Leonie Haimson for UFT President

I can't tell you how many people have said Leonie Haimson would make a better UFT leader than you know who. Here she responds to a reporter's question on rubber rooms with a more rigorous defense of teachers in a way I have never heard from the UFT, which tries to obfuscate (throw up flack) the issue so as not to make it appear they are making too much of a defense of teachers.

Q from reporter:
I am working on a story about rubber rooms. As you probably know, the DOE says about 650 to 700 teachers are in these reassignment centers drawing their full salary for doing nothing. Is this something that you are concerned about? Are there people I may not have thought of who I should speak to about this issue?

Leonie:
I am copying this message to Patrick Sullivan, Manhattan rep to the PEP who has made this one of his central concerns. Yes I think all parents are concerned about the incredible waste of manpower and money involved in more than 600 teachers sitting idly in the rubber room, month after month, when class sizes are going up and kids do not get adequate attention.

Not to mention the violation of human rights this entails. No charges are brought against these teachers for years at a time. Some of them haven’t even been informed of what the allegations are that were made against them. In some ways, it’s our Guantanamo.

Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters

I was contacted by the reporter and sent this message
I'd be glad to give you some background on many of the people in the rubber room, who are indeed being paid to do nothing. But that decision to have them do nothing is not theirs, but the DOE's. I can guarantee there is some useful work they could be doing even if they have to be away from kids. Leonie hit the nail on the head about Gitmo.

Yesterday I spoke to a former colleague who has been in the RR for 3 years. Another colleague recently got out after 14 months. The "charges" against them are rediculous. Yet they are forced to sit in the same space with some teachers who are truly disturbed. That is like putting people who get parking tickets in the same cell with murderers. The goal is to make things so untenable they will resign.

Most RR who get back to their schools (and most do, some after a serious fine) are so scarred and scared they are never the same and wouldn't talk on the record because they think they are permanent targets.

The other day I was at a robotic tournament and a young lady who was volunteering was doing a fantastic job. One of the organizers was so impressed he said we have to get her more involved and introduced me. In our brief conversation she told me she is a former Teach for America who is a grad of the rubber room, which led to her leaving teaching. She said she would love to expose what is going on.

Cheers,
Norm Scott
Commentary on education: http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/
917-992-3734

Weingarten to Leave UFT - UPDATED

I won't believe it until I see it, but here is a report from Newsday:

Influential teachers' union leader Randi Weingarten is due to make it official next Wednesday that she will depart as head of the United Federation of Teachers on Aug. 1 to head only the national affiliate American Federation of Teachers, the traditional retirement route for that union's past presidents, according to reliable sources. She already officially serves in the AFT post. Speculation abounds that she will agree with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, with whom she has frequently been allied, despite what you may gather from some press reports, to allow a cheaper pension tier, or Tier 5, for future union members in the Department of Education.

There will be lots of comment and speculation on the implications of this move, which she will formally announce at next Wednesday Delegate Assembly according to this report. Is her anointed successor Michael Mulgrew prepared to take over? This will give him a 6 month window as UFT President before the next election season opens in January 2010.

If Weingarten does give in on a Tier 5, since it will only be for new teachers, the UFT leadership must feel they vets will not be concerned. They may be forgetting that in 1995, the membership rejected the first incarnation of the contract due to a clause penalizing new teachers. I guess she is thinking she will take the hit for this and then leave so Mulgrew could obfuscate his responsibility. I can see the election campaign, "I was in the bathroom when she decided to do it."

If this happens at the DA, let's see Randi make the announcement, shed a few tears as the Unity Caucus faithful rise up and cheer, and walk off the stage, handing the mic to Mulgrew, who has never run a DA as far as I can tell. But my guess is the delegates will be forced to listen to another endless report before being able to exhale with a sigh of relief.

ICE and TJC are expected to run a slate against him. ICE may determine its choice of candidate to oppose Mulgrew at this Thursday's meeting.

UPDATE:
Would Weingarten leave Mulgrew out there to run with a contract due to expire? There is speculation that a secret deal will be announced on the eve of the UFT election - think Oct/Nov/Dec 2009 – that will put money (what else can they get) in the pockets of some teachers in exchange for screwing the unborn. And maybe a few ATRs and rubber room people too. And maybe a little relaxation on the tenure issue. And support for a lift of the charter school cap. Or "have them work Labor Day," as one reporter joked. Pick one or all of the above.

The Parent Commision Bill on Governance

My opinion is mayoral control is now a dead issue and we should focus on the two year sunset provison and start organizing like hell for the next time. But if you believe in this political action stuff, contact your local thief- er- NY legislature rep.
-Norm (so Leonie doesn't get blamed for this comment.)

From Leonie:

Support the Parent Commision bill – the Education Through Partnership Act, sponsored by Shirley Huntley. S05739.

We propose six elected parents on the board –directly chosen by the CECs, as well as five political appointees (three of them Mayoral) and four members that would be collectively chosen by other board members. As well as CECs elected by all parents, CECS having the final word over all resitings, openings and closings of schools, and SLTs having the final word on School-based budgets (as was the case under previous Chancellors)

Real shared decisionmaking. Real parent power. As well as the DOE subject to all relevant city laws, like all other city agencies.

The bill is posted here: http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=S05739

We are also now calling for a two year sunset on whatever bill is passed – which makes sense given the chaos in the Senate – though we are saying that we need a two year period to see if whatever governance changes that are enacted are working to create real accountability, checks and balances, and real parent input.

Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters

How NYC Ed-Deformers Short Change ELLs

Advocates for Children of New York (AFC) and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) released a report today that illustrates how English Language Learners (ELLs) have gotten the short end of the stick in the New York City Department of Education’s (DOE’s) much touted initiative to close large schools and replace them with small ones. The report, Empty Promises: A Case Study of Restructuring and the Exclusion of English Language Learners in Two Brooklyn High Schools, illustrates how, as a result of these reforms, ELLs—who experience some of the lowest graduation rates in the city— are left with fewer and fewer options or are simply left behind. Using student enrollment and teacher assignment data combined with student and teacher interviews, the report examines the phase-out of Lafayette High School in Bensonhurst and Tilden High School in East Flatbush.


Empty_Promises_Report__6-16-09.pdf, Small_Schools_Report_Press_Release_06_16_09_FINAL.PDF

Purges, the UFT and the Teachers Union

The NY Times piece today on the teachers fired in the 50's for being members of the Communist Party or refusing to answer questions by exercising their 5th amendment rights has some interesting offshoots, some relevant even today. The unfinished documentary is called “Dreamers and Fighters: The NYC Teacher Purges.”

