Thursday, October 29, 2015

ATRS SHOULD TELL DEPARTMENT OF LABOR ABOUT NOT BEING ALLOWED TO VOTE IN UFT CHAPTER ELECTIONS

This message went out to Absent Teacher Reserves on email and was sent to the ATR Alliance on Facebook. Everyone who could not vote or run in chapter elections should come forward and tell the Department of Labor. If you have any questions or concerns, contact us at ICEUFT@gmail.com


Hi all-

Last week I met with Mr. Robert Rennard, an investigator from the federal Department of Labor, about our UFT Absent Teacher Reserve 2015 Chapter Election Complaint. Papers were filed officially on Thursday, October 22, 2015. The DOL is now conducting an investigation of the UFT chapter election procedures and needs actual ATRs to tell them about being disenfranchised in the UFT chapter elections.

If you sent us the name of the school you were assigned to on May 4, 201...5 along with your name because you were not allowed to vote in the chapter election or were not informed about the election or you were not allowed to run for chapter office, now is the time to provide the evidence to the investigators!

Mr. Rennard and his partner on the case, Ms. Jaclyn Nunez, can be reached at (646) 264-3190. They will ask you a bunch of questions about the school you were in on May 4 and how the chapter election was run. All you need to do is tell them the truth about how ATRs are treated as second class citizens who are denied representatives of our own choosing by our union. This really has very little, if anything, directly to do with the Department of Education.

If you didn't get your name and school to me before the complaint was filed, you can still call the Department of Labor to add your name and the school you were in on May 4 to the list if you were not allowed to vote in the chapter election, didn't know about the chapter election and/or could not run for chapter office.

I have done all that I can do to get this moving and now it's up to the ATRs to support the four of us who started this protest in April with the UFT, went then to the AFT and now have appealed to the federal government.

Regards,

James Eterno


5 comments:

Anonymous said...

James let file a real protest against the DOE and sue them for defamation. The practice of treating our atrs like shit is one great law suit and we all atrs should rake in millions....Forget about voting rights who cares...lets sue for discrimination against our livlihoods and treating atrs like second class people

Bronx ATR said...

Several of us called today. I got hold of Rennard. I asked what will happen if we win this complaint. He replied that whatever school we were in the week of May 7th, would become our home school for the purpose of elections and any union based activities. He added he is dealing with nothing outside this venue including ATR rights or lack thereof. Thank you for your efforts James.

James Eterno said...

Thanks for calling DOL Bronx ATR. We knew this would be an uphill fight when we started it and it is great to see ATRs getting on board. Let's take it as far as we can to put pressure on the UFT.

ed notes online said...

Is there any way enough ATRs can get together to hold a rally in front of 52 Broadway? We hear there are over a 1000 for sure -- imagine the impact of something like a rally in front of the UFT?
I think going to court is ok but without showing that ATRs are disturbed enough to take direct action the case is weakened.

Anonymous said...

Strangely enough, ATR Alliance can find ATRs email addresses and here we are trying to FIND ATRs. This doesn't make sense and seems pointless when ALL ATRs have access to their DOE emails. So how can ATR ALLIANCE find us, but WE can't get together for a rally or even a meeting with any UFT/DOE reps - this makes no sense and simply perpetuates the convoluted system that seemingly permeates the DOE/UFT'ers with complacency, as such BLOGGING, and not really getting a REAL LAWYER to fight like a "REBEL WITH A CAUSE."
It just gets redundant for pundits to keep putting platitudes out there but not really have any backing to solve any of these problems that are resoundingly happening to ATRs and/or any teacher who joins the DOE system and potentially not even reach tenure at the rate the DOE/UFT is going.
Mr. Eterno, to get some alliance for the DEPT of LABOR lawsuit, then YOU SHOULD BE OUT THERE like the ATR ALLIANCE and putting this information on ALL ATRs email - maybe their suspicions might be squelched because either YOU or UFT'ers who can be trusted are DOING WHAT THEY SAY and NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE!!!
If a LAWYER IS OUT THERE who can handle this WHOLE FIASCO - PLEASE PLEASE FIND ONE - because AGAIN NOT ONE wants to touch or come near the DOE!!!