Saturday, March 02, 2024

Resolution to Continue the Work of James Eterno

 ...the following resolution was passed unanimously by ICE...

Resolution to Continue the Work of James Eterno

WHEREAS, the late James Eterno was a dedicated member of the Independent Community of Educators (ICE-UFT), serving as a co-founder, UFT Presidential candidate in 2010, committee member for the 2010 ICE-UFT platform, long-time Chapter Leader, 12-year Executive Board member, and fierce advocate for labor unions; and

WHEREAS, James was committed to maintaining a vibrant ICE that meets regularly and contributes its experience in UFT organizing and advocating for a strong, militant, and democratic UFT; and

WHEREAS, James played a key role in the 2022 UFT election as a United for Change organizer and long-time Executive Board candidate for UFC, MORE, ICE/TJC, and New Action, consistently supporting UFT opposition groups while remaining a passionate advocate for the union;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that ICE will:
  1. Continue to meet on a regular basis.
  1. Maintain its email listserv and blog.

  1. Remain open to all UFT members, regardless of affiliation or persuasion.

  1. Serve as a platform for civil and open discussions, encouraging respectful disagreement and collaboration towards strong unions and good public schools.
  1. Advocate for a UFT that embraces diverse viewpoints, open debates, militant unionism, responsive leadership, and an engaged membership.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that ICE will continue to support and participate in union elections as part of coalitions and caucuses fighting for responsive leadership, engaged membership, and rank-and-file militant unionism.

Dated: February 21, 2024

Monday, February 12, 2024

Viewing and Funeral Service for James Eterno

On Monday, February 19, 2024, we gather to honor the memory of James Eterno, a remarkable individual who left an indelible mark on the educational landscape and the hearts of those who knew him. James, a retired educator and passionate union activist, dedicated his life to advocating for the rights of teachers and students.

Viewing and Prayer Service

Date: Monday, February 19, 2024
  • Viewing: 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM
  • Prayer Service: 7:00 PM
  • Location: Martin A. Gleason Funeral Home, 149-20 Northern Blvd, Flushing, NY 11354

Funeral Service and Interment

On Tuesday, February 20, 2024, we come together once more to bid farewell to James and lay him to rest.
  • Funeral Service: 12:00 PM
  • Location: St. John’s Cemetery, 80-01 Metropolitan Ave, Middle Village, NY 11379
James Eterno’s impact extended far beyond the classroom. His dedication, resilience, and love for his community will forever resonate. As we gather to honor him, let us reflect on the lessons he taught us and the passion he instilled in our hearts.

May his memory be a blessing and may his legacy live on.

In Loving Memory of James Eterno

It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of our dear friend and colleague, James Eterno, on February 6, 2024. James was a cherished member of our community, and his absence will be deeply felt.

James’ life was marked by his unwavering dedication to education and his tireless advocacy for teachers and students alike. His contributions to the ICE-UFT blog have been invaluable, and his insights and wisdom will be sorely missed.

In honor of James’ memory, we would like to invite all who knew him to share their anecdotes and memories of James. Whether it’s a story that makes you smile, a lesson he taught you, or simply a sentiment about what James meant to you, we welcome your contributions.

Please submit your anecdotes and memories to Jeff Kaufman at JeffBKaufman@gmail.com. Jeff will be compiling these tributes and sharing them on the ICE-UFT blog, as a testament to the remarkable impact James had on all of us.

In these difficult times, let us come together to remember James, to celebrate his life, and to carry forward the values and principles he held dear.

Thank you for your contributions. Your words will help keep James’ spirit alive in our hearts and in our community.


With deepest sympathy,

Jeff Kaufman


James Eterno: Mentor, Friend, Inspiration

 


It is the day of a UFT Delegate Assembly sometime in 2013. James Eterno looks over at me and says “you’re motivating the resolution..” He wrote it. I helped a bit, but it was his idea. It is my first time speaking at the DA. I’m excited and nervous at the same time. A lot of old timers who had been in the union for over twenty years, our union leadership, and all my comrades in opposition are looking on. Mulgrew points to me. Oh no! But James has prepped me and I am ready. One of the earliest memories of my relationship with James Eterno.

I started with “Good morning everyone.” President Mulgrew laughed and said “you meant good afternoon.” I replied “for those of us in school all day, it feels like one long morning.” The room broke up laughing. I looked at James next to me, who was hysterical. Later Norm Scott would say “You’re a natural you know how to win people over,” but my confidence was built on the preparation with James.

The resolution called for the UFT to reject any evaluation system based on test scores, a major plank of the education deform movement, which the UFT leadership, ironically, supported, and our MORE Caucus rejected. Our side of the room was cheering while the front-center, dominated by Unity Caucus members and UFT staff, was hissing and mocking.

