Remember the New York State United Teachers election this past spring. The first promise made in the campaign literature of Revive NYSUT, the victorious but now defunct caucus, was that they were against Common Core.
As NYC Educator reported last week, that pledge has been openly broken by the recently elected NYSUT President Karen Magee.
Here is part of her floor speech at the AFT Convention taken from Education Week as she rose to support Common Core with minor revisions: "I pose the questions to you today: "If not standards, then what? A free-for-all? Everyone does what they please? No common base? No common method to look at what they're doing?" She goes on by adding how the implementation was botched but the Common Core is a real opportunity.
However, in her Revive election literature it stated point blank that her slate was "against Common Core."
Promise made-promise broken. That didn't take long.
Our friends in the Chicago Teachers Union had an AFT resolution to oppose the Common Core as these are not standards but a way to make money for corporate education privatizers by testing kids and teachers to death. The UFT dominated AFT defeated this resolution in committee. Funny how Magee backed the UFT position and abandoned her pledge on Common Core because her literature further declared, "We are not puppets of the UFT." Have they disagreed on anything of any substance yet?
Then again, maybe it's not so funny because she needed the guaranteed bloc of 34% of the votes that come from the UFT to be elected NYSUT President. Those voters were of course bound by caucus obligation to do as President Mulgrew and the other leaders of Unity Caucus told them to do so they voted for Revive.
They are also bound at the AFT Convention to do as Mulgrew tells them so they make up a huge voting bloc in the national union too and thus supported Common Core.
Revive also claimed they were "against Cuomo." Anyone think NYSUT will support Zephyr Teachout in the Democratic primary for governor in September? I doubt it too.
Revive was against Gates funding too. Anyone believe they are pushing on that issue?
You get the idea.
These Mulgrew/Weingarten puppets are shameless!!!!
ReplyDelete"Flip Flop" is far too kind a term, James.
ReplyDeleteThese people are brazen, pathological liars, who never for an instant had any intention of following up on their campaign "promises."
They need to be called on it as much as possible when they go back on their word.
ReplyDeleteIt's our fault for voting them in over and over again. Where was any viable opposition to Weingarten at the AFT?
ReplyDeleteHere in B-lo our regional NYSUT director feigned outrage with Cuomo then hedged it by saying he couldn't support Zephyr T because it might "hurt Kathy Hochul. I guess the fact that KH is Cuomo's running mate was something he expected us to overlook? MYSUT's revive slugs long to slither into bed with Cuomo. They can't hide it. http://b-loedscene.blogspot.com/2014/06/btf-and-nysut-play-both-ends-against.html?m=1
ReplyDeleteThere is no way to explain Phillip Ramore. That's all there is to say.
ReplyDeleteYou mean this literature? Wait until they endorse Cuomo.
ReplyDeleteNYSUT Revive literature https://www.dropbox.com/s/gjk6f0nkzlj9q8t/20140405_160301.jpg
If you believe that anyone except Randi and her boys make these endorsement decisions, then I have a bridge to sell you.
ReplyDeleteI guess it's not much of a stretch to grasp how Randi and RandiMike are so cozy with plutocrats. Their management styles are exactly alike.
ReplyDeleteAnd they are in the same income tax bracket as the elite. We are fools to them. We make easy for them by voting them in each time.
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DeleteIt is absurd to me that the very kind of stand off" block voting" that has been crippling our congress has crippled NYSUT! Shame on us! The UFT members really should rethink their "caucus obligation" voting,we all knew that McGee was in Cuomo's pocket yet she was elected anyway. . If we really wanted to see the right thing happen for kids and teachers our rally of support should be for Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch!!! OR a grass roots working teacher who is not afraid to tell the truth and call it as we all really see it,like Beth Dimino!
Hell will freeze over before UFT Delegates give up their lousy perks. Sad but true. Non NYC must unite to overwhelm UFT. Only hope for a better tomorrow.
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