For those who want to witness pseudo-democracy live, the dates of the UFT's Executive Board and Delegate Assembly meetings are listed below. UFT members can attend as observers.
The dinners at the Executive Board are traditionally quite tasty. (The food at the Brooklyn UFT is excellent if a meeting is moved over to that borough.) The Executive Board meetings start at 6:00 pm and are usually held at 52 Broadway in Manhattan. UFT members can speak once a term during the open mic period for from 1-10 minutes before meetings start but don't expect much reaction.
Since there are 7 non-Unity Caucus (Michael Mulgrew's faction of the UFT) endorsed candidates on the 102 member Executive Board for the first time since 2007, the meetings might actually be somewhat interesting.
The DA is the highest policy-making body in the UFT according to the UFT Constitution but the Department of Labor ruled last year that they don't make much policy. Voting is done by raising voting cards.
The best parts of the DA are when something logical like not supporting Andrew Cuomo's reelection comes up and Unity Caucus members are forced to obey their loyalty oath and oppose the motion because the leadership has not approved an anti-Cuomo motion. Many of the Unity Delegates barely raise their cards on these issues. One Unity Chapter Leader told me he just looks up to see how the Staff Director (head of Unity Caucus) votes and he follows.
We thank newly elected Executive Board member Mike Schirtzer from MORE for sending out this list of dates.
Executive Board Dates Delegate Assembly Dates
All on Mondays All on Wednesdays
September 19, 26 September 14 (Citywide Chapter Leaders)
October 17, 24 October 19
November 14, 28 November 9
December 5, 19 December 14
January (2017) 9, 23 January 11
February 6, 27 February 8
March 13, 27 March 22
April 3, 24 April 19
May 8, 22 May 10
June 5, 19 June 14
39 comments:
The best part of going to Del Ass is socializing with all our friends and sometimes hanging out for a bite or beer after. I believe the MORE/New Action Ex Bd members will try to meet up an hour before the Ex Bd meetings to coordinate on issues they might raise.
They don't have to meet. Jia can just email them what they need to do. It will save time and they won't have to pretend that they want "diversity of opinion".
Can't wait to see the "independent" non-oath taking caucus all vote the same way every time on every issue, just like UCORE at the AFT. I'm sure NAC will also cross support your agenda as was the "deal".
Anonymous... You clearly don't know who/what UCORE is which is sorta funny considering the "know it all" tone you tend to have on your comments.
Ok Brian. Tell us since you "know it all" about UCORE. The UCORE folks from Chicago voted at AFT identically. They also supported every resolution of the progressive caucus (which Unity is a part of). Norm Scott documented this extensively. Considering that, it is entirely reasonable to assume that the HS exec board members will vote as a group, en masse, as a political block. You try to perpetuate a myth of bottom up democracy and diversity of opinion. The truth is that the MORE caucus will pressure them to vote uniformly. And if MORE ever got real power they would operate like an establishment party. For the moment they only have exec board seats. But they won it as an opposition caucus so they deserve a name. Let's call them The not-so Magnificent seven. I think that's fitting.
I see why Norm calls the reps in Unity slugs. Where is the bigot? He is much more entertaining talking about the troublemaker kids and welfare queens. At least I can chuckle on that stuff. Unity just gets me angry.
Angry? Sounds like you're upset because the "unity slug" is spot on. Anyway, enjoy your excellent dinner on my dime.
A hardened turd on the side of the road does more than Unity, and smells better too.
UCORE and CORE are not the same thing. The CTU delegates are from CORE. UCORE is a national network.
PLEASE check your 8/15 check. Dues went up again. Now over $58. I thought they went up when the top salary went up. There is no raise in August. Screwed again.