When the first UFT staffer rose to speak against me, James immediately called a point of order. He carried a pocket size Robert's Rules of Order with him. I had no clue what a parliamentarian was, nor Robert's rules, and absolutely no clue what a point of order was. James was the master and he asked, in his cunning, working class New York City accent: “Can we at least have a classroom teacher, someone actually working in a school, speak against this?” Our crew cracked up. It was classic James, always ready with an answer. Quick, smart, with knowledge of the contract and Robert's Rules, like a rabbi knows the Torah. The contract was James’ Torah.

When he was done arguing with the parliamentarian, James came right over to me and said, “Great job Mike, you were amazing today”. No compliment made me feel better than one from James. We may have won a few people over that day and it was the first of many resolutions we would write together.

Thanks to James’s mentoring and support, what could have been an embarrassing experience that might have made me gun-shy in the future, instead, built my confidence as an activist. Needless to say neither James nor I made many friends in the Unity Caucus that day. But James helped me discover a relaxed way of addressing even hostile forces in a manner that has worked for me over the past ten years.

James was a thorn in the side not only of union leadership, but even our comrades as well. It was fine to disagree with him and Norm. Boy did we disagree. We’re New Yorkers and trade unionists. Our disagreements may be a bit loud for others, but it was how we communicated. We never got mad, never hurt each other, and always laughed about it the next day.

He had the unique ability to get under your skin but still make you love him at the same time. I think everyone knew he was coming from a good place, a love for our public schools and union. Over the years our debates made me a better union organizer and human being. He taught me you can disagree but be civil. On any union or contract question in my school he was my go-to. He was a lot of people’s go-to for his encyclopedic knowledge and the process of collective bargaining.

Having a mentor like James Eterno had a major impact on so many people. Read the many comments on the ICE blog. After all, he was the chapter leader of one of the largest high schools in Queens, Jamaica High School. He served for a dozen years on the UFT Executive Board with New Action Caucus and then the Independent Caucus of Educators (ICE), which had merged with TJC and others to form MORE in 2012. That was when I first got involved in union politics. Outside of Randi Weingarten or Michael Mulgrew, James was one of the only UFT people recognized citywide.

Needless to say, ICEers are devastated by the news of James' illness and death. ICE, whose open meetings always revolved around some kind of food - people don’t fight as much when they are not hungry - continued to meet as an informal dinner group over the years. I was invited and made to feel very comfortable in what seemed to be a group with a sense of family that still resonates. Camille and James would often attend, sometimes with their kids. Norm would dominate with his rice pudding and long drawn out sermons that James and Camille would laugh at days after the meeting ended. Camille always joked that anything Norm says starts with a comma and ends with the ‘68 strike. One hilarious meeting was when James, Camille and I argued against Norm as to whether we should run in an upcoming union election. We were livid with Norm. We won the debate and Norm, as always, ended up leading the cause he had spoken against.

We worked to win back Executive Board seats and celebrated when we finally brought one of James’ first UFT loves, New Action Caucus, which he had left in 2003, back into the opposition fold due to his willingness to reach out, forgive old grudges, and work together to win these seats. One of the best phone calls I ever received was from James telling me “Congratulations we won the Executive Board seats”, he was as excited as I was.

We were always planning, plotting, one strategy session after another. Often on daily chats and phone calls until he was felled by a stroke in May. We tried to keep MORE as a place for regular rank and file where everyone would feel welcome. We challenged the union leadership at DA’s, Executive Boards, district meetings, borough meetings, wherever and whenever there was a public platform. We challenged Unity on the state level at the 2014 NYSUT convention where James was a driving force, along with a local Long Island President Beth Dimino. James and my other UFT hero, Julie Cavanagh, decided I should be one of the two speakers along with Lauren Cohen representing MORE. Julie and James revised and edited the speeches (Video here.)

When we got pushed out of MORE, James was half “I told you so,” always a naysayer to the far left influences within the group, but also upset that so much of his work had been lost. He mended fences with key players in MORE along the way. Despite being very anti-Unity, he gave me his blessing to run with them when I had the opportunity. With James it was never personal, only political.

In the last few years James was a driving force in bringing the various UFT opposition groups together and forming the United for Change coalition of seven or so different union groups (not an easy feat) to run against Mulgrew and Unity. He willed it, even though these groups had different ideologies and personalities. His crowning moment came when his wife Camille, a fierce and outspoken unionist, was the 2022 UFT presidential candidate, echoing James’ 2010 presidential run against Mulgrew.

Although we ran on different slates, Camille, James and I had a hearty laugh on the night of the election results. Camille didn’t win, but we still enjoyed talking the night away. Our love for the UFT may have taken us down different paths, but it didn’t divide us.

