UTLA Strike - First Reactions - Praise and Contrarian Views

Diane Ravitch's reports

Los Angeles: Contract Approved by Union, by 81%
Leonie's immediate reaction:

Depending on the details, this looks like a terrific victory for the union and most importantly, for Los Angeles public school students....Here is my previous explanation of how the district's excessive class sizes were a central issue in the strike and central to the union's concerns....

Sami, Rami Malek twin

Class size has once again become a focus of national attention as a result of the week-long strike. See for example, last Saturday's SNL segment, where Kenan Thompson one and half minutes in says, "Teachers don't gain paid enough, class sizes are too big". Or the photo posted a few days ago by Oscar-nominate actor Rami Malek  of his twin brother, Sami, an LAUSD teacher dressed as a cowboy, holding a sign saying "Wanted: smaller class sizes; Reward: higher student achievement." 
.......Leonie Haimson, LA strike tentatively settled with national implications; here's how to counter myths of the class size deniers

I just saw Bohemian Rhapsody yesterday and Sami's brother Rami is great and may win the Academy Award. Sami wins for best sign.

There's almost universal praise for the strike outcome especially from the social justice caucuses who are allies of Union Power, the UTLA leadership. Any movement on class size is major. One of the under reported stories is that the UTLA leadership, including the current one, for decades has signed off on allowances for class size violations and the big victory here is that they have eliminated that.
But I interpret that as building their power in the schools and communities to a point where they had the ability to kill this open spigot on class sizes.

Almost universal praise.

Hmmm - in the UFT it was 87% overall approval. And I saw a opposition people saying this was a "soft" 87%, claiming many people held their noses and voted for it. And MORE focused on the justifiably bad deal for OT/PTs. I don't know if there are different voting segments in LA.

No holding noses and voting to end a strike in LA. Keep an eye on how the social justice reporting heaps praise on LA while attacking the UFT's "business" model unionism. Don't expect honest assessments anywhere -- well, maybe here. Watch MORE's reports especially and do a comparison of where UFT and UTLA members stand in terms of guidance, nurses -- both seem to be pretty bad here - and librarians -- I don't think so great in the UFT.

I'm always interested in contrarian views so I can get some balance. The Reformies who opposed the strike - they control the school board and the Supt - are mulling over their reactions. (See below).

The ultra -left has been attacking UTLA leaders throughout, claiming Alex was selling them out all along and that this deal was fundamentally decided before the strike. I believe the 6% was. And as you will see below the charter stuff is not much. So it comes down to class size, nurses, guidance and librarians? I look forward to more analysis. The Unity Caucus defenders will whisper behind the scenes (they are officially allies and supporters of UTLA) about how much better our contract is. (I wonder how OT/PTs fare in UTLA.)

Here are links to 2 pieces on the World Socialist Web Site -- I used to laugh at some of their stuff but one of their members was an active UFT member and now retired but he was handing out their leaflet at the DA last week and they set up a table across the street from the DA.

Los Angeles teachers denounce UTLA betrayal of strike

By our reporters, 23 January 2019

The conspiracy by United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) and the Democratic Party to ram through a new contract to end the six-day strike by 33,000 educators provoked widespread anger from teachers.

Union rams through deal to end Los Angeles teachers strike

By Jerry White, 23 January 2019

Before educators had time to study the deal, the United Teachers Los Angeles rushed through a vote that ignores teachers’ demands for improved wages and school funding and lower class sizes.

This was comment of theirs made me laugh out loud - DSA - of course is a broadbased group - but ISO is not left enough for WWSI.

The betrayal of the Los Angeles strike is a damning indictment of the pseudo-left groups, including the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and the International Socialist Organization (ISO), which provide the unions with a “left” cover. Caputo-Pearl is part of the “Union Power” faction of the UTLA bureaucracy, which spouts phrases about “social justice unionism” and fighting “institutional racism.” Caputo-Pearl’s counterparts in the “Caucus of Rank and File Educators” in Chicago sabotaged the 2012 strike, paving the way for the shutdown of scores of schools. ISO leader Jesse Sharkey, who sold out the strike, now heads the CTU.

ISO and DSA are in total control of MORE at this point but MORE is so inconsequential with no chance of winning as they did in LA and Chicago, it is not worth attacking them as "being pseudo left." Actually, there's a germ of truth in that -- faux left with lots of rhetorical flourishes.

WWSI does raise points about transparency and the quick ratification process in LA:

Teachers were given only a few hours to read the 40-page agreement before they were forced to vote on the deal later in the evening. Prior to that, the union and the district officials had been engaged in closed-door negotiations for five days during which time no details were revealed to teachers.

There is a reality here in the speed of a vote to get people back to work but I imagine they could have gone back while people had a few days to review the contract.

The UFT contract ratification requires the Ex Bd, the DA and the membership ratify. But this process also gives the leadership time to sell the contract.

How much did MORE attack the UFT leadership over the way it managed the recent contract vote? You will see only praise for the UTLA and MORE will undoubtedly use the outcome of the strike in the election campaign to point to the UFT's dormant membership.

You also hear attacks on UTLA over transparency - of course they had to have secret negotiations. But we hear the UFT always attacked on its own lack of transparency on contracts. I don't know enough about the negotiation process to judge.

I was interested in what might have been won on the charter issue, which the ultra-left had claimed was dropped from demands and was only out there publicly as a PR stunt.

But I disagree -- even if they didn't get anything much they made it an issue that garnered public attention and focused people on the way charters drain public education.

Did UTLA Get Real Gains on Charter School Issue? Or just consultation on co-loco issues?

Here is what I assume is a biased report from an pro-charter reformy group which is putting the best face on anything UTLA might have won, which seems to be that chapter leaders need to be "consulted" on charter co-locos.

4. Charter accountability

The agreement invests in “existing schools” and would increase accountability and regulations for charter schools, Caputo-Pearl said. This has been a central talking point for union leadership, who say charter schools are channeling millions of dollars annually away from L.A. Unified.

Caputo-Pearl said the pending agreement would give district neighborhood schools “a voice” in the co-location process, which is when charter schools are allotted unused classroom space on traditional school campuses under state law.

The tentative contract adds these provisions, but it does not give the union veto power over co-locations.

• Every time a charter visits a district school to scope out a co-location opportunity, a UTLA chapter chair would have to be invited to participate
• By Dec. 1 and Feb. 1 every year, L.A. Unified would have to send UTLA a list of all campuses that have been identified for possible co-location
• UTLA would have the right to designate one employee to serve as a “co-location coordinator” on every campus with a co-located charter school

L.A. Unified will work “to strengthen the voice of educators and provide more opportunities for collaborations for all who work in our schools,” Beutner said.

Now here is the anti-union right wing press from Mike Antoncci who will do an in-depth soon, which we will run though our filter. Mike warns that a coming economic crisis will shred much of what was agreed to.

Antonucci: So it’s over

Mike Antonucci | January 22, 2019,

http://laschoolreport.com/antonucci-so-its-over/

---

L.A. Unified and United Teachers Los Angeles reached a tentative agreement on a new contract. There will be plenty of analysis from all quarters on the details in the days and weeks to come, but for now we can all agree on one thing.

It had to happen this way.

