With the recent smearing by the New York Post of Alan Rosenfeld, a teacher assigned to the rubber room since Levy was Chancellor, the UFT has demonstrated, once again, it has abandoned any sense or responsibility of being a labor union and is content to cash our dues but afford no real protection to us.
As reported in Sunday and Monday's Post Rosenfeld was charged almost 10 years ago while teaching at IS 347 in Queens, a school which was sharing space with other schools in District 75. The allegations concerned statements that certain female students made about him that were considered lewd. Rosenfeld went through a 3020a hearing and the arbitrator threw out all of the allegations as not credible with the exception of one double hearsay statement relayed to the arbitrator in an investigator's memo.
The arbitrator found that Rosenfeld may have made the one student uncomfortable, dismissed the other allegations as not credible and refused to discipline him except for a one week suspension. Rosenfeld "served" his suspension by staying out of the rubber room for a week.
What was left out of the Post story was the fact that Rosenfeld, at the time of the allegations was supervising Teach for America teachers and had been provisionally appointed as an Assistant Principal. His promotion was blocked and it was decided, according to Klein in Monday's NY1 interview, that "he didn't belong back in the classroom."
So the story breaks in the Post and now the Chancellor and the Mayor team up to make Rosenfeld the poster child of what is wrong with the teacher termination process. The UFT remains silent.
Since Rosenfeld has been in the rubber room he has been instrumental in helping teachers in the rubber room get their jobs back and advising them how to proceed while the Union and NYSUT lawyers ignored them. Several years ago when ICE and TJC had elected members of the UFT Executive Board Rosenfeld was invited to speak to the Executive Board about teacher maltreatment by the DOE and neglect by the Union. Rosenfeld brought other rubber room teachers to address the Board and has continued to argue on behalf of them at most meetings.
You would think that a person who remains in the rubber room through no fault of their own; who regularly fights for and advises accused teachers; and is well known by Mulgrew and Howie Schorr and the UFT top brass would get some kind of help, some communication…a phone call, some defense in the media.
How does one teacher counter a concerted press, Mayor and Chancellor lynching?
Mulgrew..at least SAY SOMETHING........I guess your silence says it all.
I'm not surprised to see Jeff Kaufman rise to the occasion, as always, and say what must be said when an innocent man is attacked and his good name dragged through the mud.
ReplyDeleteBlessings on you Jeff, just as when you spoke up to a BBC Reporter I introduced you to at the Rally outside the Mayor's Mansion.
As soon as the Post smear story, hit the stands, you could almost hear the sound of people running as fast as they could to distance themeselves from Alan Rosenfeld, Esq., who has fought for fellow Teachers and UFT Members for decades.
I sat down Sunday afternoon and penned the following words:
COMMENT from DAVID PAKTER :
Mr. Rosenfeld, Esq. and I shared the same table in the Chapel Street "Rubber Room" for over a year. He is a brilliant man who has been crucified, vilified and slandered by the NY POST at the behest of the Educationally uncredentialed faux Chancellor Joel Klein, Esq, to distract the public's attention away from the failed policies and unbridled personal rampant corruption in the NYC Dept of Education.
I ended up in the "Rubber Room" because I obeyed Federal, State and City Laws that require the immediate Reporting of corruption and a long laundry list of behavior deemed illegal within the NYC schools system. In short I became a Whistle-blower. I am still battling the NYC Dept of Education to this day
Both I and attorney Rosenfeld are 64 years old and have both been in the schools system for over 40 years. In both our cases, our Pensions far exceed our contractual salaries. Indeed, in my case I am losing tens of thousands of dollars per year (after all taxes adjustments etc) by refusing to retire until my Lawsuits against the school system in US Federal Court are settled re Whistle-blower Retaliation that went on for 7 (seven years).
It should be a point of great interest that the NY POST does not mention that people such as myself and the horribly victimized Mr. Rosenfeld are collectively saving the City a significant amount of money by NOT retiring.
Saving the City money, NOT costing the City money.
CONTINUED BELOW
CONTINUED FROM ABOVE
ReplyDeletePeople tell me I am crazy NOT to retire but any person who has ever been criminally Railroaded and wronged understands why people such as Attorney Rosenfeld will not make Life easy for those who wronged us by disappearing meekly and quietly into the sunset. Why should we ?
I am represented in my Federal Lawsuits by the brilliant former Micro-biologist and US Supreme Court Qualified Attorney, Dr. Joy Hochstadt, Esq. of Manhattan.
I mention this fact because Dr. Hochstadt, Esq.,will appear on nationwide Television Wednesday morning, February 3 to defend Alan's good name against the malicious, vile attacks of vicious despicable people who are making Alan the convenient scapegoat du jour.
(Attorneys and /or Reporters may contact her at 212-580-9930 for further information)
I know all too well how Alan must be feeling at this time.
I was once an honored Teacher but
once I reported serious Federal Civil Rights violations in the NYC Dept of Education school system, the system came after me with a vengeance not observed in decades that borders on the Pathological.