Being part of a chat group that touched base regularly often made my day. When my mom died James and Camille joined the rest of the group in a Shiva call. Not hearing his voice almost daily over the past nine months has left a major gap. One good friend told me upon hearing of Jame’s death, “some of the people who work at UFT don’t love the union as much as James did”. No truer words have been spoken.

He was not only my good friend, but my mentor, my teacher, a fellow New Yorker, traveler, dad, husband, social studies teacher and dedicated unionist.

It’s been hard the last few months, since he got sick, to feel passionate about union work. Now that he has passed I wonder if that passion will ever return but just thinking of him and the work he did will inspire me.

I will miss James so much. I miss him more than these words can express. I loved him as a brother in arms.



Mike Schirtzer is a high school teacher in Brooklyn, longtime union activist and UFT executive board member. This post originally appeared on the Wire.

From Peter Lamphere

I first met James Eterno twenty years ago, when he, Ellen Fox and a few others took the courageous decision to leave the New Action Caucus because of their deal with then-UFT president Randi Weingarten. It was an exciting moment and led to the realignment of the UFT opposition. Even though James ended up in ICE and I was in TJC, I always had tremendous respect for him as a stalwart of the opposition movement, and we helped elect James to the executive board. 

James’ fight to save Jamaica High School was a model of how to resist neoliberal school reform. He effectively rallied the staff and the community to defend the Queens institution - as a young activist who was trying to keep my own school, Columbus in the Bronx, off the chopping block, I really admired his organizing ability and the tenacity of his fight. For years afterwards, as Jamaica teachers were scattered to the four winds across Queens, I spoke to many veterans who were always willing to distribute leaflets or help out in our struggles for a stronger union, out of loyalty and admiration for James.

No one in the union knew more about parliamentary procedure than James. He had read Roberts Rules a number of times and was always suggesting new strategies to try - I have relied on his advice many times on how to successfully challenge the leadership on the floor in the delegate assembly. In particular he always reminded the president, whether Mulgrew or Weingarten, that they had to alternate between sides of a debate and give both sides time to express themselves.

James and I differed tremendously about strategy in the fight for a better UFT. I was saddened when he left MORE even if the split felt inevitable given the differences. And you always new that James was honest and open about his disagreements, and motivated only by a desire for a stronger labor movement and a better world. And he was always willing to work together to fight for what was right. 

New York City teachers will be weaker for the loss of this tremendous fighter. And our hearts go out to his Camille and his family. I know James was looking forward to years of happy retirement with them and that was tragically cut short.

In Solidarity, 

Peter 
(he/him)

Thursday, February 08, 2024

From a Retired HS Teacher

I was very sorry to hear about James’ passing. 

May he Rest in Peace.

I'm a fan of and subscriber to James' ICEUFT Blog. 

I only met James twice in person near the front door on the evenings of contentious meetings at Jamaica HS regarding closure. I never knew James when I was a student at Jamaica HS since I graduated in the early 1970s, and he didn't arrive until the mid 1980s. 

Prior to the breakup into small schools, he did me a favor and got someone to photograph my graduating class' plaque on the "Summa Cum Laude" board in the first-floor hall, and email it to me.

Sincere condolences to Camille and the family.

From Gustavo Medina

Sad news about the passing of James. 

My experience and fellow colleagues organizing Jamaica High School with the leadership of James was invaluable, a model for organizing public education in all the public schools in NYC, away from the union opportunist leaders. 

I work with James for almost twenty years. He new how to handle principals and teacher organizing. He had an art for communication. 

He was my friend and we worked together during school elections and city wide union elections. They were exciting times. And towards the end of Jamaica High School struggling to save it! 

Long live the memory of a union leader James Eterno. 

My condolences to Camille and family!

From Teacher James Hogue

I never met James Eterno and that is a great loss for me. I have only spoken to him several times over the phone.

Despite his support for the Vaccine mandates, he assisted me when the NYC DOE tried to force me to comply with it. Yes, I am still unvaccinated. But this is not a forum to discuss that.

I just want to say thank you to a real friend. There aren't many people who can put disagreements like that off to the side and not have it impact the friendship.

Whenever I had a question about the union, 3020A, or DOE, he was there. God bless him.

He will be sorely missed.

James Hogue,
Teacher

From James Mills

I met James about a decade ago at a boisterous ATR meeting. He gave a powerful speech and I was very impressed. 

That was the only time I met him. We stayed in contact at least once a month and often much more. Over the years he advised me on matters big and small. I also sent many teachers to him - especially those who had already made a less than satisfying visit to the UFT. 

He helped everyone. We also debated historical events, figures and even music frequently via email and occasionally on the ICE blog. He never got angry. He respected all viewpoints - even those that at best would be considered politically incorrect. His non-judgmental style was admirable and almost unique among the teachers I knew. He was always the voice of reason, and coupled with action - he was a force of nature. 