The strike had to happen because without it the district would not have made the concessions it did. What made that happen wasn’t the direct effect of the strike on Superintendent Austin Beutner and the school board, but on L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, the county Office of Education, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state legislature.

L.A. Unified’s finances are a legitimate mess, so what Beutner needed was reassurance that the city, county and state wouldn’t let a more generous deal sink the district. Persuaded that there would be no takeover of the district and that proposed money in the governor’s budget will become actual money, Beutner bent far enough to reach an agreement.

The strike had to happen because UTLA was not going to accept a deal without one. The strike was in the works for more than two years, even though career educator Michelle King was superintendent. UTLA invested lots of money and staff time into assuring the rank-and-file supported a strike. The authorization vote was overwhelming. Agreeing to anything less than a perfect deal prior to a walkout would have led to internal union turmoil. Had this exact tentative agreement been offered two weeks ago, the union would have rejected it.

UTLA brought pressure through marches, rallies and the fact that up to 81 percent of the district’s normal enrollment of 450,000 students stayed home.

L.A. Unified brought pressure by keeping the schools open, which meant that striking teachers were losing pay each day they stayed out — something that isn’t always the case.

Teachers lost 1.5 percent to 3 percent of their pay during the strike, depending on whether you compute it for a calendar year or a school year.

The district endured a net loss of $150 million in state funding due to the decreased attendance.

Students lost six days of instruction, probably a bit more since it will take some time to get things back to normal.

All parties declare this a victory — and will devote considerable resources to promote that view with the public. It may well turn out that way, if the economy continues to grow and tax revenues don’t falter.

If there is a downturn or a recession, or even a continued decline in enrollment, the rosy assumptions that made this deal possible will weigh like an anchor on district operations and staffing. All those teachers, counselors and nurses that are about to be hired will be the first laid off, thanks to seniority provisions. To avoid that, UTLA members may have to make considerable financial sacrifices.

If you think that can’t possibly happen, well, I’m sure those who went on strike in 1989 felt the same way.

Regardless of the way it pans out, both UTLA President Alex Caputo-Pearl and (probably) L.A. Unified Superintendent Austin Beutner will be elsewhere by then. A new group of people will have to hash out future disputes, and we can all pretend that this month’s events didn’t lead us there.

And of course let's get to our fave union leader:

AFT President Randi Weingarten Reacts to Tentative Agreement for Los Angeles Teachers

LOS ANGELES—Members of United Teachers Los Angeles are voting tonight on an agreement with the Los Angeles Unified School District, following a historic six-day strike in the second-largest school district in the country. The LAUSD school board will do the same. Below is a statement from American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten:

“The agreement is a paradigm shift for the city and nation, as it makes a clear commitment to the resources and conditions necessary for teachers to teach and kids to learn in L.A.’s public schools. In addition to a 6 percent pay raise for the two-year agreement, it provides nurses in every school five days a week, lowers class size over the next several years, ensures school counselors for every 500 students, commits to new community schools and provides a process to cap charter schools. UTLA has endorsed the agreement, and if the response at today’s rally is a bellwether, the union’s more than 30,000 members will ratify it.

“This strike and the community support of the teacher strikers flipped the debate over public education in L.A. on its head. And the result is nothing short of a sea change for public schools and for educators in L.A. and in the country.

“With the support of parents, students, clergy and the entire union community, L.A.’s teachers helped inspire a reordering of the city’s priorities to finally put public schools first. And it took a strike to make the establishment see how much the public is really behind public schools and public school teachers.

“For the last 10 years, the political forces in Los Angeles haven’t valued public schools, nor respected the people who teach in them. But now, instead of fixating on testing, competition and accountability, these educators have focused a city—indeed an entire country—on the teaching and learning conditions our kids need.

“Every child has hopes, dreams and aspirations. But those aspirations don’t just happen simply because you wish for them—you need the power to secure the investment to fulfill them. This was a fight for the soul of public education. It was a fight to invest in public schools after decades of neglect, and while one contract can’t fix everything, this is a starting point. Teachers want what kids need, and today in Los Angeles, because of this struggle, teachers got a big step closer to securing what our kids need.”

AOC and the Left - She's Not Everyone's Darling

This is what we mean when we talk about the Democratic Party’s extraordinary capacity to co-opt progressives, social movements and radicals who don’t have a clear class perspective. If the DSA wants to remain a potentially disruptive element in U.S. politics and avoid being rapidly folded into the Democratic Party machine, its members must urgently reassess their electoral strategy. Working-class independence should be the starting point of any organization that claims to fight capitalism. The DSA leadership body has remained silent on Ocasio-Cortez’s most conservative remarks, as well as on her open strategy of revitalizing the Democratic Party. In her role as the celebrated face of American democratic socialism, Ocasio-Cortez portrays the DSA as an organization that aspires to serve as the left wing of the Democratic Party. Without a rapid course correction, that is what it will become.... Juan Cruz Ferre. Left Voice.

I am fascinated by the attacks on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez coming not from the right but from the left. Here are two pieces, one by Micah Uetrecht at Jacobin, a leading left journal, celebrating AOC calling out Democrats but warning her about her wavering and being brought back into the fold. His piece, Welcome Their Hatred, appears in Jacobin which seems to be non-sectarian and open to various ideas on the left and I imagine he sees her as someone who will push the Dems to the left -- ie, a reformer of the party.

Democratic leaders are outraged at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s actions in Congress and are trying to reel her in. It’s a clear sign she’s antagonizing all the right forces in the party.

If Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez weren’t provoking outrage from her Democratic colleagues within her first days in Congress, she wouldn’t be doing it right.
Politico ran a very revealing story this morning about the socialist congresswoman, summed up in its headline: “Exasperated Democrats try to rein in Ocasio-Cortez.” House Dems’ grievances include high crimes like encouraging primary challenges to centrist, pro-corporate Democrats and pushing for (gasp!) a committee appointment they don’t think she deserves....

UFT Elections: Why Mike (not Mulgrew) is Running With Unity

Mike Schirtzer explains his reasons for running with Unity Caucus at NYC Educator:  Michael Schirtzer and Arthur Goldstein for UFT Executive Board 2019 . I told him I would publish his piece here after Arthur. There are a lot of Mikes run with Unity.

Only high school teachers can vote for him and Arthur. I can't vote for them as I've said but even if I could, despite being close friends, I still wouldn't vote for them.


Some Ex-MOREs  - there are enough of them to fill a stadium - are voting for him or would if they could - 

Here is Mike's statement, some of which I disagree with, especially the praise for the "wins" at a glacial pace - but let's let Mike have his say:

Three years ago, I asked for your vote when I ran for UFT Executive Board, a 101 member group that meets every two weeks to set policies for our union, negotiate the contract, and bring reports from schools to the leadership. During the last union elections, I ran on the MORE/New Action slate in order to challenge the Unity Caucus. We ran on a promise that we would bring rank and file voice to the UFT with matters that are important to our members in the school. Along with six others on our slate, I won, and we have had the great privilege of representing high school teachers and all UFT members on this representative committee.

I am now running for reelection with Arthur Goldstein, longtime chapter leader/ELL teacher at Francis Lewis High School and a well published columnist who has written for the Daily News among other publications. In the upcoming union elections, we are running as independents on the Unity slate, which includes UFT President Michael Mulgrew. We ask you to vote for us by checking the “Unity” box on your ballot that will be mailed to your home.

