm with them too.

 

MORE-Labor Notes Chapter Leader Organizing Training, Wed Sept 19 5PM

The UFT will train chapter leaders in how to understand the contract. But it will not train people in the essence of unionism -- organizing. In this session we will go beyond routine "business unionism," and discuss ways of we can promote activism in our UFT chapters. --- Kit Wainer

Did you see all those relatively young teachers in Chicago picketing? You don't go zero to 60 without doing the scut work of organizing.

Do you think this has nothing to do with what went on in Chicago? In order for MORE to be more like CORE you have to get involved and help shape MORE (right now a super democratic organization) into a vision for change. We know Unity is way more competent at controlling the members than the Unity-like UPC in Chicago that CORE defeated, so we will not see a Chicago-like takeover of the union in such a short time. I am not in tune with every single aspect of MORE but I am signing on for the struggle  -- until there are a lot more people ready to do most of scut work of organizing 101, at which point I will retire to my new air jet tub and soak the old bones for days at a time (following the lead of my dad who died in May at 94 years old and attributed his relatively good health to his morning soak.)

Here is a message from Kit Wainer -- who by the way, until MORE came into existence a few months, I had not had the pleasure to work with before as we were with different groups.

Folks: I want to urge everyone to try to attend (or send a fellow activist from your chapter) to the MORE-Labor Notes training session -- "Secrets of a Successful Organizer" -- this coming Wednesday September 19. This will be especially useful for new chapter leaders but it will also be useful for anyone trying to be a union activist within your school. The UFT will train chapter leaders in how to understand the contract. But it will not train people in the essence of unionism -- organizing. In this session we will go beyond routine "business unionism," and discuss ways of we can promote activism in our UFT chapters. We will discuss specifics such as how to listen to and dialogue with our colleagues, how to spot potential activists and organizers, how to determine which issues will interest people and how to get them involved. New chapter leaders in particular are under tremendous pressure to provide union services and are expected to protect members' rights. And the pressure can lead to demoralization and burnout. In this workshop we'll help you figure out how to get other people involved and figure out realistic strategies for winning things you and your members will consider important. Please try to make it! 

The session will be on Wednesday, September 19 at 5 PM at the Murphy Institute, 25 West 43rd Street, Room 18D. I have attached the flyer which has all the information on it. Feel free to invite others you think might be interested. And if you have any questions please contact me.

Kit Wainer- KitWainer@yahoo.com

A Chapter Leader Informs Members About Charters

Hey teachers, don't go on the radio to talk about charters if you don't know what you are talking about.

I was listening to the Brian Lehrer show on NPR yesterday where there was talk about charters. Two teachers called up and while they made some good points they also made inaccurate statements and missed the most important points --

• that the very idea of a lottery is a form of cherry picking 
• that the advertising for charters to targeted audiences also is cherry picking 
• that if some child or parent who are "difficult" should get through the lottery they are counseled out 
• the impact of co-locations which squeezes the public schools and denies them the ability to grow or offer the same options the charter in the same building does
• that the DOE, the very people running public schools actually favor charters and starve the public schools to make the charters look better.

I could go on.

The UFT has done nothing to educate its members as to the threat of charters. Talk to any teacher in Chicago and they will nail every point. Maybe it takes losing 20-25% of your members before the point gets made.

Here a chapter leader takes the bull by the horns and sends his staff the updated color version of the Grassroots Education Movement pamphlet, "The Truth About Charters," embedded below. I have hard copies if you want a few to share with your colleagues. Or you can download and share with your colleagues here.

Dear All, 

I am sending you a very good flier, made by my friends of the Grassroots Education Movement, NYC teachers and proud union members,  to give you a little more insight into this topic.  We will need to educate ourselves a lot more about this issue as it is no longer far away, affecting other schools or other cities. 

Eva Moskovitz, former NYC Councilwoman, with no background in education, someone who pays herself  a salary close to  400.000 dollars a year to run her growing education empire wants to co-locate one of her Harlem Success Academy schools inside the Washington Irving Campus. 

As proud PULIC school teachers we cannot ignore the implications of what it means to have more and more charter schools replacing public schools in this city, state and nation. 

Do you believe that education should be and should remain a public domain, overseen by democratically elected - the community representing, and accountable to the public - officials or should we hand over the education of our children to privately - many times FOR PROFIT - run hedge fund nourished, corporations to educate our children?

Do you think it's a good thing that unionized teachers have due process rights, spelled out rights and duties that have been fought for hard to achieve in a fair and democratic process we call "collective bargaining"?  

