I read NYC Educator's Executive Board Minutes this evening. Arthur Goldstein, who writes those reports, is pretty much a full-fledged, hardcore Mulgrew-Unity supporter these days. That said, he still does a very good job of writing accurate minutes of UFT meetings. I sometimes compare my Delegate Assembly notes with his and they are pretty similar.
Tonight's UFT Executive Board notes from Arthur are strange in that Michael Mulgrew continues to spout out a completely debunked story that the arbitrator ruled that we must postpone half of the retro until mid July 2021. The truth is the UFT agreed to postpone the retro and the arbitrator just wrote what the agreement between the UFT and the City-DOE says.
From NYC Educator:
Why did union agree to split lump sum? Union did not agree. Arbitrator made the decision, and we agreed to no layoffs and guaranteed raise. That's agreement.
"Union did not agree...That's agreement."
Only in Michael Mulgrew's world, or maybe Trump's or Cuomo's or de Blasio's, could someone say this and expect anyone to believe it.
Read the consent award for yourself to know that Mulgrew is still not telling the truth on the issue.
The arbitrator's own words:
I implored and pressured the parties to explore a possible resolution to this matter. They asked me to work with them to find a proper solution. The parties then requested I memorialize that settlement in this consent award that is set forth below.
Before writing the actual DOE-UFT agreement, the arbitrator states:
Accordingly, as a result of my intercession with the parties, it is agreed: (bold added by me)
He then writes up the agreement that says when half the money is due:
...by no later than October 31, 2020. The remainder of the payment shall be made in the second payroll of July 2021.
I do not believe the UFT is even going to hold the DOE-City to that agreement. This is Arthur citing Mulgrew on the per session retro:
Retro for per session should follow same path as other retro.
I gather that means it will be after October 31. Retirees probably won't get the money until later than October 31 too. No wonder why the city-DOE keeps going back on their written word with Mulgrew. He repeatedly lets them get away with it.
As for going fully remote if NYC gets the expected third wave of COVID-19 in the coming weeks and months that I hope and pray we avoid but fear is already on the way, Mulgrew offers little hope:
We're focused on getting schools open. Data shows it's relatively safe right now, but we can't be too sure. We will likely be in this setting for rest of school year.
The main reason for low infection rates in schools is that there are so few students (see below) and staff in many of them. The majority of student families have chosen full-time remote learning. A substantial number of UFTers and other employees are working remotely too, some in spite of getting zero help from their union.
41 comments:
Don't forget to tell us all to keep paying dues.
This undeniable logic and Mulgrew’s bald faced lie is called a conspiracy theory by Arthur and Mulgrew’s Unity lackeys.
Perhaps it's time for an improper practice charge to be filed against the UFT with the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB).
https://perb.ny.gov
https://perb.ny.gov/taylor-law
https://perb.ny.gov/rules-of-procedure
Watch Arthur become D26 District Rep
We already had an agreement on this money ten years ago. Of course mulgrew had something to do with it and dumbo. They both had to look good. The bottom line is if we had good leadership they would have said no to this and threatened a strike. Mulgrew needs to go. We should never again vote on a contract like the one we did. We work too hard to let these idiots get away with it.
I don't see much difference in how Arthur and James see this. It's a matter of how you spin it. To argue, without evidence that Mulgrew had it set up all along and faked the videos is not quite conspiracy theory, especially when one considers Mulgrew's credibility, but it's spin, the kind James likes to use to motivate readers to get off their duffs and do something to get rid of Mulgrew. Maybe Mulgrew had it set up long ago. Maybe the angry video was a fake. Maybe. But with no proof, yes I know that the deal was merely signed off on by the arbiter after it was agreed to by Mulgrew, but with no proof that Mulgrew had a deal in hand before he made and sent out the angry video, anyone claiming this is open to criticism of peddling in conspiracy theory.
That the arbiter merely signed off on an agreement is nothing unusual and doesn't support the argument that Mulgrew faked us out. In the context, where the city was negotiating with unions to save money, the retro deal was on the table. The CITY decided to grab all of it and when Mulgrew wouldn't give it all up, the arbitration was the compromise. This is not unusual, nothing conspiratorial or super-corrupt here, just business as usual.
