Thursday, September 07, 2017

MULGREW'S BACK TO SCHOOL EMAIL DIRECT ABOUT PROBABLE JANUS LOSS

I was a bit surprised to read in UFT President Michael Mulgrew's back to school email an honest statement about public sector unions losing fair share fees (agency fee) at the Supreme Court. He starts with his usual approach of the UFT taking credit for everything but that is followed up by a sober look ahead.

The entire email is below.

 Dear James,
Welcome back! I hope the summer break gave you a chance to relax and re-energize. The year ahead offers much to celebrate, but also some very serious challenges.
We are heading into the new school year on solid financial footing from the city and state, thanks to our union’s advocacy in the budget process last spring. Teacher’s Choice got a big boost in the city budget. Funding increases in the city and state budgets for community learning schools, PROSE schools and the Positive Learning Collaborative will also enable us to do more of the innovative programming that gives educators a voice in schools and addresses issues that can be a barrier to learning.
Meanwhile, New York City schools continue to make real progress, as rising test scores and increasing graduation rates show.
But I don’t want to sugarcoat it. We face strong headwinds as public school educators and unionized workers.
U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos continues her efforts to push school privatization under the guise of “school choice.” She is defending a federal spending plan that will do great harm to public schools and children from low-income families. We will continue to work with our elected officials in Washington, D.C., to preserve federal funding and to pull back the curtain on her agenda that values the marketplace over children.
We are also opposing a proposal from the SUNY Charter Schools Committee that would allow a person with only five days of instruction and 100 hours of classroom practice to become a licensed teacher in some charter schools. Such “instant” teaching licenses would not only harm the children in charter schools, but do significant damage to the teaching profession as a whole.
In New York State, a high-stakes vote will occur on Nov. 7. New Yorkers will be asked if the state should hold a constitutional convention. We must continue to inform friends and family members about the critical importance of voting “no” on that ballot question. A state constitutional convention would put public employee pensions in jeopardy and would be dominated by the same political interests in Albany now.
Basic workers’ rights across this country are also under grave threat. Corporations and the ultra-rich are trying to take down unions, the one force in this country that has been fighting for the middle class. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in the Janus v. AFSCME case brought by these union busters. The case challenges the “fair share” fees that public sector unions collect from workers who benefit from a union-negotiated contract but do not join the union.
With the addition of Neil Gorsuch, President Trump’s appointee, the Supreme Court is expected to rule against unions. We’ll have to stay united as union members if we are going to withstand this threat.
Let’s get to work. I hope you have a great opening to the school year.
Sincerely,
Michael Mulgrew

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fuck you

Anonymous said...

Ditto.

Mizannthrope said...

Has anyone heard anything about the September sesis payment?

Anonymous said...

We have to stick together no matter how disgusted we are with the UFT. The goons want to make us a right to work for less state. We NEED our union as the saying goes...I rather have a bad union then no union at all

Anonymous said...

James, do you know what I have to do regarding the professional development hours? I'm an ATR. Do I have to go and pay for professional development workshops to keep my license? Does in school PD count?

Anonymous said...

GREAT NEWS! Taking a look at the 2016 officers report from the link in the margin, notice how many of these UFT bureacrats are making $100,000+ FOR WHAT??
HOW THE HELL ARE THOSE SALARIES JUSTIFIED??
This is where your union dues are going,people. To feed these union FAT CATS
DISGUSTING!!

Anonymous said...

ANNO 1:59. If you do not hold a permanent certificate, (Teaching in NYC before 2004), yes, you need to do the PD hours. In school PD only counts if all if it is provided by a NYS certified vendor. Most in school PD is NOT going to be done by a certified vendor.

Anonymous said...

The union newspaper makes no mention of the ATR agreement to force place ATRs starting 10/15/17 wherever there's a vacancy. It's not a good deal just like the buyout agreement. The AP of the site I am in wanted to give me a task not within my title. Let the AP know I need to be assigned as per my title. Panic set in. The AP told me, "We don't have a position". Goodness, it's all ready begun. What madness! Administrators are going to rate educators unfavorably because as the AP said in panic: "We don't have a position" (especially if you're a veteran).

Anonymous said...

Add the Janus case to the LIFE movement taking place in Nassau and Suffolk and the end is coming NYSUT leadership the ball is in your court

Anonymous said...

The Janus decision, assumed to be favorable to management, will probably arrive around the time of our last pay raise for the current contract. With no future pay raises in sight, UFT will have an uphill battle getting members to fork over their money. Teachers need a decent raise or some time back or something else sunstantial. Another 1% raise with givebacks will turn more people against the UFT. I personally refuse to allow fear to be a factor in my decision. A bad union is better than no union is not a winning argument for me. With that said, I honestly do not know what I will do if/when the time comes. I'm leaning toward joining with the hope that the apathetic will opt out and then the battle between the Unity sycophants and those of us who have been challenging them will have a more level playing field on which to do battle. Roseanne McCosh

Anonymous said...

While I favor unions, there would be no lawsuit, if the unions were more responsive to its members and less involved in politics that have nothing to do with education. The unions have brought this lawsuit onto themselves, by becoming an arm of the democrats.

Anonymous said...

Who do you think is pushing for this lawsuit?? And why?? We are not just talking about our union but everything single one across the country! It's shameful how many of us are falling into their trap. Look at Wisconsin now. They are paid less, they have to pay for their healthcare, they no longer have a defined pension plan. They have a severe teacher shortage. These folks want to take this shit show across the country! I refuse to let that happen. Those of you who decide not to be a part of the union is your decision. At least then you can't complain and you don't have to partake in trying to make our union better. The union is going to have to change. No doubt about that. I want to be here to help shape it. These are just my thoughts. Good luck to everyone.

Anonymous said...

Anon 5:09

So I have to pay to take courses to keep my license? Seriously?

Anonymous said...

Pay the UFT... For courses.

Anonymous said...

Read this in the Daily News and thought it was hopeful. Maybe there is hope after Janus.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/new-york-continues-stand-union-workers-article-1.3481085