James was a perennial optimist that has deeply affected many people and will continue to do so. 

Still, I will miss him. Goodbye James.

Jim Mills

My memory of James

I had the blessing of having James as part of my extended family. 

When I first returned to work after a 10 year child-care leave, I had issues with a difficult principal and a district that did not have record of my tenure.  When my unity union leadership gave up on my plight, James came through and solved the issue.  

I became chapter leader under the same difficult principal. I wouldn't have survived without James' input.  James was the most selfless, dedicated union leader I knew in the DOE. He has left a cavernous hole that I hope will be filled. Without challenge and discourse, a powerful union can go astray. 

He was one of a kind. I miss him.

Alycia Morell

Passing of James Eterno

I would like to express my sadness on the passing of James Eterno.  

James was a powerful figure in the union.  He was a terrific chapter leader who fought so hard for the members at Jamaica High School.  

When Bloomberg wanted to close Jamaica, he fought hard to save that great school.  While he spoke out forcefully for his belief of what actions the union should take, he did so in a civil and intelligent way.

 After the Janus decision when certain people would write on his blog that we leave the union, James spoke out forcefully against this.  He said that his ICE blog was a union blog, and his writings were to improve the union.  I will miss the insight he gave me in conversations I had with him.

My prayers are with Camille his two children and other family members.  I know his beloved memory will be an inspiration for his family.

Michael Friedman

From Adam C Bergstein

James was a truly awesome human being. 

He was a dedicated father and husband and the baddest motherfucking union rep I have ever met. He helped me and my school get rid of a tyrannical principal and he always supported me with whatever information or guidance I sought. 

He will truly be missed; there will never be another.

Adam C Bergstein 

Wednesday, February 07, 2024

From Chapter Leader Georgia Lignou

This is what the Chapter Leader at Bryant High School shared with her school staff.

Dear Colleagues,

I know you are dealing with a lot, and I do not want to burden you with grief. However, yesterday we all lost a brother when James Eterno passed away.

Very few of you knew him personally, but he has done a lot for us all. He was a teacher for many years and a Union activist. In fact, he has attended a couple of our chapter Meetings in the past. He served as a Chapter Leader in Jamaica HS, and he was a member of the UFT Executive Board for many years. He knew that new ideas come from conversations and disagreements, so he was a founding member of the ICE-UFT caucus and ran the ICE-UFT Blog for many years and in the last UFT election he helped organize the United for Change coalition to ran in opposition to the Unity caucus governing the UFT since its beginning. https://iceuftblog.blogspot.com/

James knew the contract in and out and every single Chancellor’s Regulation and he was there every time I needed information, support, advice, guidance, or somebody to vent about the frustrating position of a Chapter Leader caught between a heavy-handed administration and an intimidated chapter. Generous with his time, he answered the phone even if he was in the middle of helping his children with homework and their evening routines, and he posted whatever I wrote and sent him for the blog. I will be forever grateful to him, and I feel lucky and honored to have met him.

I am sharing this with you because he is an example of activism. People like him since the formation of our union have carried the weight for most of us who are afraid to even take an anonymous survey or voice an opinion in a meeting. Thank you, James! May you rest in peace and still be able to watch over the beautiful family you left behind.

My condolences to his family and his loved ones.

Georgia Lignou

From Richard Wieda

I am saddened to hear of James' passing.

I learned so much from James - about the DOE, unions, politics, organizing, and dealing with adversity.

He was kind enough to let me fill in a few times at ICEUFT blog after I had retired my own blog and needed to get something out. 

He was a giant in the union and a giant in education blogging. 

His loss is too great to be measured. 

From Patrick Walsh

James was one of those very rare souls whose mere presence made one sharper, braver, and better. 

May he be at peace.

At last at peace . 

From Daniel Alicea

James has no parallel. The man lived and breathed The Contract. 

But what I admired most about him was his deep love and commitment to his wife, Camille and his children Kara and Matt. He beamed most when he spoke of them. 

In countless online meetings, James multitasked. While he was participating or listening in … his focus would often be in helping both kids with their homework.

That to me was a testament to the man.

From Leonie Haimson, Executive Director, Class Size Matters

I got to know James first because of his strong advocacy for smaller classes, and support for the work of Class Size Matters.

I got to know him even better through his valiant efforts to save Jamaica HS from closing in 2009-2010.

He organized and spoke up at rallies, the PEP, and City Council hearings, the last I recall where he brought students to testify why the school should be saved.

James was one of the most vital, energetic, courageous, intelligent, and compassionate people I have ever met.  He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.  My deepest sympathy goes to his family.

I have written more about him on my blog here.

From Patricia Dobosz

My sincere and heartfelt condolences go out to Camille and her children. 