“None of those teachers were ever found negligent in the classroom,” said Clarence Taylor*, a professor of history at Baruch College who has written a study of the Teachers Union and the ideological strife that destroyed it. “They went after them for affiliation with the Communist Party.”

The Teachers Union was a major bulwark defending teachers and schools in the 1930's when the depression was at its worst. Unsurprisingly, Albert Shanker was in favor of firing these teachers in the 50's and his rise had some basis in his virulent anti-communism, perfect for the 50's.

This strain has continued right through to today, as witnessed by the Unity Caucus Red Scare attack on the ICE/TJC presidential candidate Kit Wainer in the 2007 elections.

The unfinished work is narrated by the actor Eli Wallach, whose brother, Samuel, was president of the Teachers Union

from 1945 to 1948 and was fired from his teaching job for refusing to answer questions before the superintendent of schools, Dr. William Jansen.

“They called everybody a Communist then,” growled Eli Wallach, 93, in a telephone interview, still bridling over the way his brother was treated.

The Teachers Union, which was expelled from the American Federation of Teachers in 1941 before disbanding in 1964 and being succeeded by the United Federation of Teachers, maintained that “no teacher should be disqualified for his opinions or beliefs or his political associations.” State and city authorities countered that Communists were unfit to teach because they were bound to the dictates of the party.

When asked by Mr. Moskoff, “Are you now or have you ever been a Communist?” many teachers refused to answer. They were then charged with insubordination and subject to dismissal.

The UFT, formed out of a merger of the anti-communist Teachers Guild and the High School Teachers Association, defeated the leftist Teachers Union in the bargaining election in 1960. The TU had been decimated by the witch hunts of the 40's and 50's. Before the Hitler-Stalin Pact in 1939 (which led to the desertion of the CPUSA by many), the TU was pretty well respected and even as late as 1940/41 led the resistance to budget cuts. In unpublished research I saw, the Teachers Guild seemed to play no role in these battles. Thus, the ultimate rise of the UFT was fueled to some extent by the Red Scare, though it is hard to imagine collective bargaining rights would have been granted to a communist dominated movement even in the early 60's.

Though the Teachers Union disbanded in 1964, many of the members became the core of Teachers Action Caucus which opposed the 1968 strikes, as most of the extremely pro-labor left did as they viewed the strike not as a labor struggle but against the community.

The group I was with (NYC School Workers) ran with TAC in a number of elections from the mid-70s through the mid 80s. A third group, New Directions, merged with Teachers Action Caucus to from what is currently New Action.

The files contain reports by informants who have never been publicly identified. But one operative known as “Blondie” and “Operator 51” was later revealed as Mildred V. Blauvelt, a police detective who went undercover for the Board of Education in 1953 and was credited with exposing 50 Communist teachers. Later, in a series of newspaper reminiscences, she said her hardest moments came when, posing as a Communist hard-liner, she had to argue disaffected fellow travelers out of quitting the party.

Nice job, Mildred. Do you think there are any undercover agents lurking in your schools today rooting out people who disparage differentiated learning?

*Clarence Taylor was a high school teacher and involved with various incarnations of New Action in the 80's and early 90's. His twin brother Larry, is chapter leader at Arts and Design HS and associated with TJC. Larry was one of the six people ICE/TJC elected to the UFT executive board in 2004. Larry also was David Pakter's chapter leader and testified for him at his first 3030a hearing a few years ago. Larry's enormous integrity and support of David went a long way in getting us involved.

Did Anyone Find My Missing DVD?

The NY Post reports on an accidental showing of a Jemma Jameson porn flick to an auditorium full of kids at PS 17 in Brooklyn.

I used to visit the school when I was in tech support 10 years ago. I was wondering what happened to that missing dvd.

Do you think the dvd player was locked in the principal's office or not? Check out the pic they used of the principal. Not his best. Every principal should spend an hour a day watching porn. Would keep them out of the hair of teachers.

Does anyone question the classes watching the "film festival" in the auditorium, also known as mass preps, something that occurs almost every day in many schools? Well, if its Jemma, why not?

I'll bet there's some math to be taught somewhere in this flick.

Charter School War at PS 160, Co-op City

Grassroots Education Movement (GEM) members Angel Gonzalez and Pam Garrison went up to Co-op City to support the parents and teachers at PS 160 who are fighting off the imposition of a charter school in their building. The original application for the charter was for District 11, which does not have as much of a middle class population to draw from as District 12 with Co-op City. So they are trying to switch horses in midstream. Talk about creaming.

Equality Charter School at P.S. 160, Bronx

by Pam Garrison
June 11, 2009-- A Equality Charter School revision meeting took place at P.S. 160 in District 11 - Bronx where changes to its charter proposal for its placement at this Co-op City zoned elementary school were to be discussed. Equality Charter School plans to open with 132 sixth graders and eventually would become a 6th-12th grade secondary school with a total population of 414 students. Instead of a discussion on the proposed revisions, the meeting, with close to 100 people including young students, generated a raucous and sometimes hostile exchange over whether this Charter Middle School should be placed at PS 160 at all.
The announcement of the placement of the Equality Charter at PS 160 caught many off guard and has divided the community as well as the PS 160 PTA. Its co-president, Mona Davids, who now also heads a newly created Citywide Pro-Charters Parent Association, rallied speakers in favor and an audience who displayed pro-Equality Charter signs whenever opposition voices spoke. Co-president Sebastian Ulanga, has organized against this siting of this Equality Charter here and spoke along with others against the lack proper consultation, misinformation (Equality had been processed for District 12), the negative impacts of middle school youth on PS 160 younger elementary and the special education students. While the pro-charter speakers voiced excitement about the expected higher attention, resources, and smaller class sizes with the Equality Charter there, opposition speakers expressed anger that the projected benefits would not be for the entire school population and create disparity.

Grassroots Education Movement member, Angel Gonzalez, spoke about the need to fix instead of privatizing our schools with charters. “We need to support quality and democratic processes for all public schools. Charter schools, such as Equality Charter, split communities and sow inequality instead. They ‘cream the best students’ and evidence shows that charters service fewer percentages of the neediest of students such English Language Learners, Special Education and the poorest of the poor. We need to organize a citywide fight-back against the mayor’s undemocratic imposition of these charters that take away resources from public schools. Charters union-bust and undermine the necessary unity parents and teachers against government’s failure to properly provide for all public schools.”

