RA NEWSLETTER, Feb. 28, 2022 : Vote for United for Change!

Feb. 28, 2022

View this email in your browser

Join Retiree Advocate/UFT - Become a member: yearly dues: $20. Send check made out to Retiree Advocate/ UFT P.O. Box 22567, Brooklyn, NY 11201-2567 or click this link to pay with Paypal Retiree Advocate is a member of  UNITED FOR CHANGE Come and work with us on this historic election campaign! To Register: click on the invitation or here, https://bit.ly/3I7YLZz "We do the Work" 2022 Unity Caucus campaign slogan. from New Action Caucus, an open letter to Mulgrew. Dear Michael Mulgrew, Unity Caucus claims “[they] do the work.” But over the last several decades, they’ve allowed the DOE to pile on extra responsibilities for all UFT members. In essence, under Unity, we’re overworked. Let’s take a look at an example. The other day, I was logged in for some mandatory per session. After a long day, I was ready to go home. But, this year, whenever a student quarantines, teachers are obligated to do remote office hours. In many schools, COVID rates are so high that teachers find themselves doing these office hours many times a month if not every week. Yes, teachers can pick which days they work the extra hours or forego their lunch breaks. But this extra work is compulsory. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize what’s happened here – our work days have been extended, and undemocratically at that. Had I had a seat at the table, I would have argued to replace Monday PD time with this new task. (After all, there’s precedent for this – we did something similar last year with ‘office hours’ and ‘co-planning time’ in lieu of long weekly PDs). I also would have pushed for better remote infrastructure in the first place. But, I didn’t get a vote. You’d think the DA would have been consulted, but we weren’t. As usual, you and the rest of the Unity leadership pushed the forced overtime on teachers without consulting us. So, inspired by Norm Scott’s excellent piece detailing the ways that Unity has ‘not done the work,’ I decided to put together an incomplete list of the ways they’ve also pushed more work onto the rank and file.  We are overworked, because Unity Caucus: -Negotiated endless PD Mondays and OPW time on Tuesdays in exchange for one-time wage increases. Years later, our wages have not kept up with inflation, but the extended days remain. -Let the DOE enforce mandatory per session for office hours (as well as special education recovery services) rather than repurpose already existing extended days. -Is committed to healthcare givebacks, making us work harder to find providers or get affordable necessary care.  -Gave the greenlight for tenure to be extended from three to four years minimum, which is now routinely denied or extended by principals and superintendents, even after teachers put in the work to create expansive portfolios that were never required previously. - Has failed to reduce class sizes or caseload caps in 60 years, even as the instructional techniques mandated by the Danielson rubric (e.g. differentiation, collaborative learning strategies) essentially require small class sizes. -Stripped us of many of our protections against abusive administrators, such as the PINI program, and the right to grieve letters in the file.  - Allowed the discipline code to deteriorate, without building up the functioning restorative justice programs we were promised would fill the void. Without any disciplinary infrastructure, teachers have significantly more draining experiences managing their classrooms, and to the detriment of all students (many of whom are traumatized by witnessing fight after fight). -Let schools reopen at full capacity, without a remote option, during Omicron, leading to thousands of student and teacher infections. As misinterpretations of the new CDC guidance flourish, many of these teachers have been harassed by administrators to come back only five days after testing positive, despite maintaining symptoms. Many others have contracted long-COVID in the unsafe classrooms that Unity rubber stamped, and now must grapple with whether they even have the energy left to continue their teaching careers. I for one am sick of being over-worked because Unity fails to deliver. Next election, I’ll be voting United for Change. They’ll actually do the work. 45,000 NYC retirees have rejected the MAPP to stay in their traditional free Medicare Plan in spite of the fact that they will have to pay a $200 a month premium.  Why?   -Prior Authorizations  (an AMA report) delay treatments -Private Insurance Plans are  more expensive Elizabeth Fowler, Biden's pick to head the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI)  used to work for insurance company Wellpoint which later became Anthem.  She has always looked after the interests of Private Insurance.  When PNHP launched this campaign three months ago, the Direct Contracting (DC) program was flying under the radar of both seniors and Congress. But through our tireless advocacy, organizing, and media outreach, we’ve succeeded in making Direct Contracting a toxic name. CMS had to respond. But instead of rejecting this backdoor privatization model, they tried to push it back under the radar with a new name — “ACO REACH.” Just like it’s evil twin, Direct Contracting, the proposed REACH program would:  -Pay third-party middlemen a flat fee to "manage" seniors' health, allowing them to keep up to 40% of what they don’t spend on health care as profit and overhead. -Automatically enroll Traditional Medicare beneficiaries into REACH without their full understanding or consent.  -Require beneficiaries to change primary care providers if they wish to opt out of the program. -Allow virtually any type of company to be a REACH middleman, including those owned by commercial insurers and private equity investors, as well as every company currently participating in the DC program.  Wall Street is betting on Medicare privatization as their next big score, and it will take a movement to stop.  PNHP More about ACO REACH  - Accountable Care Organization From Bloomberg News a brief example of how Wall Street is closely aligned with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation Clover Health at More Risk on Rollback of Trump Medicare Program OKA "Direct Contracting" Concerns over CMS policy changes threaten Medicare-tied stocks Clover Health shares slide 90% from June peak, Cano down 60% By Cristin Flanagan, Bloomberg News, February 17, 2022   A potential rollback of a Trump administration Medicare program could threaten a handful of recently listed stocks from the past two years including Clover Health Investments Corp. Clover, which went public in a blank-check merger backed by Chamath Palihapitiya, has already seen its stock drop 90% from a June peak. But the stock could take another leg downward if a program known as direct contracting -- a payment model that allows private companies to take part in Medicare -- is ended or scaled back, as it accounts for roughly 60% of its sales, according to Citigroup. Clover is one of several health-care technology and service upstarts that have come to the market with big-name backers and heady valuations recently. But a broad market rotation away from high-growth names in the face of rising interest rates, as well as cooling daytrader interest, has reined in stock prices. Now, potential Medicare changes could further pressure the stock and others, with little room to reverse course.  Citigroup analyst Jason Cassorla has opened a 30-day negative catalyst watch on a trio of health companies including Clover saying there is “limited upside” from any decision by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The list also includes Cano Health Inc., a medical provider backed by billionaire Barry Sternlicht that gets about 16% of its sales from the Medicare program, and health insurer Bright Health Group Inc., which earns roughly 5% from the program. Both Cano and Bright Health shares are down more than 50% since June. Additionally, clinic operators Oak Street Health Inc. and 1Life Healthcare Inc. -- both trading below their 2020 IPO prices -- could be impacted, according SVB Leerink analysts. All the Medicare-levered names tumbled Thursday amid a broader geopolitically driven selloff; 1Life closed down 12% while Clover tumbled 11% and Cano Health slid 9.3%. Want Answers? More on the name switch from Direct Contracting to ACO REACH PSC CUNY - What's happening with retiree healthcare FAQs from the NYC Retirees Organization Updated MLC FAQs Evidence of Coverage UFT Welfare Fund Prior Authorizations Dark History of Medicare Privatization- article Court Documents  Message from United for Change We will fight to remove private greed from our profession, our livelihood, and our schools.  Reverse privatization of Medicare for NYC municipal retirees. No in-service healthcare givebacks. Support single payer public healthcare.  Rescind mandatory HMO enrollment for new UFT members. Bring back choice. End high-stakes testing. Replace with fairer forms of student assessment Fight the privatization of public education. Reverse the spread of charter schools in public education.                Retiree Advocate is a member of UNITED FOR CHANGE