James Eterno was a legend. I always learned so much from him at ICE meetings and reading his blog.

Although I didn’t know him well, I admired how he fought to keep Jamaica HS open and the love that poured out for his advocacy. 

May he rest in peace. I’ll be keeping Camille and family in my prayers. 

Pat

From Ben Morgenroth

I am deeply saddened to hear of James's recent passing. 

I don't think James and I ever crossed paths in person, but several times I was given his name and contact information as a knowledgeable source of information. He was always willing to chat on the phone, was smart, knowledgeable, and supportive. He had good ideas that were always realistic. 

I am grateful for his guidance and his presence will be deeply missed.

Warmly,

Ben Morgenroth

A Teacher Advocate

He was always advocating for teachers. 

Always kind and generous with advice and teaching materials. 

I shared a space with him in the basement of Jamaica High School. He shared teaching materials and we bounced off ideas together. He was a true role model of what a great teacher and a kind human being is. He was a man of action , highest integrity.

So sorry to hear he is gone. My condolences to his wife Camille and their children. 

Ellen Frank Bayer

James and the Little White Book

James was truly a power of example on many levels. The image that I hold of him is when he would take out that book. I don't know if it was in his back pocket or a bag or wherever. But if you asked him anything related to that contract that he didn't already know off the top of his head...here comes that little white book.

James, I want to thank you for all that you've done for all of us. I also want to thank you for the blog. 

I would like to offer my condolences to his wife, his children and his entire family.

Thanks.

Michelle Baptiste

From Virginia, CoCo, and Iju Lazzaro

Rest in peace James Eterno. 

He was a true leader. 

He gently guided me to share and value my ideas. My kids and I will forever miss him. (CoCo and lju  love role playing; they used to get into huge arguments because they both wanted to play James Eterno) 

All our love to you; beautiful Camille and to those two amazing warriors, Kara and Matthew Eterno.

From John Elfrank-Dana

I was so happy to know I’d still be working with James when he came on to Hunter to do field observations with us a few years ago I recommended him because I knew him to be a first class educator. In addition to be a terrific father, husband, and union rep. His example will continue to inspire me and many others. His courageous wife and children are as blessing to all of us. For I know they will continue to make this world a better place.


Tonight, I lift a glass to James.

Holding Camille and family in The Light.

John

From Former Chapter Leader Denise Fryburg

I never knew James personally, but he has always been a source of encouragement and inspiration toward the hope of fundamental change in the UFT. My deepest heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.

From David Pecoraro

My condolences to Camille and the rest of the Eterno family.

James was a fighter. While we didn't agree on all aspects of union policy, I would like to believe we shared the same ferocity to protect our respective staffs.

In the end he helped fight for my school and I helped fight for his. Because that is what a union is all about.

From Michael Fiorillo

It’s hard to fully express, let alone overstate, the loss that James Eterno’s passing represents. 

He was a Man, a Mensch, in the fullest sense of the word: a dedicated teacher, mentor, organizer and comrade, a trade unionist in the most comprehensive way that term can be understood. And first and foremost a loving father and husband.

On a personal level, I will never forget James and his beautiful wife Camille when, in addition to the True North of their integrity and commitment to teachers and workers, they showed tremendous kindness to me during a period of my own grievous loss. They will always have a place in my heart, and I am going out right now to light a candle in his memory.

James Eterno - friend, father, husband, teacher, comrade - Presente!

Even Though I Never Met Him!

I never met James, but read his blog religiously. When I was considering running for chapter leader in the spring of 2021, I emailed James unsolicited for advice, and he gave it.

After being elected chapter leader, I reached out for guidance about filing an operational complaint against my principal, and again James gave me advice. Then, through negotiation I got my staff (at least) a partial remote day. Something that wouldn't have happened if I just listened to my district rep. When I emailed James later to let him know how things turned out he congratulated me for "getting something out of nothing".

James was a wealth of information, and his blog remains one. He held leadership accountable but now there is one less voice left to "do the work".

During the start of my fifth year teaching I was excessed. As a special education teacher, this was shocking, but the worst part was finding out my role wasn't even replaced. My school was able to get by completely without me. You can put in all the time in the world to make the school day a little more special for your students, but in the end we're cogs, and when one pops out, another one goes in. A disheartening realization, but a realistic one.

I mention this because James is far from replaceable, and the opposite of a cog! The UFT has lost a member of value, a transformative leader, one who stood up for all of us, and I will miss James even though I never met him.

Mike Muntner

From Kathy Forrestal

I first met James Eterno when I was a student at Jamaica (class of 1994).  He and I arrived at the school about the same time, I later learned.  

I never had him as a teacher but learned so much from him all the same. He and I reconnected to fight against Jamaica's closure, and when I later decided to make a career change into teaching, he supported me every step of the way.  

