Skinny Awards Honor Jamaal Bowman June 28 - support Leonie Haimson Class Size Matters

Leonie sure knows how to put on a party. Imagine: Diane Ravitch and Deborah Meier (one of my ed idols since the early 70's) bridging their differences in person with Eduwonkette Jennifer Jennings. And her mentor and co-blogger Aaron Pallas, alias Skoolboy, also present. With superb satirist Gary Babad (who read us an "email" from Klein). And Patrick Sullivan. And of course, that force of nature, as Diane put it, Leonie Haimson....

Ed Notes on First Skinny Award, May, 2009, Class Size Skinny Awards Attracts Rock Stars of Education

 

Leonie has been our champion for class size, way more than our own union. I do not believe there would even be a class size law - even if ignored by Adams - if not for Leonie's work. Even if you can't make it consider a contribution. And despite sniping from the anti-squad left which is almost right wing, I'm very happy Jamaal Bowman is the only person I actually know who is in Congress. The only one to actually get the evils of standardized testing. And Leonie informs me that Eduwonkette, Jennifer Jennings, a first year recipient, may be attending. 

I've attended every dinner.

 

I was honored in 2018: I'm a Skinny: Honored to be honored by Leonie Haimson along with the Great Danny Dromm and Fred Smith

 

2011: Julie Cavanagh and James Eterno

2013: Arthur Goldstein, Gary Rubinstein

2015: Class Size Matters Celebrates Opt Out, Proponents of Real Reform at Skinnies

Please come to our Skinny Award Dinner on June 28!

June 20, 2023

Eight days from now, on Wed. June 28th, we will be holding our annual Skinny dinner in honor of Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a former NYC principal and a great force for change in the US Congress.

Rep. Bowman has sponsored two terrific bills that would change the face of education in NYC and nationwide: The Green New Deal for Schools, and the Less Testing, More Teaching Act. Moreover, he has spoken out eloquently and forcefully against the right-wing groups who are promoting censorship in our schools, enabling the continuation of gun violence and school shootings, and undermining our freedoms and our democracy in so many ways.

If you appreciate what Jamaal Bowman is fighting for, as well as our advocacy in helping to get the new class size law passed and now pushing DOE to follow through and implement it correctly, please purchase a ticket today to the Skinny Awards. If you cannot attend, please contribute to our organization instead.

It will be a great evening and you don’t want to miss it!

Thanks — Leonie

 

A Day in the Life (of a retiree): Manhattan is not dead (yet)

I have been in Manhattan often in the past week. I am energized whenever I go. I love crowds. And tall building. 

 

We went to two plays in three days. Friday night we saw Peter Pan's Gone Wrong -- and Times Square was as crowded and busy as ever -- remember those long, lonely empty months during Covid - no signs now. We had driven to Brooklyn to park and took the Q train in -- probably the longest subway ride in three and a half years.

 

On Sunday we took the ferry in to see Kimberly Akimbo. We went in early and hung out at the Tin Building downtown before taking the subway to the theater and back to the Wall St area for dinner, before catching the ferry back to Rockaway - and let me say this time and again -- Bill de Blasio deserves enormous credit for making an alternative transportation system viable. 

 

Times Square was still popping on Sunday and the downtown area on the lower east side too. New York was supposed to be dying with so many offices still closed. 

Then on Tuesday I took the ferry for the annual co-op meeting where the entire long-time board was overthrown by an insurgent slate. It was like seeing Unity Caucus lose -- except I would say the co-op old board seemed pretty competent though somewhat closeted and uncommunicative. I split my vote between the slates, which I actually used to do a long time ago with Unity until I couldn't bear it.

 

Wednesday I did a gym and swim before heading back to Times Sq for an 11:30 yoga class -- and a very nice free mat from Peloton. The class was easy - nothing close to the much more difficult Bikram hot yoga I usually take.

 

 

Harder was meeting a former colleague and friend over at Juniors and having lunch, ending with a giant piece of cherry cheesecake.

 

And finishing up with a stroll through Bryant Park and a stop at the 40th St. library which was packed.

 

 

Midtown doesn't seem as dead as the press is making it out to be. While lots of vacancies still, more places are opening. My building had a vacancy for almost 3 years and one for the past 6 months and both have been filled.