This time around, we won’t be running with the opposition groups that we have been part of in the past. By working with members of Unity, we’ve been able to promote significant advances for the members of this union. Our former group, MORE, is refusing to run with other groups or open their slate to independent voices like ours, making it clear they do not want to win. Conversely, when the leadership of UFT asked us to run with them on the Unity slate, we insisted that we maintain our independent voices. We made it clear that we will still challenge them when there is reason to. They agreed that our dissent is valuable and that our only loyalty must be to the members of our union, the people working hard for our students every single day. Unity is providing us the opportunity to bring multiple perspectives to the Executive Board, which is the change this union needs.

It’s unprecedented that Unity/UFT leadership invites us to run with them, yet does not make us join their caucus. In the future, if there are legitimate reasons to form a group to oppose the union leadership, I would join a united group that welcomes everyone. As of now, Unity is welcoming our voices, even though we have had our share of disagreements. They want us to raise issues that our members find crucial and this is exactly why we have made this decision.

None of us joined this profession to become wealthy, but thankfully we’re able to provide decent lives for our families. With our new contract, teachers’ top salary will rise to over $128,000. The teachers that went on strike in West Virginia and Oklahoma teachers were on food stamps, welfare and working multiple jobs. The Los Angeles teachers union is on strike because the cost of living is higher than NYC, while top salary is only $85,000 and some classes have 50 students. Several teachers from our school who have graded AP exams out of state came back with horror stories from teachers they met. Their salaries are so low that they can’t even pay their bills without working several jobs Some reported being fired on a principal’s whim. This is not a situation we want, and UFT is the only force that stands in the way of such a future.

There is not an urban school district in this country that has the salary or benefits that we do, and this is because of our union. The Janus decision threatens all that we have. A strong UFT, with diverse voices, is more important than ever. We are running with Unity to strengthen our union and protect our rights in order to better the lives of the children we serve.


We Won 100% Paid Parental Leave

Nearly 200,000 UFT members now have 100% of their salary when they have or adopt a baby. This is an unheard of benefit around in this country. Even fathers can take the six weeks paid. Before this policy men could take only three days off for their child's’ birth or adoption. This was an absolute sin.  Emily James started a petition which was signed by 85,000 people demanding the mayor give us this long overdue benefit. I reached out to Emily, and brought her to the board to present it to our leadership. Emily and I joined with members of Unity and the UFT’s media department to plan actions all across the city. Thanks to our work, a membership that is over 75% women now has their full pay and can still take their banked  (CAR) days when they give birth or adopt.

We Brought Back Two Observations

Teachers in our schools and all across the city reached out to me and Arthur when we began contract negotiations. They all wanted the observation minimum of two per year, as per state law. Teachers who had been successful for decades often had administrators who taught for a few years visiting their classroom four times and being forced to provide far more “constructive” criticism than was merited. Even worse, teachers new to the DOE having all their observations in May and feedback in June. We fought for change and won. Arthur and I repeatedly brought to Executive Board and Contract Committee meetings member demand for less observations. When we met with DOE negotiators they said no, but we kept the pressure on and prevailed. Beginning next year, 85% of tenured teachers will have two observations and one will be in the fall semester.

We Fought Against Oversized Classes 

Those of us in Goldstein High School have had the unfortunate distinction of being named in the top 10 citywide worst offenders for class-size violations two years in a row. We’ve had 40 students in a class, which led to a failure to comply with special education mandates. By the time we won our grievance, it was already December. We faced massive program changes, crying children, teachers and paras juggling schedules. Arthur and I made class-size overages a centerpiece of our work at UFT Executive Board. We knew too well the process under the old contract did not work. Our new contract demands a quicker response in fighting back against the constant loopholes. Schools in repeated violation will have arbitrators make immediate solutions without an endless grievance process.

We Worked Together to Stop Abusive Administrators

UFT members from across the city reached out to us to bring them to our meetings so they could share stories of absolute craziness from their inexperienced, terrible administrators. Principals and APs pushing unproven policies from cookie-cutter lesson plans, rotating bulletin boards, to outright harassment. Because of their testimonies, UFT leadership took up these issues with the mayor, chancellor, and superintendents. We also negotiated an unprecedented anti-retaliation clause in our new contract that protects members who report these administrators. Some situations were resolved, while  some administrators were just shuffled to another school. This is an ongoing problem. Arthur and I, with your support, will continue to bring these situations to light. We will press UFT to take more aggressive actions in public to let our members know that an attack on one is an attack on us all.  We are asking for your vote on the Unity slate, so we can continue to fight these battles, and do what we do best: represent you.

Did Mulgrew Mislead? NYSAPE Urges Legislators to Vote NO to APPR Bill that Would Link High-Stakes Testing to Teacher and Principal Evaluations

Contrary to the claims of some supporters of the legislation, a close examination of the bills indicates that they continue to link teacher evaluations to student growth as measured by test scores and give the state education commissioner the power to shut down or take over schools based on state test results. Reports of “decoupling” test scores from teacher evaluations are misleading and do not tell the whole truth. The proposed legislation does nothing to dismantle the current test-and-punish system... NYSAPE

Mulgrew on APPR at Jan. 16, 2019 —Ten years ago test scores were supposed to be part of evaluation. Obama administration made this requirement for federal aid. Last year we finally had bill we wanted, Governor, who now loves us, said he would sign. We had everyone but six Senators. Senate would not put it on floor unless we lifted NYC charter cap and agreed to additional funding only for charters. We then opposed them in elections. They felt don’t worry, we’re only screwing NYC. On Friday afternoon at 4, Senate and Assembly introduced same bill, will go to Senate on Tuesday. We don’t want to wait—are hoping within two weeks we will finally have no mandated test scores in teacher evaluation.... NYC Educator report on the DA.

Some people might be asking if Mike Schirtzer, who is running on the Unity line will be free to bring this contradiction up. Looking forward to tomorrow night's Ex Bd meeting. [Update - Mike says he will bring it up.]

And a reminder of where the other Mike - punchy Mike stood 4 years ago in this video I made at the 2014 AFT convention.

Leonie Haimson:

Despite the misinformation about this bill, it continues to link student test scores to teacher evaluation in ways that are invalid and potentially damaging, as the below press release from NYSAPE points out.  Though now the tests will be locally selected from a list created by the Commission, this may include the state exams or another assessment, in which case students would face double the amount of testing.  And the dreaded HEDI matrix will remain in force.  You can read a copy of the bill yourself.   

Leonie Haimson posted this on her blog and to her email listserves.

A meeting on the bill will be held by the NY Senate Education committee at 10:00 AM on Tuesday; you can email your legislators by clicking the link on the message below, and/or call them. Calls have more impact generally than emails.

The teacher evaluation system in New York state was originally left totally up to districts, where it should return.  If this new law is passed, it will be the ninth change in the state teacher evaluation system since 2008 by my count.  More on the history of these various laws and regulations here and here.

https://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2019/01/nysape-urges-no-vote-on-bill-that-will.html

On Racism

Growing up in the East NY section of Brooklyn, I considered myself a liberal, though racism was endemic in my circle of friends. And I get how hard it is to irradiate racist roots when they are planted in the young.

