Thursday, January 17, 2008

January Delegate Assembly Report

Hillary Speaks to DA on the Phone
Teachers will Fight Excessive Paperwork
DA Calls for No Reduction in Parking Permits
UFT Fighting Principals in Need of Improvement
DA Unanimously Endorses ICE Amended Resolution on School Leadership Teams

By James Eterno, UFT Chapter Leader Jamaica High School

That last headline is not a misprint. In a move that surprised a great many people including the maker of the amendment: yours truly, the UFT Delegate Assembly voted unanimously to support an amendment we wrote asking the UFT to support a parent who has filed a class action appeal to State Education Commissioner Mills demanding that the Principals not be allowed to unilaterally make the final determination on school budgets on School Leadership Teams. Any chance of collaborative working environments was lost in December when Chancellor Joel Klein issued a new Chancellor's Regulation A-655 that gives principals the final say on the work of the School Leadership Teams, thus ending shared decision making. A parent appealed saying this violated State law and now with this amendment the UFT has joined onto the appeal. State law calls for shared decision making between parents, teachers and school administrators.

Hopefully, the teacher-parent coalition that came together last year will unite again so that we can bring to pass true shared decision making at the school level. We'll see what kind of mobilization the UFT puts forth to help the parents on this issue. Also, we would like to thank the UFT leadership for recognizing that this was a necessary amendment to add onto their resolution to make SLT's truly collaborative in every school. We've said it before and we will say it again: when the UFT leadership does the right thing, we have no problem giving them credit on this blog.

In other DA news, Hillary Clinton called Randi on her cell-phone and addressed the delegates from Nevada. Her call was played on a speakerphone at the main microphone so everyone could hear Hillary clearly. The technology was impressive. One delegate jokingly remarked that we were listening to god through those speakers. The Union is clearly making a strong pitch for their endorsed candidate: Hillary. ICE has not taken a position on the Democratic Primaries so further comment is not called for here. Comptroller Bill Thompson also spoke live to the Delegates in favor of Hillary .

Additionally, a resolution was passed calling on the DOE to eliminate repetitive paperwork and another was approved calling for the UFT to be able to find ways to increase the number of educator parking permits, not have them decreased as the Mayor wants. President Randi Weingarten reported that all issues with the 55-25 retirement bill have been worked out and she expects a bill to be passed by the State Legislature this month.

Finally, the Union announced its Principals in Need of Improvement program. This was introduced by new Staff Director Leroy Barr. He called up to the podium multiple members from three schools who told horror stories about principals from hell. The schools were Acorn High School for Social Justice, Susan Wagner High School on Staten Island and PS114 in Brooklyn where a remarkable forty UFT members showed up at the DA. We salute those UFT members for standing together and fighting back at the school level.

20 comments:

  1. How long until the Unity guy gets up here and says how lousy ICE was?

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  2. 24 hours
    24 minutes

    ICE was lousy . . .

    until they came to there senses and made an amendment that made sense!!

    There is hope for ICE!

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  3. Unity guy it's their senses not there. Unity folks aren't known for their proper grammar either.

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  4. Good work James. I thought I was seeing things when Leo Casey got up
    and urged the DA to support ICE's resolution. It was a rare event when
    ICE and Unity were in agreement. It was quite an evening, first James
    introduced his resolution then Hillary called then Marilyn Stewart and
    Bill Thompson spoke.

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  5. Surprisingly enough, I'm at a loss for words. Who would have guessed that ICE can come up with good ideas when they are not busy blaming Randi for crop circles, area 51, watergate, and the iran contras.

    And James "E. Turtle" spoke well. He was humble and clear, not an airhead like Marion or a rambling moron like Jeff. You ICEsickles should let him speak more.

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  6. Wait a minute. ICE has not endorsed a candidate yet? I thought the AFT, NYSUT and the UFT have endorsed Hillary already? I thought ICE was part of all these organizations.

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  7. ICE doesn't have to support every AFT, UFT or NYSUT policy. It is the Independent Community of Educators. If only Unity people had minds of their own and could understand what independent thought and not following the party line meant.

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  8. So, who is ICE endorsing? Gosh you are such babies!

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  9. Now there's a mature comment that will really enhance the debate within the union.

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  10. Read the report on the DA. ICE hasn't taken a position on the Democratic primaries.

    Many other organizations and unions haven't taken a position either. I was listening to Air America and their progressive hostess hadn't taken a position. Are you calling Randi Rhodes a baby too?

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  11. At the DA Norman Scott told me that ICE was on the verge of endorsing Michael Bloomberg as an independent candidate.

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  12. And Randi will go to Washington, kissing Bloomberg's @ss all the way!

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  13. "And Randi will go to Washington, kissing Bloomberg's @ss all the way!"

    At least one person said this at randi's birthday roast - what do Klein and Randi have in common? They both kiss Bloomberg's ass.

    Unity hack is right. I, along with Al Sharpton, am endorsing Bloomberg for pres. I want to see all the schools in the nation have as much fun as the people in NYC are having. And he can buy Iraq.

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  14. Not with the way the dollar is being valued. He soon will need euros to buy the presidency. Forget about Iraq.

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  15. Hey, Norm, did you know you were at the D.A.?

    Unity hack 7:54 can't get enough of you.

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  16. I want to mention something else at the last DA.

    When I walked in, on the early side, Weingarten was holding a press conference in the lobby in support of the Screenwriters and their strike. (I believe I saw a Fox5 camera there.)

    It is quite surreal to walk into your own union building and listen to the president of your own union support a militant stance taken by another labor union — this, when she has OF HER OWN FREE WILL brought the UFT down to the apathetic, unorganized and deeply unprepared labor group it's become. We take the hits. She combs her hair, gets behind a microphone, and in that shrill pipsqueak of a voice, pretends she's a labor leader with a backbone, or even a position.

    Weingarten is deeply OFFENSIVE — and not in the way we need her to be, as in "on the offensive." She's offensive the other way: two-faced, conniving, manipulative, and absolutely in the wrong profession.

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  17. Norm weren't you in Puerto Rico last week and not at the DA? Who was the Unity guy who spoke to you at the DA? You are so famous that you are there in spirit now!

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  18. But Woodlass, the last time I looked 78% of teachers didn't vote in the last election so Randi gets a free ride. Who's laughing all the way to the bank and who's suffering in the schools?

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  19. Yes, that's what I said: the apathetic union we've become. Some of us.

    But I lay the blame for this at her feet. She could have built a different kind of union.

    Some people enjoy crossword puzzles, she enjoys power games in high places. And cameras, lots and lots of cameras. As for the nuts and bolts of building a strong union — name one thing she's done in the past couple of years that has added demonstrable strength to the ranks or boosted its political presence.

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  20. She endorsed Hillary! That will solve all our problems for sure, right.

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