Jeffrey Litt, the Superintendent of this Carl Icahn Network of Charter Schools (which includes Equality Charter), expressed his support for the placement of Equality Charter at PS 160 while simultaneously engaging in a tense verbal exchange with an audience member who opposed the charter and Mr. Litt’s assertions. Mr. Litt claimed that Icahn schools do service the poor and are not exclusive, but PTA’s Mr. Ulanga interjected that any entry-lottery process for selecting students are exclusive.

Revisions to Equality’s Charter were presented at the beginning of the meeting. These included some administrative and staffing changes along with its placement now in District 11 instead of District 12. At the end of the meeting, many audience members were unable to determine the actual revisions that were being proposed – they were never restated for many who had arrived late. The meeting, which was adjourned in a particularly abrupt manner, appeared to do little to alleviate the fears, concerns and questions of many audience members. The rift, that this Equality Charter School has spawned, left many confused with many unanswered questions.

Our Children Are Not For Sale...

...Say No to Mayoral Control

In recent months, sectors of the African-American community, which BloomKlein have attempted to divide though their market-based misleading school choice/charter school movement (don't send your children to the horrible schools we've been running for 7 years), has been throwing up resistance.

Basir Mchawi of the WBAI show, Education At the Crossroads, is looking for endorsers to the AD against mayoral control. "We need individuals and organizations to sign on. We also need some donations to make this happen. To date we have identified the Amsterdam News and Brooklyn's Our Time Press as conduits for the ad."

GEM has made a contribution for the placement of this ad. ICE is considering doing so too. Contact blackeducator@africamail.com if you'd like to contribute or for more info.

Click to enlarge. If it is not clear, email me and I'll send the pdf.

New Teacher Recruitment Tool from the NYCDOE

Get immediate placement as a teacher in a NYC school with a degree from the University of Andy.

Sample course: Holding Your Liquor

Because you never know when you're going to be called upon to make nice with the bottle: how to boot and rally, properly mix, and more!

Endorsed by the New Teacher Project.

Thanks to David B for the tip.

I think we should buy out this Union that does not do anything for the teachers

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Educators File Discrimination Charges Against Chic...":

Good Luck with your your lawsuit. I do not know anymore what is going on with RW. that doesn't defend the teachers.

In New York we had the same problem. My school was phased out. A couple of teachers filed a grievanace because 50 percent of the senior teachers were kicked out. The day of the hearing or meeting the principal and the Union Rep. of my district did not show up. The Dist. Rep. sent another woman who did not know about the problem and we lost. I think that the grievance was a BIG FARCE! Then Mr. Mendel called us stating that the UFT was filing a lawsuit on our behalf. Many of us agreed with this lawsuit. We went to talk to the NYS lawyers with all the documentation and after a year RW. told us that the lawsuit was dismissed because of the ATR Agreement they reached.

The ATR Agreement is supposed to benefit ATR teachers. RW. explained to us that they are going to have a HIRING FREEZE so the ATR teachers can get jobs. So far none of the ATRs got jobs.

I applied to many jobs on the Open Market and went to drop my resume to numerous schools to no avail. A month had past since the agreement and I did not get an answer. Is this another FARCE AGREEMENT?

In my district there are some rumors that RW. is negotiating a buy out for the ATR teachers. I think we should buy out this Union that does not do anything for the teachers.

The parents and staff within my school community are organizing and looking for support

I am a public school teacher in Brooklyn. I happily stumbled upon the ednotes blogspot when searching for information and resources to support my own school's struggle with the charter school occupying space in our building. It looks like GEM is having a meeting soon and I was wondering if you could tell me who can attend and where it will be held! The parents and staff within my school community are organizing and looking for support and help from like-minded individuals to stop the madness of the mayor and chancellor's bogus school reform agenda.

Any information you have will be a great help. If the public schools who are forced to share space with charter schools have a forum or way to communicate with each other, maybe we can change the direction of school reform!

A Brooklyn Teacher

Welcome on board. Please join us. We are reaching out to all school communities threatened with closings, phase-outs, charters to build a unified fight back. Two of us went to support the struggle this past Thursday at PS 160x Co-op City. Look at ednotesonline and our GEM website for updates on our written and video (youtube) documentation of various struggles. We project also meeting over the summer, although not as routinely. I'll put you our listserv and do send our gem listserv info on the situation where you work.

Angel Gonzalez, GEM
May 14 GEM Rally at the DOE: (also look up Marine Park, Brandeis HS, MS 399x, Charles Barron on Youtube) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78_6T_HarE8

http://grassrootseducationmovement.blogspot.com/

Related:

Charter eyes a fair share: PAVE may have to extend stay in PS 15 another year

Another Brooklyn teacher writes:
We have a charter school in our building that will be overstaying until their building is ready. They will be adding an eighth grade. We will have classrooms moving all over the place so that they can have rooms. Then, we hear, an elementary charter school is scheduled to move in!

Educators File Discrimination Charges Against Chicago Board of Education

ICE and GEM will be opening links to CORE next weekend in Chicago.



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts: Carol Caref, Teacher
CORE
June 10, 2009 (773) 791-5500
ccaref@gmail.com

Jennifer Purcell, Attorney
Robin Potter & Associates
(312) 861-1800
jennifer.n.purcell@gmail.com

Educators File Discrimination Charges Against Board of Education

Chicago Public Schools "Turnaround" Policy Unfair to African American Teachers

On Wednesday, June 10th, the Caucus of Rank and File Educators (CORE) filed charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging that school "turnarounds," a "Renaissance 2010" policy, have a disparate impact on African American teachers. Teachers who filed the charges contend that African American teachers suffer a disproportionately adverse impact as a result of the school turnarounds.

LINK to Charges

The charges filed fall under Title VII which prohibits not only overt, obvious, and intentional discrimination, but also practices that are fair in form but discriminatory in operation. Essentially, a "turnaround" constitutes a layoff policy that almost exclusively impacts African American teachers.

Wanda Evans, a teacher who worked at Orr High School for 11 years before it was turned-around, claims that the plan is designed to get rid of senior teachers and replace them with lower-salaried new teachers to save money; "I'm completely offended by the way veteran teachers have been treated, it's like a fast food special, let's get a 2 for 1." Ms. Evans has been nominated for Golden Apple and DRIVE teaching awards and now feels "swept right out of the door."

Lois Ashford, a member of CORE's steering committee, taught at Copernicus Elementary for sixteen years before losing her job to the "turnaround" process. "In my professional opinion, Ren2010 has been a disaster for everyone concerned: parents who have been left out of decision-making, students who are forced out of stable educational environments in their neighborhoods, and minority teachers who are being disenfranchised at an alarming rate for no other reason than they've taught for over 10 years."