If you do think so, you know that it gives dignity and security to our members. It's not true that the unions want to protect bad and lazy teachers! 

Michael Mulgrew said it just last week when he addressed us at the Chapter Leader meeting on Wednesday:

He said: "Teaching is a challenging profession. Teaching is not for everyone. Not everyone can be a great teacher. We have no interest in protecting the worst teachers, but we have every interest in protecting the dignity, the working conditions and fairness for the vast majority of our teachers all of whom that are dedicated, compassionate and hard working."

Do you think that teaching should remain a profession that a dedicated teacher can expect to practice as a life long career, then you need to fight for public education?

Do you think it's great to transform the profession of teaching into a revolving door, where you hire young idealistic college grads for 2 or three years so they can move on to "real jobs" only to be replaced by a new crop new cheap teachers then you need to oppose the idea of charter schools?

Let's name the Elephant in the room:

The charterization of our public schools on a ideological level has NOTHING to do with improving the education of the children in this country but EVERYTHING to do with the privatization of Public Education. 

I really believe that. What is going on here is the corporatization of public education, the promise of profits for private corporations from a still largely untapped $600 billion market in this country. 

I hope you have a few minutes to read the flier "The Truth behind Charter Schools" and I hope you join us in educating ourselves and our community about this issue! 

Your United Federation of Teachers Chapter Leader, 

The Truth About Charter Schools in NYC

NYC teachers, Have you seen your growth scores?

I have heard that city teachers and principals have not seen their NYSED growth scores yet. They are available upon teacher and principal request 4-8 if the district does not give them out. I suspect that Tweed is holding them because they do not want teachers and principals to see how awful they are while they are negotiating APPR. Why don't city teachers and principals demand to see them? ----- Carol Burris

Have NYC teachers asked to see their growth scores?  Do they want to see them before they are incorporated in the new evaluation system? -- Leonie Haimson

Spread  the word that teachers should request to see their test scores NOW,  before this even worse system takes over next September. The UFT has to  agree to an evaluation system by around Jan 15 ---- Lisa North

Leonie issued this interesting bulletin - take heed, you won't be seeing the UFT battling in the streets over this.

FYI, the state technical docs prepared by the consultants AIR reveal that there was no attempt to control for class size, the racial/ethnic background of students, or many other variables that logically might affect outcomes.

They also apparently found big peer effects but did not control for them either – one reason that that charter schools do better on  some measures, because they can push out disruptive students.

Here is the link to where all of the technical manuals on growth scores reside.  http://engageny.org/resource/resources-about-state-growth-measures/ 

These were the only student/classroom level factors apparently considered:

--Economic disadvantage (ED) (but did not differentiate free lunch or reduced lunch – a big difference, with very different expected outcomes)

--Students with disabilities (SWDs) (but not types or severity of disability)

--English language learners (ELLs)

Also, I wonder if anyone knows the percentage NYC teachers were rated “ineffective” compared the relatively low figures statewide? 

With far larger classes on average in NYC, and larger numbers of free lunch and minority students, it wouldn’t surprise me if there were higher percentages of NYC teachers rated “ineffective”  here than elsewhere – penalized for teaching at risk students in worse conditions.

Follow-up

Carol Burris and I Dissect A Bizarre New York Times Editorial

CTU Member Susan Zupan: Strike thoughts

I read this on the ICE blog posted by James Eterno. 

It has some interesting perspectives from a teacher saying NO to the contract.

Strike thoughts... We need to read and understand the entire contract and discuss what we have done, won, and lost

Susan Zupan - September 17, 2012

After I send this to CORE, I will probably forward a copy to each CTU member of my school's faculty and staff. Like so many other schools out there, we have been doing everything-plus-beyond-beyond possible on the front lines of this strike, the continuation of a natural thing for all of us as we work daily in CPS. We have done all that we can (and more) that has been asked of us by CTU leadership for this one week and prior and in so doing have drawn in many parents and students and neighbors.

The CTU members at my school who have gotten back to me (quite a few) have told me not to vote for a contract that I have not been able to read and digest on such short notice; in fact, on principle a few have told me to just vote NO already. They will NOT appreciate going back into the school just to read the fine print and need to start the process all over again by voting NO when it gets to them, but they will. They are willing to keep going right now, and there will be resentment if the House of Delegates votes in favor of something that goes to the membership with far less than what expectations have promised from our massive rallies and turnouts across the city.

