Arthur Goldstein's Executive Board report reveals that the UFT Executive Board unanimously voted to endorse Mayor Bill de Blasio's reelection bid. It is a bit surprising that according to the report, the vote was unanimous and there is nothing about any Executive Board member questioning early de Blasio support when the mayor or people close to him might soon be indicted. There are two investigations going on. The NY Times reported on the federal investigation yesterday.
I don't know if the investigations entered into the Executive Board's discussion. Arthur paraphrases Staff Director Leroy Barr's reasoning for the UFT's de Blasio support:
Things are not perfect, but remember what it used to be like. As bad as things seem, we know it’s not as bad as it used to be. We have a lot of work to do.
So the union's reasoning, if I am understanding their position correctly, is that it is awful in the schools but it used to be really awful. Awful beats really awful any day of the week.
Under de Blasio, we accepted the subpar 2014 contract with its paltry salary increases and we loaned the city money interest free that most other city workers received from 2008-2010. We won't get back our money in full until 2020. We have healthcare cost increases. Absent Teacher Reserves are still treated horribly as they roam the system as substitutes. Even worse in my opinion is that many schools are run by abusive administrators who have made the job a nightmare for UFT members. The gottcha squad of DOE lawyers remains from former Mayor Michael Bloomberg's days.
My friend Marc Epstein put it this way:
De Blasio and Farina cemented Bloomberg/Klein into the DNA of the system. It’s too far gone, I’m afraid.
NYC teachers are generally not happy unless they are in a school where they are shielded from the DOE's unrelenting war on teachers.
Am I missing something? I do not favor supporting some pro-charter Republican or Democrat. Is "It could be worse" enough for us to support the mayor's reelection?
What's wrong with just staying neutral right now?
12 comments:
The stench of corruption is wafting in the air at UFT headquarters.
We also still DO NOT HAVE OUR PARKING PERMITS BACK!
DeBlasio isn't running the schools, Farina is. By endorsing him, we shouldn't be endorsing her. She's done a very poor job and is retiring in June. The UFT should have a say into who replaces her. Mulgrew loves her, but things are not better for those of us in schools- teachers, ATRs, paras, and most importantly students. There is very little learning going on. There seems to be an emphasis and the onus is on adults, while students are being bullied, assaulted, and allowed to do whatever they want. I have to tell students to put their cellphones away twenty times in a half hour, I constantly smell grass in the hallways, I won't walk the staircases because of dice games and sex, they closed the teacher cafeteria, some are constantly being observed, and the chapter leader reports everything that's told to him directly to the principal. And yes I've called the Bronx UFT after school and the phone just keeps ringing. It seems they are fully staffed when everyone is at school. When the schools are dismissed they all scatter home.
There's mayoral control. DeBlasio appointed Farina. Who do we blame?
It's sad because it seems as if they are just endorsing him out of hand. This goes along with the "Anyone But..." rhetoric. When you choose someone not because they are doing a great job but because they are not as bad, that's a problem. Comparatively speaking, things haven't gotten better. They've only gotten worse.
This is more on Farina, but mostly on Bill since he chooses who runs the school and everything has to go through him. Don't forget that most of you have to deal more with cellphones because of his son. Although really, that's more a school issue, but when incompetent people are allowed to rise to high positions (See: Devos) these kinds of things happen.
I had assumed that, short of being indicted, De Blasio would be re-elected since "You can't beat somebody with nobody." However, now that he's been endorsed by the UFT, it's clear that he's a goner.
And now, atrs are force placed. Keeps getting worse...
And an endorsement with no contact extension to right some of the wrongs of the last contract, you know, it could maybe include a cost of living increase...
2 OBSERVATIONS and get us our parking permits back! This would cost NYC literally nothing but would pretty much guarantee every teacher voting for DeBlasio.
Kiss of Death endorsement.
See anti de Blasio UFT Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/nothappywithbill/
To 5:04-
How immature.
As stated, we will get what we deserve, Trump, Gorsuch, Devos...The uft will never learn, and we will continue to be stupid and accept it. The new rule will be a teaching career is 5 years, no medical, no pension...
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