Written and edited by Norm Scott:
EDUCATE! ORGANIZE!! MOBILIZE!!!
Three pillars of The Resistance – providing information on current ed issues, organizing activities around fighting for public education in NYC and beyond and exposing the motives behind the education deformers. We link up with bands of resisters. Nothing will change unless WE ALL GET INVOLVED IN THE STRUGGLE!
...remind all UFT retirees who still contribute to the UFT that they can still vote and I plan on doing so to show Mulgrew just how much I appreciated his back door move to throw us all under the bus and everyone should do the same.... Facebook
This email from Michael Mulgrew and Thom Murphy looks extremely gaslight-y. Re: a quote
from the email from Michael Mulgrew and Tom Murphy, below, "the UFT
strongly voiced its opinion...that Medicare Advantage Plus...should NOT
take effect" - Notice the lack of a direct quote, let alone a source or
date - all clues to a lie. There is no direct quote supporting this
claim, to my knowledge. My heart is heavy,
thinking about those who are trying to drown sick seniors in a tide of
toxic misinformation. What hidden reward could make that feel
worthwhile?... UFT Retiree
Some think United for Change, the new coalition of oppo groups challenging Unity is causing consternation inside the fort, while others think the disintegration of competent leadership under Mulgrew is just as much a factor, the real cause of panic. In the past, most Unity people had faith in their ability to fight off oppo.
Many Unity still do not see UFC as a threat but do see the real threat as coming from within the halls of 52 Broadway- recent debacles around healthcare, the Mayoral Scott Stringer debacle where 3 million was spent to prop up a clearly losing candidate, only to endorse Adams who the leadership had told people it was not OK to vote for in the first place, the increasing likelihood of failure of the class size initiative, the faux arguments why we don't need to put it in the contract with recent loses or close calls at the DA -- and the membership complaints of lack of response.
In this post, we focus on the Medicare/MedAdv controversy where to stay in Medicare we have to pay $191 a month - and double for spouses to get the same services we have been getting. The promised Jan. 1 date of change is now thrown up in the air -- the security level of UFT retirees, a mainstay of Unity control, has been tossed in the air. Mulgrew's actions in alienating so many retirees, plus the threat to future retirees (See South Bronx School - My Own Story Why I am Wary of Medicare Advantage) has left even many Unity stalwarts scratching their heads.
And let's not forget that Mulgrew fundamentally takes the anti-medicare for all position and supports a plan that fundamentally undermines the public option.
Here are some facts of the current case:
Until there is a Court decision, no retirees will be moved into the new
Medicare Advantage plan. Retirees will remain in the plan they were in
for 2021.
The EmblemHealth / Empire BlueCross BlueShield Senior Care plan will
remain premium-free until the new Medicare Advantage plan is
implemented.
Once the Court announces an implementation date, we will notify retirees
of the period of time they will have to opt out of the Medicare
Advantage plan.
----- NYC Office of Labor Relations
After 8 months of gaslighting retirees, Mulgrew informed retirees the plan to move them out of Medicare into profit/privatized Medicare (Dis)Advantage plan on Jan. 1 except for people like me who opted out at an extorted price of $191 a month for less than the same services we were getting for free (we will now have copays). Now I won't have to pay that fee until they find another way to implement the plan, though with Adams taking over Jan. 1, who knows?
The Mulgrew/Murphy letter claimed the status quo remains until the court decides. But then we do have co-pays starting in January (which is why I am seeing every doctor I can this month). [T]he new GHI Senior Care doctor co-pay of $15, which is not associated with the new plan, will go into effect on Jan. 1 (it was postponed from July 1).
One retiree was outraged:
the imposition of a new $15 co-pay for the Senior Care
Medicare supplement appears to me to be NOT status quo, and therefore in
violation of Judge Frank's order to preserve the status quo.
She went on:
Copays
impose paperwork, recordkeeping, and time burdens on sick, elderly
patients. In an era of Covid, doctors' office paperwork increases
waiting room time and handing pens and papers back and forth, making
exposure to Covid variant germs statistically more likely. A $15 copay,
or even a 5 cent copay, has many hidden costs beyond its dollar amount,
compared with no copay.
Other retiree comments
Right now, we pay no premium, but GHI/Emblem/Empire is not providing
this coverage for free. They are being paid by the city. I don’t know
exactly how much, but probably it’s around — wait for it — $191 per
person. That’s a benefit we earned because of all of our years of
service to the city. To be clear — the city is reneging on that promise
and shifting that cost onto US. It’s not a rate increase by the
insurance companies — it’s a cost shift by the city to its retirees. A
broken promise.
And the same is true for those who
take the supposedly premium-free MA+ deal. There the cost shift is
partly to Medicare, which allows these MA companies to cheat by charging
more than Medicare would pay normally (undermining and privatizing
Medicare), and partly to US by denying lots of very expensive procedures
that Medicare would normally just pay for, leaving US to pay for them
or get really sick or, ya know, die.
Here are links to stories on the medicare issue:
De Blasio blocked from rolling out controversial NYC retiree health plan this year, leaving issue up to Mayor-elect Adams --
A
Manhattan judge has blocked the de Blasio administration from pushing
through a controversial new health care plan for retired municipal
workers before the end of the year, meaning the thorny issue will land
on Mayor-elect Eric Adams’ desk once he takes office.