Retiree Advocate Platform SAVE RETIREE BENEFIT Protect our Healthcare from being privatized Expand our Social Security benefits and ensure that they are not diminished or removed Win a (single payer) universal health program, support and organize for the NYHealth Care Act Increase our COLA (cost of living adjustments) PROTECT WORKING EDUCATORS and SAVE PUBLIC SCHOOLS WITH FULL FUNDING•UFT Take immediate steps to support teachers working under abusive administrators Fight for Pension Equity- tier 1 for all. Equal work deserves equal pensions Restore the Retiree Organizing Committee. Defend our public schools and take a more active role in preventing them from being privatized Say No to Charters, vouchers and any system that creates unequal worker tiers Reduce Class Size! Cut administrator costs EXPAND UNION DEMOCRACY Working members should have greater voting weight when electing union leadership Change the current “winner take all” election system using proportional representation for union slate Represent a variety of views and interests in our chapter. Diversity of ideas leads to better decision making (which results in a stronger union) FIGHT FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE FOR ALL We support The Black Lives Matter movement. End systemic racism and oppression We call for an end to police brutality, real police reform and the end of the militarization of police departments We support raising the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour. The federal government should institute a massive jobs program to address racial and economic disparity. Support economic and health victims of the pandemic Work to cut the excesses in the military budget and redirect monies to expand social services and benefits in local communities.

Follow Us On Social Media Copyright © 2022 Retiree Advocate/UFT, All rights reserved.

 

....and just sold out every New York City retiree

 

Welcome City of New York Active Employees!

This page is specifically for you, the active NYC worker. We want you to know that we were just like you, loyal union members in the City of New York. Many of us have been retired for 10, 20, 30, 40 and even 50 years already. We were made certain promises and had collective-bargaining agreements just like you do. Our agreements stated that the insurance we had in employment would continue into retirement until our death. As Retirees, we are also entitled to Medicare B reimbursement. These are all benefits our unions won for us during our tenure.

Now, sadly it seems the union position which used to be protect its workers and Retirees, is making side deals behind your back and just sold out every New York City retiree.

Digging Behind Mulgrewcare - - Biden [and Mulgrew] Sticks with Trump Scheme to Privatize Medicare

The article below dovetails with MulgrewCare and the UFT lining up with the Biden corporate Dems: Oppose single payer/medicare for all and the NY Health Act and support the private insurance industry. 

Friday, February 25, 2022

The more you examine UFT/Unity Caucus policy the more you see the links to fundamental Republican and corporate Democratic support for privatized schemes that drain funds from public options. (Think of how the UFT didn't rigorously oppose charter schools initially and even started two of its own, both failures). 

And make no mistake about it, the core UFT policy is center-right Democratic Party. Thus the move away from traditional medicare by Mulgrew fits perfectly into the overall plan to scuttle medicare and enrich private ensurers. 

Mulgrew claims the money comes from medicare to the private insurer so it doesn't cost the city money. This is true but ignores that in essence instead of medicare paying directly to your doctors they give the money to the private insurer who then pays the doctor or hospital - after taking its profit. How do they make a profit? Medicare pays an extra 5% to cover the higher administrative costs -- which even Mulgrew admits to. Who cares he might say, it's not out of our pocket. But actually long-term it is out of our pocket.

Every month I get my socials security check from the federal govt. Imagine if they installed a private agency to get my check, take a bit off the top for "admin" costs and then send it on to me.

Private insurers have another way to squeeze medicare. Upcoding, as explained to me by my podiatrist. They use any excuse to upcode the patients -- meaning taking any condition you have that medicare might pay say $100 for and making it look worse so medicare would have to pay say $150 for the same procedure.