But in the spirit of things James wins the day. Whatever the timeline and the backroom winks and grins, we got screwed again by our leadership at UFT. It's a pattern. Follow the money. Mulgrew has not been a good leader here. (see the list James provided to counter the pro Unity video. He needs to go.
It is neither spin nor conspiracy theory to point out that Mulgrew agreed to postpone the retro. It is reality. The arbitrator ordered nothing but was merely a mediator and scribe. The UFT and City-DOE made the deal. That is the truth. Why does Mulgrew not admit that?
We didn't vote on the newest MOA either. It's essentially a new contract as the original one did not contain any guidance on distance/remote learning. Just the distance/remote learning alone is a huge section.
This arbitrator has always been Mulgrew’s go to guy.with contact disputes —so it appears Mulgrew probably already knew the outcome of the decision with this retro. Bottom line, no more 6 year delays for pieces of retro. If Mulgrew or any future UFT leader suggests anything of that sort—that should be a call for an immediate resignation.
San Diego just came out with a grading policy that students cannot have their grades reduced for poor attendance, late work or behavior claiming the current grading system promotes racism. They should just say, they are only black and Hispanic kids, we can't expect much from them.
Philly teachers having strike vote. Not us. We are doing just great.
1102, the nycdoe is just as fraudulent.
Why should Mulgrew admit that he cut a deal and the arbiter merely signed off on it?
That would be a great move if he wants to lose the next election. He wants to win. He will win.
When did he cut the deal? We don't know. His angry video suggests that he cut the deal at the arbitration, or, at least sometime after the angry video, but those of us scrutinizing his statements and deals suspect that he knew he was going to offer half of our retro before he made the angry video. If that makes us guilty of peddling conspiracy theory so be it. Since w don't know we are only doing what Mulgrew has done, spinning it to make him look worse than he looks for having lost half of our money.
He agreed to defer half of our money until July 2021. When he agreed to do it is another issue.
11:02
Isn't San Diego right above Mexico border wall just built by Trump? Oh yeah it is so I guess the schools must have so many students there who do not speak the language of English. Many of the students must be from Mexico or students from other spanish speaking countries who have fled to the US and are in the country illegally. Why are we hiding the fact in this country about the reality of the situation?
Its really an insult to our intelligence to state to us educators that students will not be punished for a multiple of issues including not being able to produce the work on time or attendance or bad behavior. This country is now suffering from a few generations in now of people coming to this country either illegally or legally but with different opinions on how to treat students. So what we now have is a global America with the insane beliefs of other countries now sticking like shit on a stick in this country. The people who are making the changes to the system are either Mexicans or some other foreign born human beings now residing in America and in position of authority. Thats the story.
Where is that guy who works on his golf game? He has the right idea when it comes to Teaching in 2020.
Has this job ever not been a scam? Free grades? Fake grad and suspension rate?
Nate on Twitter doesn't know how to do math. The testing positive rate is 0.17% in school which is several times less than outside school. The per 100000 value is positive tests per 100000 population, not per 100000 tested.
Remember all the commenters yelling that having school would cause the apocalypse? Where are they now?
If they start the attendance doesnt count bullshit and students have an indefinite amount of time to do work...I'm done with live instruction.
I played golf twice last week and actually played quite well.
During the ‘work day,’ I practiced some new techniques for my swing and they paid dividends.
Oh, side note, when I was going to make my tee time, it was during a meeting aka principal speaking about lord knows what while I drove to the course and got ready to play at 230 last week.
That is really what we need to do. Try to do what you can do during work hours and once it’s your time, turn the doe off until the next day.
This is work advice for any job.
Honestly, I applaud everyone’s heart who post on these blogs and James gives great information, but some people need to see that the doe is no more or no less important than any other job and we need to make it work for us and enjoy life more.
Peace, love and happiness to all
My first 2 remote classes had a total of zero students today. I would love to know how many are supposed to pass.