The neighborhood turned from a solid Jewish neighborhood -- there was one Catholic girl in my class -- to a neighborhood in flight due to the influx of people of color by my time in college - my parents joined the exodus in 1965 to Canarsie. I'm sure there were not only Jewish people in the neighborhood but my classes in elementary school seemed to be Jewish. At Thomas Jefferson HS, there was a mix of races but being segregated in a college bound program there was little mixing except for gym.

At Brooklyn College as an undergrad and grad student from 1962-68 I had little contact with people of color and no contact with anyone on the left.

We had a young lady two years older than me from the midwest who was renting our basement and she and a guy on my block who she didn't know met each other at demos at Downstate hospital in Brooklyn calling for hiring more black people -- I think that was around 1962 in my freshman year. She told me she sat under the wheels of a truck to stop the construction. They were going to the next one together. He was older than me so not a friend but I saw him around for years and was surprised - the first inkling that what we were reading in the papers was touching people I know. (Or maybe he was just interested because she was cute - not unheard of in the world of male activism.)

My first contact with people who were active in the civil rights movement.

A few years later after she moved to Manhattan she called and wanted to stay over for the evening - she was going to a party not far away and wanted me to pick her up after the party. When she called to come and get her my parents hadn't come home yet and I didn't have my car and recruited a few friends to drive me over to an area around Highland Park - I guess today we call it Cypress Hills. I went into an apartment house and knocked on the door - it was opened by a young black man who invited me in. I was at an inter-racial party, something so out of my order of the universe I couldn't comprehend it. They offered me a drink and invited me to stay but my friends were downstairs waiting. And I wasn't very comfortable --- you can guess why.

We drove her back to my house and she was a bit drunk and in a happy mood. (I think my friends were getting ideas.) My parents weren't home yet and my two friends and I were watching TV with her when something came up on TV regarding race. My friends made some racist comments and I either laughed or said something stupid and she went wild -- broke into a crying fit and said she wanted to go home. They left and I finally calmed her down and convinced her to stay.

"What happened that made you go off," I asked her? "You know they are racist"

"Yes," she said, "but I thought you were different."

I thought I was different too. One of the best lessons on racism I've  learned. I drove her back to Manhattan the next day and I don't think I ever saw her or heard from her again.

I learned something about racism that night - my racism. How nervous I was walking into that party. I remember how they invited me to stay. The best way to battle racism is contact with people of other races where so many of your misconceptions fall away. A missed opportunity. If I wasn't with my friends I would have stayed.

Who knew that two or three years later I would be working in a school and neighborhood where I would be in constant contact with children of color which had been such an alien world to me and learn lessons daily about racism and my own racism and what a struggle it is to struggle against?

I'm still struggling - and learning.

#UFTElections: Busy Work for Caucus Members as Einstein Def of Insanity is Met

Despite my anti-election stance, as I said the other day on this blog,  I will sign all petitions- if asked. I'm not volunteering unless someone asks me. Well, actually, there are a few petitions I won't sign if they were among the people who I've witnessed stabbing people in the back. (But that story is for another time.)

I was asked to go to a petition signing party by a caucus and I will be doing that. I signed a few petitions at the DA the other day.

But let's face it -- what a waste of time.

The amount of emails and social energy and physical energy going on is over the top.

And boy are they all so excited to actually have something to do that seems productive. Wow. Petitioning. Something we can get people to do and make them think they are making a difference.

As I said - busy work.

They have the illusion that they can get people who have not been active to get involved in the election and stay involved after the election as a way to build up a caucus. In every election I've seen maybe one or two people come floating along and stay active. For a bit. Maybe. At that rate, by the 2031 election they will have a dozen.

With all the oxygen in the room having been sucked up by the minutia of the UFT elections over the past few months, the opposition caucuses, MORE, New Action, Solidarity have descended full bore into the black hole of the 4 week petitioning process which will end on the eve of the mid-winter break in mid-February.

Then, when they return from the break they can spend the next 6 weeks campaigning to split the anti-Unity vote in reality, in competition more with each other than with Unity. (I will make my election total predictions before the vote count on April 17.)

I made my pitch to MORE at a meeting in November to not run due to the futility and wasted hours that could be used to actually doing organizing and building up capacity for the future.

But the experienced hands who had been with the old and defunct TJC caucus of the first decade of the century wanted to run and sold the election to the many newbies in MORE who had never taken part in an election before - and with the same election line TJC used to get so few votes in the 2004, 07 and 10 elections. (Full disclosure -- ICE was also part of the slate with TJC and didn't do any better - but at least I learned my lessons.)

History, unfortunately, does repeat itself. 

As Einstein (may have) said ----- insanity.

Afterburn

The other day I was chastised by a few people in MORE for being too "negative" on the elections. Well, for them here's a

Feel better?

Oakland Wildcat, Denver Teachers Will Vote on Strike

Second Wildcat Strike planned for January 18; Oakland teachers could vote to strike at start of February.

LA teachers, the Wildcat Underground stands with you.

Who we are

What we want

How you can help

Oakland public school teachers plan Friday disruption

A group of Oakland teachers said Wednesday that they plan to engage in a major disruption on Friday to protest the slow pace of contract talks between the Oakland Unified School District and the teachers’ union.
The action on Friday is largely being organized by a group of Oakland High School teachers called the Wildcat Underground that coordinated a sickout by dozens of teachers on Dec. 10.
Protest organizers said teachers and students from Oakland High School, Oakland Technical High School, Life Academy, Skyline, United for Success Academy, and Fremont High School plan to gather at Oakland Tech at 4531 Broadway at 8 a.m. on Friday for a rally outside the school. They said that at 9 a.m. teachers and students will start marching to school district offices at 1000 Broadway, which is two-and-a-half miles away, and at 10 a.m., teachers, student, and allies will gather outside the school offices.
Oakland High School history teacher Cole Margen said in a statement:

“We hope to disrupt district business as usual. … We need our district to understand that we are on the brink of a catastrophic strike. This will impact Oakland’s educational system, both teachers and students.”

Margen added:

“The issues we face are similar to those in Los Angeles.”

Teachers in Los Angeles went on strike on Monday.
Margen said Friday’s action isn’t sanctioned by the Oakland Education Association, the union that represents teachers.
The OEA said last week that it is strongly considering conducting a strike authorization vote by the end of the month.
The teachers organizing the action on Friday noted that a strike by Oakland teachers lasted for more than two months.
Contract talks between the school district and the union have been going on for about a year and a half.
The two sides currently are in the midst of fact-finding. The school district’s most recent offer to the teachers is a 5 percent raise over the next three years.
Suzi LeBaron, a science teacher and pathway director at Oakland High School, said:

“Held up against the cost of living, this offer would send us economically backward.”

Commenting on the teachers’ planned action on Friday, Oakland schools Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell said in a statement:

“We urge them not to engage in this illegal labor action which is not sanctioned by their union.”

Johnson-Trammell added:

“It is also a move that runs counter to our collective efforts to reach an agreement between the OEA and the school district as both parties are engaged, in good faith, in the fact-finding process with the California Public Employment Relations Board. … We want our teachers to know that everyone on the Board of Education and in district leadership firmly believe that they deserve to be paid more than they currently are. We are hopeful that our teachers will remain in class supporting students on Friday.”