Mayor de Blasio’s administration asked Manhattan Supreme Court Justice
Lyle Frank earlier in November to allow the city to set a Nov. 30
deadline for opting out of the Medicare Advantage Plus plan or be
automatically enrolled in it, saying there otherwise wouldn’t be enough
time for the new benefits to kick in by Jan. 1.
But in an order late Monday, Frank wrote that he could not understand
why the new benefits needed to be implemented by that date.
“After reviewing the correspondence received in the last few days, I do
not plan on amending my prior order at this time,” wrote Frank, who first blocked
the administration from rolling out the new plan in October after a
group of municipal retirees filed a lawsuit claiming it would
significantly water down their health care coverage.
Frank said he will keep the issue on ice at least through Dec. 8, when the parties are supposed to convene for a hearing.
Based on the previous time line offered by the administration, Frank’s
order means the new plan cannot take effect by Jan. 1 — the day Adams
will be sworn in as de Blasio’s successor.
As a result, Adams will have the ability to pause or alter any
potential de Blasio proposal that gets the green light from Frank before
then.
The de
Blasio administration has contended that the new Medicare plan would
save city taxpayers $500 million a year because it can be bankrolled by
federal dollars to a larger extent. The administration also maintains
that health care coverage will remain as rigorous as under the city’s
old Medicare plan, which retirees can also opt to keep, though that
would cost them an extra $191 a month.
But the coalition of municipal retirees who brought the issue to court
say that the new plan could result in them losing access to certain
services and medical procedures.
The coalition also argues that enrollment guides sent out to the city’s
roughly 250,000 municipal retirees are marred with factual errors and
that the court must thereby slam the brakes on implementation until
there’s a clearer picture of what the new plan will and will not do.
Front page for Oct. 16, 2021: Eric: Don't alter health plan for 250,000 retired city employees. (New York Daily News)
Steve Cohen, an attorney representing the plaintiff retirees, said the
administration’s bid to rush the plan appears aimed at boosting de
Blasio politically.
“De Blasio is seriously considering running for governor, and he wants
to be able to say he got the city to save $500 million a year — I get
it,” Cohen told the Daily News on Tuesday. “But he can’t do it on the
backs of seniors, and he’s just rushing to get it done before he leaves
office. It’s crazy. So many things are wrong about what they’re doing
and trying to do.”
Laura Feyer, a City Hall spokeswoman, would not comment on Frank’s
latest ruling, but reiterated that the administration believes its
proposal “provides superior benefits for retirees while saving the
system hundreds of millions of dollars.”
“We are working towards a resolution and will keep retirees notified of any changes,” Feyer said.
Adams hasn’t committed one way or another to what he will do as mayor
about the Medicare matter, though he recently expressed sympathy with
concerned retirees.
“We need to look at it and make sure it’s not a bait and switch,” Adams,
himself a retired NYPD captain who’s covered by municipal health
insurance, told reporters in October. “I’m a retiree, I get retiree
benefits. Their plan is my plan. We want to make sure that it is a fair
plan. Nothing is more frightening for a retiree than health care.”
Here is the Mulgrew gaslighting letter:
Due to the ongoing litigation, the UFT
strongly voiced its opinion that the New York City Medicare Advantage
Plus Plan should not take effect until an orderly transition and
continuity of services for retirees can be guaranteed. We have now been
notified that the new plan likely will not take effect on Jan. 1, as
originally planned. All Medicare-eligible municipal retirees will remain
in their current health plans for the time being. No rate increases
will go into effect for GHI Senior Care until the New York City Medicare
Advantage Plus Plan takes effect, but the new GHI Senior Care doctor
co-pay of $15, which is not associated with the new plan, will go into
effect on Jan. 1 (it was postponed from July 1). All supplemental health
care coverage will also remain unchanged.
The opt-out period continues. During this period, retirees may
opt out of the new plan or opt back into it. We will let you know as
soon as a deadline for making a final decision has been set. In
addition, the union has pressed for — and obtained — assurance that
retirees will further be able to opt in or out of the NYC Medicare
Advantage Plus Plan during the first part of 2022 after the new plan is
in operation.
The two sides will meet again before the judge on Dec. 8. We will alert you as soon as we have an update.
Sincerely,
Michael Mulgrew, UFT President
Tom Murphy, RTC Chapter Leader
And for more info:
If you're interested in the progress of the NYC Public
Service Retirees For Benefit Preservation lawsuit against the city, may I
suggest you join their email list? This is the website address if you
would like to join:
In
addition, if you'd like to keep abreast of documents and decisions
filed in the case, it's public information and can be viewed at the
following address:
The New York City public
schools that rely solely on open windows and portable air purifiers have
seen 23% more COVID-19 cases per students and a 29% increase in staff
case rates when compared to buildings with stronger ventilation, such as
HVAC systems...New York City’s
Department of Education (DOE) got those devices for a bargain,... WNYC/Gothamist asked the mayor’s office, the Department of Education,
Delos Living and city councilmembers to explain why Intellipure air
purifiers were chosen for schools given these performance issues.... Gothamist
The UFT leadership has been successful in trying to deflect member ire away from themselves and toward the inept DOE. Hopefully articles like this will change, though the report below doesn't ask the UFT for comment. It should have. The info in the Gothamist article was known during the summer in previous WNYC/Gothamist investigation but no action by the union.