 

Check out the streets for the Pride events this weekend and see if Manhattan looks like it's going to die. The big test will come with the commercial real estate bust when loans come due in 2025.

Wednesday night I joined the UFC Ex Bd zoom with the job of monitoring the questions and the chat. A big crowd showed up with lots of unfamiliar names.

 

Thursday morning I did the swim only and then headed downtown for the big noon rally -- which I will report on in an upcoming post. 

 

 

A few contract words and New York City Organization Of Public Service Retirees Holds Rally at City Hall to Celebrate Councilman Barron Introducing Legislation to Protect Them

I'm getting ready to head down to the rally soon but wanted to update readers on a few items. 

I posted yesterday about why people should vote NO on the contract: Why A NO Vote on UFT Contract is a NO Brainer, UFC Vote No Town Hall June 21

Last night's zoom town hall with United for Change HS ex bd members was excellent with a big audience with many people who were not the usual suspects, so clearly there is some outreach.

I saw a report yesterday from the UFT to chapter leaders not to mail in the ballots because of a screw up with the mailing labels hinting that the AAA (American Arbitration) screwed up. With all the conspiracy theories and increasing doubts about trusting the AAA, showing incompetence is not comforting. In my recent years of observation, they have seemed more and more inept in a number of ways - and they have a massive contract with the UFT. As observers we used to have closer monitoring but they have increasingly pushed us further away. Many machine breakdowns and slow counts and delayed reporting the outcomes have become a pattern. Some ballots have been mailed to functional chapter members. They must be returned by July 5 and the count is July 6 at either the AAA or the UFT.

The retiree rally today is delineated by Marianne below. City retirees are fighting to remain in publicly managed Medicare instead of being pushed into privately managed profit-making Medicare Advantage. Ultimately the lobbies benefitting have the ears of both parties and with 60% in Medicare Advantage, Medicare looks doomed over the next ten years given the political landscape. The NY Health Act would remedy all this with a single payer plan for all. UFT opposes because the leadership loves to see capitalism at work and corp exec make enough money to beat inflation and stockholders increase the value of their stocks.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                       

June 22, 2023

 

New York City Organization Of Public Service Retirees Holds Rally at City Hall to Celebrate Councilman Barron Introducing Legislation to Protect Them

 

 The NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees is thankful for Councilman Charles Barron, who will introduce legislation today to protect NYC Union, municipal retirees. The legislation is a simple bill that requires the City to offer Medicare-eligible retirees a Medigap plan to supplement Federal Traditional Medicare as they have had for 56 years. 

 

It is two sentences long and states: "To preserve retiree health care choice, the City shall offer Medicare-eligible City retirees and their Medicare-eligible dependents at least one Medigap plan with benefits equivalent to or better than those available to City retirees and their dependents as of December 31, 2021.  Nothing herein shall be construed to impair the ability of any employee organization to negotiate the terms and conditions of employment for their employee members," said Marianne Pizzitola, President of the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees. 

 

For months, retirees have called, emailed, and rallied to bring attention to the fact that they will be forced off their current Medigap plan and Traditional Medicare losing access to their doctors, physicians, and treatment facilities. The Retirees feel Mayor Eric Adams sold them out by forcing them into an inferior and profit-driven privatized Medicare Advantage plan. 

This legislation will allow them to maintain access to Federal Medicare and their doctors.

 

The health of hundreds of thousands of women and men who dedicated their lives to the City of New York is at risk of being forced into a narrower network with pre-authorization requirements that will cause potentially life-threatening delays and denials of care. 

 

Pizzitola added, "This legislation allows retirees who paid Medicare Tax since their first paycheck to stay on Federal Medicare and allows them to keep access to their doctors.  This also preserves Medicare, the Federal benefit given to America by President Lyndon Johnson, given to NY-ers by Mayor John Lindsay, and preserved By Councilman Charles Barron!”   

“A Democratic City, a Democratic Council, the party of Medicare! This is a long-standing party ideal, and if they truly want to preserve Medicare, they would not be advocating the privatization of Medicare, a public Health Benefit.  Otherwise, they are enabling a for-profit insurer access to NY taxpayer dollars at the expense of the retirees!  We say Healthcare is a human right, not a political fight.  So the very people who said they want to preserve this public benefit should, and CM Barron is taking the lead and we hope the rest of the Council will stand with their colleague and thousands of their constituents .  The Retirees are thankful.”