I am speaking for myself, but I think I can state a theme for the schools on the southeast side on the whole, judging by a Friday area rally organized by Sue Garza: "ONE DAY LONGER! ONE DAY STRONGER!" I predict that the southeast side schools will NOT vote for a weak or too compromised contract and will be extremely disappointed if one is presented after all of this or somehow such a proposal actually passes for a working contract.

This is an understatement.

To CORE and CTU leadership:

NOTE: I am writing this as a CTU member and delegate with zero information from a House of Delegates meeting that was supposed to be about updates to contract negotiations (of which there was little to none) with an agenda listing Q & A that had no A in the actual meeting.

It's like this. There are issues across the city that we have made catch fire via our CTU signs and chants and rallies. If we only get something for ourselves in this contract now, that will be shameful. The following must be declared by CTU to be NON-NEGOTIABLES before any contract is ratified (or even presented to the HoD): class size, wrap-around services, standardized tests, and school closures. (And we need to add small parts of the longer school day in there.) THERE IS NO DIGNITY IN WALKING BACK INTO OUR SCHOOLS WITHOUT ANY CONTRACT LANGUAGE ON THESE ISSUES over which we have rallied others out there (students, parents, community members, and strangers at gas stations in Indiana for crying out loud) to fight for with us.

Please, don't tell me these are not legal items for contract negotiation. WE CAN DO THIS. We know we won't "get everything." But we should hold strong for MORE than stopping this strike this weekend would probably get us. Ten years from now, will one or two more weeks (or more) have mattered in this fight, if you are someone who is thinking that we can't face it any more right now? "Short term pain for long term gain." Deferred gratification. That stuff we try to instill in our students on a daily basis. If this results in only "more money for the employees" then we will be seen as the hoodwinking snake oil peddlers of all time. I can hear it already: "They were only in it for themselves from the start." "Look how they only got something for themselves but nothing else for anyone else after all that."

"What about 'Children First' for the CTU?"

Global Solidarity for Chicago

"Teachers are placed in a position where they have to defend themselves and their students to save our system of public education.  I applaud and support the teachers, clinicians and paraprofessionals in Chicago for their courageous act.  You take this bold action on behalf of our nation.  Si Se Puede," Dolores Huerta, president Dolores Huerta Foundation for Community Organizing, Co-Founder United Farm Workers.

The Chicago Teachers Union wants to thank the many individuals and organizations who have written letters of solidarity or contributed to our Solidarity Fund over the last few weeks. The list below represents the many organizations to which the many individual contributors belong and organizations who have themselves written letters of support. People across the country and the world are looking at our confrontation with the Chicago Board of Education as a key fight against the specious attacks on our public schools and the teachers and paraprofessionals who make them work. Thank you for this tremendous outpouring of support that will help sustain us in our struggle for educational justice. See the map below and the list along with it (zoom out to see more far-flung supporters).

View CTU Solidarity in a larger map

Juan Gonzalez: Chicago Teachers Union leader Karen Lewis pushed back — and won

Until this week, no one — not even American Federation of Teachers chief Randi Weingarten — had found a way to turn back the tide of teacher bashing. Then the feisty firebrand Lewis burst on the scene.

Chicago Teachers Union head Karen Lewis has emerged as the new champion for millions of frustrated public school teachers.

Feisty firebrand has emerged as new champion for millions of public school teachers.  

Great piece by Juan Gonzalez.... except for tossing all the credit at Karen Lewis. She will be the first to tell you she is the out front person for a group, CORE, with a deep bench. Just like in the Occupy movement, the press tries to focus on a key person, as if they are the ones to make it happen all by themselves and they get frustrated when they can't pin down the leadership. 

Every Chicago teacher activist I've met is well-informed on a wide range of issues. It takes an educated membership before they can be organized and then mobilized. CORE did not neglect that crucial aspect and I would issue a warning to other groups around the nation looking to follow in CORE's footsteps to take heed of the education aspect.

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Monday, September 17, 2012, 6:00 AM

Karen Lewis, who last week led 29,000 Chicago teachers on a school strike heard across the nation, has suddenly emerged as the new champion for millions of frustrated public school teachers.

Many of those teachers are sick and tired of being made into scapegoats by politicians and corporate honchos who never spent a single day in front of a classroom.

They are fed up with overcrowded classrooms in rundown buildings, with bureaucrats who keep hiring high-paid consultants despite huge budget deficits, with new state laws that tie teacher evaluation to their students’ test scores, with the constant closing of neighborhood schools and the stampede to charter schools.

But most of all, they are furious at the lack of respect for them and their profession.

Until this week, no one — not even American Federation of Teachers chief Randi Weingarten — had found a way to turn back the tide of teacher bashing.