...the city purchased two air purifiers for every
classroom from a Manhattan-based startup named Delos Living and its
upstate partner Intellipure — a choice officials strongly backed ahead of the school year, even though the devices lack HEPA filters, the industry benchmark for air cleaning.
This is a perfect example of the Unity Caucus/UFT leadership laying down on the job when it comes to health and safety of its members and the children they serve.
Here is a clear case of corrupt influence peddling at the expense of UFT member and children.
Kasirer, a Tribeca-based
lobbying firm with ties to the de Blasio administration, earned $195,000
for the project between July 2020 and August of this year, the month
before classes resumed. Records show this firm led New York City
lobbyists in compensation in 2020 — earning about $14 million.
Yet
despite the purchase of Intellipure air purifiers for schools, New
Yorkers who walk into most city buildings are unlikely to find that
brand of purifier humming in the background. City contracts and photos
sent to WNYC/Gothamist by city employees across several departments
indicate that most offices rely on other brands, all of which use HEPA
filters and provide substantially higher ventilation rates compared to
the purifiers in city schools. Some were purchased even as the city made
new deals with Delos for non-HEPA purifiers, the contracts show.
Lobbying and corruption: But I'd bet air purifiers in the UFT official's offices are not the cheapies. Certainly not in the Mayor's offices:
The mayor’s office, for example, purchased ENVIRCO IsoClean 800
purifiers in April 2021 that were delivered to 253 Broadway, a building
across from City Hall that houses multiple divisions of the mayor’s
office. A ventilation expert calculated that this model offers five
times as much airflow per hour as the Intellipure Compact air purifiers
in the city’s classrooms. The city signed two new contracts for
Intellipure air purifiers the same month.
The mantra of "everything de Blasio touches turns to shit (except NYC ferry and pre-k) continues. De Blasio also touches the UFT leadership, his partner in so many things -- like taking away retiree medicare, which has also turned to shit.
PS 18K, the school shown below was a school I covered with computer services in the late 90s and it's a very old school - probably over a hundred years old. Here are more excerpts and a link to the very long and comprehensive article.
Gothamist: NYC Schools Bought Weaker Air Purifiers. Now Underventilated Campuses Are More Prone To COVID Cases
Unity is clearly shaken by our alliance of opposition groups. Check out
the District Rep for District 25 making up a story online and on
Facebook wrongfully charging longtime dissident leader Norm Scott with being a scab. ...If a Unity District Rep who is an employee of the UFT is making up
nonsense about opposition leaders right after United for Change just
announced a joint slate, you know they will do and say anything to keep
their power, their jobs that pay close to and over $200,000 per year,
and their double pensions. It's not about supporting members; it's about
their perks. The lies will probably get worse as election season gets
closer... ICEUFT Blog
Sorry about the bullshit that some UFT reps spout out. They are an embarrassment to many in the UFT.... Unity Caucus member
Word is out that after the Oct. DA announcement of opposition groups working together and the announcement of United for Change at before the Nov. 17 DA, Unity held high powered pow wows
and went into DEFCON mode, ordering all its highly paid officials to
head out to the schools to defend their failed policies, something the
opposition is praying for since most of these people don't have any real
answers to the rot pervading the 60 year Unity Caucus.
There are even whispers that some Unity people are very unhappy with Mulgrew and would welcome someone else to run for President in this year's election. My guess is they are just whispers from a few, though we do hear some Unity retirees are not very happy over the healthcare mess Mulgrew has made.
But Unity trolls and hacks were also turned loose to attack voices of opposition. Thus,
Report seemed a little childish. Just tell the story. Keep the snide comments to yourself.
You don’t hear anyone coming up with nicknames for Norm after he crossed the picket line in 1968.
Oh, y’all didn’t know??? Norm Scott crossed the picket line in 1968.
Hmmm. A highly paid union employee, District 25 (Queens) Lamar Hughes, someone I've never met and
wouldn't know if I fell over him.
It's not easy to get into other
people's heads and examining what goes on in the brains of highly paid
UFT officials is like untangling dried out spaghetti. Apparently Lamar
was offended by my mocking his fellow high paid district 7 rep colleague
Bill Woodruff for his increasingly boorish behavior when I referred to
him as "Ruff Ruff".
[When Ruff Ruff goes into schools in his
district, some light barking will be appropriate. Or when he speaks at
DA, some ruff ruffs from delegates to cheer him on.]
Poor Lamar Hughes - he called me a - SCAB
- except it's entirely untrue, but nothing new for Unity Caucus hacks
who always assumed everyone opposed to Unity Caucus in the late 60s
crossed the 1968 picket lines.
As I wrote yesterday, UFT/Unity in DEFCON Mode and no holds barred. Word is they are doing desperate oppo research to dig up some dirt on Educators of NYC organizer Daniel Alicea who has become a prominent voice in the opposition despite having voted for Unity in 2019 --- Unity has to be worried that he is not the only defector.
