The ICEBLOG wishes all of you a Merry Christmas and for those who don't celebrate a great holiday season. I am waiting for my kids to wake up and for the chaos to begin as they open their gifts.
Christmas morning is truly one of the joyful moments of parenthood. Since my kids are eight and three, this is one of the best mornings of the year.
I'm having a difficult time this morning thinking about the school wars and the uncertain times ahead with the Janus Supreme Court decision coming in 2018. The Court in all likelihood will make the public sector a place where union dues are optional throughout the United States based on free speech grounds.
We now know that oral arguments in Janus will be held on February 26, 2018. The unions should lose the case within a few months after that.
The question now is how will the public sector unions survive after the decision? Judging from comments here, many UFT members would say bye, bye UFT if, or should I say when, given the opportunity.
We need a union folks, as much now as ever. I understand that people despise our union's leaders but for a look at what life in the United States is like without unions, please read this piece in the Washington Post which basically describes the present and future of our country without pensions.
The unions in New York State came together and preserved our pensions this year in November by convincing a huge majority of voters to reject by a huge margin a constitutional convention that could have put our pensions at risk. If we can harness that energy in 2018, maybe we can actually revitalize the union movement.
That's enough for today as the kids are about to wake up so enjoy the day.
I can’t but always to feel your calls to support the union are self serving. How’d you like to climb the ranks of the opposition? Or get a job outside the classroom pulling in six-figures to do nothing? Or simply need us other members to seal your pension and protect you?
ReplyDeleteAs someone on Tier 6, with all that entails, let me say, how dare you! I will never make it to 63...even as I pay 5.75% of my paycheck, which was smaller than yours to begin with, every week and get observed daily. Your the generation of teachers who allowed it all to be lost, don’t expect any help from us younger teachers! We’ve grownup knowing there’s no longer a pension, no longer any quality in the job, and we are not staying. I finished my occupational therapy degree, got certified, and must work 5 more months. I’ve had offers already at a rehab and hospital.
Do not expect or ask us for anything!
Bah humbug!
DeleteTier VI is superior to anything the private sector offers. You are either a Troll or an ignoramus.
Without Unions, your wages and benefits will stagnate. Unions help to set the bar for ALL workers.
Be careful what you wish for. You may surely get it.
7:34,You need to read some of what we have written about how impossible winning a UFT election is to see how absurd the line is about rising up the opposition is. All being at the top means is more frustration.
DeleteFor the record, I opposed Tier 6 and fought every give back the UFT subjected us to. All the more reason why we need real unions not afraid to strike if necessary.
Climb the ranks of the opposition? You must be smoking some real bad shit.
ReplyDeleteALBANY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) — When her baby boy is born in March, Kim Lyons will have an added worry. The child needs surgery to remove extra fingers and toes. But she’ll also have an extra safety net.
ReplyDeleteUnder New York’s new paid family leave law, billed as the nation’s most generous, she will be able to take eight weeks off from work at half her regular pay.
“I’m so grateful that I’ll be able to take more time to spend with my newborn,” said Lyons, who lives in Highland in the Hudson Valley. The baby’s father will qualify for paid time-off, too.
On Jan. 1, New York will join California, New Jersey and Rhode Island in requiring employers to give workers paid leave to bond with a baby, care for a close relative with a serious illness or help loved ones during a family member’s military deployment.
The new benefits, which apply to 6.4 million private-sector workers, will phase in over four years.
In 2018, employees can take up to eight weeks of paid leave and receive 50 percent of their average wage, up to a cap weekly cap of $652. When the phase-in is complete in 2021, they’ll be able to take up to 12 weeks at two-thirds of their average weekly wage.
“This is going to be life-changing, especially for low-wage workers,” said Nancy Rankin, of the Community Service Society, a group that advocates for low-income New Yorkers. “Those are the workers who have little or no savings, are in debt, are barely getting by. It’s a real crisis when they have a new child or ill family member.”
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, announced the paid leave legislation in his 2016 State of the State speech. He said he regretted not spending more time with his dying father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, and noted that many people don’t have that choice because they can’t afford to take time off from work.
