Newark Ed Update: Round One: Baraka v. Jeffries, Round Two: Baraka v. Christie

I urge my NYC pals who will be voting on the contract to look closely at the Cami Anderson "Newark One" charter giveaway plan and the consequences for NY Teachers over the next 5 years. Randi sold the teachers of Newark a contract a few years ago. I'm betting the UFT contract contains a hidden mine field - why? Because they always do.

Our correspondent in Newark has recovered from the wild revelry of the Ras Baraka victory to engage in some musings.

My question: Does scandal-beset Christie still have the chops to chop Ras Baraka? I can see the headlines: Bully White Man Tries to Beat up on Democratically Elected Black Man.

From A Newark Teacher

Ras Baraka won round one with a knock out punch to Shavar Jeffries. The hedge fundies did not invest sufficient millions to buy out all of Newark voters and Baraka is mayor-elect.

Round two features Ras Baraka versus Chris Christie. Prior to the mayoral election, Christie hinted at the potential for a State takeover of the budget of the city of Newark with the possibility of rendering Baraka impotent. As a worst case scenario, Baraka would be reduced to a skillful orator lacking the muscle to wrest the Newark Public Schools from the grip of the State take-over and prevented from making financial decisions for his city. The ultimate disaster would consist of Christie clenching the purse strings for both the school district and the city in his gritty palms.

For those who prefer a fairy tale ending, Ras Baraka lived happily ever after in his castle on the banks of the Passaic River. The billionaire backers of Shavar Jeffries retreated quietly to their neighboring kingdoms never to be seen again. Big Bad Wolf Christie purchased Princess Cami Anderson one way tickets for her and her family to a western state where she could bad mouth Newarkers to her heart's content. The people of Newark were forever grateful to the gods for gracing them with control over their schools, their city and their destiny.

A Newark Teacher

Reality Bytes on the election outcomes

Bob Braun's Ledger

Break a kid’s heart? Who cares? - Newark’s school superintendent, Cami Anderson, yesterday shrugged off the political embarrassment she dumped on Gov. Chris Christie—a national champion of ...

Jersey Jazzman

Where In The World Is Cami Sandiego? - UPDATE: Found her! "Mayor-elect Baraka and I worked together at Newark public schools and had a productive working relationship which I have every intentio... 

 

Ras Baraka wins

Mayor-elect Ras Baraka

Tonight: Laurel Sturt's "Davonte's Inferno" - Reading and Discussion

Reads like a Steven King horror story.

I started reading Laurel Sturt's "Davonte's Inferno," her story of 10 years in hell in the NYC school system under  the Bloomberg years, on a beach in Florida in February.  There were so many disturbing incidents at her Bronx elementary school, I had to put it down and pick up something lighter so as not to ruin my beach karma. Every page enraged me. It is not only the personal story of a successful career changer who wanted to give something back but also a history of the criminal tenure over the NYC school system under BloomKlein. In fact, it may be the first fairly comprehensive history of those years - of which I'm hoping many more are to come.

When I attended the May 9 UFT Executive Board meeting to argue against the proposed contract, I held up a copy of "Davonte's Inferno" and talked about how she went through the hell of 4 BloomKlein era principals, each more horrible than the one before, and how this contract codifies the omnipotent principal who can turn teachers' lives into a hell and offers no protection.

In addition, Laurel is a great writer, using some of the most vivid and eloquent prose to tell her story. And she lets it all hang out. No political correctness here - she puts the parenting of the children and their behavior right up front, no holds barred. And some of her snitching fellow teachers too. But the people in power, from the school level to Obama, take the big beating.

I'm still reading the book because there is so much I want to talk about I am taking notes. So look for more comments from me.

Tonight Laurel is doing a reading and book signing at the Nuyorikan Poet's Cafe, 236 East 3rd Street. I will be there if my wife gives permission to not be home yet another night - I am trying to entice her to go with the offer of dinner.