The problem for Lamar and the truth is that I was not an activist
until late 1970 when I began to hang out with some people who did cross
the line and even opened up closed schools during the 68 strike -- guilt
by association, I guess.
My worst transgression in the 68 strike was still living with mommy and daddy and not really needing the 98 bucks a week take home pay. Not did I have any political ideology to make me go in to teach as a second year ATR assigned to the same school the principal let me go from just a few months before. I was actually overjoyed there was a strike so I could spend some time on the picket line before were told to go home around 11 because there were no teachers going in. I don't even remember kids going in - I think the principal closed down the school as being unsafe - the 68 strike was also a hidden strike by supervisors, who were the most threatened by community control.
I stopped going pretty soon and then a colleague asked me to teach middle school with her at a church for 3 hours a day at 20 bucks a day -- two more than I was taking home from the DOE. I think that gig ended after a few weeks. Then it was back to basketball and golf. So when the strike ended - crap - back to hell - and a longer day too and working xmas vacation at double pay - except I had booked a trip to Florida I couldn't cancel. At that point I intended to complete my two year commitment to teaching by June 1969 and go back to grad school. But fate intervened - in February 1969 I volunteered to take over a class vacated by the only teacher who had actually taught during the strike (he was sent to another school) and fell in love with the kids - it was like a lifetime flu.
I recognized the Lamar Hughes attack from the 70s when Unity hacks often attacked oppo people as scabs. I was at the AFT 1975 (pre-75 strike) convention with two buddies who had crossed the line in 68 handing out The Case Against Shanker when I was called a scab by a top union official and yelled back that I had never crossed a UFT picket line - she actually stopped in surprise and we had a chat. So I'm imagining that there is still a culture in Unity about oppo people having crossed the lines.
Camille Eterno claims every conversation I have begins with a noun, verb, followed by a discussion of the '68 strike. So thanks Lamar, for giving me a chance to bring up my favorite subject.
In the early 70s I began to learn about their reasons for crossing the line and many of them made sense. But I always argued that even if you opposed the strike, it might have been more fruitful over time to honor the strike while fighting against the people in the Unity leadership who perpetrated the strike. And over the years I further learned that there were some muddy waters on both sides, with anti-union forces pushing their version of community control which had to weaken the UFT in its very concept.
I've been in study groups on UFT history discussing the 68 strike and when I debated Leo Casey on the Leonie Haimson/Daniel Alicea hosted WBAI Talk Out of School, we did touch on the 68 strike. (Norm Scott and Shanker Inst Head Leo Casey - Insid...)
Fact is the 68 strike does not fit into the normal category of strikes - like the other two I participated in 67 and 75. Most UFTers are not informed about the complexities, the preface and the after effects. The UFT claims it was about illegal firings - which were actually illegal transfers and seniority issues. What is the usual response of a union? Grievances, courts, etc, not a 3 month strike. Even Randi wouldn't defend the strike, especially when she killed seniority and created the ATRs.
There are so many more violations going on today, but we don't hear the Lamar Hughes types in Unity calling for a strike, but offering instead a whimper.
Unity is clearly shaken by our alliance of opposition groups. Check
out the District Rep for District 25 making up a story online and on
Facebook wrongfully charging longtime dissident leader Norm Scott with being a scab.
If
a Unity District Rep who is an employee of the UFT is making up
nonsense about opposition leaders right after United for Change just
announced a joint slate, you know they will do and say anything to keep
their power, their jobs that pay close to and over $200,000 per year,
and their double pensions. It's not about supporting members; it's about
their perks. The lies will probably get worse as election season gets
closer.
The
history of the UFT is that of one-party rule....a group of opposition caucuses within the UFT announced that they had
banded together in a long-shot bid to seize control of the union’s
leadership.The rebels have had some initial success......“We had a victory tonight,” said Daniel Alicea, the UFC delegate who
introduced the amendment at the Nov. 17 meeting. “We saw an amendment
that shows that they’re willing to have a full-court press for class
size.” .... Alicea believes that one reason the leadership hasn’t lowered the class
size caps under de Blasio is they believe asking smaller class sizes can
only come as a trade off in salary negotiations. With billions of
federal education dollars coming to the city through COVID-19 relief
funding, Alicea argues that the time is now to fight over reducing the
contractual caps and more.“We're looking for not just contractual caps,
but also the contractual loopholes and exceptions and a grievance
process that is further expedited,” said Alicea..... City and State
Reporter Max Parrott covered the November 17 Delegate Assembly events outside 52 Broadway for hours and wrote this in depth analysis. I did my own DA analysis, which ruffled more than a few feathers in the UFT hierarchy, leading to personal (and untrue) attacks on me (see comments below my post):
It's hard to find reporters who actually report things the way they actually happened, so kudos to Max. Also kudos to him for this shout out:
“One of the key factors in UFT elections has been the retiree vote,
which generally has gone very high for Unity,” said Scott, who for
decades has chronicled union politics on his blog, Ed Notes.
Word is that the leadership is in DEFCON mode over recent events and has issued orders to be aggressive against oppositionists to its army of hacks and slugs to go on the attack.