Then the feisty firebrand Lewis burst on the scene.

For a week, she went toe-to-toe against Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the former Obama White House chief-of-staff known for his short fuse, foul mouth and take-no-prisoners style.

And by any measure, Lewis came come out a winner.

MORE Member Responds to E4E Contact - September 17, 2012

....E4E DEFINITELY has an ambitious agenda to build a "grass-roots" organization inside all the schools, a kind of anti-union union (I'd dare to call it fascist, truthfully). -- NYC Teacher/MORE member).

Interesting that they have the money to pay for full time Outreach Directors. Most other "grassroots" union organizers that I know are, oh, I don't know, busy during the day with teaching and such.-- Another NYC teacher/MORE member

Let me take a few minutes away from Chicago to touch base with our old pals. Keep an eye out in your school for these slugs trying to infiltrate their anti-union agenda into the schools.

The DOE is actively helping E4E get into schools with the idea of creating a Quisling anti-union force. E4E full-time organizers and money from DFER and Gates and HalfWhitney Tilson and support from Tweed.

I'm now hearing of E4E people running for chapter leader. And I have it directly from a top Tweed official that MORE is on Tweed's radar. With the Chicago story, Tweedies might be getting nervous if MORE should get some traction.

I also heard that certain UFT officials were suggesting that E4E run in the upcoming UFT elections. That would work for Unity in that another organization running would muddy the waters. On the other hand a group like E4E with loads of money might penetrate into schools with a subtle anti-union/Unity message. But it won't happen I predict. E4E would need a lot more than what they have to conduct an election campaign. And many of their supporters are not in teaching for the long run.

Here is an email sent to a teacher by an E4E organizer who was given the name by the principal -- what does that tell you?

"Hey girl, can I buy you a cup of coffee?" What's going on? Is E4E funding running don? They can't offer a sandwich?

Hi,

How are you? My name is ----- and I'm an Outreach Director with Educators 4 Excellence (E4E). My colleague and I recently spoke with your principal and she suggested that we connect. We would love the opportunity to buy both of you a cup of coffee and hear about you, your teaching experience and we can share a bit about E4E. We can meet you by your school or in your neighborhood – wherever is most convenient for you.

The teacher sent this message to the MORE discussion group:

I am a delegate at my school and I recently received this email, as did my chapter leader.

Just thought people might be interested in this. For some reason E4E was present during one of my principal's CFN meetings. Interesting that they have the money to pay for full time Outreach Directors. Most other "grassroots" union organizers that I know are, oh, I don't know, busy during the day with teaching and such. 

I think I'll just send a simple, direct email saying that having reviewed E4E's Declaration of Teachers' Principles and Beliefs we have no interest in pursuing a relationship with them. Might need to say more about why to fully satisfy my disgust, but I also don't want to "get into it" with this guy because there wouldn't be much point. Maybe I'll just ask if he can put me in touch with Karen Lewis instead...

One interesting note is that my chapter leader had never heard of them. I can see how inviting a personal email like this might seem to beleaguered chapters who are looking for someone "in the union" to listen. They really do an amazing job of painting themselves as people who are trying to give a voice to teachers. All the MORE reason we need to build a space for that to happen authentically!!

Another MORE member adds on:

They're definitely not in the union, so I'd start with that. I met these guys at the pre-screening for "Won't Back Down," as well as virtually all their other NYC folks. (One of them seemed honest, but while he's open to other, opposing points of view, even he admits he works with the group, so he's chosen that side for now.) One of the guys gave me the impression he's ready to take over the City with their agenda. And they DEFINITELY have an ambitious agenda to build a "grass-roots" organization inside all the schools, a kind of anti-union union (I'd dare to call it fascist, truthfully).
I see no reason to engage with them. They have tremendous resources and an army of eager organizers. They will definitely swarm near anything that smells useful, so have no illusions!

Chicago Updates: Karen Lewis meets media and Lee Sustar: Members Will Decide

School closings are the elephant in the room....Don't call is a good contract. It is what we got.... the biggest issue is the one of closing schools.... there is a total lack of trust in the CPS [can they be trusted to actually not break the contract?] Teachers want to see the language.... Put it in big letters: TRUST... there is language on class size with a committee to look at over sized classes with a parent on the committee---- Karen Lewis at press conference, Sunday night.