Oh, and the proceeds are going to MORE.

Major Defeat for Ed Deform: Ras Baraka Is Mayor of Newark

A major focal point of the election was the debate over the schools and state-appointed Superintendent Cami Anderson’s controversial "One Newark" school reorganization plan — which calls for the relocation and consolidation of one-quarter of the city’s schools and turning over some neighborhood schools to charter operators.

Jeffries, 39, a law professor, former assistant attorney general and school board member who helped found a charter school, had been backed by charter school interests, along with the Essex County Democratic machine.

"When everybody didn’t believe, you believed. Today is the day we say goodbye to the bosses."

Baraka, the principal of Central High School and a sharp critic of Anderson’s plan, was supported by the teachers’ unions.

 Some similarities to the Wash DC mashing of Fenty/Rhee but that story did not turn out all that well. Oh, stop being such a cynic, Norm, my alter voice is saying to me.

Ok, I'm cheering. Like I did for de Blasio. Come talk to me in a few months. But what fun to see what happens with Cami Anderslime.

Read it all:
http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2014/05/newark_voters_elect_new_mayor_to_succeed_cory_booker.html

Saturday, May 17 - Time to Take Back Our Schools

The counterattack against ed deform continues.
Just organize, baby, just organize.

There is no point in rallying for the sake of rallying - unless it can be BIG. And a chance to get all the groups battling ed deform together in one place. This Saturday it is happening. Look at the lineup.

Taking Back OUR Schools Rally & March – NYC Metro

May 17 @ 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm

NYC Metro
“Declaration, Protest, Successes, and Call to Action”

Calling all NYC Metro Area community activists, the “voices of resistance”, families, students, civil rights advocates, voters, immigrant families, policymakers and legislators, union members, teachers, faith leaders, and all communities that believe in a good public education for all!
Join us in a march and rally seeking to create & sustain a public school system that provides a fully funded, equitable, community-based education for every child. This means that decisions about our children’s schooling would be made democratically by families and professional educators, free of corporate and political intervention.

Featuring a Message from Diane Ravitch

Some of those speaking will be Mark Naison, Brian Jones, Carol Burris, Jeannette Deutermann, Leonie Haimson, Joe Rella, Jose Vilson, Natasha Capers,  Marla Kilfoyle, Dao Tran, Ken Mitchell, Daiyu Suzuki, Akinlabi Mackall, Muba Yarofulani, Rosie Frascella, Stephanie Rivera, Bianca Tanis,  and entertaining Terry Moore and Friends, Raging Grannies, , and Jeremy Dudley

Participating groups:

Alliance for Quality Education – BATS – Black New Yorkers for Educational Excellence (BNYEE) - Change The Stakes – Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats  -  Children Are More Than Test Scores – Class Size Matters – The Coalition for Educational Justice CEJ -  Coalition for Public Education-Communities United New Jersey -Connie Hogarth Center for Social Action at Manhattanville College – EDU4 – FairTest- iCOPE –Hudson Valley Against Common Core -Lace to the Top – LI Opt Out - MORE –NAACP MID Manhattan-Network for Public Education-Newark Students Union-New Caucus of Newark- New Jersey Education Association (NJEA)- New York Allies for Public Education – NY PRINCIPALS .ORG – NY Student Union –NYCORE –  Parents Across America –    Parent Leadership Project-Parent Voices NY- Parents to Improve School Transportation – Port Jeff Station Teachers Association – Radical Women -Reclaiming the Conversation on Education – Save Our Schools (SOS) – Save Our Schools-NJ –S.E.E.D.S. (SEEDSWORK) - Stop Common Core in New York State - Students Not Scores LI – Students United for Public Education (SUPE) – Teachers United – Time Out from Testing-UFT-United Opt Out National-Ya Ya Network-

This rally and march is part of the national Testing Resistance & Reform Spring campaign. We aim to support the efforts of parents, teachers and community members to have public schools that work for the community.

Donate now!