UFT District 25 Rep Lamar Hughes: You don’t hear anyone coming up with nicknames for Norm after he crossed the picket line in 1968. Oh, y’all didn’t know??? Norm Scott crossed the picket line in 1968.
Sorry Lamar, y'all just make shit up. But I'll school Lamar on the '68 strike another time.
The UFT leadership sellout on Medicare and support for privatized healthcare is a big issue.
UFC is hoping to make in-roads with this demographic by protesting the
union’s support for shifting health benefits for about 250,000 retired
city workers to a new plan under Medicare Advantage... “Everybody, including me, thinks that class size is the overriding,
bigger issue, but as far as getting votes, the thing is this has a lot
of retirees pissed off,” said UFC member Bennett Fischer.
If a significant group of retirees vote UFC, like, say over 35%
(there are thousands of Unity retirees so winning that vote is very
unlikely), the final numbers could be closer than comfortable for Unity. Thus we actually see Unity hacks attacking us as anti-union for calling for medicare for all plans, a bizarro argument, but expect a lot more to come. There are whispers that some in Unity Caucus want Mulgrew to not run for President but are too weak - and scared - to act on it.
We'll have some more fun with the Unity gang in upcoming posts. Here is Parrott's article:
Tension builds within the UFT over reducing class sizes
A
new coalition within the union dubbed United for Change won a vote to
force a referendum on the issue, signaling a growing divide.
The information blackout by the UFT leadership, other than propaganda, has grown stark as the Jan. 1, 2022 deadline approaches for the withdrawal from Medicare for those who did not opt out, while those who did (like me) will be paying $190 extra a month for the same services they've been getting for free. Thanks.
Unity hacks are out there attacking those of us who see a medicare for all as the solution as being anti-union - BECAUSE WE OPPOSE PRIVATE INSURANCE THAT IS THE BIGGEST FACTOR IN COSTS? Go figure. It's like saying opposition to non-unionized charter schools is anti-union.
White Hat is a new pro Unity twitter trolling account, part of the leadership's DEFCOM 7 response.
Our UFT leaders are trying to hide the lawsuit and chaos they have
helped create for ALL UFT retirees. While Unity hacks defend what
Mulgrew has wrought, most retirees fret that they are being forced to
make difficult choices at a crucial time in their lives --- the clock is
counting down and people my age don't need to deal with this shit.
Retirees, even if you don't like the opposition groups running against
Unity, show your displeasure in the UFT elections.
Then there's this from a FB chat: Does the day come where Mulgrew echos Nixon: I'm not a crook!
This is it!!
Aetna has sued the city alleging the selection process was fixed to favor Alliance, a consortium that includes Emblem Health and Anthem/Blue Cross Blue Shield and has strong ties to union leaders, to operate the new Medicare Advantage Plus program.
Under Aetna’s proposal, zero premiums would have been charged for six contract years, but unlike the Alliance, Aetna’s proposal doesn’t “cap its gain sharing proposal to any dollar amount,” the protest letter says.
According to Aetna, the city likely would have netted “hundreds of millions of dollars in possible gain share payments from Aetna” over the course of the contract.
They could have saved with this other plan but didn’t choose it. They chose a plan they would charge premiums and would save the city less. This would miss the target of saving money.
23 million to the stabilization fund
Retirees in some of the fb books had been pointing out the 1 year for weeks
PSC noticed it
The MLC ravaged the stabilization fund which according to corrections union will be entirely depleted in2022-23
And went with a plan that will net 23 million bucks
A Delegate argues that the contract is not the right place for lower
class sizes. We have a committee to negotiate. Class size should not be
there in contract negotiations ... Double WTF
Undoubtably a Unity Caucus delegate who seems clueless that we ACTUALLY HAVE NEGOTIATED CLASS SIZE LIMITS IN THE CONTRACT.
Thank goodness there was some sanity in the house -
A chapter leader speaks in favor of the amendment because it allows
chapter leaders to enforce class sizes through the grievance process. I've been making this point:
Should UFT staffers and other Unity hacks be called out as speaking for the leadership, not the membership at DAs? They may be elected delegates in their schools but they are working for the leadership, not the people they were elected to rep.
So, Hell yes - people making way more money than even the highest paid member should be held publicly accountable. I was so glad to see Daniel Alicea call out Unity hack non-elected District Rep Bill (Ruff Ruff) Woodruff at the Nov. 17 DA for calling the question.
Monday, November 22, 2021
What a yummy Delegate Assembly Nov. 17 was. I didn't even need to eat dinner that night. There's lots to report and I will need a few blog posts over the next few days to do it all.
Background -- UFT leadership comes up with an nice gimmick to get class size reductions -- using pandemic health issue. But they refuse to entertain making it a contract demand, which has been the only true protection over decades, even with loopholes. Think of the outcome if the ancestors of the current leadership took the same position on class size in the 60s? You'd have whatever amount the principal decided. Like take 45 so he could decorate his office.
Why is the leadership opposed? Because they sell a zero sum game that any class size contract reduction will come out of salary -- like the UFT can't join with communities to fight for a funding strand for class size reduction.
