Wednesday, December 06, 2017

LIVE BLOGGING FROM DECEMBER DA

Wednesday, December 6 is the Delegate Assembly. All apologies for errors on not so smartphone. I did edit a bit at home.

Mulgrew Report
Moment of silence for two members who recently passed.

Federal
Randi arrested for civil disobedience for protesting DACA.

Tax bill which will likely pass will be the biggest transfer of wealth to rich. Tax credits for buying yachts in the bill but cuts to children's healthcare. Enemies want smallest government possible. Enemies think we are all selfish and greedy but we did not get into this profession based on selfishness and greed. We will go after anyone politically who tries to destroy us.

State
January state budget time. State will adjust budget based on federal issues. We will see what governor will do. State must still submit an ESSA plan. Close to new set of standards. Regents have 3 year plan. Educate, build curriculum, train teachers. Well thought out plan. We are doing it right this time.

Tenure case
City and state working with us. Opponents arguing that Legislature should make it more difficult to get tenure.

Citywide
Consultations have angered CSA. CSA newsletter says principals can violate UFT contract. UFT paperwork document being showed to principals. We are arguing some paperwork demands are stupid.

DC37 started bargaining for next round of contracts. Federal tax plan will lead to huge cuts at state and city levels.  We set pattern for last round. We got contractual back pay from Bloomberg years. PBA also negotiating. State pattern is around 2%. 300-350 person UFT Negotiating Committee being formed. More than enough people want to be on it. We will meet in January.

CTLE
UFT is willing to help DOE do this.  DOE is working with us on PD hours.

Paid Parental Leave
We are talking to DOE and city on this. We know what cost is. We are not Seattle where this benefit was given for free by city. We are working on it and it is moving forward.

District 16 got chapter leader back in school. District 19 Superintendent brought under control by using consultation.

Janus
May or June is when decision is likely to come out. Use time to educate membership.

What will happen? Right wing has commercials in right to work states telling people they don't have to join union. (Mulgrew showed some of the anti union commercials.) Right will use wedge issues to divide us. Koch brothers people doing door knocking campaign. We are doing our door knocking campaign. Next phase is to have membership team to handle Janus issue in every work-site.

Right is saying to save dues money but it will cost us later when we are eating cat food. Membership committee should have one person for every ten members. Make sure it is representative of chapter. Paras, old and young should be on committee. Need to talk face to face. Are people saying no to union or are members not getting the information? It must be a group effort in every school to educate members. Opportunity in this process. Members will have to endure a lot of pain if right succeeds. Right thinks they have already won. We will protect our profession. They don't know what's coming.

Staff Director's Report
Leroy Barr gave some dates including next DA which will be January 17th.

Question Period
Question: Eva Moskowitz bemoaning lack of space. What can we do to pressure her?
Mulgrew answer: Her 100% success is actually 23% because of  attrition. Eva going to state legislature to get more colocated space. She has powerful friends in DC. We want charter schools accountable for entire cohorts like we are.

Q Lab specialist CL asks about IDC and regular Democrats getting back together?
A Mulgrew thinks deal will get done but Democrats are still a minority. Still have a Brooklyn senator sitting by himself with Republicans. We should have a chance of gaining seats next year.

Q Question about baby showers?
A We believe we should have paid parental leave. Must take unpaid leave or use CAR days for birth mothers to get time. All families who have a child should have time to bond with kid and recover from childbirth.  Important for adoptive parents too. It is not being selfish to want this. We will not get this for free. Another union could get it and set a pattern. It might cost us more. We want to do it quickly.

Q Evaluations, can we for next contract try to negotiate to have something besides Danielson to evaluate us?
A Yes.

Q Can we have commercials to counter anti-union commercials?
A We will do that as part of campaign.

Motion Period
Family leave motion raised by MORE calling for paid family leave without givebacks for next month's agenda.

Dan Lumpkin motivated it by saying that UFT has made progress from where we were before on this issue. Must do more. Need transparency in negotiations  Rumor mill is spreading misinformation. Need to hear about bargaining.  People should see what is going on.

Point of information: Have we ever had open negotiations?
Mulgrew Answer: Not that I know of.

Point of information: What is on the table now?
Mulgrew won't answer so questioner Mike Schirtzer turns it into a parliamentary inquiry.
Answer: Parliamentarian said it is not a parliamentary inquiry. I asked about it being a point of information and made a point of order to that effect. Mulgrew answered by admitting he was out of order but we don't do negotiations in public because it would be used against us. (He answered Mike's question indirectly).

Resolution was voted down.

Special Order of Business
Resolution saying UFT opposes current Republican tax reform bills.
It passed unanimously after wording was put in that updated and clarified it.

That's all folks.




25 comments:

Anonymous said...

Namita Dwarka, Principal of Bryant HS Queens NY, is a lying....thieving....skank.

Anonymous said...

So, cat's out of the bag now. Mulgrew admitting that paid maternity leave will not be "free". Wonder what givebacks there will be? The Q and A says that we can be evaluated on something other than Danielson? What the hell are we missing here? Please elaborate.