Now, the point is you the patient is not getting any better service or care -- in the long run worse care because abother money maker is denials and forcing you to go through a pre-approval process. Now Medicare also has pre-approvals and 85% of MedAdv preapprovals match medicare -- but 15% doesn't -- and therein lies more than a few bucks for the privatizers. 

The end-game is the total dismantling of a publicly managed program and opening up the entire post-65 population to the privatizers. The article below shows how the Biden admin has put a Trump plan into the hands of Nancy Fowler, a chief ally of private insurers in a plan that will join Mulgrew in trying to gut medicare.

I will add one one point and that is the people who are employed by Medicare --

What’s So Funny About Peace, Love, and Democracy at the UFT Delegate Assembly?

Whoever controls the agenda, controls the debate... old adage

I was there it was awful so much bullying and yelling from unity they look so weak.. Comment on ICE blog

The suppression of UFC Candidate Camille Eterno by Unity Caucus led Michael Mulgrew at the February 2022 UFT Delegate Assembly and the subsequent

distortions by Unity Caucus hacks on social media has resulted in some deep dives.

Unity seemed to think they had a slam dunk, but the event has sparked a lot of analysis of how the DA is run and how it should be run. 

Camille speaks up for herself on the UFC site:

• A Statement on the UFT Delegate Assembly from Camille Eterno, UFC Candidate for UFT President

Cl Nick Bacon, elected with Unity in 2019 but now running for UFC HS Ex Bd gets 2 whacks with his article at  New Action – UFT

• Unpacking the February DA - The February DA was a farce, but not for the reasons our leadership would have you think. United for change has a problem: we haven’t been called on durin... and a podcast: Ep 29: What REALLY Happened at the February DA, feat. Nick Bacon. (Check out other great episodes:   Professional Development: The New York City Teacher Podcast)

 James posts on ICE blog: 

• CAMILLE CALLS FOR EQUAL TIME FOR OPPOSITION AT DA BUT IS REBUFFED BY BULLYING ONE SIDED DEBATE

I posted:

• UNITY Caucus Modus Operandi: Oppose debates and Attack Female Pres Opponents, Moms Camille Eterno and Julie Cavanagh on DA Attendance   

A Major analysis of the DA

But today the star of the show is a deep dive on the DA by a very knowledgeable UFT member with a deep understanding with a magus opus on the DA -- which I was going to write, so thank goodness I was spared -- though I still may torture readers with a follow-up.

It appears on the UFC blog: https://unitedforchange.vote/whatsofunny/  and I'm reprinting it in full.

What’s So Funny About Peace, Love, and Democracy at the UFT Delegate Assembly?

Experienced Chapter Leader February 23, 2022 News

“The Delegate Assembly shall have the power to legislate all matters except those pertaining to the admission, suspension or expulsion of members of this organization.” UFT Constitution – Article VII, Section 6

It is a favorite bon mot of UFT President Michael Mulgrew that the Delegate Assembly is the highest decision-making body in the United Federation of Teachers. Unfortunately, there is very little truth to that phrase. There is also a popular bon mot among followers of politics in general, that whoever controls the agenda, controls the debate. That is true in the Congress of the United States, and it is true in the United Federation of Teachers. Form your own opinion as to which one is more dysfunctional.

On paper, the Delegate Assembly of the UFT is a body of elected union representatives that meets monthly during the school year to consider and debate resolutions on union policy. But in practice, there is little real debate at UFT Delegate Assemblies. Rather, the Assembly is structured to function as a rubber-stamp for policies that are pre-determined by a small group of union officers from the ruling faction of the UFT. That faction, since the inception of the union sixty years ago, is the Unity caucus. Union officers from that faction, along with a few un-elected appointees and a coterie of paid political consultants, are the people who control the agenda, control the debate, and determine the policies and positions of the 180,000 member UFT.

How is this control exerted? Look at the agenda of the Delegate Assembly and you will see that each meeting is divided into five sections: The President’s Report; Report from the Secretary; the question period; the motion period, and the resolution period. Each DA is scheduled to meet for one hour and forty-five minutes. The first two sections are open ended. They may go on for as long as the President and the Secretary care to speak. (And the President cares to speak quite a bit.) The question period is limited to fifteen minutes, and the motion period is limited to ten minutes. The resolution period is not time-limited but its length is necessarily determined by the length of the open-ended periods that precede it.

The President’s Report

Here’s how it works. The President will make his report. Typically, he will go down a list of current issues that he deems relevant to the union on the Federal, State, and local levels. He may also use this time to make personal acknowledgements, invite guest speakers to the podium, and generally blow some wind. This is where the manipulation of time begins to come into play. If there are hot-button issues that the President wants to avoid – as there often are, particularly in a union election year – he will limit the amount of time that an out-of-favor faction can be heard by dragging his report on, and on. And on. He has been known to filibuster for over an hour. This will limit the resolution period at the end of the meeting, so that only items that were placed at the top of the agenda by the President’s faction will get the chance to come up for debate.

Report from the Secretary

The Secretary’s report is usually very brief. It consists of notices of union events, acknowledgements of dedicated service by union members, and moments of silence for the deceased – that sort of thing.