Please Brian, UCORE is the national movement behind CORE in CTU, UP in UTLA , MORE in NY and the caucuses in power in Boston, Portland and St. Paul among others. All of these locals' delegates voted the exact same way at AFT. Furthermore, they all belong to the same national caucus as UNITY and have their own members on the same slate. To hear you guys complain about UNITY voting in a block when your own national caucus does is hypocritical. Your so called "opposition" caucus who preaches complete individual independence will vote as a block both locally and nationally.Tell your followers how all UCORE(rank and file caucuses) voted for Randi, Michael and other UNITY candidates. Time to speak the truth.
I was on the UFT Executive Board for ten years. I never had to vote as New Action or later ICE-TJC wanted. No loyalty oath. I believe I was the only one who spoke against the 2002 contract if I recall correctly. I voted against it when NAC supported it. No repercussions for voting my conscience.
I don't believe any one of the caucuses you mentioned outside of NYC forces their caucus members to sign a statement saying that they would support the positions of the caucus in union and public forums as Unity-NYC compels in its membership obligations. Voting as a block because you all agree on something is a great deal different than voting as a block because your job or trip to convention depends on your loyalty to the Unity leadership. Are you telling me those Unity people all wanted to oppose my anti-Cuomo resolution at the DA in 2014? I don't think so.
A lot of people are saying that you are for decertification of the high schools. When did you decide that you wanted to be president of your own local?
PLEASE check your 8/15 check. Dues went up again. Now over $58. I thought they went up when the top salary went up. There is no raise in August. Screwed again.
So James, it is your position that every UCORE caucus votes the same way every time as a block because they all happen to agree, but UNITY only votes as a block because of a "Loyalty Oath"? That is a remarkable coincidence that conveniently "fits" what you and your comrades like to espouse. James, there is noway that even you can believe that. You do realize that all caucuses debate the issues before they come up for a vote? Do you think CTU or LATU is going to bring forth a resolution that only a few of their members are going to vote for? They would never get anything done. Of course they vote in a block. That's how it works. I'd be shocked if anyone from MORE brings up something at exec board and then have members of their own caucus speak against it. This is not amateur hour. By the way, have you seen a CTU convention delegate application? They require money and a lot of time spreading the CORE message, which I would assume is THE SAME MESSAGE. I'm shocked you don't know this stuff.
Also, I'd like to see you respond to other other poster who says you actually considered decertifying the HS's and starting your own even though MORE barely won and only with an alliance with NAC. You do know how that weakening the union and bringing it back to the "bad old days" of 1959 when we had zero rights, terrible work conditions and poverty level pay is especially dangerous and counterproductive in this age of anti-unionism. I hope you rethought that very irresponsible idea.
As the More hs vp candidate it can be said that you speak for the hs exec board members that were just elected. I have to assume that with the exception of J Halabi who contradicted you on the idea of decertification I have to assume that the other 6 members agree with you. If that is not the case I would like each one of the new hs exec board members to write on this blog what their position is. Is it your intention to advocate for positive change from your new positions, or are your intentions to dismantle the union we work so hard and fight for so passionately? Please respond to this urgent question on this irresponsible and dangerous radical idea; that was put forward by your hs vp candidate.
I would like to see Unity people disagree over any substantive issue at the DA. It would be healthy.
CTU'S House of Delegates has disagreements and people to my knowledge are not asked to leave CORE because they vote against Karen Lewis on this or that issue.
ICE blog is my opinions and Jeff's when he writes. That does not represent MORE. Never did.
We are after all the Independent Community of Educators. Come to a MORE meeting. The ICE people often do not vote as a block.
Anon 10:13 still likes to call people names when he knows the truth about the failure of liberalism. I think your mommy is calling you.
Dear Unity Slug(s)
Read my response to your distorted comments:
Unity Caucus Slugs Go Ballistic Defending Their Loyalty Oath
http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2016/08/unity-caucus-slugs-go-ballistic.html
As to the MORE HS Ex Bd reps - Artur Goldstein is free to do what he wants on the Ex bd and if you know him you know he will. If MORE as an org decides to put something on the agenda unless he strongly disagrees he will support it. And you already know the vote - every Unity will be opposed even if all we called for was a motion on pasteurized milk. As to the other 4 MORE people they are all free to act as they wish -- but of course if you were running with MORE you basically agree with the overall direction or else why run? Ulike Unity where people tell me all the time they agree with me but don't want to lose those Unity perks.