He offered advice, allowed me to observe his class for many of my required hours, and connected me with other great teachers to observe, as well.  

One of my favorite memories of that time was when I shared one of his teaching activities in my graduate class without naming the school.  My classmates were so impressed, and then so confused when I told them where I'd done my observations.  I remember students spending free periods in his college office, with him supporting them and mentoring them as learners and people.  

He was an amazing and dedicated teacher and was proof the DOE was wrong when it closed Jamaica with negative comments about the teaching staff.  Once I started student teaching and teaching, we stayed in touch for a while, with him continuing to offer me support.  I regret that we lost touch and that I never told him how much all his support meant to me.  

I know I will never forget him and will be eternally grateful to him for all that he taught me.  

From Carol Lucchesi

I was lucky to know James through his writings, emails and finally got to meet him and his beautiful family at the SOS Save Our Schools March in Washington many years ago.  His youngest was still in a stroller, but they were there to support public education on that hot day in July!

No one knew the contract like James.  He should have been UFT president!  

But he was also a dedicated teacher first and foremost.  He fought hard to keep Jamaica HS open.  He and others were instrumental in turning the school around.   But Bloomberg got his way!   

After his retirement he joined the fight to keep our Medicare.   

My heart goes out to his family, friends and everyone who knew and loved him.

Please let me know I can contribute to his memory.  

My deepest sympathy,
Carol Lucchesi

My memories of James Eterno

I started reading the ICE blog in June 2013 to pass time when I was reassigned to Fordham Plaza after an OSI investigation filed against me by my principal. Thankfully my charges were dropped and my record was cleared. I like to not think about my time in the reassignment center but I will always remember the lessons I learned from reading the ICE blog that spring and summer. James' work helped me gain a greater appreciation and fascination with union politics and union history. It propelled me to write my Masters thesis on UFT history, the evolution of due process and the grievance procedure.

I met James at an ICE Meeting in 2014. I was with two colleagues and we were announcing to ICE that we were creating new caucus (UFT Solidarity) focused on bread-and-butter workplace issues and correcting malfeasance in the UFT leadership. I don't remember what I said, I only remember a lot of shouting back and forth and James' kind warmth toward myself and my friends. While we didn't win ICE's support in '14, we did win the individual respect of James and his wife, Camille.

I can credit many UFT activists for teaching me how to organize members around common concerns, how to co-run a caucus, how to work together with different groups, and how to help UFT members on the best and worst days. James modeled all this with patience and grace. James supported UFT Solidarity's campaign in 2019 and believed in me as a unionist. James supported my candidacy as UFT President in 2019 and my run (and very brief tenure) as a High School Executive Board member in 2022. 

While I am no longer in the NYC Department of Education or involved in UFT politics anymore, I can look back upon my hard work serving educators in NYC with pride because of what James modeled through his compassion, empathy and care. The opposition movement will remain viable and strong thanks to the roots James planted. However, the UFT has lost one of the greats and that is tragic. James Eterno was one in a million and while he cannot be replaced, his light will always shine.

Solidarity forever!

Lydia Howrilka 

Thursday, January 25, 2024

Mayoral Control: History Repeats

 Jan. 24, 2024

Mayoral control of the school system is currently up for renewal and hearings are being held in each borough.

Recent reporting on mayoral control:

    UFT/Unity leadership has been the Major Obstacle to ending mayoral control

    In 2002 Ed Notes Warned the UFT About Evils of Mayoral Control...

    The myth of accountability under Mayoral control: Leonie Haimson comments at the Manhattan hearing

 

Mayoral Control was implemented in NYC with the election of Michael Bloomberg as mayor in 2002. The UFT leadership, more comfortable with dealing with a top down manager of the schools, enthusiastically supported the idea. Education Notes had been reporting on the nefarious aspects due to our connection to the reporting of George Schmidt on the disaster in  since 1995. (Chicago is in the progress of ending mayoral control and going to an electoral system.)

ICE was founded in late 2003 when a group of about 20 UFTers who were followers of Education Notes met to discuss the implications for the UFT of the election arrangement New Action, the leading opposition caucus to Unity, had made with Unity. Over a few weeks of meetings, the group decided to run in the 2004 UFT elections and featured strong opposition to mayoral control, which had been ignored by New Action and other opposition groups (Teachers for a Just Contract, Progressive Action Caucus), none of whom challenged the UFT leadership on this issue. 

ICE put mayoral control on the radar of UFTers and kept raising it right through the time ICE became part of the Grassroots Education Movement (GEM) and then MORE. The ICE platform in the 2010 UFT election included: 

ICE supports local neighborhood public schools.