Like this event on Facebook!

Share the press release & flyers

Our Vision:

Creating & sustaining a public school system that provides a fully funded equitable community based education for every child. Decisions about our children’s schooling must be made democratically by families and professional educators free of corporate and political intervention.

Our Mission:

Educate teachers, parents, students and communities on the dangers of corporate driven reform that leads to privatization, high stakes testing , mandated curriculum, unfair teacher evaluation practices, and school closures.

Our Goals:

• Motivate people to act on behalf of children to receive a quality equitable education.
• Bring together various communities to work on resisting nation corporate reform policies.
• Restore the joy of learning.
• Involve mainstream and alternative media coverage of vision, mission, and goals.
• Let corporations know that we will resist their efforts to privatize and control public education.
• Assure authentic classroom based assessment that informs teaching and learning; end high stakes testing.
• Assure locally developed curricula that honors local languages and cultures while addressing the unique needs of special education students, English language learners, and the poor and children of color who have been marginalized into a second tier system of education; end common core standards
• Ensure privacy of student data – end inBloom
• Establish universal high quality preschools, taught by early childhood experts, and available to all children as part of their public education.
• Stop edTPA- States are outsourcing the evaluation of student teachers to Pearson. This allows a private for-profit company to determine how our children will be taught and by whom.
• Wrap around services for every neighborhood public school, including: counselors, social workers,
 psychologists, and health care workers.
• Strengthen neighborhood schools, assure high quality schools in every neighborhood; resist
 charter schools and vouchers.

Audience:

Community activists, families, students, civil rights advocates; target voters, public officials, and other policy makers.

Join us!

For further information contact:
David Greene 914-523-5835 dcgmentor@gmail.com
Rosalie Friend: rfriend@mindspring.com

Success Academy Rejected in Co-Location of Public School Teacher Apartment

A Success Academy teacher applied for the vacant room in my apartment. I maybe enjoyed writing that "it doesn't sound like a good fit" response a little too much... A MORE Teacher

How long before Cuomo gets the legislature to pass a law forcing this teacher to accept the occupation of her apartment?

UFT Contract: Send these alleged negotiators back to the table to get a real contract without give-backs or illusory promises!

the example used by our anti-tenure president even if true would probably not lead to disciplinary action for teachers working and maintaining personal relationships with their supervisors. .. Jeff Kaufman

I love that Jeff pinned the anti-tenure label on our union leaders because that is exactly what they are. If they thought there wouldn't be a political price to pay they would agree to dump tenure in a minute -- oh, wait a minute -- they pretty much have agreed to dump a load of it.

Jeff blogged about the same issue I did earlier (UFT Contract: Mulgrew Says It's OK to Fire ATR for "Screaming in the Hallway") over at the ICE blog but in more depth. Jeff assumes when Mulgrew mentioned screaming he was talking about a mentally ill teacher - who of course Mulgrew seems to think should be fired even though ill. What next, you have a heart attack in school and are brought up on charges of disturbing the karma of the kids?

Mulgrew Admits He'll Leave Critical Issues to Others in Proposed Contract

In an amazing admission our UFT president was quoted in a Wall Street Journal article yesterday that a critical issue, the definition of "problematic behavior" will be left to arbitrators to discern. Illusory promises and predictions for our precious health benefits, the future of the proposed"no-contract" PROSE schools, merit pay for a new class of teachers and the impact of inflation on 9 years of earned pay all demonstrate that this proposal must be defeated.

Mulgrew told the Wall Street Journal, "[that] a panel of hearing officers would "solidify the definition" of problematic behavior. "If someone says a teacher is screaming in the hallway, that's a problem," he said. "If you do that once, you should be written up. If you do that again you should go through an expedited hearing process."

This quote clearly shows how disconnected the proposers are. 