Johnson-Trammell added:

“We are committed to working with the OEA to come to an equitable contract that works for both sides.”

Teachers reject Denver Public Schools' offer, will vote to strike Saturday and Tuesday

https://www.denverpost.com/2019/01/18/denver-public-schools-teachers-contract-negotiations/

 

Splainin' the Goldstein/Schirtzer Caucus Decision to Run With Unity

While I (Norm) would not have made the same choice Mike and Arthur did and I won't vote for them, in the context of what has happened to the opposition I fully understand their decision -- I feel better having two allies on the EB who I hope will raise issues of mine and others concerns that would never be put forth if they weren't there......

Arthur and Mike -- the Goldstein/Schirtzer caucus -- have no interest in doing what the rest of the opposition is doing --- wasting 4 months running on the UFT election treadmill to nowhere. ... The reality is that their position on the EB in terms of pushing the union is weaker than it was when they won as part of the opposition defeating Unity in head to head voting..... Norm again

.... the new caucus of Three Unity Water Carriers (try to look independent but kiss Unity's butt all the way).... The Unity water carriers even get the convention trips. They can suck up even more.... Anonymous comment, UFT Election Petition Day at Delegate Assembly


My response: 
In effect, anonymous people who bitch about Unity but don't jump into the waters in fighting them are the real water carriers. Arthur fought them in the open for 13 years and Mike for 6 years. So let them carry some water for Unity while you sit back and do nothing. And don't tell me how afraid you are. They at least have a record of standing up (publicly). 

In his latest post Arthur Goldstein justifies running with Unity Caucus - - Moving Forward.

I want to congratulate Mike Schirtzer and Arthur Goldstein on their election to the high school Ex Bd in the upcoming UFT election ending April 17, 2019. And yes, they will also be going to the NYSUT/AFT conventions where I expect them to be free to take any positions they want instead of carrying the Unity water -- and if I'm there I will be monitoring them.

If there is any sure bet, this one is it, so if you have extra pension money to bet, pony up. The difference in the election in 2016 that won MORE/NA were the votes from Arthur's 300 UFT members who supported him on whatever slate he ran on. While their vote totals will be low, as Unity's has always been in the HS and if we add together the total high school votes of the opposition they might be close, the fact that 3 caucuses are all running alone assures Arthur and Mike of victory.

Some MOREs in 2016 clearly resented Arthur for his independence and tried to paint the victory then as a win for social justice unionism as opposed to the organizing work by Arthur and James Eterno in the Queens high schools, which had the highest voting totals of all the boroughs by far. Even Unity's Howie Schoor agreed with this assessment. (This internal dispute in MORE in May 2016 was the opening shot in the wars to come after the election.)

Over the past year or so, or since the Janus ruling, Arthur has bent over backwards trying not to provide the enemies of unions ammunition that can be used to get people to leave the union. His decision is based mostly on the Janus situation but also slams MORE for helping to push him and Mike into the decision they made.

I can see the point. Once you see no hope for the future of an opposition that can have real influence instead of functioning as a club trying to lobby the UFT leaders, but want to maintain some level of influence, what exactly do you do?

But let's be clear. Arthur and Mike only got on the Ex Bd because a group of us in MORE set up a democratic process for choosing candidates - MORE had 4 out of 7 HS EB and then when New Action could only come up with 2 candidates, we had a 5th - who ended up coming to only 2 meetings before quitting - that's another story altogether.

They would never have had the influence and impact they did if there wasn't a caucus like MORE to put them in a position to win the election. So if I see them acting as if they won the high school seats in 2016 as individuals instead of part of the work of a caucus I smack them down. We might trash the current version of MORE but not the 2016 version. (And I will tell the full story of how we went from there to here after the election.) And I will point out that without Unity Caucus they still wouldn't be on the board. The reality is that their position on the EB in terms of pushing the union is weaker than it was when they won as part of the opposition defeating Unity in head to head voting.

With that option of running to win being closed off and even if they ran with New Action or Solidarity they would still not end up on the Ex Bd, they chose to be on the Ex Bd and still have a voice, even if it is somewhat muted -- no matter what they say.

Some compare their decision to the one New Action made in 2003 to run with Unity endorsement in the 2004, 07, 10 and 13 elections before coming back to the opposition in 2016.

Absolutely no comparison. In 2003, New Action was still the leading opposition and if they had run alone they still would have won the high schools. By 2007, they had lost so much credibility, they could never win alone without joining with the other groups - remember - ICE came into being partly as a response to the NA decision and TJC went from being a fringe groups into an electoral caucus - seeing an opening due to the NA defection.

Now we are in a situation where there is no chance for any of the 3 caucuses running to win anything. MORE in fact is not even going to run for the high school ex bd positions.

Arthur and Mike -- the Goldstein/Schirtzer caucus -- have no interest in doing what the rest of the opposition is doing --- wasting 4 months running on the UFT election treadmill to nowhere. And they look at this election as a holding pattern. If the opposition ever makes sense they will be back there.


And don't forget, Arthur is the chapter leader of a large high school with 300 members. His priority is not to some ideal of opposing Unity but to address the needs of his chapter. So for those of you who want to snipe at him from an often anonymous position, stand up and be counted if you are so opposed to Unity.

Remember - Arthur's blog came into being around 2005 and that contract pushed him into opposition mode and he soon joined us in ICEUFT - he even ran with us once but also made it clear -- he doesn't run to lose and if there is no chance he won't bother running to make a point. That was why I didn't even ask him to run for MORE in 2013 - with New Action on the Unity line I felt we had no chance. The Unity totals came in so low in the high schools that without the 450 New Action totals, we would have had a chance.

Thus, in 2016, James, Arthur, Mike and I hatched a plan to go after winning the high schools even if NA remained with Unity -- a plan that would have failed. But the other part of our plan was to woo New Action into an alliance -- we had seen lots of signs their deal with Unity was fraying. And our plan, despite some internal opposition from some MOREs -- the very same people who have taken control -- we executed the plan.

Mike, who will be issuing his own statement soon which we will publish, is a newer recruit to the opposition -- since the beginning of MORE - he wasn't part of the planning group but was on board from the beginning. His politics didn't quite mesh with the rest of MORE's often didactic and rigid reactions to organizing and ideologicalizing. (Word is my creation.) They were clearly nervous about putting Mike - and Arthur - on the Ex Bd since they knew they couldn't control them. But the democratic process in MORE won out. This time MORE came up with a better way -- just have a small group choose the candidates without democracy.

The campaign in Mike's school, Leon Goldstein, whose chapter leader Kit Wainer, has been a 30 year oppositionist as a member of TJC and now MORE, will certainly be interesting. The school has been a long time bastion of the opposition - at least the TJC wing --- a sure bet if there is one to vote anti-Unity. And I bet it still is. But Mike, who Kit brought into the movement, will be campaigning in opposition to Kit and MORE this time and things may get sticky. Kit is one of the leaders of the recent moves MORE has made in a new direction, aligning the group along the lines of the old TJC positions. Mike pushed back against this move even before he left MORE.

While I would not have made the same choice Mike and Arthur did and I won't vote for them, in the context of what has happened I fully understand their decision -- I feel better having two allies on the EB who I hope will raise issues of mine and others concerns that would never be put forth if they weren't there.

