Wednesday, June 11, 2008

MY RETURN TO THE EXECUTIVE BOARD; LIKE I NEVER LEFT

by James Eterno, UFT Chapter Leader, Jamaica High School

It's been a year since I was on the UFT Executive Board. For most of this school year, I resisted the requests from my good friend Ellen Fox and I did not go back as an observer to the Executive Board where I had served as a minority member for a decade. On Monday, June 9, 2008, I returned in order to show support for Marjorie Stamberg who was protesting a disputed chapter leader election where the UFT investigators had decided that the Unity candidate (Michael Friedman) had won and the non-Unity candidate (Marjorie) had lost. (Unity Caucus is the majority party that has controlled the UFT since 1960) What was it that she was protesting? When the election was announced, Marjorie asked for a list of who the Chapter members are in her chapter. Her GED+ chapter is a new chapter that exists in many locations so it would not be easy to contact everyone in the different sites. Unity basically said you have no right to know who is in your chapter.

Unity's people (Staff Director Leroy Barr and Special Counsel Adam Ross) argued that the UFT sent a piece of campaign literature from both candidates to all Chapter members and they had a forum for the candidates. Therefore, they had run a fair election. However, they didn't mention 146 Chapter members did not vote and maybe they would have been persuaded to vote for Marjorie had she been able to contact them. It is "Political Campaigning 101" that a personal contact with a potential voter is the best way to convince someone to vote for a potential candidate. Why do you think politicians hit the road so often to shake hands and kiss babies? Marjorie was never given that chance because she was not allowed to know who was in her Chapter. Democracy Unity style.

After Ross presented the report and Marjorie rebutted it, Secretary Michael Mendel, who was chairing, would not allow for a discussion, only questions. This was a mistake as clearly accepting a report is a main motion like any other that can be debated. Ultimately, the Unity majority surprised nobody by backing Barr and Ross however two of New Action's Executive Board members voted with Marjorie and four others abstained. The two who voted against Unity were Doug Haynes and Fransisco Pena.

Same old Executive Board; nothing much has changed.

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

How's the food these days? Norm used to comment on the menu that our dues are paying for.

Anonymous said...

Did Marjorie Stamberg dispute it when she lost running for Mayor of NYC in 1985? And if so, was James Eterno there to support her then?

Paragraph 41, sentence 2...
http://www.icl-fi.org/english/esp/index.html

Anonymous said...

What does that have to do with this post?

Anonymous said...

I wonder if she was allowed to know who the voters were when she ran for Mayor. If Unity was running it, she wouldn't have.

Anonymous said...

Did Marjorie Stamberg dispute it when she lost running for Mayor of NYC in 1985?

Unity red-baiting. Zahler must have lots of time on his hands.

Anonymous said...

Dues and Food...Here is some "food for thought"


These are only highlights...

Form LM-2 Labor Organization Annual Report

Period – From 8/1/2005, Through 7/31/2006
Teachers, AFL-CIO, Local Union 2, New York City Teachers
52 Broadway

- Schedule 5 – Investments
- $100,000 State of Israel Bond
- $65,000 State of Israel Bond
- According to the report employees were engaged in the following activities:
o Representational Activities – 46%
o Political Activities and Lobbying – 6%
o Contributions – 0%
o General Overhead – 38%
o Administration – 10%
- So, less than half of the time spent by employees of the Union went towards representing the membership
- Nearly half of the time was used for administrative purposes
- Active members in the Union – 105,792
- Retirees – 49, 331
- Interesting Donations
o National Action Network - $10,000
o West Indian Day Parade - $10,000
o Council for Unity, Inc. - $10,000
o Seaside Summer Concert Series - $30,000
- General Overhead Disbursements
o Regal Cinemedia - $54,120
♣ Ticket Provider
o NY Hilton and Towers - $641,517
♣ Meeting Services
o AT&T Teleconference Services - $321,514
♣ General vendor
o Coffee Distributing Corp. - $101,189
♣ Coffee provider
o Central Parking System - $82,725
♣ Parking
o New York Helmsley Hotel - $67,315
♣ Meeting Services
o AMC Theaters - $67,075
♣ Ticket Provider
o Waldorf Astoria - $194, 146
♣ Meeting Serv.
o NY Mets Group Sales Dept. - $8,812
♣ General Vendor
o Culinart - $1,373,095
♣ Catering
o Clearview Cinemas - $17,605
♣ Tickets
o Sheraton New York Hotels - $264,817
♣ Meeting Service
o Bill Lynch Associates, LLC - $219,572
♣ Consulting
o Louie & Johnnies Pizza Café - $18,176
♣ Caterer
o Leo E. Casey - $15,879
♣ General Vendor
♣ See the salary report!
o 86th Street Meat Market Inc. - $40,631
♣ Catering
o Adrian & Rocky’s Catering Services - $29,241
♣ Catering
o Shore Haven Diner - $20,040
♣ Catering
o Grand Harmony Restaurant - $12,333
♣ Catering
o UFT Elementary Charter School - $646,238
♣ Charter School
o Babs & Boys - $230,000
♣ Video Provider
o Six Flags Great Adventure - $5,977
♣ Park Tickets
o The Glover Park Group - $243,165
♣ Consultant
o