MORE's perks are -- hmmmm, give me some time.
Jeez Norm, you are sounding more and more desperate now that you have been outed. At least you aren't cursing me like on your blog. Let me see:
1. MORE will vote as a block because they have discussed the issues first.
2. MORE Exec board members will be deciding what to support and bring it up an hour before the meeting...sounds like the rank and file will not be privy.
3. CTU and other UCORE(rank and file caucuses) belong to the same national caucus as UNITY and vote for the same people.
4. Members of MORE want to decertify the HS teachers and start there own Union.
5. You and MORE feel teachers are the only school employees who have difficult jobs. Paras and support staff really don't count.
6. Other cities where UCORE(MORE) have gained control are now running the union as a top down organization.
7. You rail against perks, but I have yet to see any new MORE/NAC exec board member state they will refuse the food being served at exec board. In fact you guys have called it yummy.
8. Have a nice day!
Unity person is getting a little out there lately. I will respond to some of the points.
On Point Number 2, a Unity trick is often to throw stuff out there right before a meeting at the last minute so opposition does not have time to discuss it with the rank and file. Representatives meeting beforehand allows people to discuss such an issue. When I was on the Executive Board, we sometimes didn't agree and did not vote as a New Action or ICE-TJC block on the last minute issues Randi raised or other issues. Look it up. Nobody was thrown out because they dissented.
On Point 3, CORE and UTLA are not opposing Randi. I get it. To me it is similar to the deal New Action made with Randi in 2003 not to oppose her and then endorsing her the next election. Randi is a very capable politician. I do not support any of these deals and don't want to emulate them. However, it doesn't mean I now oppose everything CTU or UTLA does or anything New Action did between 2003 and last year when they finally broke with Unity. You see I have a mind of my own.
Point 5 is a straw man argument. You set up a position that none of us ever took on non teachers not having difficult jobs so you can attribute it to us and shoot it down. That is a quintessential argument technique when you have no decent point to make.
To respond to point 6, I need to know your definition of top-down. If you mean rigged where retirees, who an opposition could not possibly campaign to personally which you must to win elections, vote for president then you have a Unity electoral system and I will oppose it as inherently undemocratic. I would favor retirees having their own VP who they exclusively vote for.
Also, when Unity does lose, you change the rules. See high school vp after Shulman won and District Representatives after Tom Dromgoole followed Bruce Markens for examples.
On point 7, any UFT member can show up at an Executive Board meeting and eat. It is hardly a perk.
On 8, you too have a nice day.
I guarantee you one thing: Here and at Ed Notes you can have a full debate and almost all comments are ok even if they are pro-Unity. A least concede you will never see anything like that on any Unity or UFT forum. Look what happened to Edwise.
One more point: Were you around in 2003 when Randi changed the rules so District Representatives were appointed not elected? I remember a very good Unity rep named Sal Capella who was totally against the move demanded for it to be discussed and voted on by the DA. He was asked to leave Unity for his heresy. A quality rep was forced out because he dared to disagree with Randi. Unity's corporate like style of governance is part of why we are in the difficult state we are in these days. It breeds careerists more than trade unionists.
Straw man argument that "none of us ever took on"? Right from Norm's blog:
"And 27% of functionals who are not as pressured for the most part as much as teachers." He goes in to defend his position:
"That's my opinion not my caucus. Paras and secretaries are a different category. Lower paid with not as much job security. If you think tracers have less presSure than you do become a teacher"
Guess you had no idea he posted this. I would expect you guys to support SRP's since they are a very important part of our union. The ones I know work very hard and do a wonderful job.