For Karen Lewis, a teacher and co-chair of CORE, the turnarounds have undermined an entire sector of black teachers in the Chicago Public Schools. "Since the beginning of the year, I've met black teachers who are working as substitutes. They are in tears, not just about the loss of their jobs but also about the loss of their status in the community. These school and position closings are insidious and Draconian. They are based on only one measurement -- test scores -- which say more about socio-economic status than they do about teaching and learning."

"Turnaround" is a program where everyone at a school is fired, including teachers, cafeteria staff, administration, and every other employee on site. This program is a part of "Renaissance 2010" which is Mayor Daley's program to overhaul the Chicago Public Schools through privatization and destabilization of the city's schools.

CORE researchers, looking at statistics compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education, concluded that since 2002, when the term "Renaissance Schools" was first used in relation to the closing of Dodge, Terrell and Williams elementary schools, the percentage of African American teachers in CPS has dropped from 39.4 to 31.6. Currently, there are 2,000 fewer Black teachers working in CPS than there were in 2002.

CORE is the reform caucus of the Chicago Teachers Union that represents rank-and-file members. The group is composed of teachers, retired teachers, educational staff and other champions of public education who hope to democratize the Chicago Teachers Union and turn it into an organization that fights on behalf of its members and the students they teach.

More on Passing Klein's Lemons

Our recent piece on the passing of Klein's lemons Garth Harries Leaves DOE as Ed Notes Helps Pass Klein Lemons elicited this response from Baltimore which also has one of Klein's lemons, though at least this lemon actually spent a decade teaching and never seemed as bad as the others.

Greetings from Baltimore (thanks for the lemon)

Hi Norm,

I like reading your blog. We in Baltimore have been dealing with one of your castaways and ... well ... misery loves company.

But the latest news is simply delightful, sure to warm your heart.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bal-ed.morris11jun11,0,1358252.story

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/education/blog/2009/06/brian_morris_and_baltimore_sch.html


UPDATE:

Thanks, Norm.  Incredibly enough, it gets even better:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-te.morris12jun12,0,6392849.story

What Goes Around Comes Around

I'm reading a new bio of Winston Churchill called Warlord. Here is an account, with an accompanying map, of one of his first actions as a war correspondent.

...the Mullah of Swat ("the Mad Mullah"), a Muslim holy man, incited the native Pathan tribesmen to rebel against the British presence and control the territory they believed was rigthfully theirs. The insurgents attacked the Gibraltar-like fort at Chakdara and the garrison posted at Malakand Pass, both of which secured access to the Swat Valley...

The year: 1897

Leonie: Three Ways to Throw Obstacles in the Way of Mayoral Control

Dear parents:

Yesterday, I was up in Albany, talking to legislators on school governance. There is a lot of confusion up there, especially as the Republicans seem to have engineered a coup to take over the State Senate.

But one thing is clear: While the Mayor and his legion of paid staff and supporters are pressing them hard to retain complete his dictatorial control, the legislators are not hearing enough from their constituents – us – about what we want for the future.

We need to make our voices heard! If the system is renewed with only minor changes, our kids will likely suffer even more in the future from more overcrowding, higher class sizes, our schools converted to test prep factories, and the priorities and views of parents completely ignored.

Here are three ways you can help out!

1- Please distribute the attached flyer at your school, or email it to other parents. It is also posted at: http://www.classsizematters.org/Stop_MC_flyer_doubled_sided.doc

There are many school-wide events this time of year at which you can hand out fliers.

On the second page, there is a section that you can fill out with your legislators’ names and fax and phone nos. before you distribute it. Parents then can use this as a script for calling or faxing, while filling out their own name and addresses. You can find the names of your legislators by plugging in your zip code here: http://www.nysenate.gov/senators and http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/

If you can volunteer to hand out flyers at your school, please email Henry Sidel at hsidel@jotosake.com ; copy me at leonie@att.net

2- We are also going to be setting up phone banking for evenings next week in one or two central locations. Let us know if you’re willing to volunteer. If you have an hour or two, you can also do this from your home – we will send you the script and a list of names and phone nos. of activist parents who have expressed their concern on this and related issues.

3- If you have a day in the next two weeks, Mon-Wed., please consider coming to Albany with us. We will have parents from the Parent Commission going up on each of these days, and you can accompany us in our rounds and also stop off at your legislators’ offices. They really need to hear from you!

I know it’s a very busy time of year. But please, we need you to help us help you now!

Thanks, and please forward this message to others who care.

Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters
124 Waverly Pl.
New York, NY 10011
212-674-7320
classsizematters@gmail.com
www.classsizematters.org
http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/

Ed Notes, GEM, ICE on WBAI, 99.5 Tonight from 7-8 PM

Education Crossroads

Talking about mayoral control, the UFT, and other ed related topics.

Steaming at http://stream.wbai.org/

Exposing The “Rubber Room:” Bloomberg-Klein Hypocrisy and Teacher Injustice

Press Release

Contact: Sam Anderson- 212.252.2997

10 June 2009

Exposing The “Rubber Room:” Bloomberg-Klein Hypocrisy

and Teacher Injustice

Black New Yorkers for Educational Excellence (BNYEE) is holding a press conference at 10AM Thursday 11 June at District 13 headquarters at Park Place & Underhill Ave in the Prospect Heights section of Brooklyn.

We will be there to reveal to the citizens of New York, the intolerable conditions thousands of educators endure annually when they face charges of ethical, behavioral or political misconduct. These educators languish in horrendous and demeaning administrative purgatory in eight Temporary Reassignment Centers (aka "administrative reassignment centers” ) found throughout the boroughs waiting for their hearing which may not occur for a year or more.

We are especially concerned about the disproportionate numbers of Black and Latino Educators found in the “Rubber Rooms.” Last year, Black and Latino educators made up 65% of all educators in these demeaning centers. Yet, Black & Latino educators comprise less that 30% of all NYC educators.

BNYEE will be joined by current public school educators, parents and concerned citizens who are outraged by these “Gitmo” styled conditions.

###

RELATED:

First cut of "The Rubber Room" Movie

Leonie Haimson: Class Size-Mologist

Does anyone do it better? This is an edited version. Click on the link below to read it all.