And how about that Unity bogus argument that the DA, by UFT constitution the highest decision making body in the union, can't dictate terms to the hand-picked negotiating committee of hundreds picked by the leadership? We need to affirm the DA right to make demands on the suddenly sacrosanct Unity controlled negotiating committee.
I don't know who all the speakers listed in Arthur's report below are, but I will venture a guess: anyone
who spoke against the amendment asking for class size to be a contract
demand is in some way associated with Unity Caucus and most in some
manner on the UFT payroll or get union perks. At the very least, they are part of some
Unity DA speakers bureau that plans their actions at the DA in advance. There are some reports there is even a seating chart so Mulgrew can find
them.
The Unity hierarchy tried very hard to kill the amendment in the days before the meeting, so they knew it was coming and made sure to have their people in place to oppose it.
They lost anyway as the people on the phone voted over 60% in favor of the amendment.
[UFT VP Elementary schools] Karen Alford--Supports reso to strengthen commitment to lower
class size and hold DOE responsible. Can't wait. Thinks about days in
overcrowded schools and classrooms, and how impossible it was to teach.
We need to recognize public health challenge and look through this lens.
We will make children safer. 84% could do this now. We know there are
infrastructure and covid relief dollars. We don't want to trade pay for
class size and we must seize this opportunity.
Ryan Bockenthal--Very
much in favor, Moves to amend. Adds resolved--We wll follow up with
actions, support related state legislation, prioritize in collective
bargaining, go to court if necessary. We have power and showed it by
mobilizing toward strike.
Loretta Tamborello--Rises in
opposition. As we said, negotiation for contract not right place. Trying
to make difference using health code. We are forming committee. Will
drive us. Class size action now as we're doing. Should not be contract
negotiaton.
Farah Alexander--Teachers overworked, overextended, at capacity. We want this now, before contract, don't want it mandatory item.
Ali ?--In favor of amendment. Empowers CLs to enforce this. Can make it school issue. Policies meaningless until enforced.
Shane McAndrew--Opposes.
We have health crisis, must lower class sizes, social-emotional crisis
too. Smaller class sizes will help teachers support students better.
Legislative process removes pressure at bargaining table. We have our
voice if it's immortalized in law. Pols will have to raise them.
Matt Driscoll--In favor of amendment. Not in conflict with reso. Just adds to it.
Jennifer Brown--Important to fight for reduction at all levels, contractually and beforehand.
Bill Woodruff--Calls question.
Point of order--Important issue. Is delegate that just asked that on union payroll?
Mulgrew--He is elected delegate.
Woodruff?--Audibly angry, argues you'd deny members their right to be represented.
Mulgrew--We
are teacher union in largest district with greatest challenges. Please
bear that in mind and be respectful toward one another. Question called.
Seconded.
Vote to end debate.
82% yes online. Debate closed.
Amendment--
61% yes online. Amendment passes, but....
Mulgrew
calls people to stand who are for amendment. They are counted. Audible
debate as sections are measured. Has no votes stand, section by
section. Mulgrew says we try to avoid this because we get through fewer
resolutions.
Amendment passes.
This was a big victory as people on the phone voted overwhelmingly for putting class size as a contract demand, vehemently opposed by the leadership, as you can see above in Arthur's report. As Unity tries to pack in person meetings, you can see a divide where in person overwhelmingly opposed the contract amendment. Remote is a problem for the leadership since they can't see how people vote - and I bet a bunch of anon Unity people voted for the amendment.
There's a lot to chew on in this short segment. Bill Woodruff (known affectionately by some in the opposition as Ruff Ruff) is a highly paid APPOINTED NOT ELECTED district rep but also an elected delegate from the school he is assigned to where he teaches one period a day and then goes off to work on his UFT job until 6 PM - supposedly - except I guess when he "works" for Unity Caucucs at the DA - often as a goon this time trying to intimidate retirees outside the building (more on this below). Should District reps occupy a delegate position in a school they spend one eighth of their day in? I say HELL NO but if they were elected DR in their districts I'd entertain the argument.
Anti amendment speakers Loretta Tamborello, Farah Alexander are Unity Caucus and Shane McAndrew was associated with E4E which no matter their rhetoric, go along with Ed Deform attacks on class size as an issue. Watch some alliances between E4E and Unity in this election, even the possibility E4E runs its own slate as a Unity stalking horse to undermine United for Change.
A Delegate on the phone says lower class sizes are important contractually or through other means.
A Delegate calls the question on all matters before the house.
Point
of Order: This is an important issue asking if the person who spoke
previously was on the union payroll. Delegate responds that he is
elected and insulted that someone asked this.
Then,
it starts to get crazy when DR William Woodruff calls the question to
get a vote on ending the debate. Independent Delegate Daniel Alicea [(here)]
shouts for a point of order on whether the person calling for the end
of debate on this fundamental issue is on the UFT payroll. Woodruff is
on the payroll and makes close to $200,000 per annum as a District Rep
so it is a valid question if he represents his employer (the UFT) or the
members in the school where he works one period a day. .....