Democratic Socialism Isn’t Social Democracy - Jacobin

The Nordic countries — Finland, Norway, and Sweden — are social democracies. They have constitutional representative democracies, extensive welfare benefits, corporatist collective bargaining between labor and capital that is managed by the state, and some state ownership of the economy. These institutions would be much preferable relative to the ones in our neoliberal wasteland.
Yet even if labor is given a greater voice both at the workplace and in the management of the economy, capitalist control persists over the large majority of workplaces.... Jacobin

One view only ---- Democratic socialism, social democracy ---- defining the differences.

With AOC and Bernie declaring themselves socialists of some kind - I think the Scandinavian model below, there are versions and interpretations of socialism that are confusing. There are questions about democracy and socialism and even if we are talking about the same thing in terms of democracy in the way it is interpreted by liberals and socialists.

Some maintain that democracy as we know it and socialism as practiced in so-called socialist nations has never been compatible. And never can be. That it is all just a theory that can never come to pass.

My friend Michael Solo pointed out that I have been confusing the concepts social democracy and democratic socialism and and sent along this Jacobin article.

Democratic Socialism Isn’t Social Democracy

By

Michael A. McCarthy

Social democracies like Norway show that more humane, equitable, democratic societies are possible. But democratic socialists want to go beyond them.

UFT Election Petition Day at Delegate Assembly - I will sign all petitions

I remember leaving the 2013 UFT election count and going to a MORE "victory" party at a bar where there were almost 100 people waiting to celebrate our first election. What a far cry from that event we are today. Most of those people have disappeared.

There will be a lot of activity at the Delegate Assembly today as 4 caucuses begin circulating petitions for the upcoming UFT election - Unity, New Action, MORE and Solidarity. Expect some chaos.

In normal times today would be one of my busiest days of the year - like the last 5 UFT (04, 07, 10, 13, 16) election cycles.

Ellen Fox and I would have been running a military like operation getting petitions ready for people this afternoon. In 2016, on petition day at the DA, we had everything ready for people as the DA ended and we all went to a bar around the corner for a massive petition signing event. Over 50 people showed up. (Where are they now?)

Today, Ellen and myself will be watching the DA from the 19th floor. There is little election excitement with the outcome already decided. (I predict a lower turnout due to the confusion of 3 separate opposition slates on the ballot.)

But I will be downstairs until the meeting begins to sign anyone's petition.

I have been urging a boycott of the UFT elections, so signing petitions might seem hypocritical.

UFT elections are fundamentally a farce, yet every 3 year cycle all the opposition parties get sucked in. They argue elections are an opportunity for caucus building and organizing. It never happens and after the results are in people are burned out.

I view elections as busy work for small caucuses which often retards the real work of organizing that needs to be done.

And all three caucuses have been scrambling to get the 40 required people to form a slate (Unity will have 800 people getting signatures). That is shameful, since in 2016 we had 300 people running on MORE/NA and could have had hundreds more. What a waste of resources today.

Oh, caucus leaders make all sorts of excuses about getting the message out and reaching rank and file, etc. But they do not state flat out that they cannot win. In 2016 we were very open -- we said we could win the high schools and nothing else -- and I was attacked by the leader of another caucus as not wanting to win or being a defeatist. I think the outcome of the last election, where I predicted the rough totals before they came out, has proven the point.

Each of the caucuses, including Unity, are dominated by a tiny group who are in control, leaving most members on the fringe. So they use the elections every three years to pump people up and downplay any hints that they are running in a futile exercise. Then after the election, they go back to running the caucus the way they want. Democracy inside caucuses, no matter what they say, is very limited. We found that out in MORE where attempts to run a broad-based democratic group were shut down by one faction that gained total control.

But I will sign all petitions, as a social act.

At last count 3 former disaffected MOREs I am friendly with will be running on the Unity line - and when they explain why it makes sense I will publish their reasons. They all assure me they did not have to sign loyalty oaths and have been told they are free to be critical. Given the state of the opposition, having people with some freedom to be critical inside Unity may be the best option. That MORE lost people to Unity who are very progressive politically is a sign of the dysfunction on the part of the controlling faction. A number of former MOREs say they will vote Solidarity.

But I won't vote for my pals running with Unity -- nor for anyone individually, as only slate votes are reported. And of course I won't vote Unity. But I will waste my ballot in another way.

Right now I intend to use my ballot to make a statement - invalidating it by voting for all three opposition slates and writing United Front with a check mark. It would be great if more people did that. The only future for an opposition to Unity is to build a big tent caucus, which is what MORE started out being but has turned into something else.

While I am still a MORE, I have no issues with the other caucuses, but my political views on the whole still line up with some people in MORE, especially the few ICEers left. My gripe in MORE is with a certain faction, not the entire group. And I will delve more into this faction in the future. I would still urge people to join MORE and help move it in a more positive direction.

My election objection this time especially is to the inability of the opposition to come together. This is mostly the fault of the faction controlling the MORE caucus which wouldn't run with New Action as we did in 2016. I urged them to run with everyone or not run at all so as to give someone a chance to win. I lost.

New Action is also at fault, to a lesser extent, because they wouldn't run with Solidarity, which was willing to run with everyone. There was a split in New Action over this issue but the anti-Solidarity forces won out. (I will delve deeper into the whys another time.)

But legitimate questions were raised as to the viability of Solidarity as a caucus and also worries by the liberal wing over an appeal to right wing populism. (I already noted one candidate who I would never vote for.) Not only because they didn't get a slate in the 2016 elections, but also because they have had almost no presence in the activities in the UFT since the last election and only have come to life for this election. However, many of us have lightened up on criticism of them and I may even attend one of their events.

The reality is that even if all groups did come together, they could at most win the high schools (a good bet) and the middle schools (a long shot). As for elementary schools - no shot. And that is the key to organizing -- reaching deep into elementary schools for the opposition would be a game changer in the union. And getting people inside the functional chapters. (Assume the OT/PTs will vote opposition on the whole.)

That was my original goal in MORE. To build a structure that went deep into the schools. The 2013 election was a base mark. I remember leaving the 2013 election count and going to a MORE "victory" party at a bar where there were almost 100 people waiting to celebrate our first election. What a far cry from that event we are today. Most of those people have disappeared.

The 2016 election built on that and I expected to make more gains in the 2019, especially in the elementary and middle schools. There are a lot of reasons for the crash in MORE that has dashed all these hopes for the prospect of building a force to challenge Unity. That analysis is for another time.

Dems Divide Over LA Strike - Is it charter schools? - Ravitch Heads to LA

"The choice is very clear. You can be on the side of teachers or you can be on the side of Arne Duncan, Betsy DeVos, and those who want to privatize and undermine public education."... Common Dreams

Diane Ravitch has been covering the story extensively and yesterday was on her way to Los Angeles to join the picket lines. Here are a few of her links.

• Chicago Teachers Union Blasts Duncan for His Criticism of UTLA
• The Los Angeles Strike: Whose Perspective Matters
• What’s at Stake in L.A. Teachers’ Strike: The Survival of Public Education

In the last blog Diane wrote:

Imagine my surprise when I opened the New York Times to find the article below. Miriam Pawel, an independent historian and a contributing opinion writer for the Times, was allowed to explain the real dynamics behind the teachers’ strike: demographic change; high poverty rates; overcrowded classes; underfunding of the schools; and an aggressive charter industry, led by Eli Broad and other billionaires, willing to spend vast sums to privatize more public schools and kick out the unions.