The Question Period

Then comes the question period. It is limited to fifteen minutes, and this is where things can get a little tricky for the Prez. Union delegates have lots of questions. Some are about narrow, school-specific issues, and some are about general policy. Some questions are easy, and some are hard, but each question is, for the most part, of deep concern to the individual delegate that is asking it. The President wants to show that he is respectful of the delegates and desperately wants to get through this 15-minute period without facing any uncomfortable questions that will cause him to become unnerved. He wants to avoid any questions that will force him to justify union positions that are unpopular with the membership. He wants to prevent the opposition from asking something difficult that might embarrass him or give them political purchase in an election year. And so, he will employ an imperfectly choreographed dance in which the speaker’s microphone will only be handed to the askers of safe, softball questions. The Delegate Assembly is like a small town. There are a lot of people there, but everyone knows each other on some level. The President has a good idea of who is who and knows which questioners to skip over to avoid controversy and embarrassment. Members of his own faction – with softball questions in hand – will be sprinkled throughout the hall, so he’ll have friendly faces to call on if a buffer is needed. It’s not a perfect system. He doesn’t know everybody, and he does make the occasional mistake, but he’s usually able to slide through without much damage. He does from time to time feel obligated to call on an opposition-identified delegate to display a minimum show of democratic propriety, but he is an experienced enough politician to be able to answer most questions with a meaningless word salad, and he knows how to pivot before a follow-up is asked. If something does slip through that gives him real discomfort, he may get pissy and chastise the questioner, which doesn’t look pretty, but that’s who he is. Sometimes he will come very close to a meltdown, which is entertaining to some, but which leaves most delegates feeling embarrassed and a little dirty. But time is on the President’s side. Fifteen minutes ain’t that long of a time, and the end of the question period is always right around the corner, offering the President a safe harbor from the gales of debate.

The Motion Period

The motion period is strictly limited to ten minutes. This is the only time when individual delegates may introduce motions to add items to the agenda – items that weren’t pre-approved by the Executive Board in advance of the Assembly. Because the time for motions is so limited it is easily manipulated by the chair. As in the question period, the Chair will use its parliamentary discretion to call on familiar, pre-seeded members of its own faction to introduce safe, time-killing motions. Typically, and by design, these motions will be for the addition to the agenda of uncontroversial, non-policy affecting resolutions. These motions will most often be proclamatory in nature. They will ask for union strong resolve in support of things like saving abandoned puppies, or in acknowledgment of the sporty haircut and jaunty gait of one of the founders of the union. These motions are intentionally designed to face little opposition in debate and to use up a lot of time, as they must be introduced, spoken For and Against, and then placed to a vote. Two of these creampuffs will easily eat up the entire motion period, which will then close without any members of the out-of-favor factions having been able to introduce any motions whatsoever; motions which typically are on the more controversial side of things and may (shockingly!) involve substantive policy issues that the ruling faction would rather not discuss.

Robert’s Rules

You can probably see how this agenda structure, this time manipulation strategy, can be frustrating to those delegates whose voices are not in favor with the ruling faction. To make a political point, or a policy point, or any point at all, opposition delegates may feel compelled to pause the proceedings with a parliamentary inquiry. The Chair is usually not well prepared for these. Adherence to Robert’s Rules of Order is not the strong suit of the ruling faction and is a real annoyance to them, particularly when they are caught being wrong in the implementation of those rules. But it doesn’t really matter because a stock response is always at hand. The Chair will simply rule any inconvenient parliamentary inquiry out of order. And if the inquirer feels slighted and puts up any kind of a fuss, that is to the advantage of the Chair, who will then claim the right to deduct that fussy time from the allotted times for inquiry and debate. (It’s what we in the trade call a lose-lose.)

Running Out the Clock

Here I’m going to digress for a moment to illustrate a point regarding the absurdity of the time manipulation strategy employed at Delegate Assemblies. It happened earlier this school year, last December, that the President’s report grew so long with his filibustering effort to run out the clock and prevent the opposition from speaking, that the adjournment deadline of 6:00pm arrived just as the resolution period started, thus triggering the automatic end of the Assembly, and forcing the delegates to sulk from the union hall without conducting any union business at all! This was especially absurd given the Unity faction’s current election-year campaign slogan that they “do the work.” (Which is true if the work is preventing union voices from being heard, and union work from being done.) The saving grace to the thudding end of the December DA was that the important union work that wasn’t accomplished that night was the passing of resolutions in support of haircuts and puppies (none of whom, fortunately, were hurt in the making of this farce).

Amendments

There is one other way that delegates have an opportunity to engage in what passes for debate at Delegate Assemblies, and that is by the introduction of amendments. Any delegate may make a motion to amend a resolution that comes to the floor by either striking, adding, or changing some of the language in the resolution. There is very little that the chair can do to prevent an amendment from being moved. Once moved, an amendment must be debated and voted on to determine if it becomes part of the resolution in question. If an amendment comes from a delegate of an opposition caucus, the chair will be annoyed. Debate will be quick. The Chair will call on one speaker For and one speaker Against the amendment. (Or maybe two, three, or four speakers For, or maybe two, three, or four speakers Against, depending on how emphatically the Chair wants the vote to go a particular way.) One of those speakers will invariably be an officer of the union, and whichever side they speak to, For or Against, will serve as a signal to the ruling faction’s members to vote in step with the faction’s desires. This Orwellian process, by the way, is adhered to in all votes that come before the body.

Covid Rules

This year has been a little difficult for the Unity caucus. Because of temporary Covid rules adapted early on, most delegates are participating remotely in this year’s hybrid Delegate Assembly. By doing so, their votes take place anonymously, outside of the watchful eye of District Reps and union officers. Therefore, members of the Unity caucus are freer to vote their conscience than they would ordinarily be inside Shanker Hall. If they were to be seen, under the unflattering glare of the union hall’s fluorescent lights, to be voting against the tacit or expressed wishes of their faction, they would be liable to expulsion from their caucus, and thus implicitly ineligible for all the perks, large and small, that come with card-carrying membership in that tightly wrapped club. (These perks include part and full-time union jobs, paid junkets to labor conventions, weekend trainings at semi-posh hotels, and lots and lots of free food.) This new-found, hybrid anonymity has caused an historically great – though still very small in absolute terms – number of motions to succeed against the wishes of the Unity faction. When Unity members have a chance to vote their conscience unobserved by their handlers, they will vote their conscience (and keep their food). That is why the time manipulation exploits at this year’s Delegate Assemblies – which have always been a feature of the monthly meetings – have risen to such absurdly acrobatic and anti-democratic extremes.