I love how Mulgrew in the video on Thursday says he'll fight for us. How and when did he fight for us??? If you think he wasn't complicit into persuading and coaxing us into thinking that he fought for us and that he was forced/coerced by the arbitrator into taking the deal; then I have a bridge to sell you. What is so apparent and the trademark of a LIAR is that he used a false excuse - THERE IS NOTHING (no rebuttal argument on record from the arbitrator.) WHAT DID THE ARBITRATOR SAY OR DO TO COMPEL HIM TO ACCEPT THE DEAL. HIS SPEECH IS ORCHECTRATED AS WELL AS HIS EMOTIONS- hence he is a LIAR.
If tens of thousands of teachers file a PERB complaint against the UFT for breach of our contract as well as breach of representation (we did not vote for the amended contract), then we would see responsible representation in the future. I encourage everyone to file a PERB grievance against Mulgrew regarding his misrepresentation of the agreement as an arbitration decision. Mulgrew has acted falsely and corruptly towards us and we have been harmed by his corruption.
https://perb.ny.gov
https://perb.ny.gov/taylor-law
https://perb.ny.gov/rules-of-procedure
Let's say the arbitrator told Mulgrew to cut a deal before he ruled and Mulgrew thought he might rule for De Blasio and Mulgrew took what he thought he could get? That's as legit an explanation as any. The alternative would be - maybe a strike? Nahhh. Yes Mulgrew and the union are in a weak position and we will find out just how weak over the next year when the ax comes down. Then we will cry wy Mulgrew didn't get two years of no layoffs.
Why not say that instead of lying then, Norm? Say the arbitrator was going to rule for the city so we had to cut a deal. I have heard them use that excuse in the past when Mulgrew and Michael Mendel told us the judge was going to rule for the city so we had to take a deal with Klein on virtually no supports for closing schools that judge kept open.
City had no leg to stand on here. Place to threaten to go to was Moody's not strike or arbitration to get city to pay its bills or mess with credit rating that would have cost a huge amount of money. Mulgrew incapable of playing hard ball with his bestie de Blasio.
524,
Doe kids don’t fail anymore!
Teachers keep paying dues like blacks keep voting dem. Both haven't been worth anything.
I believe that Mulgrew is lying or not telling the WHOLE TRUTH hence LYING!
I feel this way because in the earlier town halls this summer he said we were getting our back pay it was a definite.
The last one in August he paused before answering and said we should get it. It was his change from a firm quick reply to a hesitant one that lead me to believe he knew much earlier that we weren't getting the money or it was in jeopardy.
Already knowing Mulgrew is a liar I choose not to make a 1 time change to my contributions.
I went with my gut and was correct. Still feel like 12 years a ...Schmuck.
Mulgrew needs to go. He should not be allowed to "negotiate" another contract or giveback.
The threat of a downgrade by the rating agencies would have made MM look and sound dumber than he looks and sounds most of the time. NYC and NY State were both downgraded by the rating agency, Moody's Investor Services, early this month. The downgrade, from AA1, by one notch to Aa2, or the third-highest investment grade rating, had nothing to do with monies, past or present, owed to teachers or any other workers on city payrolls. What MM could be arguing, if he has anyone in the union who understand how these things work, is that the city and the state (the state was also downgraded from AA1 to AA2 and both are on negative credit watch) is that the city needs to take on more debt. When the downgrade was announced, the spread on the City's $39 billion in G.O. Bonds hardly budged. Right now, interest rates are so low, the demand for municipal bonds so high and spreads so tight that the City, if permitted to go to the markets with a bond would pay a negative interest rate. Moreover, the State of NY has been getting an even better deal that the City could also get. Better than negative interest rates? Yes. Cuomo has been tapping the Federal Reserves liquidity tsunami to keep the State running.
Teachers think, for whatever reason, I guess because they "saved the city" with their pension dollars by buying MAC bonds back in the 70s that the world of finance is still stuck in the 70s and that somehow we union members, and especially the UFT have enormous leverage during financial crisis and can play hard ball with the city. The truth is we are as weak as the city was when we "saved" it back then and the City, despite the pandemic financial crisis has enormous leverage, the state even more. Ours, as I keep reminding readers here, is a weak, very weak union, structurally, legally, contractually. Our leadership is awful, but changing MM for anyone else doesn't remove the union's weaknesses. And one of its weaknesses is this false belief in our strength and power.