First, the statement assumes the truth of the allegations. A fundamental part of due process and 3020-a hearings is that charged teachers have the absolute right to cross-examine witnesses against them and present a defense if they wish. Our due process system has, until now, withstood the test of time and while some ed deformers might argue it does not work the bottom line is that based on the number of teachers charged and teachers returned to teaching and the settlements entered into by all sides it is clear that this right is taken seriously and mere allegations must be clearly proven before they become the basis for disciplinary action.

Secondly, the example used by our anti-tenure president even if true would probably not lead to disciplinary action for teachers working and maintaining personal relationships with their supervisors. If the teacher displayed psychotic behavior (I assume Mulgrew did not mean the teacher was trying to stop a fight or call attention to serious problem) we would hope that the teacher would be referred for proper medical attention. Instead Mulgrew further maintains and supports the ed deformer myth that ATRs are mentally ill people who should be terminated.

Progressive discipline is the hallmark to good labor relations. With 80,000 teachers we would expect some problems (including whatever "problematic behavior" turns out to be) but to strip away some of our most basic protections it outrageous and must be stopped.

Send these alleged negotiators back to the table to get a real contract without give-backs or illusory promises!

UFT Contract: Mulgrew Says It's OK to Fire ATR for "Screaming in the Hallway"

UFT logo for ATRs

Don't you think we should have the definitions of "problematic" behavior BEFORE voting on the contract?

Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, said a panel of hearing officers would "solidify the definition" of problematic behavior. "If someone says a teacher is screaming in the hallway, that's a problem," he said. "If you do that once, you should be written up. If you do that again you should go through an expedited hearing process."

What else? Peeing without picking up the toilet seat? (Hmmmm -- I can go with that -- cameras in the bathrooms.)

How many times do you hear teachers screaming in the halls at a kid? Or even at each other? I once had a screaming match with my principal.

And remember the argument Portelos had with a teacher where part of the charges were that he cursed her in the hall. But DOE legal left out the part where she cursed him multiple times before he responded. That teacher was never charged and in fact testified against Portelos - there was a tape of her screaming match, she openly lied during the testimony - a chargeable offense.

Don't you think we should have the definitions of "problematic" behavior BEFORE voting on the contract?

The WSJ reports:

Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday he trusted principals to judge whether to keep teachers assigned from a pool of rotating substitutes or send them back. His comments followed critics' claims that the tentative city teachers' contract wouldn't ensure that the pool's poor performers would be kept out of classrooms.

Mr. de Blasio referred to teachers in the so-called Absent Teacher Reserve, who have lost permanent jobs because of budget cuts or disciplinary problems but continue to get full pay as substitutes, often for years. The contract offers them severance of up to 10 weeks' pay for 20 years of service.

The tentative contract says that in certain cases, the Department of Education can assign these teachers to full-time jobs in schools with vacancies even if they have been penalized with 30-day suspensions or fines of $2,000 or more. The pact says principals can return teachers to the pool if they aren't good matches. Further, if two principals formally write one up for "problematic behavior" within consecutive years, the teacher would face an expedited hearing that could lead to dismissal.

That would mean that there is some flexibility over cases like Portelos - who was fined 10 grand and not returned to his school despite the hearing officer mandating that. But I think this is de Blasio smoke and mirrors designed to fuzzy things up given there has been some reaction to this situation over the past few days.

Note to Unity slugs humping the contract: Should you be in this situation one day don't come crying - I know of a Unity person who pushed for the 2005 contract and has seen some light: (ICEUFT Blog: LONG TIME UNITY CHAPTER LEADER OPPOSES CONTRACT - WHY I OPPOSE THIS CONTRACT PROPOSAL).

Read it at the WSJ where you can read how poor Jenny Sedlis from Students Ignored plays parrot. Note how Jenny, that paragon of children support, doesn't mention how kids are ignored in the contract which fosters high class sizes.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304081804579558473061202320?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304081804579558473061202320.html

Union Internal Revolts: Activist Barbara Madeloni elected president MA teachers association

Another sign the union winds they are a-changin'.
 - As Leonie points out:

Between this and the CTU rejection of the Common Core, the local teacher unions are getting more aggressive. 