I was proud to share a table with Alan Rosenfeld, Esq. at 110 Livingston till it was closed and I was proud to share a table at the Chapel Street Rubber Room for a year. I would be more than honored to do so again.
There is no shame on Alan that Klein's lackeys, stooges and lapdogs at the NY POST, on cue, decided to attack an innocent man to deflect attention away from Klein's massive and countless failures.
Any shame rests squarely at the feet of Klein and his willing confederates who have hijacked the NYC schools system and attemped to turn it into a "for profit" enterprise whilst proclaiming from their mealy mouthed lips that they just want to help the children of NYC.
From what I can observe the people of NYC have finally caught on to the twisted schemes and dark dreams of people who believe they are above the Law.
The growing momentum of the latest Lawsuits and the Universal support they are gathering gives reason to Hope.
As Abraham Lincoln so wisely said:
"You cannot fool all the People all the time".
The people are on the march and they, in their ever increasing numbers, have reached that precious plateau known as critical mass.
Nothing says this better than the fact that the Weather vane on top of 52 Broadway has finally turned in a new direction. I seems it took forever. But let us take heart. Better late than never-UFT.
Now step up to plate UFT, as Albert Shanker would have done half a Century ago, and proclaim loud and clear, so that none can doubt the meaning of the message:
"Harken to our words, you opportunistic parasites infesting the Tweed Courthouse, and listen well- An injury to even one UFT Member is an injury to ALL UFT Members. Hang those words in every chamber and marbled hall in that Courthouse you will soon be vacating- it cannot come too soon".
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Mr. Rosenfeld willingly interviewed with the newspaper. It is interesting that this becomes the union's fault. The cry from the rubber room is why is this guy the poster child for us. By the way, how do you know that calls have not been made or support has not been offered.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, the multimillionaire Rosenfeld lords over the rubber room, where he is the oldest and most veteran of 100 teachers.
ReplyDeleteThis guy is the ICE poster child...congrats
So it's clear Rosenfeld has never been interviewed by the newspaper. Why would anonymous try to spread this rumor is beyond me. My source for the statement that the union has not contacted Mr. Rosenfeld is Mr. Rosenfeld. Rather than question my source perhaps you should ask Howie Schorr or Mike Mulgrew why they have avoided him.
ReplyDeleteUnity flacks won't ask Schoor or Mulgrew anything. They might not let them go to the convention in Seattle on our dues.
ReplyDeleteWhat the media should ask is why they didn't offer AR a non teaching job where he could use his talents rather than leave him in the "rubber room"?
ReplyDeleteThe fault lies with Joel Klein for wasting money in a vain attempt to further punish a person the DOE does not like.
What the media should ask is why they didn't offer AR a non teaching job where he could use his talents rather than leave him in the "rubber room"?
ReplyDeleteThe fault lies with Joel Klein for wasting money in a vain attempt to further punish a person the DOE does not like.
I serve in same rubber room as Alan.
ReplyDeleteHe is a model jailhouse lawyer and tireless critic of Unity zombies at Ex. Bd. meetings. He's no Cary Grant, but he's no Howie Schoor either, for which we can all be grateful.
The city has willfully decided not to return him to the classroom and instead to leave him in the rubber room. This is not Mr Rosenfeld's fault...if anyone is to blame it is the folks who falsely accused him. And the system that decided not to return him to the school.
ReplyDeleteMulgrew was on NY1 tonight and stayed mum on Klein's swiftboat campaign v. Alan. Probably saving ammunition for a page 1 piece a The Teacher ... or a press conference on the steps of City Hall like the one that Randi promised me (but never delivered.)
ReplyDeletePhil, you are a quack. How does it feel to know that you will never be half the man that Howard Schoor is?
ReplyDeleteFor all his personal charms, Brooklyn Borough Rep Howie Schoor is a large disappointment as a union advocate. I apologize for the wisecrack. I should have provided evidence rather than sarcasm. So here goes.
ReplyDeleteLast October, I received a corrupt OSI report substantiating that I sent "racist" XMAS cards in '08 to four chapter members at Brooklyn's Cobble Hill School of American Studies, my pre-reassignment assignment. The absurd complaint came from the black Principal Kenneth Cuthbert most likely in retaliation for my blowing the whistle on his Dec. 3,'08 arson cover-up. In violation of City Law and the DOE's Safety Plan Cuthbert failed to call the FDNY about three blazing bulletin boards.
The supposedly "racist" cards were copied from a portfolio of Obama illustrations in The New Yorker, that Klan-ish rag which publishes Edwidge Dandicat and Skip Gates.
It was clear from the report that the OSI investigator tampered with the witnesses: e.g., one was disappeared and another substituted between my interview and the final report--without explanation.
The proof of the witness switcheroo was in the handwritten notes of Brooklyn Special Rep Arthur Solomon
who accompanied me to the interview. I asked Solomon for a copy of his notes. But he refused, saying that the notes were HIS property. I appealed to Howie, his
boss. Howie also said no. Why? The most I could squeeze out of him was "Arthur doesn't have to give you the notes."