Marianne Pizzitola 

President

NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees

 

Why A NO Vote on UFT Contract is a NO Brainer, UFC Vote No Town Hall June 21

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, June 21 -- summer solstice - the longest day- and I'm off to Times square for a yoga class. And don't forget to check in on the UFC HS Ex Bd crew on the No Vote zoom tonight at 7:30 -

• EONYC - UFT Contract Town Hall - Wed, 6/21 at 7:30 PM: Why Voting 'No' Gets Us a Better Contract

And see some very cute NO vote videos on Tiktok: here, here, here, and here. 

Good Morning UFTers,

You are going to read lots of analysis on the contract from the VOTE NO crowd and I'm linking to resources below. Share these with your colleagues so at least they get the full view instead of just hearing from the Unity propaganda machine. My argument, as one who has voted NO for every contract since 1970, is just do it as a demonstration of unhappiness because even Unity (other than the hardest hacks) won't argue this is one of the greatest contracts ever. I will leave it for others to get into the contract nitty gritties. I urged a NO vote a year ago - VOTE NO on Whatever Contract Unity Negotiates/ Res...

I received some grief on twitter from a Unity apologist for calling for a NO vote a year before being able to read a contract. Hey, Unity is calling for a YES vote before giving people a chance to read the contract, so why not calling for a NO vote on principle alone? 

 
I know unity leadership for 50 years. They have been incapable of delivering a decent contract since early 70s that I could vote YES. It's just not in their DNA to fight hard enough. That would take even the hint of a possible strike but they trash any talk of that as scare mongering. Just the class size issue alone plus grievance process, real protection against abusive administration, etc for non-monetary issues as we've seen an erosion of teacher autonomy and increasing micromanagement. So as long as unity is in power my vote would be NO on non-monetary stuff alone since I  had a 2 income home without children, salary never my issue.

 

An overwhelming YES vote will send an awful message of "we will accept anything, so keep shitting on us." So I start with the idea that the contract will probably pass. But it 's a real difference if 40% vs 10% vote against. So go and vote NO and assume you will still get a few below inflation bucks anyway and get another shot in 4 years.

In fact, the greater the NO vote, the better the next contract.

But what if a miracle occurs like it did in 1995 when we rejected the contract and sent them back to the bargaining table? The biggest giveback in that contract was bumping the number of years to reach top pay from 20 to 25. Six months later they came back with 22 to top salary. So that NO vote has saved generations of teachers a lot of money by not accepting that 25 year max. Imagine retirement where you average your pension over 3 years with a 25 year top? No full pensions for a lot of people who took 55-25 option.

Another NO vote occurred in essence on the retiree health care plan, as the UFT leadership led by Mulgrew and Retired Teacher chapter leader Tom Murphy, tried to sell retirees a worn down model of the Emblem MedAdv plan in the spring of 2021 - according the Mulgrew, the greatest MedAdv plan in the world - and then it was in essence voted down by the court case in the fall of 2021, which led to Emblem dropping out and Mulgrew going to Aetna for what he's admitting and selling as a much new and improved MedAdv plan over what he tried to sell us originally.

So we have samples of forcing them back to the table and seeing a better deal.

Thus the essence of my argument comes down to:

VOTE NO even if you think the contract will pass and even if you think it is not terrible to put pressure on the union leadership and the city for the future and hope that the union does some strike prep for next time, at least to present a credible threat - but  that is still wishful thinking as a strike threatens Unity jobs and even their precious teacher center jobs through the loss of dues checkoff. The biggest fear Unity has is going back to teach in the dreadful conditions they've allowed to occur in so many schools

And expect that if the NO vote actually wins out, you will end up with something better, even if a slight adjustment of making more money pensionable.

You might want to read the analysis of a math teacher at Stuyvesant HS who crunched the numbers:

Jeremy Shahom, Mathematics Teacher at Stuyvesant High School breaks down the newly proposed UFT contract. The math ain't mathing!