The Resolution Period

The final block of time on the DA agenda is the resolution period. The resolution period is for the deliberation of resolutions which have been successfully moved for debate. The resolution docket is pre-populated with items that have been pre-approved by the UFT Executive Board and added to the agenda in an order determined by… no one really knows. Maybe by a sub-set of the Executive Board, maybe by an administrative employee on the 14th floor, or maybe by a random officer of the union in consultation with a Magic 8 Ball™. No one really knows. But since the order of business is determined by the ruling faction, the few resolutions that the out-of-power factions can sneak through are simply placed at the very bottom of the docket where they languish unheard and undebated for month, after month, after month. Nice system, right?

That’s how Delegate Assemblies go, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Why shouldn’t more debate, more points of view, more small “d” democracy be welcomed within the UFT? It can be achieved without election or insurrection. Simply change the structure of the DA agenda and more union democracy will follow.

Time for a Change

First, time-limit the President’s Report, or move it to the last item on the agenda, or both. A half-hour should be more than enough for oral presentation. No one would miss anything. Email the long version of the report to the delegates or hand out printed versions in the union hall. While you’re at it, just email the entire report to every rank-and-file member of the union. Why shouldn’t we all see it? It will be printed in the official minutes anyway. Then you could schedule five minutes for the Secretary’s report, twenty minutes for questions, twenty-five minutes for motions, and twenty-five minutes for resolutions. Even better, simply extend the meeting to 6:15pm and make the Assembly two hours in duration (as it once was) and use the extra fifteen minutes for special presentations or more debate. I don’t think two hours a month would kill anybody, but it would certainly allow for more debate and democracy. Also, there should be a transparent, rational, and open process for adding items to the agenda. It shouldn’t be a mysterious process and tool of single-faction control. Who knows? Maybe a resolution to restructure the DA agenda in just such a way is in the works. Maybe it will come from one of the alternative caucuses, or from an independent delegate, or from the United for Change coalition that is running against the Unity caucus in the upcoming UFT election. Ideally, for the sake of the union, such a resolution would be put forward by Unity. That would be the right thing to do, because if someone else tries to do it, it will never see the light of day. Then it will take an election or an insurrection to bring more democracy to the UFT. I’m not in favor of insurrections, nor is the UFC, but I know how to vote, and when I get my ballot in the mail this April, I will check the slate box for United for Change and know that I did the right thing for both Union and democracy.

• A Statement on the UFT Delegate Assembly from Camille Eterno, UFC Candidate for UFT President

UNITY Caucus Modus Operandi: Oppose debates and Attack Female Pres Opponents, Moms Camille Eterno and Julie Cavanagh on DA Attendance

What Really Happened at the February '22 DA with Nick Bacon, UFC Candidate for HS Ex Bd  - superb and not to be missed.

https://www.spreaker.com/user/14957478/ep-29-what-really-happened-at-the-februa

...to expect a young mother to teach a full day, tend to her infant child, and travel to meetings without fail is ridiculous at best, and misogynist at worst.... Arthur Goldstein, NYC Educator, March 24, 2013- Should Working Mothers With Sick Babies Attend the DA?

Julie Cavanagh --- I certainly do not need to defend my attendance at Delegate Assemblies. While I do attend, often, DAs are not a democratic forum. As I am sure the commenters on the ICE and MORE blogs know, and as all Unity folks know, for most chapter leaders, the first DA in October is their last. Why? Because, the room is not even large enough for all of the CLs and delegates to be seated and when you do go and sit, you listen to Mulgrew practice his stand up routine for an hour or so, after which you *might* have the chance to ask a question or bring a resolution to the floor if Mulgrew recognizes you. Regardless, it is an effort in futility because it really doesn’t matter what you say, ask or bring to the floor; the ruling Unity caucus will disagree with it or vote it down, since they control the DA. If the UFT leadership actually held Delegate Assemblies each month that were informative and provided fair and ample time for discourse and discussion, I would be there in a New York minute....

instead of relaxing while my baby takes a nap, I am writing this in response to comments on the ICE and MORE blogs attacking my commitment as a unionist and chapter leader and questioning my worthiness as a candidate for UFT President. All of this because I, and the caucus I represent, had the nerve to insist that Michael Mulgrew engage in a forum or debate with me 

UFT Presidential candidate Julie Cavanagh, March 2013

February 21, 2022

The recent attacks at the Feb. DA by Unity hacks, led by the wailing of Leroy Barr and the bullying of Mike Sill, assaulting UFC Presidential Candidate Camille Eterno over her DA attendance record reminded us that they did the same to brand new mom Julie Cavanagh when she ran against Mulgrew in 2013. Of course Camille, due to Unity acceptence of fundamental ed deform that led to closing schools based in UFT supported high stakes testing, the end of seniority and the creation of the ATR pool, has had to shift over the past years from school to school, so attending the DA until recently was not an option, especially during the pandemic. Plus the fact that Camille's credentials were not sent in time for any of the DAs this year so she could attend in person.

Perhaps seeing the UFT under Mulgrew and Unity is a locked box, Julie went another route and became a supervisor. She is now one of the most respected (by teachers and other UFT members) principals in the city. Last week I met a teacher at her school who told me she felt blessed to find herself working for Julie.