            Diverting money to private schools through vouchers, hiring private companies to run public schools, and creating charter schools that operate on the DoE budget but free of union contracts and other restrictions that apply to public schools do great harm in polarizing our educational system and our society. Charters and schools infused with private money get preferential treatment, particularly in class size (smaller), the selection of students, and appurtenances. The DoE’s agenda to privatize the system is done through unilateral decisions and in secret. Targets for the influx of private money have been the minority areas of the city, where many large schools have been broken up into smaller ones and where public schools are being forced to absorb charters.

ICE was noted for taking deep dives into issues and just opposing mayoral control did not seem to be enough. We felt we had to offer some alternative, even if not perfect, as a basis to start a discussion on what could replace it. Many of us had come into the system in the late 60s when the old system of k-8 district level community control with elected school boards was being implemented and spent our careers working under that system. So we had the benefit of foresight and hindsight and understood that the school was the place where real power should emanate from as a way to turn a top-down system into a bottom up one.

 

Here was an attempt to offer a comprehensive plan, based on making school leadership teams the basis for governance. The exact date is unknown, but I assume it may have been circa 2008-9 when mayoral control was up for renewal. In no sense was this designed to be an end-all and be-all but a way to engage people with all the possible alternatives.

 

Norm Scott

 

A Plan for School Governance c. 2008-9

Introduction

ICE has spent over two years discussing a governance plan that would value and enable the democratic participation of al constituents, providing students, staff and parents with the rights and institutional equity that represent the highest ideals and potentialities of public education. This is a golden opportunity to right what was wrong with the system prior to 2002 and correct what can only be considered a disaster since then, a disaster that includes attacks on the expertise and rights of teachers, contempt for the voice of parents and disregard for the developmental, social, academic, physical and artistic needs of students.

1. The system must be based on democratic participation of the community with decision-making flowing from the school level to a central body.   

• The creation of true school leadership committees (to replace the present School Leadership Teams) shared decision making, as defined by NYS Law, will create a Comprehensive Education Plan which will set goals and make recommendations about improving the quality of education in each school, with reference to but not dictated by citywide policy. The administration, faculty and parents will have an equal role on the committee. In their augmented role in the school, committees will be reconstituted, with special attention to making them more inclusive and accessible to teachers and parents.

• The duly elected and well trained committees appoint their principals and assistant principals who will maintain a collaborative relationship with the committee and the entire staff.

Principals, assistant principals and other pedagogical supervisors must be experienced educators, with a minimum of five years of classroom experience. This also applies to District Superintendents and the Chancellor. No waivers will be granted. Those who are in a position of guiding instruction in our schools should have the understanding and expertise which comes from implementing practice in classroom teaching.

• Management begins at the school level, with a central organization to standardize some components, manage overall system responsibilities (licensing, payroll, contract negotiation, etc.)

• District Superintendents are selected by school leadership committees in the District in which they serve. The major function of the District Superintendents will be to provide friendly criticism and support, and to advocate for the needs of their respective schools.

2. The DOE must be politically neutral and not tied to any one political office. A school system should not be subject to the inherently destabilizing whims, caprice, political aspirations, career, or manipulations of a politician. It must be run as an independent office with responsibilities to the people of the City and operate within the regulations and laws of the NYS Education Department.

• A Central Board responsible for general and overall policy and oversight of al services that are centrally located will be made up of five members elected citywide, one appointee from each of the borough presidents and three mayoral appointees. All will be elected/appointed for set, rotating terms and removed only for cause.

• The Central Board will appoint a Chancellor, who has demonstrated success as an educator with a minimum of five years classroom experience.

• The Chancellor's role will be to advocate for policy, law and funding; develop guidelines, benchmarks and tracking systems for school needs and achievement; report to all elected officials; monitor the District Superintendents; establish a human resource department; negotiate contracts, and insure that they are upheld. The Chancellor shall be legally mandated to follow the guidelines of the NYS Education Department in regard to all school reorganizations, closings and significant administrative changes that affect the stakeholders of the school system.

Should the Chancellor or his agents be charged with failure to uphold or implement the relevant laws and regulations of the NYS Education Department, expedited proceedings shall be put in place to ascertain whether such accusations are true, and if proven true shall involve prompt redress that if unmet will carry the threat of punitive sanctions with the force of law.

3. All constituents should have input into the design of a governance system.

• A Transition Team is to be established to plan for the proposed new governance structure, to be composed of teachers, parents, administrators, elected officials and high school students.

• Public hearings shall be held to insure democratic input into the broad outlines of a governance structure. They shall be well-publicized and held at times and places that insure maximum turnout.

4. Benchmarks are to be established and evaluations conducted by an independent agency.

• Evaluations of schools and students should be based on multiple measures and should be used for gathering information in order to provide support.

• Responsibility for the analysis and evaluation of the Department of Education's programs will be given to the Public Advocate. The Advocate's Office will have statutory authority to review all Department of Education documents and will receive all resources currently allocated to the Department of Education for the review and analysis of their programs.