I don't think anyone here is against unions. Many are against THIS union. The corrupt, inept, self-serving leadership(if you could even call it that)that has done nothing but contribute to the erosion of the quality of this job over the past 15 years.
ReplyDeleteThis union, with so many pulling down $100,000+ salaries FOR WHAT?? Just read the UFT payroll, its public information and its outrageous.
And the only way to squash this beast gorging on our dues is to let SCOTUS pull the plug on the feeding trough, and let those fat pigs starve. Those that have destroyed the once great UFT.
And it is likely that a new, smaller, more humble union will take its place. One that will earn its memberships trusts, respect and dues.
EXACTLY! The rest of the teacher unions around NYS actually fight for their members and it is worth paying dues to be a part of those unions. They all have 2 observations, the UFT asked for 4! And they want my dues money? I don't think so. The beast must die and be replaced with something that will give us a bang for our buck. We are not anti-union. We are anti-UFT.
ReplyDeleteThe leaderships fear of Janus is warranted, however, what many of the people working full time for the union (district, special reps) really fear and dread is the thought of going back into the classroom. There is a justice aspect when this takes place. Yes come September many of the folks who tout the union talking points will face the reality of the years of complicity taken by the leadership of the UFT. The CSA and department higher ups will pull out their "long knives" and parcel out the horrors of Danielson, 2005 contract, and the corrupt OLR against those who felt immune.
ReplyDeleteto the barricades
I might put off my retirement just to see these smug mfs back in the classroom.
DeleteI'm glad that the UFT full time folks are fearing going back to the classroom. They friggin' deserve the shitty treatment that we have been dealing with for the past 15 years. This fear is hopefully the magic button that will push them to get us a fair and reasonable contract. The witching hour is here. Janus will be decided by the end of the school year. The contract is up shortly after that. Put these two pieces together and you will either see a return to a sane teaching profession in NYC or we will see the demise of the UFT. (And the rise of a new union to take it's place) The ball is 100% in the hands of the current UFT right now. DON"T SELL US OUT AGAIN OR YOU WILL PAY THE PRICE!!!
ReplyDeleteThe so-called opposition is an even bigger joke than the UFT leadership.
ReplyDeleteThe only hope is for new leaders to arise out of the ashes. But once the non-union genie is out of the bottle it won't be so easy to form a new union. It takes people doing a lot of work to organize. So far there is precious little of that.
ReplyDeleteThis blog put out a call in October to see how much interest there is to organize to win a UFT election or to form a high school union. Both are difficult tasks that would require extraordinary commitment. The response for both has not exactly been overwhelming. It is up to all of you much more than me to save our profession. A few of us can't do this by ourselves.
DeleteWhat's going on with administrators and the CSA in regards to Janus? Are it's members wanting to pull from membership fees?
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I see most people pulling their dues just to save the money, not to make a statement, and nothing really changing. Mulgrew wins every election easily and teachers aren't going to strike or do the work to form another union. Maternity leave is the big topic now, not Danielson, abusive administrators or discipline which are the areas that affect every member. I'll stay in the union because I have no faith that there will be something better to replace it and I don't want to end up in a situation where non payers end up losing out later down the line on areas like pay increases. I'm also very fortunate to be in a good situation right now at my school, so it's not worth it for me to fight for the masses who are indifferent to what's going on around the city.
ReplyDeleteWell, I am pulling my dues to make a big statement. I am sick of the treatment that the UFT has shown me over the past 15 or so years. Teacher morale is in the gutter right now and it is 100% the fault of the UFT. I got called in for a principals investigation for verbal abuse. I called the UFT and asked for a rep. NOTHING, no return call or anything. They want my money? Well guess what, they ain't getting it after Janus. Constant Danielson drivebys 4 times a year when everyone else in NY gets 2. No more seniority transfers. No more grieving letters to file. All of this is the fault of the UFT. They gave away the farm to the DOE. The UFT needs to go. It needs Janus to implode and then from the rubble, something better can start. Yes it is risky, but it is needed if this profession is to thrive again.