They are not even creative enough to come up with something new. While you'll get a dry partial story on some reports from the DA you will get the full story by Nick Bacon, who was actually elected running on the Unity slate in 2019, but now in New Action and running for HS Ex Bd with UFC:

New Action – UFT Unpacking the February DA - The February DA was a farce, but not for the reasons our leadership would have you think. United for change has a problem: we haven’t been called on durin... 

And James:

ICEUFT Blog UNITY ATTACKING CAMILLE'S UNION RESUME AS THIN SHOWS THEY CAN'T EVEN DO OPPOSITION RESEARCH HONESTLY - This post is for the Unity Caucus people who have made their line of attack on Camille Eterno that she doesn't have the experience needed to lead the lar...

You can hear Camille on the Matt and Abie podcast - https://open.spotify.com/episode/5AsrTYY5hoboFYHU96Y4fI

Back to 2013 -  Sunday, March 24, 2013 NYC Educator post:

Should Working Mothers With Sick Babies Attend the DA?

There's a small ruckus on the MORE blog about whether or not UFT President Mike Mulgrew should debate his sole opponent, Julie Cavanagh. While the respondents are often more civil than the juvenile ravings that haunt the ICE blog comment section, their arguments are bizarre, to say the least. As it happens, candidate Julie Cavanagh has an infant son, and the best argument they can seem to muster against her is that she doesn't attend the DA frequently enough.

The implication that she would neglect her duties, as a result, is beyond offensive. With all due respect, Mulgrew is not a full-time teacher. It is one of his primary responsibilities to conduct the DA. Cavanagh's primary responsibility is to teach her classes. If she couldn't be bothered doing that, we might have something to discuss. Or, depending on the circumstances, we might not. But to expect a young mother to teach a full day, tend to her infant child, and travel to meetings without fail is ridiculous at best, and misogynist at worst. 

UFT members deserve to hear the ideas of those who'd presume to lead us in a free and open forum. If, in fact, Unity's ideas are so much better than those of the opposing caucus, it behooves them to demonstrate it.

The notion that the DA is remotely a substitute for free and open debate is preposterous. It is an insult to the intelligence of teachers everywhere. Anyone who contends the DA is a suitable forum for a debate between candidates is disingenuous and misleading, qualities I wouldn't seek in a chapter leader, let alone a union employee. 

and a follow-up on Mulgrew refusal to debate Julie: Saturday, March 30, 2013

Who's Afraid of Julie Cavanagh?

I think we saw at the Feb. 22 DA, nothing much has changed from this report 9 years ago - in fact the lack of democracy is worse.

James reported back in 2013

Thursday, March 21, 2013

• DA REPORT: PERSONAL ATTACKS INSTEAD OF DEBATE ON SCHOOL GOVERNANCE; UNITY VOTES NO TO UFT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE DEBATE

 and here he prints Julie's response and challemge to Mulgrew to debate her.

• MORE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE JULIE CAVANAGH TAKES ON HER UNITY CRITICS

Wow. While having breakfast with my husband and almost nine month old son (who is finally on the mend after more than a week of a fever ranging 102-104 every day, during the same time my best friend’s 18 month old daughter was in the hospital, who by the way is also a teacher and a single mother of two young children) I picked up my phone to see a mention on Twitter from Arthur Goldstein (teacher and chapter leader in Queens). I frankly couldn’t believe what I was reading. Usually a mention from Arthur has me in stitches, not this time.

Now instead of relaxing while my baby takes a nap, I am writing this in response to comments on the ICE and MORE blogs attacking my commitment as a unionist and chapter leader and questioning my worthiness as a candidate for UFT President. All of this because I, and the caucus I represent, had the nerve to insist that Michael Mulgrew engage in a forum or debate with me so that our members can be fully informed and engaged when it comes to their voting choices in the upcoming election.

First let me say that I do not feel I need to defend my role as a chapter leader. Nearly every UFT member in our school, signed my petition for UFT President, and many of my colleagues are actually running in this election with MORE. 

Second, I certainly do not need to defend my attendance at Delegate Assemblies. While I do attend, often, DAs are not a democratic forum. As I am sure the commenters on the ICE and MORE blogs know, and as all Unity folks know, for most chapter leaders, the first DA in October is their last. Why? Because, the room is not even large enough for all of the CLs and delegates to be seated and when you do go and sit, you listen to Mulgrew practice his stand up routine for an hour or so, after which you *might* have the chance to ask a question or bring a resolution to the floor if Mulgrew recognizes you. Regardless, it is an effort in futility because it really doesn’t matter what you say, ask or bring to the floor; the ruling Unity caucus will disagree with it or vote it down, since they control the DA. If the UFT leadership actually held Delegate Assemblies each month that were informative and provided fair and ample time for discourse and discussion, I would be there in a New York minute. As this is not the case, I attend as many delegate assemblies as I can, but sometimes other events such as a childcare issue, my son being ill or an important meeting in my community to bring a new partner into Red Hook to service children and families with disabilities will take precedence. I do not need to go to the delegate assembly to prove who I am or that I am committed to my union; I act every day in a way that highlights why I should be president of the UFT.

I am a mother and a teacher. I have been a teacher for thirteen years, and have been working with children with special needs and their families for even longer. I have stayed in the same community and school since moving to NYC in 2001, because I am committed to the process of leading school change and improvement from the school level. I became chapter leader at the request of my colleagues a few years ago and have worked hard with them, our parents, and our principal to make sure our children and our teachers have the best learning and working conditions possible. I fought for my school during the dictatorship that my union handed to the mayor, during a co-location of a charter school in my building that my union didn’t adequately help fight (which is difficult since the UFT leadership chose to co-locate its own charter), while our class sizes rise steadily and our budgets are slashed, while teacher’s choice was eliminated and insultingly reinstated to cover no more than a few boxes of pencils, while ATR’s rotate in and out of my building- some of whom have approached me on the brink of tears desperate for someone to listen to their struggle, during a time of a tidal wave of assaults on our children, our schools, and our profession. 