What Moody's is saying is that City can't afford to pay the teachers 7% on a TDA and Pension. That the TDA can't continue to offer a fixed option guarantee, not 7%, not 2%, not at all and that the pension needs to be restructured, not only by making a Tier 7, but by dispensing with the defined pension benefit. That benefit assumes that the stock market will return 8% on average every year. That's a risk the city can't continue to take.
James,
How does Norm know how that Mulgrew knew how the arbitrator was going to rule?
Norm doesn't know what Mulgrew was thinking and Mulgrew does not know how the arbitrator
would rule. Both Norm and Mulgrew were speculating.
Mulgrew could have made sure we got out payment on time if he threatened first to go to Moody's and tell them that the City is defaulting on the UFT contract. He could then threatened to strike over breach of contract.
Finally, the city was not in a position to do layoffs BECAUSE They would have to do layoffs across the entire city labor workforce. They were not ready for the that outcome.
The city was bluffing or worse yet this just was part of a bigger corrupt deal.
It is clear that he city "owns" Mulgrew and he on their side.
He does not represent my need for a safe work environment or my financial wellbeing.
Once agAin, I encourage every dissatisfied teacher to file a PERB complaint against Mulgrew and the arbitrator.
Go to NY State PERB. File an improper practice charge against Mulgrew and the arbitrator.
The arbitrator gave his presence at the agreement to shield the DOE and Mulgrew for what was
a breach of the original contract. Mulgrew overreached by breaking the contract without a Union vote. He is also guilty of improper practice.
By law, the city has to pay its Bill's Shelley. Are you denying that?
Go to PERB Forms
Direct Entry Improper Labor Practice (Public Sector)
Complete one form for Mulgrew/UFT as a facilitator of the breach of contract.
Complete another Improper Labor Practice form for improper practice for the arbitrator, Martin Scheinman for signing off on their agreement, misrepresenting it as an arbitration decision by being a party to a non-arbitration agreement.
If you do not hold Mulgrew accountable with a PERB complaint, then don't ever expect to see accountable representation. YOU CAN FILE A PERB COMPLAINT FROM YOUR COMPUTER AT HOME.
How difficult is that?
https://perb.ny.gov/taylor-law/
I think you should all file separate complaints against Mulgrew/ UFT
and Arthur Scheinman for malpractice as an arbitrator.
scroll down to section 209 -a 2(b) and 2 (c)
You can cite in your complaints sections 209 - a 2(b) and 2(c) citing Mulgrew and the UFT for improper practice as well as Martin Scheinman for improper practice.
There is clearly a failure to negotiate in good faith and there is a breach in the duty for
for fair representation. Martin Scheinman enabled this breach.
2. Improper employee organization practices. It shall be an improper practice for an employee organization or its agents deliberately
(b) to refuse to negotiate collectively in good faith with a public employer, provided it is the duly recognized or certified representative of the employees of such employer; or
(c) to breach its duty of fair representation to public employees under this article. Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, an employee organization’s duty of fair representation to a public employee it represents but who is not a member of the employee organization shall be limited to the negotiation or enforcement of the terms of an agreement with the public employer. No provision of this article shall be construed to require an employee organization to provide representation to a non-member
I bet not a single person filed a complaint other than me. This is why we will get nowhere.
In Post today. Parents are filing a class action suit to force nyc to open schools fully.
1249, they are about to close more schools.
12:49: Where did you get this from? They are opening schools. You need to cite your source.
The guy who works on the golf game is amazing. Just because he knows the deal about work and life. I commend you so much for that.
For all the Mulgrew nonsense, we NEED to vote all these retards out of office. The problem is the Democrats do everything they can to help the ultra-poor in NYC. The middle class is essentially forgotten. The problem with the Republicans is most of their policies don't help the middle class.
We need a MODERATE Democratic leader in there. Mulgrew has let us take it in the keyster way too long! 12 years interest for NYC on our Retro, and we don't see a dime of that? The City spent our money and used funds from another account. That's called illegal.
Why is my retro short and nowhere near half what we received last year? What do I do about that? What is going on?
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