Leonie Haimson on mayoral control, inflated test scores, class size and criticism of Randi Weingarten on mayoral control:

I find it very disappointing. I don’t think she’s looking out for the real interests of the teachers, who overwhelmingly in surveys have expressed their dissatisfaction with Joel Klein and the current system. They are as concerned as parents with overcrowding, excessive class sizes and the fact that our schools are being turned into test-prep factories. This is really diminishing their ability to do their job effectively, and they have expressed that in many ways, in many forums.

Class Size-Mologist

http://www.cityhallnews.com/news/127/ARTICLE/1960/2009-06-08.html#

City Hall

Back and Forth: Leonie Haimson

Andrew J. Hawkins

June 8th, 2009

Leonie Haimson, executive director of Class Size Matters, has more than a few things to say about mayoral control of schools. In fact, she and a dozen other critics of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s school governance system have just compiled their grievances into a new book, entitled NYC Schools Under Bloomberg and Klein: What Parents, Teachers, and Policymakers Need to Know, just in time for the looming reauthorization vote in the Legislature. She sat down with City Hall to discuss her distrust of test score data released by the Department of Education (DOE), her frustration with overcrowding and her opinion of the billionaire boys club pushing reauthorization.

What follows is an edited transcript.

City Hall: Hypothetically, if mayoral control is reauthorized and Mayor Bloomberg and Joel Klein retain of control over the system, what is the next step for you?

Leonie Haimson: It depends on what you mean by mayoral control. There’s a huge range of proposals out there. And even ours, you might say that the mayor would retain a good deal of control over the system. When we met with [Assembly Speaker] Shelly Silver, he said that the mayor’s always had control. And to some extent that’s true, because the mayor’s always been able to control the budget and had tremendous influence over the board of education in terms of persuasion and politics.

So there’s so many different varieties and options out there and different degrees of what people are calling mayoral control, I really think it’s not that simple even to define what it means.

But assuming that the system is not significantly changed to give more voice to parents, the way we want there to be more voice to parents and more checks and balances at every level of the system, I think we’re looking at irreversible and damaging changes to our public school system in the years to come. I really believe that much of what the mayor and the chancellor are doing has the effect of undermining the whole notion of neighborhood public schools and their connection to communities. So, I see real dangers out there—unless the system is significantly reformed—that we are going to not even recognize what our public school system looks like in the future.

CH: And yet they point to increasing test scores: we saw math scores have increased significantly, as proof that their experiment is working …

LH: I can tell you that nobody who’s looked at the state test scores believes them anymore. Even the [Board of] Regents don’t believe them. [Chancellor] Merryl Tisch was very skeptical; there are other Regents that will be even more skeptical if you talk to them because you don’t see increases like that unless the tests have gotten significantly easier over the years. I can tell you that there’s just no chance that those state test scores would ever be replicated by any independent assessment. And we know that in the past the big jumps in state test scores have not been replicated in the national assessments, called the NAEP. And we’ve just come out with a book about the Bloomberg/Klein record. We understand that there’s a terrific state test score inflation going on. And every independent assessment that’s been done has looked at these state tests and said they cannot be valid, they just cannot be valid. You don’t see increases like that in one or two years. And you know, you talk to Bob Tobias, who used to be head of testing for DOE, you talk to almost anybody, it doesn’t make any sense.

CH: Is there something that state policymakers can do in the reauthorization of mayoral control that would go toward addressing the class size issue for you?

LH: Well, already the state passed a law saying that New York City had to reduce class sizes, and what’s happened is class sizes instead have gone up. So, we’ve made it very clear to state legislators that New York City not only is not complying with the law—has no intention of complying with the law in this regard. And they should take that very seriously. And when we testified before the State Senate and Suzi Oppenheimer, who’s the chair of the Senate Education Committee, she kept on saying things like, “What makes them think they don’t have to comply with the law?” you know, and [Assembly Education Chair] Cathy Nolan asked them that as well during the Assembly hearing. So they have basically thumbed their nose at the state as it is, and Joel Klein has already announced that class sizes will go up further next year, and that if he had his way he would shrink the teaching force by 30 percent. So, I think they’ve made their intentions very clear. If we see the current system renewed, we will have to take some kind of action to see that state law is complied with. What that action is at this point I don’t know. We are going to get a new commissioner soon—hopefully he’ll be a little bit more serious about the law than this current commissioner is.

To tell you the truth, I don’t know what the next step is. I’m so focused on trying to win at least a partial battle by the end of June. I’m sure after this whole thing is over we will go back and regroup and try to figure out what the next steps are. But we’re also trying to fight a battle over the capital plan, which is also inadequate to meet the needs of New York City students. It’s only providing about one-third of the seats necessary to eliminate overcrowding and reduce class size to mandated state levels. And we’re seeing increased overcrowding, we’re seeing hundreds of kids on waiting lists for kindergarten and we’re seeing increased class sizes—and this capital plan will not deal with any of that, especially given the enrollment growth that’s expected throughout the city in the coming years.

CH: What do you make of UFT President Randi Weingarten’s change of heart about mayoral control?

LH: I find it very disappointing. I don’t think she’s looking out for the real interests of the teachers, who overwhelmingly in surveys have expressed their dissatisfaction with Joel Klein and the current system. They are as concerned as parents with overcrowding, excessive class sizes and the fact that our schools are being turned into test-prep factories. This is really diminishing their ability to do their job effectively, and they have expressed that in many ways, in many forums.

CH: What are you not seeing in the press coverage of mayoral control that you wish was being covered more?

LH: There is a critique out there that I think the reporters themselves know very well, that they understand that these test results are inflated, they understand that the picture put out by this administration is often very skewed and inaccurate, and to some degree they’re not allowed to report on that to the degree that they’re able to. You talk to reporters off the record, they don’t believe this stuff. It’s similar to the legislators and it’s similar to a lot of people in the city. If you look at the City Limits article that was published yesterday, a very critical article on mayoral control and this administration, and yet the number of people who wouldn’t talk on the record because of fear of repercussions—there was so many that they actually had to put a little appendix on the end of the article to explain that.

So I think everybody knows that the mayor is using his personal money and his city money and his power in every single way, either to get people to speak out on his behalf—when it comes to something like Learn NY, the Fund for Public Schools, the Education Equality Project and all the rest—or simply to keep their mouths shut, one or the other.

It’s not just top down. I hate to exaggerate, but it really is, you know, sometimes when you talk to people, it’s as though they’re afraid, you know, it’s almost as though we’re living in a Stalinist Russia or something. I mean it isn’t that way, because you know obviously he can’t put us in prison or I wouldn’t be speaking out if that were true.