Anonymous said...

On paid maternity leave: "We won't get this for free". Kinda of funny that Mulgrew was just harping a few weeks ago that we will not accept givebacks on paid leave. Typical two faced Mulgrew. Oh yeah, is there a link for us to read the CSA newsletter? I would like to read my enemies blueprint.

Anonymous said...

When Janus is decided in June , it will be a welcome start to stop paying union dues to an ineffective Unity Caucus. Cop, Firefighters, School Safety Agents, etc got their retro immediately and yet we must wait till 2020. CSA principals and assistant principals still get their 8.25% Fixed TDA while UFT members had their TDA reduced to 7%.UFT members have lost thousands of dollars by this change done 10 years ago. It makes sense to save our union dues knowing that our welfare fund benefits is funded by the city. June 2018 will be eventful.

Anonymous said...

2 Observations and Parking Permit Guy is baaaaaccck! I hereby am changing my name to 2 Observations and No Givebacks for Maternity Leave. I have no kids and am not planning on ever having any kids. I have nothing against the concept of paid maternity leave, but there MUST be no givebacks paid for on the backs of child free by choice teachers. Prospective teachers who want to be parents can create a pool within the UFT to fund it. Also, any new contract should obviously get rid of Danielson and have the NYS mandated 1 formal observation and 1 informal observation. I am on the fence about paying dues in a post Janus NYCDOE. My choice will hinge on what the UFT does in regard to maternity leave and fixing the observation system. I will end with this: I know tons of teachers at my school who have flat out said they are going to quit paying dues once Janus happens. As I mentioned, I am on the fence. I hope the UFT is reading these blogs carefully. (The door knocking campaign makes me think they are reading but that does not mean they are going to do anything that actually helps us) We shall see, we shall see!

Harris L. said...

1. Mulgrew already preparing us for the inevitable "Well, the City did have all that money for the four years since we surrendered our bargaining position on Day One of the 2014 round by accepting its assertion that it was about to go bankrupt. But this time, we will surrender our bargaining position on Day Minus One by accepting, right now, the City's assertion that the federal tax bill will really, honestly, this-time-for-sure bankrupt the City."

2. If the CSA really is pissed off then somebody, somewhere is doing something right.

Anonymous said...

It's starting already-we have to negotiate paid parental leave fast, before another union sets a pattern. It's reminiscent of we have to negotiate a contract fast, or we go to the bottom of the list.

Somebody posted on the UFT FB page that February break is on the table. I will impale myself on the nearest sharp object if that happens.

Anonymous said...

ATRs haven't received parking permits, or restroom keys and are observed constantly. I don't care about raises. All you nasty bitches care about are yourselves and that's why we are all fucked and we have a piece of shit union with a turd as president. Let everyone have maternity leave - who gives a fuck? You self centered assholes should do something for someone besides yourselves. 2 observerations and parking permit guy kiss my ass.

Anonymous said...

To Anonymous Dec 07 12:23: we are f*&%ed and have a turd of a uft president because of apathetic members who can't be bothered to vote in union elections not because of members like parking permit guy who want our union leadership to be accountable. You know who can kiss my behind? Selfish people who have children they can't afford and expect others to pay for. BTW I can live with being called a nasty bitch. It's better than being a name-calling coward who hides behind anonymity. Roseanne McCosh

Anonymous said...

Hey Anno 12:24: You can bite my ass! I have been teaching for over 20 years and I have dealt with so much bullshit that what I am asking for is fair and simple. You want to have a kid? Fine, you pay for it, not me. Nobody forces you to have a kid. As people are aware, givebacks such as loosing CAR days, to loosing Feb break, or a longer school day might happen to "pay" for maternity leave. Sorry to break it to you but that is not acceptable to I or thousands of other teachers. I agree with you that it is not about the money. I am NOT asking for a big raise like a lot of other teachers. I simply am asking for something that costs NOTHING and that is a fair observations system and a maternity leave system that is funded only by prospective parental teachers. Oh yeah, I have done a shit ton of work to help working teachers than you can even imagine. I have rallied dozens of teachers at my school over the year to vote for MORE in our elections and I have written numerous petitions to the DOE to help get us better working conditions. What have you done besides tell me to kiss your ass?

Anonymous said...

That's welfare at its best. Its our students, popping out one baby after another, as teens, with neither parent working, with the father moving on to the next girl, and the its the problem of the taxpayer.

Anonymous said...

Greedy? The topic of maternity leave makes everybody seem "greedy". Teachers don't want to have kids and don't want to pay for maternity leave are seen as greedy by those who want to have kids. Teachers who do want to have kids are seen as greedy by those teachers who are not having kids because the child free teachers would have to pay for a benefit that costs them in givebacks and or would provide a leave that they would never take. The only way that makes all of this work is that some type of collective buy in maternity leave needs to be put in place so only prospective teachers who want to have kids would fund it. That way teachers who want to have kids can get a paid leave but the leave would not entail givebacks to anyone. This plan seems so simple and I wonder why it is not being looked at. Lastly, if the UFT/DOE agree to secret deal that provides paid maternity leave by getting rid of a break or messing with the CAR, the fact is that teachers who are indeed child free are being punished for their lifestyle choice. This would be beyond disgusting. The UFT would be taking something away from these child free teachers and you can bet your bottom dollar that they will take something from the the UFT. That thing will be their dues money in June.