DOENUTS' reporting is important, bur not to bury the lede of this DA:
The most important event connected to the Nov. 17 UFT Delegate Assembly was the announcement of a united slate for the spring UFT elections -
I've always supported a united front of all groups for UFT elections since I got involved in the 70s. Generally, the caucuses I've worked with have also backed united fronts and I have always argued to either run together or don't run. That was my position when I was with MORE and when they did the opposite in the 2019 election I separated. Good to see they are on board this time.
But to me the more important issue has been the level of cooperation between all elements of the opposition at the Sept. CL and Oct and Nov DA's -- more on this - the first time I've seen some of this at DAs since the early 70s.
UFT staffers dominating the DA is anti-democratic, as is shutting out opposition retirees from being delegates
Now, let's get back to the issue of UFT/Unity people on the union dole occupying major spaces at the Delegate Assembly, which was so blatantly obvious on Wednesday.
For the record, a group of retirees were huddled together outside listening to the DA with some mild amplification through a bull horn - we are old and the UFT leadership opposes medicare for all which would pay for our hearing aids. In addition, the 19th floor, where we usually watch the DA, was closed. And despite Retiree Advocate winning 30% of the vote in last spring's chapter election - roughly 7000 disenfranchised voters -we have NO representation at the DA as Unity takes winner take all for all retiree 300 delegates. This is dues taxation without representation. For the record, before the election we asked for at the very least some token representation at the DA for 5 out of 300 and Unity said NO.
Apparently this unnerved Mulgrew enough to interrupt a great speech by Daniel Alicea on why mayoral control has been so bad and Mulgrew stopped the DA and threatened to shut it down entirely because there are supposed rules about broadcasting the DA outside the building, an LOL moment since they were broadcasting outside the building to thousands of delegates.
They sent 3 Unity staffer goons out to yell at us: Queens HS Dist Rep James Vasquez, Wilma Soto and Good old Bill Ruff Ruff, who raced out to yell at us after yelling at Daniel. I yelled back to show us the rule and that if there were a rule about broadcasting outside the DA, they were the ones violating the rule --
It
is anti-democratic when unelected union bureaucrats like District Reps
who teach one period a day in a school and are on the UFT payroll manage
to get elected as a school delegate to supposedly represent the school
but actually function as an agent of the leadership, often against the
interests of the people in the schools. Delegates have a right to that
information. Especially egregious is calling the question on class size
issues.
Daniel posted DOENUTS on his EONYC FB page and got this response from our old pal Leo Casey:
“With all due respect, this is an anti-democratic argument. Every delegate in the Delegate Assembly is elected by the members in their school, and every delegate has the same rights to speak and to make motions in the body. This is an argument that "I have the right to silence you" and to disenfranchise the members in your school if you are in a different caucus from me. If you don't like what a delegate says, get up and make your own speech; if you don't like a motion that a delegate makes, vote against it. That's how a democracy works....
...the objection is that the delegate (derided as union bureaucrat)
doesn’t vote the ‘right way’ representing the ‘interests’ of the members
the way that the interlocutor knows they should be represented, and so
therefore, must be an anti-democratic presence in the DA. And the
delegate who votes the ‘right way’ (Markens) is exempt from this
stricture. What I simply end with is that a conception of democracy
which can’t imagine being legitimately on the losing end of votes and
elections is not a conception of democracy that I can support.
Daniel responded:
Markens
is not truly analogous as being duly elected into both his
positions,imo. And the lone example in 60 years. Hard to question his
legitimacy.
“Bruce
was DR for a decade. When Bruce retired, Manhattan High Schools had the
nerve to vote in another non-Unity representative Tom Dromgoole.
Unity's response was to change the rules to make district
representatives a position appointed by the UFT President.”
If district reps were elected a case could be made for them to be delegates. In fact, I would support their being delegates because they would be one level removed from total adherence to the dictates of the leadership.
RANK-AND-FILE MEMBERS OF THE UFT FORM UMBRELLA SLATETO CHALLENGE THE CURRENT RULING LEADERS OF THE UNION IN SPRING 2022 UFT ELECTIONS
The
joint slate will be announced at the UFT's Delegate Assembly at 52
Broadway on November 17th at 4:30 PM. Coalition activists at the
delegate hall will speak about the new coalition.
The above just came out and I will comment tomorrow. At the risk of burying the lede:
Reduce class size by 30% and all teachers except the very incompetent
(and they love to use the relatively few examples to affect all
teachers) would rise in effectiveness by whatever way you judge. I
prefer ability to impact on the most children in a positive way.... Norm at Ed Notes, Oct. 24 2010
This
bill would require each classroom in a school of the city school
district of the city of New York provide 35 square feet of net floor
area per child by September 2024, with no less than one-third of schools
complying with such targets by September 2022, and no less than
two-thirds of schools complying with such targets by September 2023... City Council
Do I think the United Slate for the UFT elections and the Unity push for class size are connected? HELL YES!
Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021, 8 AM
With the sudden interest by UFT leadership in a non-enforceable version of class size reduction, we see the spring UFT election season in full operation as a way to take away a major item the opposition groups running in the election might raise.
As I pointed out over the years, unless it is in the contract, it has no real teeth.
If not for the 50 year old contract class size restrictions, it would be Katie bar the door when principals want to use school money to furnish their office or hire more APs by raising class size. And the 2018 contract did make class size issues more enforceable.