--
ABOVE: photo by Andrew Schwartz

Fix Schools don't close them - one Bronx school claims to have done it

This story is one of the best I've heard to counter the Obama/Duncan/Klein/EEP program that the problem is the teachers. PS 85 in the Bronx is an example of a school that has turned around without restructuring.

I heard this report on NYC early this morning. They put resources in the school, trained teachers and addressed the discipline issue (the principal didn't throw the DOE crap that there are only discipline problems because of bad lessons. It should be heard in every hall of edcuational policy.

Beth Fertig at (WNYC)

Will the UFT Support Bill Thompson?

Many anti-Bloomberg teachers who are also skeptical of the UFT are assuming the UFT will stay neutral in a race dominated by Bloomberg money. I don't agree. I can't see Bill Thompson, who has a clear field for the Democratic nomination, running without some level of enouragement and support from the UFT.

The UFT has had a very long relationship with Thompson going back to his father and he has been their preferred candidate for mayor for many years. That is one of the reasons they supported mayoral control, expecting Thompson to be mayor one day. I've written about this relationship over the years. So it is hard to imagine them not endorsing him. Whether they will actually throw resources in is another question. If there is any sign he could win they will as they can control him whereas with Bloomberg he controls them.

Related:
Thompson's speech at the IS 278 rally in Marine Park, where he got a rousing reception from a mostly white audience. Will they remember in November?

More on Thompson and the UFT
Weingarten and Thompson Embarrassed

More Bitch Face, DO NADA, and Unity Defender

Recently we have been chronicling events at a Bronx elementary where chapter leader blogger Proof of Life fended off a multifaceted attack by the principal while the UFT sat silent in spite of the outrages, fueling suspicion there was some connection between the UFT and the principal, who has fondly become known in these parts as "Bitchface." This goes further than an election as BF and her agents attempted to trump up incidents that would land PoL in the rubber room. The UFT refused to get involved. Our first two posts

When a Chapter Leader Stands Up to the Principal...
Unity Hack Attack on Chapter Leader

led to comments from a UFT apologist, known in these parts as Unity Hack, which criticized Pol for calling the principal Bitchface on her blog.

This comment came in defending PoL:

You know you hit a nerve when a unity hack responds in that manner. Did you notice the telltale attempt at misdirection by faux concern over the principal's bitchface label as opposed to the real and documented harassment of a chapter leader? When will UFT start defending the CLs who are actually confronting principals?

PoL won the election by 30 votes but the UFT threw it out on the most extreme technicalities (if this was a Unity Caucus chapter leader this never would have been a redo), giving Bitchface and her disciples another shot at PoL, who won the 2nd time, though not by as large a margin. The attempt to break PoL's spirit has not worked and will not work.


Some of PoL's supporters at the school have been in touch.

I admire this CL. In fact, I am a former employee of POL's school and Bitch Face is a rather kind name for her! Way to go POL!

Another colleague talks about DO NADA, the principal's chief provocateur.

I'm a teacher at this school and I must say that POL is correct in what she writes. I understand that her use of language may be questionable but that is the purpose of a blog, to yell, scream, praise, pray, curse, love all through text.

Her frustrations are valid. The principal chooses each year people she places on a "shit list" as I call it (please excuse the language). The DO NADA lady I know from personal experience does not teach. She reads a newspaper during class, arrives up to two hours late to school and leaves up to an hour early almost every other day. She is never on the absent list even though she IS INDEED ABSENT. Sucks for people like me who have to be absent for a reason and calls in.

DO NADA actually pulled a stunt years ago where she caused the disruption of a training session to yell at me, in front of the principal, and the principal tells me to let it go. NO write ups, No reports. Our school is so CORRUPT with this principal and certain teachers she has working as an informant, it is absolutely out of control. You probably ask why no one notices this.

Maybe it's because the school is kept so clean, so presentable, the teachers are amazing and actually make up for lack of leadership. We make HER look good. She has given visitors tickets to Broadway shows as gifts, catering, etc...why would anyone who visits complain? We work so hard for the children, not her. That is why this school runs well. Most children believe the assistant principal is the principal.

Our CL is strong and determined to keep our staff united but the principal has [created] an unrepairable rift that has divided this once, close-knit family. It's a shame we have to see this happen. I pray for the day someone sees the cover-ups. The kids with knives in the schools who are not reported, attacks on teachers which again are not reported, the principal who buys everyone off in the region with her connections, especially with the aide of the teachers she uses for their political connections. It's disgusting. Please forgive the errors and language at times but I'm writing as a form of expressing my frustration, not a formal paper.

Related:
What is happening with the chapter election at New Utrecht HS in Brooklyn that has caused Unity Caucus people to call Ed Notes asking for assistance? Reports to follow soon.

Another Unity Caucus member under attack by the principal also called Ed Notes for help.

Some interesting results coming in from chapter leader and delegate elections. Unity better hustle people into the caucus before the rabbits start jumping out of the hat.

Note: There has been a lot of immature name calling on the original posts that has taken away from the discussion. The irrelevant comments on both sides will be deleted.

Garth Harries Leaves DOE as Ed Notes Helps Pass Klein Lemons

What do you do when you get a call from a top official at the New Haven school system, as I did two weeks ago, asking your opinion on the NYC ed reforms?

You let it fly.

At least until he reveals they are thinking of hiring Garth Harries, whose appointment as Deputy Superintendent in New Haven was announced on June 8. Harries is one of Joel Klein's chief non-educator/business characters. The New Haven official ran across my Education Notes blog and wanted to know what we thought of Harries. Asking the editor of a digital rag his opinion? I must be living in an alternative universe.

"Hmmm," I think, "Klein always talks about he urges principals to stop passing on teacher lemons to others. Here's an opportunity to pass along a Klein lemon."

Of course, there are Klein lemons spawning all over the place: Washington, Baltimore, Delaware and who knows where else? They're like the swine flu virus.

"Nice guy I hear," I say. "Very personable. Smooth. Doesn't know all that much. Doesn't think class size is important. Often uses the lame expression, ‘Research shows that teacher quality counts more than class size, but when challenged to cite the research, says, I'll get back to you with that.'" Sure, in another life.

"What he actually knows is not important," the official says. "We have a reform movement already that focuses on the classroom and he won't get to impact much on that, but there is thinking here that if we tie into the Joel Klein reform effort by hiring one of his top people, we'll have a better chance of getting some of that stimulus money. And Yale University, who we partner with, is very interested in that aspect."

“In that case, Garth Harries is the perfect guy for you. Great for public relations," I say.