Throughout this time, I not only worked in my own school community, I worked with parents and union members across the city and the country to fight back. You can find links to some of my work here, but I will list a few highlights: I co-wrote/edited/produced/and narrated a film that stood up to corporate education reform, a film that has been seen by hundreds of thousands of people in every state and on every continent (except Antarctica); I have appeared on several TV and radio programs and written several articles where I have spoken out forcefully against corporate education reform and for the schools our children deserve -- and I was invited or asked in every single case to participate, so while those in Unity caucus pretend to not know who I am or what I have done (but yet "know", falsely, that I am not at DAs) apparently the national media does; I have also worked with other union members in the city and nationally -- I helped organize a conference, and attended and facilitated, in Chicago in the summer of 2011 with other teacher union members; I helped lead the solidarity efforts with Verizon workers at the end of that same summer. I have sued, with a parent and a student, Mayor Bloomberg for the right to protest school closings and co-locations on his block and successfully organized and co-led that protest. I was the only teacher petitioner in the effort to stop and overturn the appointment of Cathy Black and also recently the only teacher on record to join with parents in sounding the alarm of student and teacher data privacy issues regarding SLC/inBloom data systems (Randi Weingarten, by the way, sits on inBloom’s advisory board). I say all of this not because I think anything that I am or that I do is so special, I share this information to highlight the outlandishness of the attacks from people whose usual line is there should be no attacks on union folks because we are under attack from outside forces and therefore need ‘unity’. I also share this because these are the things the president of a union should do.

Beyond of all of this, if Unity caucus can attack me for the number of times I went to the DA (this year I believe I have been to four DAs), the number of grievances I have filed (none), the number of UFT trainings or committees I have attended (none), then I wonder why they nominated Randi Weingarten as their presidential candidate, since she never attended a DA as a chapter leader, was never a chapter leader, and therefore never filed a grievance, attended the trainings etc.  

I personally do not think any of those things are what makes someone qualified to run our union. What matters is leadership. What matters is vision. What matters is the philosophy by which one will govern and represent the membership. I believe in a union that is member led and member driven. When I, or a candidate from MORE caucus, become president of the union, you will not have to attend a DA and sit idly and listen. The DA will be yours. When we take over leadership of our union, we will organize, support and build fighting chapters at the school level with elected district representatives who are trained organizers.  When we run the union, leadership and staffers will make salaries equivalent to the teachers we represent -- there will be no extra perks, no double pensions.  When we lead our union, you will not go more than three years without a contract, at least not without organized job actions and a fight. 

When Unity’s stranglehold of the leadership of our union ends, the members will have representation that believes in solidarity with other unions and in the power of our collective action. You will have a union that educates, mobilizes, and organizes our members and the public and who organically partners with parents and young people. You will have a leadership that truly understands that our working conditions are our students' learning conditions, that a harm to one is a harm to us all, and that we must stand side by side with deep roots in the communities we serve to fight for social, racial and economic justice in our schools, in our city and across the country.

I am more than ready to share who I am with the members of the UFT and I am happy to answer their questions. In fact, that is precisely the reason I sent the email below to Michael Mulgrew. I believe a union membership with a less than 30% voter turnout needs to be engaged and exposed to open discourse and conversation between the two people who seek to represent them.

Mr. Mulgrew, I am still waiting for a response. 

My email to Mulgrew:

Sent: Mar 14, 2013 8:01 PM

Michael,

I hope this email finds you well.

While we have differences and disagreements concerning education policy and union democracy, we both are committed to our union and the children we serve. In that spirit, we should be able to engage in an open conversation during election season so we can ensure our fellow members are informed and engaged.

To this point you have ignored outreach regarding your participation in a debate or question and answer town hall with me. I would like to directly and formally ask you to participate in such an event.

I believe that our members deserve the opportunity to ask questions of their presidential candidates and I strongly believe this kind of open and honest discourse strengthens our union: an educated and engaged membership that is listened to and participates makes us stronger.

There is precedent for an event such as this between presidential candidates during election season.  As you know, Randi has participated in presidential debates in the past: one in 1999 and again in 2001.  

I am open to a debate format with a third party moderator or a town hall question and answer event with the membership. My only specific asks are that the event be filmed and/or livestreamed so that we can maximize member participation, that the date, which I am open to any, be agreed to a few days in advance, so that I can secure child care and that the date be as close to April 3rd as possible, so that we provide a fair amount of time for members during the election timeframe.

I look forward to your response.

In solidarity,
Julie Cavanagh

 

Video: CROC Valentine's Day Protest MulgrewCare - A RUMP Group - Retirees United for Medicare Preservation

RETIREES' VALENTINE TO MAYOR: DON'T BREAK OUR HEARTS WITH HEALTHCARE SWITCH

Hello CROC supporters, 

Thank you for endorsing and joining us at our Valentine's Day event at City Hall, at which we insisted that Mayor Adams disavow the plan to move city retirees to the so-called "Medicare Advantage Plus" medical plan.  Our message was loud and clear!

And thank you, Prudence Hill for creating this wonderful video of the event.

Please enjoy and share widely. The link is below. 

 

https://vimeo.com/679276160 

CROC DEMO FINE CUT from Martin Lucas on Vimeo.