I'll take any insult from you as a complement. I fundamentally disagree with you and your caucusmates. Your ideas are flawed, your role models are hypocrites, and your friends have radical, and dangerous ideas that will hurt many, many people.
I hate your dangerous ideas that threaten my double pension and convention trips. I had a great time in Minneapolis staying at that fancy hotel and eating all those meals paid for by your dues.
Unity slug - tell us how you support all those out of classroom people like secretaries and paras who get screwed every day.
Hey Sherlock, Norm has said that classroom teachers with full loads have the toughest job in the system forever. Didn't Norm say it was his opinion not the caucus - yet you say "You and MORE feel teachers are the only school employees who have difficult jobs." You are a lying Unity slug.
I stand by my straw man argument by just citing this quote above from you, "You and MORE feel teachers are the only school employees who have difficult jobs. Paras and support staff really don't count."
Norm didn't say paras and other non teachers don't count. He didn't say they don't have difficult jobs either. Just that they have less pressure which I don't agree with except to the extent that they are still rated under the old system and don't have to put up with Advance like most teachers do.
Go back on this blog or Ed Notes and search again for something else you can misapply. You might even be doing it on my dime.
I notice you didn't bother to point me to the Unity blog or UFT blog where we can have an open debate. Free speech must be one of those dangerous, radical ideas someone referred to.
From my earliest days in the school system going back to 1967 I recognized that the classroom teacher in elementary school had the most difficult job in the system. They are like the infantry in the trenches. Especially in high poverty schools. There was always a caste system in elementary schools. In and out of classroom teachers. The most senior teachers eventually gravitated out of the all day classroom job where we taught for 6 periods while the others did lunchroom duty - not a picnic but not teaching 30 kids all day, being responsible for paper work and discipline etc. The hours during free time and after school taking care of so many issues. I did that job for 17 years and eventually ended up a cluster teacher for 10 years - little paperwork, 45 minutes with a class and they were gone, etc. Most of the other support positions, while not easy, often dealt with small groups or even one child. Some had paperwork etc. Paras were often treated like crap - with less protection than teachers which the UFT/Unity slugs allowed to happen. They weren't supposed to do lunch duty but principals ignored that. So I appreciate paras who are in a more precarious position in terms of job security compared to tenure teachers. But they were never in charge of a class unless the rules were broken. Only people who teach full loads fully understand the responsibility especially after ed deform went after teachers with a target on their backs. Naturally I don't expect a Unity slug with a job in the union - someone who ran from that job, to understand. Today paras and secretaries are taken advantage of all the time which the Unity led UFT has allowed. So the claim by the slug he supports them is bogus. And let me add that when Klein did away with the ed evaluators entirely in 2008 the UFT did nothing. And when they outsourced so many other functional chapter jobs we heard barely a peep.
I guess that about wraps up that debate. Unity trounced again.
Gee Norm, you sound like an angry person who really seems to have disliked his job. I guess you've been out of it long enough to not understand what is actually going on. Paraprofessionals at one time were paid by the hour, punched the time clock, had no career ladder and weren't even part of TRS. All of those things have been corrected. This past year the UFT won a UI grievance where para professionals are not summarily suspended for an outside arrest anymore. There is a mechanism in place to have them back at work the next day depending on the charges. The UFT has also added a Lead paraprofessional position for this year. Is everything perfect? No, but progress has been made and will continue to be made. The UFT Also won a UI grievance for secretaries a few years back, making sure that only secretaries can do secretarial work, thereby saving jobs and strengthening the profession. Additionally, the secretarial hiring freeze has been lifted and I am happy to say many new secretaries have been hired in the last 2 years. Do you think this was done by magic? It was a concerted effort by many to get this Accomplished. Then again it is easier to sit on the sidelines and ignorantly complain while others do the grunt work.
In terms of elementary schools, the vast majority I'm aware of teach 5 periods a day with a prep and a lunch. Most teachers at all levels that teach 6 periods a day do so voluntarily and get paid for teaching the extra period.