This is an unreported story - the growth of opposition movements inside many teacher unions in reaction to the waffling leadership playing footsie, if not outright backing, ed deform. Of course Leonie can't be talking about the UFT/Unity being more aggressive -- unless it is beating down opposition to their half-century undemocratic rule.

And by the way, what a joke - that recording of Mulgrew saying he will fight ed reform - at the Exec Bd meeting last week he actually used my creation - ed deform. The contract is a model of ed deform. Just think of it - lots of PD, nothing about class size, talk of longer days and years in 200 schools, supporting giving principals total power, killing tenure from above - the ATRs - and underneath - ridiculous extensions of tenure and outright Discontinues. The current contract is violated probably every 10 seconds.

Barbara Madeloni is a hero to many for her battles - read all about it:

http://www.massteacher.org/news/archive/2014/annual_meeting_day_two.aspx

She pledges “to roll back corporate assault and reclaim education” http://go.shr.lc/SQYLnU

See Winerip in NYT re her work vs EdTPA http://go.shr.lc/1l96wMa

UFT Contract: MORE Talks Business While Unity Goes Into Hiding

Since the Unity slugs aren't willing to hold a conversation about the contract, MORE is going to do so. Which would you rather attend? A one-way filibuster at a Unity/UFT sponsored borough meeting - while your school is getting a visitor from the UFT who will also filibuster in your school while leaving a few minutes for you to ask questions - or a MORE event?

Really, you should check out some of the Unity troll comments sprinkled throughout this blog about how we should be democratic and let the members decide - I laughed so hard I fell off my stool - yes, like the UFT, I have a stool at the table - but it's my table.

By the way, I too had to sign a loyalty oath - to my wife - that I won't spill the beer again when falling off a stool while laughing at Unity slug comments.

MORE Update: MORE - Get Informed on the Contract / Get Connected at a Happy Hour Event Near You!

... and come out for the Take Back Our Schools rally on May 17! View this email in your browser

Weekly Update #97 May 12, 2014 Share Tweet Forward to Friend

Get informed! Get connected!  Come to a MORE Happy Hour this week to discuss the contract proposal, get your questions answered, and pick up Vote NO flyers. Don't forget to download and print the flyer from the website and distribute to your coworkers and other schools. Queens (Districts 30, 24) Thursday, May 15th 4:30pm Studio Square 35-33 36th St. (QNS) RSVP on Facebook South Bronx Friday, May 16 4:15-6:30pm Wish 37 37 Bruckner Blvd. (BX) Inwood/West Bronx Friday, May 16 4:00-6:00pm Inwood Local 4957 Broadway (b/w 207th St. and Isham) Bay Ridge (Districts 20, 21, 22) Friday, May 16 3:30-6:30pm Harp Bar 7710 3rd Ave. (BK) RSVP on Facebook Park Slope and Sunset Park (District 15) Friday, May 23 4:00-6:00pm Freddys Bar and Backroom 627 5th Ave. (BK) RSVP on Facebook Lower Manhattan (Districts 1, 2) *Book reading, signing, and discussion of Dante's Inferno: Ten Years in the New York Public School Gulag Wednesday, May 14 6:30-8:30pm Nuyorican Poets Cafe 236 E. 3rd St. (Man) RSVP on Facebook   Join us on May 17, 2014 to Take Back our Schools 2:00pm, City Hall Park Click here to RSVP Today! View event page - Watch the video! On Saturday, May 17th at 2:00 pm, thousands will join Diane Ravitch, Carol Burris, Leonie Haimson, Brian Jones to fight to preserve and protect public education. Save Our Schools is proud to partner with MORE, NYSAPE, BATs, CTS, and other advocacy groups in calling for community activists, parents, educators, and lawmakers to join together and march in support of a developmentally appropriate and equitably funded public education free from the influence of corporate reform and high stakes testing. PRE- AND POST-RALLY ACTIVITIES: Pre-Rally Brunch and Sign-Making Party Saturday, May 17 10:00am-12:00pm Megan Moskop's house in Upper Manhattan (near City College) Email megan.moskop@gmail.com to RSVP and get address Post-Rally Happy Hour Saturday, May 17 4:00-7:00pm (near City Hall Park) Educators and concerned citizens! Come relax after the big rally, meet and chat with other activists, and check out Jacobin Magazine's new Class Action: An Activist Teacher's Handbook.  RSVP on Facebook Copies of the handbook will be available- we recommend using them as an organizing tool. SchoolBook: Here's Why NYC Teachers Should Reject Labor Contract (Julie Cavanaugh) The Nation: Should New York Teachers Reject De Blasio's Proposed Contract? (Michelle Chen) MORE Caucus: The Contract We Do Not Deserve DA Report: Why Vote No Like us - MORE info Follow us - Find out what's happening Reading & Book Signing! Davonte's Inferno Thank you to author Laurel Sturt for donating proceeds to MORE... Wednesday, May 14 - 6:30 - 8:30 PM Nuyorican Poets Cafe - 236 e. 3rd Invite here - $10 Door Charge The MORE steering committee elections are coming up soon, in June! Reply if you have nominations for who you think should lead MORE... The steering committee met last week and on Sunday night - read the minutes here - and look for a summary on the MORE-Discussion list.   Join MORE Today!