Op-Ed: How the Proposed Contract Attacks Our Pension and Healthcare Benefits

The other day I chronicled how Unity tried to shut down debate and harass even those who called for reading the MOU - and we heard how LeRoy Barr and Mulgrew openly lied to the DA when they insisted the MOU was up on the web and how Unity thugs almost physically attacked Nick Bacon for calling them out on it.

 

To show you how much more repressive Unity Caucus has become, the 1967 contract was debated for 4 hours at DA (I had just started teaching) and the 1995 contract had a long debate at the DA - I was there as a CL - and Pres. Sandy Feldman even allowed Bruce Markens, the only non-Unity elected District Rep (Yes, Virginia, we used to elect DRs), a long speech in opposition and they even provided the video of the debates to the schools. Many of us who were around then have come to see Sandy as being considerably better than her successors.

But despite all the evidence piling up to vote NO and despite the lame Unity arguments for YES - (we go to the back of the line, the best we can do in bad times, city money is going to dry up --It's been drying up since I joined the UFT in "67), you won't see money for a while, $bonuses, $bonuses, $bonuses (non-pensionable), don't worry about bad para pay -- just think of yourselves, etc.), their funniest argument was that the future estimate of social security inflation bonus (this year over 8%) will be 2.9% in 2024 --- so see, we got you .1 over next year's inflation even it that turns out to be true - it won't and watch Saudi Arabia jump gas prices just in time to try to make Biden lose to Trump.

Mulgrew on Brian Lehrer yesterday -- first question from retiree - let us vote on healthcare. 75% would say no. Mulgrew who me? MLC handles that. Brian could have pointed out that he has 35% of the MLC vote so why doesn't he vote the way retirees would tell him to?

https://www.wnyc.org/story/teacher-contracts-charter-schools-and-more/

 

The first call was a retiree asking why he doesn't let retirees vote on healthcare changes and he was like, Who Me? It's the MLC. To listen to Mulgrew, one could get the impression that he doesn't control the MLC, that the MLC and the UFT are entirely two separate entities. Brian either didn't know or care to challenge him on the fact that if he listened to UFT members he could have voted NO.

Here are some more sources.

NICK AT NAC

New Action Caucus has gone over the good, bad, and middling parts of the 2022-2027 tentative UFT agreement. Ultimately, we agreed that this is a contract members would be better off voting ‘no’ on.

Largely, our decision came down to sub-inflation wage ‘increases,’  including a disappointing new precedent of converting a percentage of our pay into unpensionable bonuses, as well big unanswered questions on healthcare. But we also agreed that this contract draft is disappointing in other ways that could be corrected by going back to the negotiating table. It’s not just that we didn’t meet a single of the 5 demands released by New Action in collaboration with the rest of the United for Change coalition, not to mention the demands of our larger caucus-specific list. It’s that we don’t see improvements even in places that we expected – such as special education, where we had implicit leverage but inexplicitly failed to make any major gains. It’s that one of our only workplace wins–the ability for teachers/paraprofessionals to work from home for parent engagement time–is conditional on new micromanagement and the ability for principals to take that ‘privilege’ away at a moment’s notice, without due process (a troubling new precedent).

Sifting Through the Propaganda

CONTINUE:

New Action/UFT Suggests Voting No on the 2022-2027 Tentative Agreement

 

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Reasons to VOTE NO on the UFT Contract: MORE UFT Caucus

MORE UFT shares 5 big reasons to say "NO" to this tentative contract. Share these with your UFT friends and colleagues.

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From MORE

• Feel free to join some of the great organizing that's happening. There are two great ways to get plugged in this week: 

  Tuesday, June 20th, 7pm

  MORE Contract Committee

  It’s crunch time! Come help us organize against Unity’s bad TA and organize for a better contract. Register here!

  Wednesday, June 21st, 7:30pm

  United For Change Townhall: Why Voting No Gets Us a Better Contract

  Come here from the opposition members of the UFT executive board and talk about why voting no will win us a better contract. Register here!

  Let's send the UFT leadership back to the bargaining table and win a better contract!