Anonymous said...

OUR UNION DUES AT WORK

RANDI COLLECTS ANOTHER PAYCHECK?
UFT SALARY

Form LM-2 Labor Organization Annual Report
Name Position Total Disbursement Source
Rhonda Weingarten President 263897 Form LM-2 Labor Organization Annual Report
Daniel Acosta Field Rep. 96593
Carmen Alvarez-Scaglion Special Rep. NYSUT 92797 Period – From 8/1/2005, Through 7/31/2006
Susan Amlung Communications 164068 Teachers, AFL-CIO, Local Union 2, New York City Teachers
Amy Arundell Special Rep. 124807 52 Broadway
Robert Astrowsky Special Rep. NYSUT 160917
Charles Baker Asst. CFO 130404
Leroy Barr Special Rep. NYSUT 127969
Michelle Bodden Special Rep. NYSUT 120866
Klaus Bornemann Special Rep. 132156
Jacques Bycinthe Special Asst. 93519
James Callaghan Writer 95131
Leo Casey Special Rep. 133960
Steven Castellano Bldg. manager 103778
Joseph Colletti Special Rep. 128483
Robert Conroy Mngr. - Office Services 81730
Lawrence D'Addona Special Rep. 128990
Michelle Daniels Special Rep. 129280
Ronnie Davis Communications 129887
Helen Doughty Special Rep. 127192
Michael Dubin Chief Financial Officer 201986
Claudette Edwards Admin. Asst. 108644
Paul Egan Special Rep. 126682
Eloise Engler Industrial Hygienist 138142
Christopher Flaherty Director - Admin. Servcs. 131421
Harolyn Fritz Boro. Rep. 164038
Ellen Gallin Procida Special Rep. 129907
Stephen Gappelberg Special Rep. 128696
Carol Gerstl General Counsel 158571
Anne Goldman Special Rep. - NYSUT 131318
Jerome Goldman Boro. Rep. - NYSUT 164819
Jeffrey Goldstein Special Rep. 159546
Rodney Grubiak Special Rep. 128696
Jonathan Gyurko Special Rep. 127939
David Hickey General Manager 211561
Jeffrey Huart Special Rep. 125699
Angela Khan Special Rep. 113978
Marc Korashan Special Rep. 124801
Martha Lane Special Rep. 129726
Elizabeth Langiulli Special Rep. - NYSUT 187248
Joyce Levenson Special Rep. 101771
Joseph Loverde Jr. Writer 113365
Kenneth Lubetsky Special Rep. 135123
Stuart Marques Communications 172788
Mary McAdoo Communications 100166
Michael Mendel Special Rep. 204350
Lawrence Miraldi Editor 172007
Thomas Murphy Special Rep. 157845
John Papas Mngr. - Accounting 115544
Christine Proctor Industrial Hygienist 130972
Gary Rabinowitz Special Rep. 131307
Amina Rachman Special Rep. 147597
Pierrot Raymond Special Asst. 131394
Briget Anne Rein Special Rep. 127739
Marvin Reiskin District Rep. - NYSUT 105549
Sharon Ripley Special Rep. 126175
John Robilotti Special Rep. 131782
Ann Rosen Special Rep. 129990
Eugene Rubin Special Rep. 128227
Abraham Ruda Special Rep. 154625
Burton Sacks Special Asst. 174963
Maureen Salter Communications 144298
Theresa Samuels Special Rep. 127248
Kathy Schiavarelli Supervisor 104976
Howard Schoor Boro. Rep. 154613
Anthony Sclafani Special Rep. 129541
Evelyn Seroy Special Rep. 127497
John Settle Special Rep. 130160
James Sherlock Special Rep. 127754
Barbara Shiller Special Rep. 141344
Barbara Silberman Special Rep. 127661
Howard Solomon Special Rep. 153085
Michael Spielman Writer 113861
Garry Sprung Special Rep. 154694
William Stamatis Special Rep. 135030
Francine Streich Special Rep. 126794
Lucille Swaim Special Asst. 169173
James Tabert Boro. Rep. - NYSUT 162388
Laura Tamburo Special Rep. 127175
Marcia Texidor Supervisor 131635
James Vasquez Special Rep. 112975
Hope Willocks Special Rep. 109781
Donald Wright Mgr. - Accounting 103282
Jeffrey Zahler Special Rep. - NYSUT 151429

Anonymous said...