What good is recall if they close so many schools there are no neighborhood public school positions to apply for or we compete like starving dogs for a bone over the few left? What's the plan for that? (Another discussion... hopefully NOT with Randi.) -- CTU member Susan Zupan

Negotiations in Chicago began nearly a year ago with CPS pushing a copy of the AFT local agreement in New Haven, Conn., a "thin contract" that wiped out decades of traditional teacher job protections. The New Haven deal was hailed as a "model or template" by AFT President Randi Weingarten. Similarly, in resisting merit pay, the CTU broke from the AFT's new embrace of the practice in several important union locals, such as in Pittsburgh.
In 2010, teachers elected the leadership slate put forward by the Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators (CORE) on the basis of drawing the line against corporate-driven education reform.
Another significant concession: Laid-off teachers will only be paid for six months instead of the full year mandated by the current contract. Though the union won somewhat stronger language on teacher recall, this contract provision is likely to loom large as the city prepares to close down as many as 100 schools, according to its threats.
 Another weakness is the union's failure to win more on the supposed "non-strikable" demands like smaller class sizes that benefit both students and teachers. CPS did agree, however, to hire more social workers, nurses and councilors should revenue become available.
 Another significant concession: Laid-off teachers will only be paid for six months instead of the full year mandated by the current contract. Though the union won somewhat stronger language on teacher recall, this contract provision is likely to loom large as the city prepares to close down as many as 100 schools, according to its threats.
 Another weakness is the union's failure to win more on the supposed "non-strikable" demands like smaller class sizes that benefit both students and teachers. CPS did agree, however, to hire more social workers, nurses and councilors should revenue become available...  delegates will have to consider whether continuing an indefinite strike would gain significantly more. There's also the issue of parent and community support, which could fray in a longer walkout..... The union's delegates and members must now choose between raising the stakes even further by extending the strike and making new demands, or leave the battlefield with its troops intact, having won a contract that is mixed. And the next fight is only a few weeks away as CPS prepares to release its list of 100 schools to shut down.

----Lee Sustar, Socialist Worker

Lee Sustar provides the most comprehensive analysis of the proposed contract I've seen. Above I extracted just a few of the important -- and balanced -- points Lee makes, but read it all below.

There are some disturbing elements -- like the biggie to me -- laid off teachers -- think closing schools -- get paid for only 6 months instead of a year. I'm really surprised they brought what looks like a major concession back to the members as the best they could do. And a sort of wishy washy class size committee which will examine high class sizes. Even though a parent is on the committee I don't think parents will be happy.

CTU president Karen Lewis talked to the media Sunday night -- a really interesting and illuminating 12 minutes. She explains the issues, and teaches what democracy looks like in a union. Most impressive to me is how she did not fall into the traps the media questions were setting. VEEP Jesse Sharkey elaborates on how the Board tried to change every single paragraph in the contract.

The press is reporting that there are divisions within the union when in fact there are open discussions -- as Karen says, there are people who want to go back and others who want to talk about it with the people in their schools.

Here in the UFT, a summary of the contract is handed to delegates at the DA before the meeting and the union spends time selling it, then Unity people get to the mics to support it. A few voices opposed are allowed and then they vote. Then it goes to the schools where union officials pile in to sell it. But even modifications of the contract have been pushed through the DA and never go to the members --- see ATR modifications.

--note how Karen says she is not there to sell the contract but to explain it - "I am not a salesperson."

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/16/13899588-chicago-teachers-not-happy-with-proposed-contract-strike-continues?lite

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As usual, check with George at Substance for the latest:

Chicago Teachers Strike of 2012 continues at CTU delegates vote to return to the picket lines while members and delegates study the contract provisions

George reports on the vote yesterday: 350 to 220

-----------
James Eterno, chapter leader at Jamaica HS, a school being closed by the DOE,  comments on the ICE blog:

http://iceuftblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/chicago-stopping-privatizationunion.html

We have to look very closely at this whole picture.  On the issue of school closures, read what CTU member Susan Zupan says:

"RECALL/School Closures: What good is recall if they close so many schools there are no neighborhood public school positions to apply for or we compete like starving dogs for a bone over the few left? What's the plan for that? (Another discussion... hopefully NOT with Randi.)"

-----------
Call Rahm Emanuel at 312-734-3300--The mayor plans to go to court in the morning to force teachers back to work. Call him and demand he not interfere with the collective bargaining process for teachers. The teachers have a right to strike until they win their demands and tell Rahm you stand with the teachers until THEY decide.

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This is what democracy looks like
Below Lee Sustar from the International Socialist Organization whose reporting has been so on target, along with Alan Maass, report on the situation in Chicago.

COMMENT: LEE SUSTAR AND ALAN MAASS

Teachers will decide, not Rahm