Diane has come a long way. Back when we made our movie and went after charters - and Diane did so much to promote it - even being our keynote speaker at the premiere attended by 650 people -- she didn't seem ready to take a hard core stand against charters.
If you didn't yet see the 2011 movie that took the first major shot at charters, it is still relevant --- The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman - http://gemnyc.org/our-film/.

Here's the common dreams article:
Beginning Walkout, Los Angeles Teachers Find Support From Sanders—But Not Corporate Democrats
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/01/14/beginning-walkout-los-angeles-teachers-find-support-sanders-not-corporate-democrats

Lessons: UTLA History - Union Power Organized a Coalition and Ran to Win

I've been real impressed with the work the team leading UTLA have done in getting ready for the strike, preparations which began when they won power in 2014. I think they have learned some of the lessons from the Chicago strike - positive and negative.

I'm working on some comparisons between the Los Angeles, Chicago and NYC unions and how progressive groups managed to take power in two cities but have gone nowhere here in NYC.

Unity Caucus is the difference.

In both Chicago and LA, there have been changes in power a few times over the past 20 years - or shared power. In NYC Unity has been in control for 60 years. That is due to the fundamental difference in union structure. Here it is impossible to make much of a dent in the Unity machine without having an efficient and canny opposition. So far we haven't had that. If the people from Chicago and LA were here, they would be marginalized or absorbed by Unity.

But there are some lessons to learn from those cities. I met many of the activists in both cities in 2009 and even invited myself to a breakfast at Alex Caputo-Pearl's house one Sunday morning along with a car load of CORE people headed by Jackson Potter who was the key to organizing CORE.

I dredged up some articles from 2014, just before the Union Power slate won the election in LA. Some of the history is worth checking out.

What seems to be interesting is that Union Power is not a caucus like CORE in Chicago but a coalition of activists, which is what needed to happen here in NYC. In fact I proposed a United Front non-caucus slate for this election where anyone who wanted to run against Unity could do so, a way to extend outreach into numerous schools. It didn't happen.

PEAC [LA] and CORE [Chicago] have, in fact, worked together since a 2008 [should be 9] national gathering of reform teachers’ caucuses. And as they prepared for their new roles in 2010, the newly elected CTU leaders visited L.A. to meet with PEAC activists. Back then a PEAC-backed reform slate was represented in UTLA leadership, though it did not have a majority. Caputo-Pearl and other Union Power leaders attended a 2013 teachers’ social justice conference hosted by CORE. .... Labor Notes, Feb. 2014

I was at both the 2009 [See my reports -LA Deamin', LA Confidential)  and 2013 conferences - Alex Caputo-Pearl, Sally Lee of Teachers Unite and Jackson Potter of CORE met at a 2008 conference and then organized the 2009 conference in LA - I flew out with Sally who was 8 months pregnant.

It was quite an intense few days with so many LA activists who were so impressive. I think there were 5 cities present in 2009. There was no such thing as MORE then but there was the early days of GEM and ICE was still active and getting ready to run in the 2010 UFT elections.

CORE talked about the possibility of running in the 2010 election but said they would first check their influence by running a candidate for the pension board, which they ended up winning. They then ran in the May 2010 election with 4 other caucuses. The Unity-like UPC had split into 2 and since Chicago has a runoff, and CORE's intent was to finish 2nd and then win the support of the other caucuses that finished behind them. They got less than a third of the vote but that still put them in 2nd place and everyone else climbed on board for round 2 and they won over 60%.

That was about 10 days before the AFT convention in Seattle - see the July 2010 reports in Ed Notes for details of that wild ride -- we spent a lot of time with the new leadership in Chicago.

Here are a few segments from the articles in Labor Notes and Socialist Worker.

The UP slate is headed by Caputo-Pearl, but draws together a number of veteran UTLA activists. The team includes several current members of UTLA's board of directors, rank-and-file members running for union office for the first time, and even three current officers who've broken with Fletcher.

Solomon and Caputo-Pearl were among the founders of PEAC, which now backs Union Power. That group formed in the 1990s, after No Child Left Behind increased the emphasis on tests and on punishing “failing” schools. Members worked with parents to fight against closings and for better schools... Labor Notes

While he was teaching at South Los Angeles’ Crenshaw High, Caputo-Pearl fought the district’s “reconstitution” efforts there. A partnership of teachers, parents, and students sought to improve the school from within.

Caputo-Pearl has a two decade-long history of union and community organizing as a teacher in South Los Angeles schools, working with groups like Labor/Community Strategy Center, the Coalition for Educational Justice and Progressive Educators for Action (PEAC), a militant union caucus. Caputo-Pearl also serves as his school's UTLA chapter chair--the elected union representative for the school--and as a member of the union's House of Representatives and Board of Directors, UTLA's term for its executive board.

the Union Power slate is using its campaign to build a coalition that unites elected leaders of UTLA who are frustrated with Fletcher's stonewalling with rank-and-file members who are tired of their union seeming inactive and irrelevant to their lives. If they win, UP and Caputo-Pearl pledge to continue that organizing effort with the resources of UTLA. They aim to create a fighting union in alliance with parents, community organizations and the wider labor movement.... Socialist Worker, https://socialistworker.org/2014/02/25/new-direction-for-la-teachers

http://www.labornotes.org/2014/01/la-teachers-run-bigger-vision

L.A. Teachers Run on a Bigger Vision

January 10, 2014 / Samantha Winslow 

The Union Power slate of activists say the teachers will win community support when they fight for better schools, not just a raise. Photo: Beth Blecherman.

For Los Angeles teacher Alex Caputo-Pearl, if there was ever an example of how his union needed to change direction, it was November’s “Rally for a Raise.”

LA Strike: Charters are on the table

So far the press and public seem to be on the side of the union - though I wish they would make it very clear that the Supt, Austin Beutner, has no background in education, is a hedge hog, and was installed by the Eli Broad forces on the LA school board. The hedge hogs in the battle for that school board put a lot of money on the table to win a narrow majority.

This article in the NYT points out:

Unlike other states where teachers struck last year, California is firmly controlled by Democrats, for whom organized labor is a key ally. And the California teachers unions are among the most powerful lobbying force in Sacramento..... NYT

Yes, the Democrats are up against a wall.

The article also focuses on the charter issue - this is the NY Times after all --- who expected this?

Opinion

What’s Really at Stake in the Los Angeles Teachers’ Strike

Can California provide sufficient resources to support an effective public education system? Or will charter schools cripple it?

By Miriam Pawel

Ms. Pawel, a contributing opinion writer, is the author of “The Browns of California: The Family Dynasty That Transformed a State and Shaped a Nation.”

NYT - Jan. 14, 2019

Unlike other states where teachers struck last year, California is firmly controlled by Democrats, for whom organized labor is a key ally. And the California teachers unions are among the most powerful lobbying force in Sacramento.

On paper, negotiations between the 31,000-member United Teachers of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Unified School District center on traditional issues: salaries that have not kept pace, classes of more than 40 students, counselors and nurses with staggering caseloads. But the most potent and divisive issue is not directly on the bargaining table: the future of charter schools, which now enroll more than 112,000 students, almost one-fifth of all K-through-12 students in the district. They take their state aid with them, siphoning off $600 million a year from the district. The 224 independent charters operate free from many regulations, and all but a few are nonunion.