 

Link to story text and video clip (about 2 minutes long) about the 2/14 rally against Medicare Advantage Plus:

https://pix11.com/news/local-news/as-deadline-looms-nyc-workers-protest-controversial-benefits-change-they-say-could-ruin-their-health/

 

 =========

Learn how the UFT took a secret vote to put us into a Medical Advantage plan. Marianne is the woman who led this whole movement and got us a top-notch lawyer.

It's a long video, but very informative on why Medical Advantage isn't Medicare!!!
 

Watch the first few minutes to learn her background.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCff3LFtosU

Preview YouTube video NYC Unions negotiated away Retiree Health benefits held in past practice for over 40 years

 

#UFTElections - Petitions - What we can learn about the upcoming election - Part 1

With the UFT election petition campaign coming to a close. I've gotten a good read on the potentials in this election from the petition campaign. I can actually predict some vote totals from certain schools based on the success of petitioning and the effectiveness in organizing in that school. In this and followups I will share what I can without stepping on too many toes. We are keeping a spreadsheet with numbers submitted and from where they came from. If I get my proposal for school level percentages of voting to be reported I can check the spreadsheet against those numbers and I bet I will be pretty accurate.) I also have been getting a lot of reports on the state of the attitudes in schools regarding the Unity leadership -- it seems more people have heard of the existence of Unity caucus than in the past.

This is the 6th petition campaign I have helped run  - 04, 07, 10, 13, 16 and I've learned from my mistakes in each one. This time I think we ran a flawless campaign due to the support of the amazing crew from Retiree Advocate who have given up 3 Wednesdays plus another one today and this past Sunday to assist, plus the in school people led by Lydia from Solidarity (a wonderful partner0, Mike from MORE who worked as a liaison, the Eterno clan, and of course my main partner in crime Jonathan Halabi who I worked with so well in the 2016 election.

Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022

Rice Pudding at diner signing

This Friday is the deadline for petitions to be turned in to get on the ballot for the UFT elections when ballots go out on April 8. After weeks of work as the point person for the United for Change coalition, I'm shlepping 2 suitcases of petitions with thousands of pages (an entire forest) to 52 Broadway this morning to meet up with others from Retiree Advocate to try to finalize everything and turn them in today so I can go home with empty suitcases.

Why two days early? I live by the words: Shit happens. I can imagine going in on Friday and I get sick or in an accident. Unity runs unopposed, which I'm sure would make them happy.

Well, anyway, I survived an intense 4 weeks and a possible divorce over forgetting to get chocolates for Valentines Day --- my excuse of being preoccupied didn't work and it cost me a day of silent treatment and no dinner. But today I hope it is freedom day. We want to turn in at 2 and then hang out for late stragglers before the DA and then the petition store is closed. (I am still getting stuff in the mail but yesterday's mail is the last I'm turning in.)

Big turnout at Bryant Park

There are about 400 people running with a few late comers coming on board. We started out aiming for 700 but handling that number seemed too much and I urged people to stop recruiting. About 130 are retirees and we could have had 300 due to the Medicare situation but I don't believe we should run so many retirees compared to working members. People could have signed up dozens in their schools but the strategy of having so many people from one school isn't all that effective. Theories abound that most opposition votes come from schools where there is an active and proficient organizer to get out the vote. 

But petitions are an indicator of the effectiveness of the organizer and as the point person I have a good read on where votes will be coming from. Of course today we are handing over all that info to the UFT membership committee. Would it be beyond Unity to take a peek to see where our strengths lie? Some in the opposition argue that we should hand in the minimum as a strategic move but most of us feel that would be a betrayal of the process. So instead of handing in 900 officer petitions, we will hand over 3000. Late arrivals at the DA will be brought up to the office at 4:30.

Bobby, Bennett and me Sunday at 40th St 

library after a full day of work

Delegate 

We will try to listen to the Assembly while waiting.

Gotta get ready to catch the ferry dragging my suitcases. I will be back tomorrow with some petitions stories that might be early election indicators.

Retirees Valentine Day Rally for Medicare at City Hall - Plus video of rally

Video of WPIX 11 News Report of Todays Rally at City Hall

https://youtu.be/4JZYUPLkZq4

Jumaane Williams Speaking today-Tell Adams- No Privatization of our Medicare

 

 

Media advisory: City retirees to protest healthcare switch TODAY near City Hall

RETIREES' VALENTINE TO MAYOR: DON'T BREAK OUR HEARTS WITH HEALTHCARE SWITCH

Scores of retired city workers will gather near City Hall on Monday, Feb. 14, at noon to tell Mayor Eric Adams he's breaking their hearts with his plan to change their beloved Medicare coverage.

Rally organizers will unscroll a Wall of Broken Hearts signed by 1,800 municipal retirees who want Adams to reconsider moving a quarter-million Medicare beneficiaries into a controversial new Medicare Advantage plan by April 1. To keep their current coverage, retirees would need to pay stiff new premiums, unaffordable for many. Adams recently endorsed the plan, begun under the de Blasio administration and still tied up in a lawsuit brought by retirees.

Speakers, including a physician, will address the devastating effects of the plan, which would limit access to doctors and services. Retirees holding giant Valentine cards will collect more signatures. Scroll and cards will be delivered to the mayor at the end of the event.

Organized by the Cross-union Retirees Organizing Committee (CROC,) the rally is endorsed by other organizations, including the District Council 37 Retirees Association, the New York Public Library Retirees Association, and the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees.

WHEN: Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, noon to 12:45 pm
WHERE: Broadway and Murray St., near City Hall

Contact: retireequestions@gmail.com
or Sarah Shapiro, sarahmorah@gmail.com