Copyright © 2014 MORE Caucus, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you are excited about changing the UFT and signed up at a MORE meeting or our website, MORECaucusNYC.org. Our mailing address is: MORE Caucus New York New York, NY 10001 Add us to your address book

UFT Contract: MORE Sponsors Discussion (Unlike Unity) - Long Island City - Thurs May 15, 4:30PM

Open and honest debate. While Unity hides behind official visits to schools, MORE will hold open discussions. Come whether you are for or against the contract and talk about it. Download and print copies for your school if you are teaching in the area - or even if you're not.

UFT Contract Information Session
Come hear a detailed breakdown of the proposed contract by John Giambalvo followed by discussion and Q&A facilitated by Kevin Prosen. 

Where: Studio Square 35-33 36th Street,
LIC, NY 11106
N Train to 36th street R Train to Steinway
When: May 15, 2014 4:30

Newark Teacher to Southern Poverty Law Center

Totalitarianism is never content to rule by external means, namely, through the state and a machinery of violence; thanks to its peculiar ideology and the role assigned to it in this apparatus of coercion, totalitarianism has discovered a means of dominating and terrorizing human beings from within. .... Hannah Arendt 1951

Dear Southern Poverty Law Center,

I am neither a right wing Christian, nor a Tea Party supporter. In fact, I am a left of center Jew who has spent the vast majority of her life thus far in northern New Jersey.  Despite not exactly fitting your profile, I am an ardent opponent of Common Core, which by the way contrary to your contentions was bought and paid for by billionaire Bill Gates.

As a teacher, I have tried to tether my lesson planning to the vague, confusing and overlapping Common Core ELA standards. There are separate standards for literary and information texts. Which standard should I use, for example, for a lesson on distinguishing between fact and opinion? In my view, the previous New Jersey standards were far better tailored to the instruction of elementary school children.

Are the Common Core standards totalitarian in nature? A case could be made that the standards are being used for the purpose of "dominating and terrorizing human beings from within." Earlier this school term, I was told by an administrator that I was not to use any instructional materials that were not Common Core aligned. There is an element of an attempt at totalitarian control of thought in this type of top down management. So I with more years of teaching experience than I would like to admit would lack the requisite skills to select texts for my students? There are broader totalitarian impulses in the desire to have every child and teacher in the country marching in curricular lockstep. The beauty of our country lies in the cultural patchwork we as a nation have stitched together.