There seemed to be lots of back-stage maneuvering going on over this issue but untangling that Gordian Knot is a job for Houdini. Even though I don't think contacting politicians generally has a big effect, I am not against doing it as a chapter leader sent out this but framing this as a health issue has an impact.
I spent the morning making this doc to facilitate outreach to electeds in support of City Council bill 2374. Please share widely, and encourage your members to call their reps.
I don't have the patience to go through the leadership sponsored reso on class size for today's DA but I know it will not contain a call for negotiations in the contract. And all sorts of actions for the members to take in pushing for the bill. Hey, if class size is a health issue, make it a priority for contract negotiations. Mulgrew maintains the fiction that the DA can't dictate to the Negotiating committee, which will grow to the thoudands
What will be their reaction if class size doesn't get reduced? It's a gamble of sorts. If they actually get some reductions - remember, the pandemic has changed the equation on class size -- it was always a health issue in some ways but now it's a major health issue. Do you remember Mulgrew going along with the 3 foot distance? He flips like a fish on a dock.
Yesterday, I reported (Class
Size and Healthcare Inside/Outside Action at by coalition of UFT
activists) on the upcoming action inside and outside the UFT
Delegate Assembly. I'm taking a 3:15 ferry hoping to get there by 4:30.
What would a DA be without me handing out something or other? We expect
to stay around until 6PM to support delegates on the way out.
Mulgrew talks/filibusters for almost an hour.
Question period with Unity plants being favored for pre-planned questions.Ten Minute New Motion period: A guaranteed Unity plant motion to kill time and limit time for oppo voices. One guess?
Or else put at top of agenda for Regular Motion period as a way to shunt a mayoral control reso that has been in the agenda for 5 months aside. Ooops -- 6 o'clock - out of time.
Key motion for Mulgrew: Unity sponsored Class size at the city council but never in contract motion. Let's be clear - we support a city council attempt to reduce class size but that is never enough as we found out when the early 90s reduction for grades 1-3 was taken away by Bloomberg, who didn't think class size was important, ten years later. By the way -- the next Mayor also doesn't think class size is important: Eric Adams and class size
Adams said
at a Citizens Budget Commission
forum in February. “You could have one great teacher that’s in one of
our specialized high schools to teach three to 400 students who are
struggling in math, with the skillful way that they’re able to teach.”
I hear things for the UFT on this reso is not resonating in the Adams camp. Mulgrew used three napkins wiping egg off his face.
Attempt to amend with contract will be avoided at all costs. Unity wants to rail against putting class size in contract but doesn't want an actual vote against. Though for my money why not vote it up and then just dump class size in actual negotiations? What we are calling for is for a serious attempt to separate a special money category devoted to class size. I don't think it realistic to ask for 14 in a class but at least drop the numbers by two or three in each category.
CLASS SIZE FORUM LIVE BLOGGING
-
I logged on when Michael Mulgrew was talking about class size. Emily James
is also on from UFT. The third person is Mark Treyger, the Education Chair, City Council
Class size the UFT route with weak enforcement vs contract protection
For
the past 50 years many of us have pushed the UFT to reduce class size
in the contract but they have refused to do so, claiming the money would
come out of our salaries. But so does toilet paper money. We can wipe
with dollar bills.
Imagine of we didn't even have the current 50
year old protections even with the loopholes. When budget issues come up
they would pump 45 in your classes. Only the contract keeps them to the
limits, as they must budget for those numbers. A sucky grievance
procedure gave them a lot of leeway to violate the rules, but the 2019
at least tightened up enforcement - but enforcement of the high numbers
to start with.
On the Zoom, here is the crux of how the UFT leadership undermines the case for class size as a contract demand:
Delegate from Beacon High School is excited about this campaign. Asks
if the union has thought about bringing this up through our contract
campaign. We are in a position of strength. We mobilized for a strike
last year, and got more. Could we mobilize through contract campaign?
Mulgrew
says it comes down to negotiating committee. We want to expand
negotiating committee. 400 people representing 123,000 members. We want
smaller class sizes, but is this the issue we want to lead on. Do we
want to do it like this but in a smarter way. Every negotiating
committee has discussed this. We have to think about the consequences of
a strike because of the Taylor law.
Barr--Resolution to support this bill is placed on screen.
Gives history of UFT work on class size. Was first point in pandemic
five-point plan. Asks for motion.
George Altomari--This
issue older than UFT. Teacher's Guild looked at this. We had no
contract, did best we could. Class size was 55, 60. People sat on
things. We had no collective bargaining or numbers. Charlie Cogen did
everything possible. He analyzed laws on books, found you needed so much
space for fire hazard, wasn't successful, but we had a terrific run.
Won through collective bargaining.
Anthony Harmon--Time is right, this is our opportunity, thanks union.
Barr had to tell the fake history story on UFT action - or inaction on class size.
Ed Notes over the past 24 years has exposed the real history of the UFT and class size, but I will leave that review, including my October 2001 reso passed unanimously at the DA for all class size violations to be published in the NY Teacher, which the union only did for two years. Now it would be easy to have all current class size violations up to date on the web.