If they wanted a DOE connected guy for PR, they could have done better with PR chief David Cantor for much less money.

Harries was recently put in charge of special ed in NYC despite knowing nothing about it. Nice time to leave in the midst of reorganization.


Related:
I referred the story to a parent activist who knows more about Harries than I do who said she would also help pass the Klein lemon by praising Harries to the sky.

Ed Notes had this story for 2 weeks but sat on it out of courtesy to the caller.

The New West Side Story

When you're in debt, you're in debt all the way...
I was greedy, oh so greedy...
My IRA, my IRA, it's giving me angina...

http://www.newsday.com/media/flash/2009-04/46217527.swf

Tip from Merry.

Unity Hack Attack on Chapter Leader

Even regular critics of Randi Weingarten and her Unity Caucus, which has run the UFT since its inception, often don't understand the full depth of the betrayal of teacher interests. It takes years of day to day combat with Unity hacks to provide the full flavor.

Oh, I can tell stories. Like the ICE candidate for chapter leader in a long-time Unity stronghold who was charged with corporal punishment and sent to the rubber room a week before the election. The dean in charge who "investigated" was buddies with the long-time Unity hack who was chapter leader, who went around bragging how he got rid of his opponent. The ICE guy still got almost 40% of the votes despite being banned from the school. The Unity CL ended up with a full-time job at the UFT.

Or the ICE CL who always fought for her members in a large high school but was constantly being undermined by her district rep who actively sought out and cultivated someone to run against her despite the fact this guy was a "cooperative" ally of the principal who violated so many union rules. When the ICE candidate won the election by 1 vote, Unity used a phony disputed ballot to throw out the election, announced the re-election on a day the ICE CL was out of the building, and held the election the next morning on the last day of the school. I was very involved in that case as we met with the borough and district rep the night before the election and it was clear what their agenda was. The ICEer lost by a few votes. I guarantee the teachers at that school are not better off.

I wrote about blogger Proof of Life the other day (When a Chapter Leader Stands Up to the Principal... ) and her battle against a principal and her hand-picked candidate - both of them seem to have connections to the UFT. POL has risked her career and her health to stand up for her members and it showed when she won by 30 votes. Of course the UFT made her do it again on a technicality. Hope always springs eternal. Naturally she won again.

The interesting part here is the comments on that post from a Unity hack, who was more concerned with the fact POL referred to her principal as Bitch Face (or BF for short) and used that as an excuse to attack ICE:

Leaving a very detailed description (ie. traceable) where someone is constantly being called "Bitch Face", we're supposed to believe that the author is incapable of committing verbal abuse? Seems like ICE has found another winner to champion.
I'm once again bewildered by the choice of individuals that ICE stands behind.
It would seem that ICE flushes "A Union of Professionals" right down the toilet yet again.

These comments pretty much put it all in a nutshell as to the Unity Caucus/UFT conception of professionalism. Play nice, capitulate like a gentleperson, sell out - and we will support you all the way as the teachers get flushed down the drain. As long as you get COPE contributions and support the union line. On the other hand, fight like hell for your members, but voice criticisms of the Unity machine, and we will do what it takes to undermine you.

Even though this is blog is run by Ed Notes and not ICE, I'm sure ICE would be proud to champion POL and indeed hope she runs with ICE in an election so Bitch Face and her Unity supporters are blasted all over the map. We're just waiting for our invitation to come speak to the staff at the school to demonstrate that there are unionists who mucho appreciate POL.

POL left her own comment: "I would laugh if it weren't prohibited!"

Related:
My favorite line in POL's post: I asked Bitch Face if it was "bring your husband to work day."

Fiorillo on the UFT and Mayoral Control, Caroline on Charters

Michael left a few comments at Gotham Schools that are worth featuring.

1. As a public school parent, UFT Chapter Leader and member of the union’s Governance Committee - who must admit that he had every expectation that Randi would pull exactly this move - I must follow up on Ellen McHugh’s statement that, not only has Randi Weingarten never opposed mayoral control, but that we would not have mayoral control if not for Randi Weingarten.

The UFT always had veto power with the legislature over this issue, and it was Randi who gave the go-ahead for mayoral dictatorship of the schools in 2002. In fact, a colleague of mine who spoke with Sheldon Silver at the time tells me that Silver had alternative legislation written that, while giving substantial power to the mayor, would have provided for some checks and balances (which I seem to recall from my US history classes, is supposed to be the American Way). Weingarten rejected this, and we now found ourselves where we are today, betrayed yet again by a so-called union leader who prefers the company and compliments of the oligarchs who are intent on privatizing the schools, de-professionalizing the job of teaching, and preparing students for the the stress, tedium, overwork and surveillance-filled electronic and service/retail sweatshop that is the 21st century workplace.

For those who work or have children in the schools, Randi’s rationale that Bloomberg has brought “stability, cohesion and responsibility” to the schools is a particular insult to our intelligence and experience. After all the intentional fragmentation, chaotic (intentionally so) re-organizations, and refusal to accept any responsibility for ongoing crises within the schools, Randi’s distortions and/or refusal to see reality rubs salt in our wounds, to say nothing of making it harder to try and make public education work for all students.

As president of the AFT, now taking her show on the road by prepping the sell out of teachers in DC and Detroit, Weingarten’s disgraceful legacy metastasizes nationally.

Someone was horrified that the union might exercise veto power in the state legislature.

2. Not to be too harsh, but I think people are being ingenues if they think that the UFT does not have a powerful voice on education issues in the legislature, particularly in the Assembly prior to the 2008 election. And that’s how it should be, since the teachers are both the most stable constituency for public education, as well as - I know this goes against the current conventional wisdom/propaganda about schools - the strongest voice for students. I’m aware this statement will not go over well among many readers of this site, but consider the following:

- It is the UFT contract, and ONLY the UFT contract that places any limits on class size. Without the class size caps in the contract, Bloomberg and Klein would put 50 students in each class. After all, they never tire of saying that class size is irrelevant and that only “teacher quality” matters. Of course, charter supporters will say that they’re classes are smaller, without the “inefficiencies” of a union contract, but the reality is that charters are private entities masquerading as public schools, siphoning off public funds and receiving substantial private subsidies. Comparing charters - with their actively or passively creamed student populations, their low or nonexistent ELL and Special Ed populations, their freedom to remove students for whom the school “is not a good fit” - with zoned public schools is an exercise in naivete or dishonesty.