Elementary school teachers get a prep and lunch and teach the rest of the day. That is 6 periods. When there is an investigation paras don't get paid during the investigation. No rubber rooms for them. Since you haven't been teaching for a while you may not be aware. Why don't you share your "teaching" experience.
Unlike you I actually spent 30 years in the classroom and loved it and never ran out for a union job. Too much pressure for you?
Please Unity troll try another line of attack when you clearly have no case to make. Bringing up gains that were made by paras and secretaries, some many years ago, that have very little to do with actual contractual violations that take place all the time in actual schools is taking the discussion to a different place.
So paras aren't abused? They are all working as they are supposed to be in the classroom? Some evidence please. Every kid's IEP that says there should be a para assigned to that student is being followed? Ok, is this the progress you are talking about?
The Union initiated grievance on secretaries we were a part of at Jamaica. I did plenty of grunt work. The evidence sits in my basement in a file folder to this day. We provided evidence on so many violations where non-secretaries were doing secretarial work it was ridiculous and we had documentation from the secretaries on each one of them. The principal continually lied that the secretaries were supervising the school aides. This was all done on a speaker phone with the principal and me at Jamaica. The arbitrator was downtown with the UFT and DOE.
As the principal was lying through his teeth, I repeatedly made the simple request that the secretaries, who were willing and able, be allowed to come in and refute the numerous lies that were being told. Arbitrator Arthur Riegal (I am probably spelling his name wrong) just said no, no, no. UFT's Howard Solomon did support my requests. The arbitrator of course split the baby (gotta keep the Board of Ed happy to stay on the panel and keep the big bucks coming in) and conceded on a number of violations while ignoring some of the most egregious ones. There is a Jamaica specific case which has never been resolved and I believe is still pending.
People at the UFT Grievance Department have admitted to me that few secretaries come forward to grieve that others are doing their job but we all know it goes on all over the school system. I believe it is worse since many of the big high schools have been destroyed in most boroughs which the UFT played a huge part in (see retired UFT District Rep Lynne Winderbaum's pieces on Jonathan Halabi's blog for proof).
If you want to paint this picture that working conditions are improving in the actual schools for paras and secretaries because of the UFT by addressing UFT victories, some of which go back decades, go make it elsewhere. I acknowledge gains have been made for paras on wages, TRS and a career ladder which we encouraged paras to use at Jamaica. As for day-in-day-out working conditions, no way. The people who read this blog can see through the Unity spin and know better.
Working conditions in many of the schools have worsened since the giveaway 2005 contract for all UFT members. The UFT agreed to give the Principals almost unlimited power and has not been successful reigning them in even under your friend Carmen Farina. Paras and secretaries are used as principals want in many schools. The contract is a useless scrap of paper in many instances.
As stated before many elementary schools run on a 7 period day which means they reach only 5 periods. JHS and HS do not teach 6 periods unless they get paid to do it. To Norm, what makes you think I haven't spent at least 25 years in the classroom? I have. James, If paras aren't doing the work they are supposed to and the students are not getting the services they are supposed to get according to the IEP, then a special Ed complaint should be filed. The same goes with secretaries. They need to file a grievance. That is the mechanism in the contract. Members need to use the tools bailable to them. That's how it works. . Not all paras who are investigated are removed, It depends on the allegation and I noticed you skipped over the new process of making sure paras are not suspended for certain types of outside arrests. Big victory.
This last comment from Unity is so condescending. It is now up to the mercy of the DOE if an arrested para gets fired.I am jumping for joy at that win. You don't get it or you don't want to get it on the other stuff. Nobody files grievances in small schools. ATRs who travel know what's up. The IEPs are just changed. Paras won't call for monitors. They are too scared and no they will not be backed up by the UFT. We all know it. I know of a secretary who filed a workload dispute. It sat there and then the principal retaliated by making the person's life hell. Go to the union for what: a swift kick in the arse.
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