Legally, Howie was correct, but solidarity-wise, it's scoundrel time. Denying me evidence of OSI hanky-panky--for no sensible reason --is a crime against union principle and more indication that the UFT colludes with Klein's cops against the interest of members.
And I'm a quack, Mr. Anonymous?
To the above that wrote Phil is a quack. Phil is not a quack; he is a racist loon.
ReplyDeleteI received one of his cards and it was disgusting. A lot of us in Chapel Street think that he caluclated and gave the cards to extend his stay here. Phil does not want to go back to the classroom. He is not in this job to help children. My understanding is that Phil was barely in the classroom long enough for anyone to consider him a real teacher. This is just a game to him. And a pay check.
I invite my anonymous rubber room colleague to describe the "disgusting" New Yorker-illustrated XMAS card that I allegedly sent him/her and explain why he/she never objected to me. How about we discuss your post on Monday and maybe you'll consider a retraction.
ReplyDeleteThe Principal's complaint about my "racist" Obama cards was so weak and philistine that it was initially rejected by CSI and SCI. Consequently, the investigation was left to him. But he neither interviewed me nor put a letter in my file.
Instead the Principal wrote me a
non-disciplinary Counseling Memorandum that failed to mention
the Obama illustrations or anything about race. Hmm.
Only AFTER I stymied him by grieving the memo on contractual grounds (it was past the 30-day deadline) did OSI jump in and the Principal's rhetoric escalate.
What does OSI have against me? Only that its previous Director was demoted, her Deputy fired, and an investigator forced to resign for substantiating my complaint about Regents tampering and cover-up at Cobble Hill.
OSI's report on the XMAS cards was so full of lies and factual errors designed to smear me that I persuaded High School Superintendent Linda Waite, who handed me the report, to investigate the Principal and OSI.
I'm still waiting to hear from her.
Conclusion: the cards were a tribute to our first mixed-race President and have nothing to do with my rubber room status. OSI merely referred its findings to the Principal who is powerless by contract to place anything in my file regarding the matter.
FYI: I taught social studies at Cobble Hill for six years (2001-07)and was twice elected Chapter Leader by a diverse membership. As for my race cred, apart from 30 years of agitation along the color line, I'll just mention that I brought the highest ranking black state official to the school in 2004. His name was Randy Daniels, then Gov. Pataki's Secretary of State. I wrote a prior three-part, investigative series on Daniels for the Brooklyn City Sun, a black newspaper now defunct. My pieces helped rehabilitate Daniel's political career.
"Racist loon"? That's a hard sell made easier by your anonymity, vague charges, and baseless speculation.
Anonymous is anonymous for a good reason. He's a lying rat. And Phil is exposing liars.
ReplyDeleteI also was at Chapel and for years witnessed not an iota of a hint of Nobile being a racist. To the contrary, he was -and is - a terrific fighter for all of our equal rights.
I am outraged that there is someone as despicable as Klein in our midst, serving the interests of our common villain.
How dare this rat say disparaging things about Nobile's character and teaching ability!
Unlike you, obvious anonymous, my name is here and I am not here to win a popularity contest with you, the DOE, the UFT, OSI, SCI, the Corpse Counsel, Klein, Bloomberg or whoever may come against me or retaliate!
Take that, idiot!
All that dues money for nothing. How much did we pay in 2009? Over a thousand?
ReplyDeleteHowie has been sitting as the Brooklyn, Borough Rep. for years. He never helped anybody when schools closed in Brooklyn. I wonder if he will ever help a teacher from the RR.
ReplyDeleteThe Post is hanging our members.
ReplyDeleteWHAT WILL THE UNITY HACKS UFT DO?
The following educators were legally cleared to return to the classroom after facing accusations of wrongdoing but remain idle in “rubber rooms” at the chancellor’s discretion, at a cost to taxpayers of millions.
ALAN ROSENFELD
Typing, IS 347, Queens
Got a wrist slap for making lewd comments. Since 2001, he has been overseeing a $7.8 million real-estate portfolio and his law practice in the rubber room.
Salary: $100,049
RADHARAMAN UPADHYAYA
Guidance counselor, Long Island City HS, Queens
Served a three-day suspension after he was accused of fondling a learning-disabled student at his home. A witness was found not credible. In a rubber room since 2003.
Salary: $102,852
ARYEH ELLER
Music, Hillcrest HS, Queens, Admitted making lewd comments, but an arbitrator said he was not informed of his rights. In a rubber room since 2003.
Salary: $85,426
WAYNE MILLER
Biology, Jamaica HS, Queens, In a rubber room since 2002, he was accused of sexually assaulting a child, but the alleged victim recanted the allegation, sources said.
Salary: $78,039
FRANCISCO OLIVARES
Math, IS 61, Queens, Allegedly impregnated and married a 16-year-old student. He allegedly sexually molested two 12-year-old pupils a decade later. In a rubber room since 2003.
Salary: $94,145
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/leazy_of_rubber_room_vJlavofm7uiZjmfrTAgTxM#ixzz0fi4vUJzM