I would recommend that the

Southern  Poverty Law Center diversify its lunatic fringe category to include Yankee individualists marching to the beat of a different drummer like me. Forgive me, but how is the Common Core debate intertwined with Southern Poverty legal matters?

A Newark Teacher

 

UFT Contract: NYC Educator Puts Out Challenge to Unity on Contract

If it's such a great deal, why wouldn't they jump at the opportunity? If we bloggers and opponents are spouting myths, as UFT President Mike Mulgrew repeatedly told the DA last Wednesday, why doesn't he grab this, a golden opportunity to demonstrate it? ... Arthur Goldstein at NYC Educator blog.

I'm ready to tape this one but as I said in previous posts, I'm predicting the Unity people will never go face to face on the contract, especially with Julie Cavanagh, whom they seem to especially fear (Mulgrew shut down debate at the DA with Julie standing at the mic to speak next.) During the UFT election campaign the FDR chapter asked for a debate and at first the UFT said YES but then pulled out.

Me--Free and Fair Contract Discussion, UFT Leadership--Crickets

On Friday I decided it would be a good idea to have a forum in which both sides of the contract proposal are examined. I asked my friend Julie Cavanagh if she would be interested in presenting the con side, and she agreed. I went to my principal and asked if we could use the school auditorium. He said if we got a permit and did so after school hours it was fine.

I then happened to be speaking to Geoff Decker from Chalkbeat NY, and he offered to moderate if we could find a time to fit his schedule. We envisioned either that a panel of him, me and someone pro-contract to select questions from the audience. We wanted to do something balanced. I asked my district rep, who said this would have to go before a UFT officer. So I wrote the following email to Janella Hinds, UFT VP for Academic High Schools:

Hi Janella,

We are trying to organize a forum on the contract, and are thinking about doing it next Thursday afternoon at FLHS. My committee would get a permit, and anyone who wished to co-sponsor could help pay. We think it will be between 100-300, depending on how large a room we use, with auditorium at 300.

We envision a pro and con speaker, equal opening and closing statements, and questions from the crowd taken by a committee consisting of one pro, one con, and one non-partisan, perhaps Geoff Decker of Chalkbeat NY. We envision giving each speaker equal time to answer each question.

Do you think UFT would be interested in participating in such a forum?

Arthur

Thus far, we've gotten no response. It doesn't appear UFT leadership is jumping up and down for a fair discussion of the agreement they brokered. That's too bad. If they have such great faith they've made a good decision, it behooves them to subject it to the sunlight of reasonable scrutiny.

Hey Arthur, maybe it will happen due this public scrutiny. Good luck if it does.

UFT Contract: Secretaries Ask MORE for Help After Mulgrew Ignores Pleas

Mulgrew being handed requests

Dear Mr. Scott,

The secretaries of the UFT have been working under a 1979 contract. Some of the secretaries put together an outline of requests to up date our duties, title and protections against out of license employees being put in our positions. They have not opened up the test or upgraded it for yes ads. We handed these outlined requests to Mr. Mulgrew personally. We are not even mentioned in the new contract. We have had no reply from mulgrew or Mona Gonzales the chapter leader. We pay dues and work hard to keep things afloat while dealing with students, parents and administrators. Can you help us?

Secretaries are one of the forgotten segments of the UFT. When one of them challenged MORE for not taking up their cause I challenged the secretary to get involved and lobby for their case. They seem to have tried using the UFT mechanisms and got nowhere. Their chapter has long been a Unity controlled sellout chapter.

Our correspondent continues:

Most of them are so depressed.

The negotiating committee never sends us update, no test for the secretaries was even suggested in the contract, no secretaries have been hired in years, secretaries that leave are never replaced with secretaries, the workload is always dumped on them or when we complain, they put school aides in our spot. Aides have access to DOE programs that detail information about students, they work in payroll, attendance and admitting students, programing, etc. The DOE knows that they are aides and still OK's requests for access to these programs on the request for access forms OK'd by the Principals, Assistant Principal in charge of running the school and/or a DOE hired administrative assistant.