• The Advocate's Office will be required to produce an annual report evaluating the progress of the Department of Education in advancing students' academic skills and social well-being, reducing absenteeism, increasing the high school graduation rate and any other measure that demonstrates success. The Advocate's Office would then produce reports based on an established schedule determined by when data is available.

5. Inherent in the system's design must be respect and support for all constituents.

• School leadership committees, representative of their schools' constituents, (staff, parents, students in the middle and high schools and their community under the leadership of democratically oriented principals decide the programs and teaching strategies best suited to their students. Teachers are to be respected for their experience and expertise in teaching and learning, and are to have an explicit role in developing, planning and implementing those activities that involve pedagogy.

• All schools provide a comprehensive education program including the core curricula areas, performing and visual arts, health and physical education, career and technical education, and technology.

6. Funding must be fair, equitable, transparent, with budget decisions made at the school level.

    A larger portion of the funding received by the federal, state and city will be managed by the schools. The school leadership committees will determine how funds are spent, with technical assistance to be provided by the Districts.

    Equitable funding developed by central staff and approved by the Central Board, with public oversight and input, will determine how much money each school receives. Budgets and expenditures at al levels of the system will be made available for review by the public. The City Council is to be involved in this process.

    The Office of the Public Advocate, which will have the authority to audit funding and spending, shall publish its findings and make recommendations.

    All contracts will be put out to open bid and made public.

7. School and District lines must be drawn in a way to preserve and strengthen the integrity of neighborhoods and communities.

    All registered voters and parents shall be eligible to vote for district councils.

    Non-registered parents can vote on separate voting machines at each poll site dedicated solely for the purpose of electing the councils or with a mail in ballot. While this will necessitate an additional eligible voters list, the input of the public is necessary in a democratic society that must take responsibility for schools.

• District councils will serve as a public forum for parents and community and serve as a liaison between the District and the Central Organization.  


8.  A system of checks and balances will be put into place to give voice to all constituents.

• Each constituent group will have an organization to provide training, assistance and to help guarantee its rights. The parents and students will each have a citywide organization independent of the DOE and school staff will be represented by their unions.

• The City Council will have non-voting representation on the Central Board.

 

 

 

Monday, January 08, 2024

Once Again, UFT Leadership Thumbs Their Nose At the Members

Parking private automobiles near our schools has been a contentious issue over the years. There is no doubt adequate parking is an integral part of teacher working conditions and we would expect that our Union would play a role in determining  the parameters of this benefit. 

We have seen this right, like most of our workplace rights, radically change over the years. Teacher parking passes were given to any teacher that wanted one, years ago. Under both the Bloomberg and de Blasio administrations the Union has given back this right so that only a few of the parking passes are available to each school and the number of street parking spaces has dwindled.

In response to these concessions, in schools were administrators were sympathetic to the loss of parking privilege school yards and other city property became parking lots. Where the administrators were not so sympathetic the teachers had to find private lots or other parking far from their school if they wanted to use their private automobile for commuting.

In 2019, New York State enacted the MTA Reform and Traffic Mobility Act, directing the  MTA  to establish a congestion tolling program in the Manhattan Central Business District defined as Manhattan south of and inclusive of 60th Street, but excluding the FDR Drive, the West Side Highway, and any surface roadway portion of the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel connecting to West Street. After extensive review a $15 fee was proposed for automobiles to enter the district.

New Jersey responded by claiming that the fee was unfair since, according to their lawsuit, a proper environmental impact review was not undertaken.

According to the Post our Union President called the Borough President of Staten Island several months ago to discuss this issue. The membership was neither notified nor consulted about what action, if any, should be taken.

With the New Year our beloved President, just as he is trying to strong-arm the erosion of health care benefits for our members and retirees decided to bring a lawsuit, along with the Staten Island Borough President, to stop congestion pricing. Our dues is paying the legal bills.

The lawsuit argues that Staten Island wasn't properly included in the environmental impact review and that Staten Island resident teachers (at least 7) might be forced to take public transportation to avoid the toll, something the 2019 law anticipated. The lawsuit also includes Michael Mulgrew who, as resident of Staten Island, would presumably be impacted by the congestion pricing. 

Our Union leadership has a history of unilateral and non-membership involved decision making. We must make certain we don't get shut out again!

Tuesday, August 15, 2023

James Eterno Recovery Fund


In May of 2023, James Eterno, beloved retired educator and union activist, suffered a major stroke. James is recovering and currently needs 24-hour care. 


James has been a consummate fighter for his family, his union family and the City of New York. 


He will prevail in this latest fight! 


Please help the Eternos during this challenging time with various out-of-pocket medical-related expenses. Pray for us and donate. 


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