Anonymous said...

Paid maternity leave is a misnomer! We will pay for it! The difference here is that the DOE and UFT will dictate how it is paid for!

Given their track record I am worried!!!

Bettere for individuals to decide how they want to use their time and money on maternity leave!

More useless red tape is what I see ahead! Sounds nice on the surface but what is in the details?

Anonymous said...

Is it possible to have the teacher led PD sessions to count as observations?

Anonymous said...

It's ironic that 12:24 will probably stay with the union while most of you guys blasting him/ her will drop out. 12:24 is vulgar but does make a point. Selfishness has become the cloth of choice for today's society. Children should have their mothers present while their children are infants. The meanness exhibited by many is disgusting.

Francesco Portelos said...

Let's not let Family Leave become the be all end all of this contract. Don't fall into the trap with sponsored Facebook ads etc. by Unity that deters from many other matters.

There are many issues that we can remedy with this contract. The list and discussion is growing here uftcontract.com and UFT leadership is watching and should be taking notes.

-Francesco Portelos

Anonymous said...

Of all the shit the DOe and UFT give teachers, the observations from outsiders coming into schools to observe an atr is the lowest any scum organization can go toward its people. I mean sending some loser into a school to observe an atr teacher out of license class, kids they do not know, school they do not know, have to go to bathroom cause no bathroom key,,, i mean this is as low as one can go toward treating people. The more this shit goes on, the more the case of the people vs the doe will take place in the future as the evidence continues to mount. Take this from an attorney who has been monitoring this crap for years documenting the evidence for the trial of the century.

Anonymous said...

From CSA:

Paperwork Reduction
Please be advised of the following clarification that your superintendent may have already shared with you regarding DOE/UFT paperwork agreement:
Last year the DOE and UFT reached several resolutions regarding individual school issues under the Paperwork Standards. The UFT subsequently distributed a document summarizing last year’s resolutions. The only resolution that applies to all schools is the resolution regarding Other Professional Work – which was announced in the September 6 edition of Principals' Weekly. All other resolutions are non-precedental and do not apply to any other school.
If you have a paperwork complaint and the union is citing a prior resolution or distributing the UFT summary of resolutions to principals, please be advised that the prior resolution is not binding on your school and should only be considered as an example as a potential resolution; each resolution is school-specific and tailored to the program/needs of the school. Please contact your superintendent for clarification.
The DOE is committed to reducing redundant and excessive paperwork and below are a few highlights of the standards:
Schools may adopt only one school-based system for tracking student attendance (not including SESIS) in addition to the DOE source attendance system, except when expressly required by law/grant. Schools may select Skedula as the one system and require all staff to use Skedula.
Staff may be required to use Atlas or other comparable program, as well as create curriculum maps and other planning documents, as part of professional development work on Mondays or common planning time during professional activity assignments.
Lesson Plans may be collected and copied in a non-routinized manner and must be accessible to supervisors for review during observations (evaluative and non-evaluative).
Classroom bulletin boards are useful instructional tools. Bulletin boards should never be evaluated using a rubric and only in-room bulletin boards may be part of a teacher’s evaluation.
Educators and related service providers are not required to print collections or binders of documents that are available in electronic databases however educators may be required to maintain records of student progress in a manner that is organized and accessible for review, parent engagement, and professional conversations with supervisors.

Anonymous said...

Now all you need is the UFT to enforce it. Good luck with that. I agree with 12:24 wholeheartedly.
George LaPointe

waitingforsupport said...

Evidence...I know someone who has loads of documents for this trial of the century. Our hash tag can be #cannedforknowingtoomuch

Anonymous said...

MORE folks: can you please, please, explain what Mulgrew meant by observations can be something different? You mentioned that in your report. Was it a typo. We needs to know! Big thanks.

Anonymous said...

HEY UFT !!!!!


TWO NOT FOUR

TWO NOT FOUR

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TWO NOT FOUR

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TWO NOT FOUR

TWO NOT FOUR

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TWO NOT FOUR

TWO NOT FOUR

TWO NOT FOUR

TWO NOT FOUR



James Eterno said...

I clarified. Danielson can be part of negotiations.

Anonymous said...

What does that mean? Part of the negotiations? James, do the UFT honchoes have any clue of how pissed the rank and file are over the Danielson/4+ observations? The word is totally out now that all the districts surrounding us don't have to deal with this nonsense. Mulgrew admitted that it was the UFT that wanted more observations even though he lied at first and said it was the DOE that did. Please enlighten us.

James Eterno said...

I doubt if they care what we think. They probably think we are fairly naive so they can easily get us to buy ice in winter in Northern Alaska.