This stuff is from two years ago. Could you imagine what it is today?

NYC Educator said...

I don't think we should have to imagine, as we actually pay these salaries. Is there no public record? Are we not entitled to know what they do with our dues money?

Anonymous said...

Whoa...That is unbelievable. Looks like lotsa good meals and movie-going to me. Where can I sign up? Oh yeah, I forgot, not only am I signed up, but I'm already paying for all of this, too.

Anonymous said...

ICE = $PRICELESS$

proofoflife said...

Holy macaroni!

Anonymous said...

Those LM'2s don't actually come out for awhile. Does anyone have any idea how these things can be released faster?

Anonymous said...

Where's the Unity guy to comment on his salary?

Anonymous said...

How much does the Unity guy who regularly monitors this blog make?

Anonymous said...

Why no Yankee tickets? What the hell is going on here?!

Anonymous said...

They don't need to buy Yankee tickets. Randi gets to sit in Bloomberg's box for free!

Anonymous said...

After the Citywide ATR meeting last week, this week we had the UFT executive board discussion on the GEd Plus Chapter Elections which was held last Monday, June 9.



It was a foregone conclusion before we got there. I think I argued my case strongly. Many people there seemed visibly disturbed at the decision. However, the E-Board, as Judge Sol Wachtler once said about the New York State grand jury system, would indict a ham sandwich, if told to do so. So the Unity Caucus e-board delegates got the word, and dutifully voted to approve the dubious report upholding the dubious election results.



In any case, I argued the following points:



--GED Plus was formed from five schools combined in the chaotic reconstruction of D79. So nobody knew who anybody was, what site they worked at, and so on. When I asked the UFT for a membership list of the chapter so I could campaign, this request was denied repeatedly. In the report that was prepared by the UFT lawyer, it got kind of comical when he was saying that we used the wrong verb to ask for it. We asked to have a list, and when they said we couldn't have it, we asked if we could see it. But it didn't matter, they wouldn't let us have it, see it, look at it, nada, zip, zilch.



--This is a violation of the most elementary union democracy. It is also, by the way, illegal, since it has been held that any candidate for union election must be able to see the list within 30 days of election. I told the E-board, and wrote in my rebuttal, that I would never take them to court, since I think the courts and all of these laws are designed to hamstring the labor movement-- Landrum Griffin, the no-strike Taylor Law, etc. Still, one might expect the UFT to uphold elementary standards of union democracy in their elections.



--It was a close vote, a 10-vote spread out of 147 votes cast. In the election 5 of the colleagues who came in from Pregant Teens were not allowed to vote. They are considered a "different school code" despite the fact that they interviewed for GED Plus, they come to work at GED Plus every day, they attend GED Plus professional development, AND they are on the list of staff of GED Plus that is issued by the Superintendency of D79. The report claimed that the UFT never allowed budget codes to determine who can vote in an election. Except in our chapter, it seems.



In approving the lawyer's report on the election, the E-Board effectively disenfranchised these colleagues. If they're not in our chapter, I asked, what chapter are they in? Answer: None. But we consider them part of our chapter and will continue to insist that they have full rights.



--The union lawyer conceded that I should have been allowed to see the membership list. So three of us went down to 50 Broadway last week and had our look-see, six months after the fact! This is just CYA from the UFT tops---like, how dare you claim we didn't let you see the list!.



And then they topped it off by saying they did not "believe" letting me see the list would have changed the outcome of the election. Now, when a lawyer says "believe," that means he's saying he doesn't "know" for a fact. And in this case, it's unknowable.



They are saying that if I had been allowed to campaign, to talk to people about the issues, it wouldn't have made any difference. Nobody can know that for sure. Just as an abstract example, 149 people in our chapter did not vote. How can they know that if I had been able to talk wtih them personally, and some had decided to vote because of it, it wouldn't have made ANY difference. I said the lawyers could "believe" the moon is made of green cheese, but that doesn't make it so.



I made a number of other points, as well. In the vote, four E-board members abstained, and two had the courage to vote against. A number of people spoke with me later, saying it was a powerful presentation and expressing concern.