We are asked to do work for programs that are run after school during our regular working hours. They stopped giving us per session to work after school in these programs and hired aids to do this work.

There are aides in the college offices, handing transcripts to colleges and SAT information to send to the colleges and the students.

No one listens. Not Mulgrew, Gonzales, Principals, AP's, no one.

------

These are the requests that were handed to Mr. Mulgrew in a folder last May. We know all of the requests won't be met, but no one even mentioned updates to the secretarial area. 

Last May? A year has gone by with Mulgrew ignoring them. My message to secretaries is to start organizing. Get emails of every secretary you know and help MORE create a secretary committee run by secretaries.

REQUESTS FOR NEW SECRETARIAL CONTRACT

1. Chapter leaders, having knowledge of secretarial infringements by aides doing secretarial jobs and as UFT contractual agreement, should put through a grievance without individual request. The arbitration won by the UFT with regard to out of license pedagogues doing secretarial work is not being upheld. The Department of Education is giving Aides access to DOE software programs that only secretaries and administrators should have access to. The DOE is not hiring secretaries to fill areas of need. They are using Aides. More per session for secretaries (administrative assistants)
   
2. More per session for secretaries (administrative assistants) should be included in the budget. Money must be made available, not comp time.
   
3. When there is per session for teachers/administrators for special programs, secretarial hours must be included to do all the paperwork/payroll involved in the programs. (Often we are forced to do this work during the day in addition to our already heavy workloads).
   
4. During higher work volume through the year and upon absence of a secretary, peak load and per diem secretaries should be used to lessen the work load burden of a secretary.
   
5. The DOE must ENFORCE not giving Aides access to programs only secretaries (administrative assistants) and supervisors may access to.
   
6. DOE should implement updated and job appropriate secretarial (administrative assistants) exams to enter field. The test should include MS Office experience, Excel, PowerPoint and Publisher.
   
7. Applications for secretarial (Administrative assistants) positions should be accepted this year 2013-2014 and onward.
   
8. The date of the Secretarial (Administrative Assistant) exams should be on a date in 2013-14 onward and advertised.
   
9. The number of secretaries should be based on the number of students. i.e. H.S .SETTING: Minimum 12 secretaries for 2500 students. There should be a formula for the minimum number of secretarial positions for each school. We are understaffed and our workloads continue to increase.
   

10. Postings for secretarial positions should be posted after a secretary retires from a position held by them. Aides are not licensed to do secretarial work and must not take the secretary’s place. (This is included in our current contract but not always followed).
11. Salary steps should also be given to secretaries (administrative assistants) who took outside classes to improve their skills (i.e. MS Office classes, Administrative Assistant Seminars, etc.)
12. DOE should hire new secretaries (administrative assistants) to handle burden of workload where and when necessary. (Formula)
13. More secretaries (administrative assistants) should be hired to process data and clerical duties in each school.
14. There should be a Network and/or liaisons for secretaries. Name and phone numbers should be supplied directly to the secretary for contact.
15. Differential 2 should be increased monetarily.
16. Air conditioning or fans should be supplied by the school, as needed, to provide an
environmentally safe and reasonable temperature for the secretary (administrative assistant) 1

working condition.
17. A monthly meeting with the Principal, lasting at least 20 minutes, to discuss secretarial issues and
updates of what is being discussed with the rest of the staff and administration. So that we are
all on the same page, copies of faculty minutes should be provided to all secretaries.
18. All secretaries must be supplied with the appropriate professional development and classes so
that they are proficient in all aspects of their duties.
19. On Professional Development day, secretaries must be required and allowed to have
professional development. Professional development for secretaries should be provided in each borough of the City of New York. Network leaders or the power that be, cannot cancel professional development for secretaries and require them to work on that day.
20. Reimbursement should be provided to secretaries for required classes in order to maintain their license and/or increase their applied skills.