ReplyDelete9:12, How is something better going to start without people like yourself and 10:47 involved? Union movements do not happen by osmosis.
ReplyDeleteIt is going to start by people like me pulling our dues. The UFT needs to bleed so the higher ups finally get the signal that they can no longer eat caviar on our dime while we suffer in the trenches of NYC schools. The beast must first be chopped down. That is the first step. If the beast does not work in our favor, it must die. Once it is dead, we start over. If people do not pull dues the UFT will no doubt continue to screw all of us over. Make no mistake, the UFT is concerned with one thing and that is protecting the UFT jobs of those who work at 52 Broadway and the district offices. They could care less about anything else. Once they see that their cushy UFT jobs are finally at stake, they may realize that the days of being comfy with the DOE are over and they must actually take a stand in our behalf. This is a watershed moment. The rank and fils finally have a chance to show some muscle toward the very union that has been screwing us for so many years. The new contract will be the make or break event that will cause the UFT to either wither away or once again become the great union that it once was. There is absolutely no excuse if the UFT can't improve our working conditions. (A big raise is not as much of a concern to I and many others as much as fixing our working conditions are) We will most likely continue to see step and longevity increases even without a fat raise.
ReplyDeleteThe solution is to use the legal system. If either the uft or doe violates your rights, contract, regs, law, get a lawyer.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that the approach both of them use? Yes. Both the UFT and DOE have 200 lawyers in their payrolls.
Give them a dose of their own medicine.
Class action cases get 3 gold stars.
The UFT will soon be losing millions in revenue. Nothing will stop it. Not Dues Captains, nothing.
ReplyDeleteWhy did Randi Weingarten and Michael Mulgrew support public education and teacher-bashing initiatives all these years? Bribes? Blackmail? Both? Who's been resigning from office or CEO positions, "stepping down", not seeking re-election? What are the reasons? What are the REAL reasons?
I believe the UFT will go down in flames as the corruption in government and corporate America becomes more and more exposed. The UFT somehow became entangled in the same corruption plaguing both parties. With the arrest of the Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal in Saudi Arabia, the money to our elected officials has been cut off. How does that impact union officials? The upcoming year should be interesting...
What's the saying? Light is the best disinfectant.
UFT is totally going to go down in flames. The irony is that they are not really seeming to sweat it right now. Yeah, they are going to knock on some doors and try to get volunteers to convince teachers to pay dues, but they do not seem to have a sense of urgency. Janus court case starts in Feb. Decision will be around Mar or June. UFT expects about 30% of teachers are gonna stop paying dues. I say it will be around 40%. Thus, they are mere months away from being wiped out in half. Contract negotiations are going to start soon. The UFT should be telling the rank and file that they are gonna bust heads with the City to get us a good contract. If they don't, say bye bye UFT.
ReplyDeleteAnd union dues are no longer tax deductable
ReplyDeleteWow, I did not even notice that union dues are no longer tax deductible under the tax bill. Yep, the UFT is dead.
ReplyDelete2005 contract, No SENOIRITY Transfers and Danielson will do this Union in. Fuck ‘em, they deserve it
ReplyDeleteP.S. although I do not agree with your liberalism, I love your blog! Keep up the good work and the freedom of speech that Arthur Goldstein will not allow. God bless and Merry Christmas
ReplyDeleteThe UFT needs to:
ReplyDelete1) Give us ability to file grievances
2) Restore S/U evaluation system
3) Fight to remove abusive, incompetent & corrupt admins
Until then, they will lose MILLIONS in dues. There is absolutely NO incentive to keep paying them.
Cuomo is going to give the uft a waiver on Janus and force us to keep paying dues that's why meathead mikey isn't worried. The fix is in!
ReplyDeleteIf Cuomo gives UFT a waiver, there will be a lawsuit filed on the very day of that happening. I do not think there will be any waivers. However, I for one will be picketing in front of 52 Broadway if Cuomo tries to put a waiver in place.
ReplyDelete