- The union contract, and ONLY the union contract allows people to make teaching a career, where many teachers often spend their entire professional lives serving the children of a particular community. This is an inestimable social benefit that is often overlooked. Again, charter schools are all about work force transience and turnover (an explicit policy goal of Klein’s, and one reason he’s pushing charters so aggressively), making teaching a temporary missionary/Peace Corps gig. If this offends you, I suggest you look at the turnover rate in charter schools: it’s an unacknowledged scandal, and gives the lie to their claims that they are “all about the children.”

The issue should not be one of people being shocked, positively shocked that the union has a powerful voice in Albany (after all, Finance, Insurance and Real Estate certainly does, and had been unsuccessfully pushing for mayoral control for quite some time) but how well the union uses that power in the service of teachers and students. And by supporting mayoral control, and yes, being the gatekeeper in permitting it to occur, the UFT under Randi Weingarten has failed its members, students and parents.

Related:

San Francisco Ed Examiner Caroline Grannan commented on charter schools at Gotham Schools in a running battle with anonymous charter school defender Kitchen Sink, known to distort charter school critics' views on more than one occasion. I posted Caroline's comment on Norms Notes for easier access.

Duking it Out on Charter Schools

Before Talking to a Politician...

...Show You Can Organize a Crowd

I posted an article about the Los Angeles teacher union on Norms Notes but never got to comment on it here. Remi left a comment on "The Day My Union Died":

Danzinger is right to criticize the current UTLA Leadership for its failure to make an effective attack on the anti-public education policies that dominate our state. But he is wrong about the effectiveness of a one-day strike. Even if the proposed one-day strike had been legal it would not have "convinced" Cortines and the Board that UTLA opposes their lay-offs and negative budget; Ray already knew that. All a one-day strike would have done was cost every participating teacher 1/2 of one percent of their salary. The real problem is not in Los Angeles, it is with the ultimate school board in Sacramento. The current UTLA Leadership should have been pushing, for the past two years as economic strom clouds gathered, for a statewide strike led by the CTA and CFT, UTLA's two statewide affiliates. Current state policies are destroying not only the LAUSD, but K-12 education, and California's once great system of a low cost university education for all those who want one. California needs to modify Prop. 13, and re-establish a tax policy that will make it posssible for the state to pay for the public services our citizens demand.

Remi is responding to a post critical of the ULTA for backing down on the one day strike after the injunction. This commenter seems to be looking through the narrow lens of political action as lobbying and misses the importance of the impact of a militant union willing to take a 1/2 of one percent hit. I have these discussions all the time with people who put their eggs into addressing politicians with pleading and lobbying and private meetings. Or letters and petitions. As the Marine Park rally showed, first demonstrate the ability to bring people out in force on a consistent basis and then talk to the politicians. All too often people get bogged down in lobbying and never get to the organizing necessary to back it up.

Why Sell Out? - Updated

This is a question I get all the time about Randi. Here is one quick response:

After the brutal '68 strike Albert Shanker knew the UFT could never again win much more than salary increases for teachers, and at some point only those at the expense of selling out. Thus over the next 15 years was born the "new unionism" where the union no longer is an antagonist but a cooperative partner with management.

So Shanker's joining in with the business world in the somewhat discredited (Rothstein) "Nation at Risk" in 1983. Leading from that Shanker made alliances with Ronald Reagan and the Clintons (retesting teachers in Ark. with he was governor) and Goals 2000, the precursor of NCLB when Clinton was President.

Knowing there could be dissent at the bottom there was a need to make sure to maintain absolute control - the Unity caucus machine.

Remember, the prime directive is to remain in power.

To try to keep members happy they have to get raises even if they are not real as NYC has pointed out. And merit pay. And money for longer days which many are happy to take, in particular if they are younger.

Support for the small schools and charter schools? Breaks up potential strong large schools which might turn against Unity if an opposition springs up. The UFT has the resources to get to all the schools. So for them the more the merrier.

By supporting mayoral control they can make deals one on one without democratic vetting. Bloomberg is willing to give money for salaries in exchange for the UFT keeping the members under control, one of the main functions of the UFT. BloomKlein don't want the UFT to go away. It performs too many services for them.

Every once in a while the UFT does the dance like a law suit (often announced and not filed) or some raw words from Randi directed at Klein for effect. And Bloomberg or Klein attack Randi for show – Witness the UFT getting data reports for tenure outlawed but allowing enough loopholes to give them what they want. They all have a laugh with each other at the way they're fooling so many chumps.


This comment is worth featuring:
The sellout is before ’68. Shanker chose alienation rather than solidarity with community and other workers. Selling out the school system, the children, and the parents was part of the decision.

Despite the harm to teachers and students, Shanker’s policies were not mistakes, but reflected the carefully thought-out ideology of the political group SDUSA, which ran the UFT and dominated much of the labor movement. An ideology of protecting and promoting the economic and class status quo in this country and US economic and political hegemony abroad.

In the late 60s and 70s, in the midst of a growing movement of students, rank and file labor, black and Puerto Rican movements for social justice, social programs and against warfare, foreign interventions, and military spending, this group of labor bureaucrats was active politically driving wedges between working people and promoting corporate interests.

Getting a good contract was always portrayed as a battle between us (UFT) and other municipal unions. Getting higher pay was always posed against getting better working conditions. From the early 70’s on, we always heard there was no money. This went on for more than 30 years through all kinds of ups and downs in the economy. Cities and States never had enough money for schools and social services.

As the corporate and income tax rates on the wealthy plummeted and as the federal government shifted more and more financial burdens onto states and local government, Shanker, his allies in the AFL-CIO, and his anointed successors never saw fit to mobilize a labor movement to fight back. At the same time he began to lay the groundwork for a further way to divide the educational community itself—the standards movement, which promoted a rigidly hierarchical and eventually a corporate-controlled educational system, threatening students and teachers alike.

What about Randi Weingarten? Is her hard work and ambition motivated by a strong ideological underpinning? Or is it just a personal quest for power?

Does it matter?

While Weingarten’s political ideology is not as clear and consistent as Shanker’s was, she pushes the union in the same direction. Instead of openly opposing her critics she pretends to take them seriously, forming committees, sponsoring meetings and demonstrations, speaking and writing about how she feels the pain of the overly burdened teaching staff.

But as you always say, Norm, watch what she does, not what she says. Inevitably she betrays our interests and lands squarely on the side of the educrats, the high-stakes test establishment, the dictator-mayor and the well-connected vendors and contractors sucking the life-blood out of our school system. Going along with the blame game against teachers and “failing” schools, she diverts our attention from the real culprits and the policies and programs that should be put in place in order to put our school system on the right track.