When California authorized the first charter schools in 1992 as a small experiment, no one envisioned that they would grow into an industry, now educating 10 percent of public school students in the state. To counter demands for greater regulation and transparency, charter advocates have in recent years poured millions into political campaigns. Last year, charter school lobbies spent $54 million on losing candidates for governor and state superintendent of education.

In Los Angeles, they have had more success. After his plan to move half of the Los Angeles district students into charter schools failed to get traction, the billionaire and charter school supporter Eli Broad and a group of allies spent almost $10 million in 2017 to win a majority on the school board. The board rammed through the appointment of a superintendent, Austin Beutner, with no educational background. Mr. Beutner, a former investment banker, is the seventh in 10 years and has proposed dividing the district into 32 “networks,” a so-called portfolio plan designed in part by the consultant who engineered the radical restructuring of Newark schools.

“In my 17 years working with labor unions, I have been called on to help settle countless bargaining disputes in mediation,” wrote Vern Gates, the union-appointed member of the fact-finding panel called in to help mediate the Los Angeles stalemate last month. “I have never seen an employer that was intent on its own demise.”

It’s a vicious cycle: The more overcrowded and burdened the regular schools, the easier for charters to recruit students. The more students the district loses, the less money, and the worse its finances. The more the district gives charters space in traditional schools, the more overcrowded the regular classrooms.

Read the entire article here.

UTLA on Strike: Litmus test for Dem 2020 Pres Candidates - Show up on picket line

The UTLA strike puts the hordes running for the Dem nomination in 2020, a number of them charter school supporters, in a delicate position. Given that a reason for the Dem losses around formerly strong union areas has been their abandonment of union workers, this one is a biggie. UTLA has put charters in their sights in this strike and while unlikely to win much in the way of redress, that they put it on the table at all is a win of sorts. In Chicago, there were also efforts to put charters on the table and the unionization efforts have worked out.

Here in NYC, the UFT often acts like charters are a figment of the imagination and has an awful record of organizing charters. Then there are the ties between our local, state and national union to the Dem party - watch Randi waffle as she gives support to the strike but makes no demands that politicians running for president join her.

Unity Caucus to Independents: We'll Waive Loyalty Oath and Joining Unity

With UFT elections upon us, Unity Caucus leaders, well aware of UFT activists alienated by the ideologically restricted environment of the MORE Caucus, have been actively recruiting people who have a history of being critics of UFT policy.

One of the carrots they are offering is not having to sign the Unity loyalty oath which forces members of the caucus to support all policies, even if they disagree.

They are even offering deals where there is no requirement to even join the caucus. This is unprecedented and shows the influence of the Janus decision.

Why would Unity, faced with the weakest opposition in decades - meaning they will have no voice of opposition on the Ex Bd and barely one in the delegate assembly - take this step?

Unity attempts to create its own opposition
Word filtered back at the concerns within the top levels of union leadership over what happened in MORE, which was seen at the main opposition.

My analysis is that Unity has taken this step because they are nervous about the repercussions in the age of Janus in having an entire union Ex Bd with no political diversity would open them up to attacks from the anti-union forces as a sign of a one party non-democratic system.

Populism in the UFT?
I also feel that with MORE moving to the fringe, they fear the growth of a populist movement inside the UFT that may not operate under the usual opposition "rules of engagement" -sort of an old-boys and girls network of well behaved oppositionists.

Think of wild cat strike in red states and in Oakland (The Wildcat Underground: Oakland Teachers Pull Wildcat). Imagine a rogue school going off the rails! Just as Unity controls the membership, the opposition caucuses control the spigot of activism, channeling it into traditional lanes. Or even worse, an opposition movement urging people to leave the UFT and find another bargaining agent. They know MORE would never go in that direction.

You are free to speak openly
The story I am told is that Unity/UFT officials have offered a guarantee of freedom to speak openly. Maybe. I would bet that no matter what they say, not being opposed to the recent contract is a requirement.

There is no little irony that Unity on the surface is appearing to be more open than MORE. As one former MORE said to me, "If MORE is less democratic than Unity and throws people out who disagree, why not go with Unity, which at least has the toys?"

I don't necessarily agree but I can understand the thinking which was expressed to me this way:

"MORE blew up the opposition"
I see MORE having no future and none of the other caucuses either, especially in this divided election. If everyone ran together, we would have had a chance to win some positions. But now running with any of them is a losing proposition and faced with having no chance to impact union policy, why not let Unity endorse me? As long as I don't have to sign a loyalty oath and can maintain my freedom to be critical of union policy with the aim of pushing it in a progressive direction- why not?

I pushed back, feeling Unity was just using opposition people to give themselves cover as being "democratic."

"So what? MORE's blowing up the idea of a serious opposition in this election is a game changer. Point, set, match to Unity."

Probably right but I can still believe that out of the ashes of the opposition in this election, something may rise post-election, though not very likely.

I have urged people considering taking this step to run on an independent line in the UFT elections or form a mini-caucus so people who can't bear voting for Unity but who want to vote for them would have that option.

I myself am ambivalent. I have urged a boycott of what is even in the best of times for the opposition, a rigged election. I actually wanted to see Unity have all the seats and no opposition as a way to make a point.

I may write in some names or vote for all 3 caucuses, even if that invalidates the ballot, as a "vote" for a united front.

But maybe I will vote for my friends on an independent line anyway because as good old Ricky once said to Lisa, "the problems associated with a UFT election doesn't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world."

Leonie Haimson/Valerie Strauss - Why 30,000 Los Angeles teachers are ready to strike over huge class sizes - WAPO

The main issue under contention is not salary, where the two sides are close together; Superintendent Austin Beutner has offered a 6 percent increase, with the union demanding 6.5 percent.

Even more contentious now is the excessive class sizes suffered by too many Los Angeles public school students and teachers. The district claims it cannot afford to reduce class size, while the union says there is a budget surplus of over $1.8 billion. 

... Leonie Haimson

In our wildest imagination, could we see the UFT here in NYC strike over class size? Leonie is on the case.

Answer Sheet Analysis

Why 30,000 Los Angeles teachers are ready to strike over huge class sizes

The press focuses on the salary issue. While always crucial it is not the main issue. There is already a critique from the world socialist web site attacking Alex Caputo-Pearl for selling out because of the strike postponement. I must publish that as a follow up and parse what they are saying.

There seems to be some new money on the table and the UTLA to keep public support must address the issue and not automatically reject. With the entire teacher nation supporting wearing red yesterday, the change to Monday cost some momentum. Here is today's report from LA.

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/UTLA-LAUSD-to-Hold-More-Negotiations-Today-504222571.html?fbclid=IwAR0Ym4ZqKPmQ0yen8klBsTnRlrbnQ8G4md_ryurjqmX_tNK-d_WLDVPqD6g

Los Angeles Teachers Reject Latest LAUSD Offer

By City News Service

Published Jan 11, 2019 at 10:57 AM | Updated 20 minutes ago

The Los Angeles teachers' union rejects an offer by the LAUSD in ongoing labor negotiations on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019.