  Link to MORE's FAQ about the Tentative Agreement. Consider printing this out and leaving it in your chapter's mailboxes: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1duePs88vJ0R6J-eTVw6JtQydbqHGavSq/view?usp=sharing
• Link to MORE's one-pager with the top FIVE reasons to vote no on the contract: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NtyzQPbTtlH5NiRlOkOC1JrrNpre3EjmbcV0LZEOCDE/edit?usp=sharing
• Link to a folder including multiple VOTE NO resources: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rv6sW4QwNoBGzk73kxiRedcOJuQvGUMK
• Link to Monday's segment from the Brian Lehrer show where multiple educators spoke critically about the poor contract: https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/bl/segments/teachers-weigh-tentative-contract-deal
• Slideshow from MORE's 6/15/23 General Meeting: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1IzkRyPUbSHwZUBaxOvkYMztEK_o5Uf0dh0rqoBcyF4c/edit?usp=sharing
• Multiple articles explaining why to vote no, including from current executive board member Nick Bacon, current executive board member Ronnie Almonte, and former executive board member Arthur Goldstein. 
• A series of short explainer videos from MORE on Tiktok: here, here, here, and here.

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Excellent article by Wendell Potter for The Lever on the current (grim) status of health care Inbox 

https://www.levernews.com/the-system-makes-patients-sick-and-ceos-rich/?utm_source=newsletter-email&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=newsletter-article

Wendell Potter (a 35 year health industry expert) on why the for profit health system makes patients very sick and CEO's very rich.

 

EONYC - UFT Contract Town Hall - Wed, 6/21 at 7:30 PM: Why Voting 'No' Gets Us a Better Contract

What better way to spend the summer solstice?

 

 

Open in app or online

Disclaimer

The views expressed by our individual authors are their own and may not reflect the views of the EONYC community. Just as we may not all agree with the editorial views expressed as the collective Educators of NYC community.

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UFT Contract Town Hall - Wed, 6/21 at 7:30 PM: Why Voting 'No' Gets Us a Better Contract

UFT Executive Board high school members will share a rank and file vision for a better UFT contract. Learn more about the new proposed tentative agreement -- its perks and its drawbacks.

Jun 19

Share

Join the UFT Executive Board high school members, this Wednesday evening, June 21st, at 7:30 pm for a UFT contract town hall.

At this important meeting, you’ll learn more about the newly proposed tentative contract. Our panel will also share a rank and file vision and in-classroom perspectives from union members, like you, fighting for a better contract.

There is a lot to talk about. In 2018, major healthcare givebacks were not fully disclosed. Simply put, we can’t afford to be fooled again. It’s why we all need to really look at what is at stake.

We’ll discuss the perks found this 2023 tentative agreement but also the major drawbacks, such as — the lasting impact of sub-inflation raises, implicit major healthcare givebacks, low wages for paraprofessionals and occupational & physical therapists, more micromanagement, no clear plan for virtual schools & much, much more.

So, what happens if we vote this TA down for a better contract? Join us to find out.

To RSVP go to: http://no.unitedforchange.vote

Also read more about our Big 5 Demands: http://big5.unitedforchange.vote

Our panel of HS Executive board members are: Ronnie Almonte, Nick Bacon, Ed Calamia , Alex Jallot, Ibeth Mejia, Ilona Nanay And Luli Rodriguez.

This team was elected by our union at large as part of the United for Change coalition slate.

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Retirees Rally June 22 at noon - at City Hall, Aetna Reveals Denial Rates

Aetna reveals health care denial rates in Medicare Advantage court case for NYC retirees.

https://gothamist.com/news/aetna-reveals-health-care-denial-rates-in-medicare-advantage-court-case-for-nyc-retirees 

Greetings Retirees!   We are happy to announce legislation will be introduced on THURSDAY, June 22nd by Councilman Barron which requires the City to offer a Medigap plan!   The legislation has two co-sponsors so far, CM Lynn Schulman and CM Inna Vernikov.

 

The Retirees are very thankful for this support!  We hear others are joining us, so please keep calling them and advise them to sign on!

Please join us!   It will be a long day!  We are hoping to have a few chairs for you, but if you want to bring a collapsable seat, or a cane with a seat, check out Amazon.

The Meeting, if it starts on time, commences at 1:30 PM.  Last time, the meeting did not start timely and did not end until 5 pm.   Come prepared to spend the day together!