The UFT lawyer's decision is available--I'll e-mail it to you if you want, for your leisure reading or as a case study in bureaucrat-ese and forked-tongued lawyer doubletalk. My point-by-point rebuttal is attached.



Meanwhile, we're going to keep on struggling to ensure that every one of our ATR colleagues in D79 is assigned a position with full rights -- not just frozen in place, doing the same job as everyone else, but with no security. And for the students, who need far more services -- access to the arts, access to the full range of Special Ed services, ESL services for all entitled, no kids put on "wait lists," high-quality literacy programs. Meanwhile Tweed is promising....budget cuts.



See you Monday June 16, 4:30 pm at the City Hall Park rally



--Marjorie

Anonymous said...

Yep, I'll see you Monday at the rally Marjorie, I bought a big box of Kleenex for you and the rest of the ICEsickles. It's the good kind with aloe.

Why not consider running for NY Governor now?

Anonymous said...

Very nice Unity Hack. Why must you berate Marjorie? So what she ran for mayor 23 years ago under a socialist ticket? She was younger and made a mistake. She has probably changed her views now. Marjorie is a very nice and caring person. If you Unity slugs are so perfect, what happened with the 2005 contract?

Anonymous said...

Mr. Unity-

How much money do you make? Please tell us. We want to know what the salary is for monitoring the ICE blog.

Anonymous said...

If Marjorie were a regressive republican like George Pataki, then Unity would endorse.

Anonymous said...

ICE SALARY

♣ James Eterno Loon 75¢
♣ Norman Scott Old Crank $1.50
o Jeff Kaufman Comedic Relief With $1.99 Rebate
o Marjorie Stamberg Windbag Priceless
♣ Sal the Barber Empty Threats 25¢
♣ Kit Wainer Invisible Man 0¢
♣ Marian Swerdlow Airhead 1¢
o Peter Lamphere Future Doofus Buy One Get One Free
o John Powers Future Goofus Buy One Get One Free
♣ Michael Fiorillo Bigmouth 10¢
♣ Arthur Goldstein Has Been 7¢
♣ Sam Lazarus Irrelevant 8¢
♣ Gene Prisco Worthless 6¢
♣ Camille Johnson Waste Of Space 2¢
♣ Megan Behrent Useless 1¢
♣ Nick Licari Blabbermouth 3¢
♣ Larry Taylor Stooge 2¢

Anonymous said...

Where is your Unity salary sir? You are obviously on line so please tell us how much of our money you are "earning."

Anonymous said...

As a district rep from Brooklyn I teach one period a day, so don't think I don't work for my hundred 20 thousand a year.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Unity I have one question: Who is Sal the Barber? The other people from ICE-TJC you listed by name. It is an impressive list of trade unionists who do union work for the right reasons, to help the members, not for an extra salary and double pension. It is a point of honor that you spend so much time worrying about what ICE and TJC are doing.

Anonymous said...

Sal the barber is another hack who posts here, just like all of the rest on the list.

Anonymous said...

Still no name Mr. Unity? Who is Sal the Barber?

Anonymous said...

Read the post above yours. He's a hack that occassionally posts here. He posts as if he was an internet mafia tough guy writing dumb things like "maybe me and the boys should pay Randi a visit".

He hasn't posted in a little while, maybe he's swimming with the fishes.

Anonymous said...

Sal "the barber" Maglie

Maglie was one of the lesser-known players barred from organized baseball in 1946 by Commissioner Chandler for jumping to the Mexican League, but he became the most successful returnee when the suspension was lifted. In 1950, he went 18-4 for the Giants and led the NL in winning percentage. His 23-6 mark the next year helped New York to the pennant won in a playoff on Bobby Thomson's home run.

Although he had an ever-present "five o'clock shadow," Maglie was called "The Barber" for his practice of throwing close to (shaving) the batter's chin. "When I'm pitching," he explained, "I own the plate."

A back ailment reduced Maglie's effectiveness in 1955. He was waived to Cleveland and eventually the Dodgers picked him up for $1,000 in mid-1956. He pitched magnificently down the stretch to help the Dodgers to a pennant, going 13-5 and pitching a no-hitter on September 25, in a key game against the Phillies.

Anonymous said...

July 1 meeting?


Either its a massive apartment capable of hosting the hundreds of thousands of ICE supporters

OR

The few loyalists fit in the 350 sq ft apt.

July 1 . . .

Make sure you have some ICE on hand . . .

Anonymous said...

ICE people will be there on their own time. UFT members should at least acknowledge that they do what they do because it's right, not to get a second salary or double pension.