Some highlights:
On union democracy:
If you’re committed to democratic unionism, you really have to be committed to that come hell or high water. When you take office and you have the opportunity to set agendas and chair meetings, the invitation is there to give yourself an excuse for things not being particularly democratic. Like, “I’m in charge, I got the best ideas.” It’s absolutely essential to, when making difficult decisions, especially when you’re under attack, to have as a grounding and a deep foundation that “this is about democracy.” I mean, we had a board that said “We’re a democratically elected board” — but until the transformation started by my election probably 80 percent of them ran uncontested. You still have to commit to “All right, that’s the board and that’s where we are.” Then let’s go out and deepen the democracy by having people run for seats. We’ve been able to do that really well, and we have all these contested elections now.
We have EDU candidates running against EDU candidates for board seats. That’s how much we’ve nurtured that. And, no matter what was happening at the board, the annual meeting of delegates was a much more vibrant, democratic space — where EDU motions regularly won the debate.
There’s many times in the course of the last four years where what helped me was going back to saying, “This is about union democracy. That’s the ultimate guiding principle, and whatever I’m about to do right now even though it might mean we’re going to lose on this issue, it has to be about union democracy.”
Which absolutely terrifies the people who have been safe and comfortable within the bureaucratic union structure.
Do the leaders of the UFT fit this bureaucratic structure? For sure they do.On teacher evaluations
The teacher evaluation system is used in a manner to micromanage and intimidate educators in their classroom. In particular, we see it happening with veteran teachers, so that the demands that are placed on them overwhelm them with stress. It’s an experience of being constantly surveilled and it results in people feeling isolated and alone and terribly anxious about their own performance and their job security. The level of fear that too many educators still experience in the classroom is profound.
I’ll pick up with this idea of how afraid teachers are. The work we’ve started to do is to build at the local level, at the work site, rank-and file-leadership. And build experience and use of their collective power.
The teacher evaluations are a place where it’s happening. In locals where people have been afraid because they get a bad evaluation, to have people start to share their evaluations with each other and name the absurdity and the outrage of what’s happening. Then organize around that to push back against whoever the evaluator is, to say, “We’re not going to allow this to happen, we’re not going to let ourselves be treated this way.” The bullying that happens [via the evaluation system] has become in many locals a way to activate and energize members and develop new leaders in the fight.
Exposing the sham that the evaluation system is; now there is an idea.
On West Virginia:
What’s happening nationally — West Virginia was a gift to all of us. What it did was make educators across the country go, “Oh man, it works, we can do that. This isn’t just talking.” It helps them walk past their fear and act on their courage.
On the challenges facing us now:
What are we up against? The end of the world, right? It’s this crazy time where things are absolutely horrible, and yet there are these possibilities as people not only begin to fight back, but — to go back to the educators’ strikes in the South — fighting back specifically within an analysis that the structures are working against us and we have to change those structures. And the only way we’re going to do that is through collective action. That’s the piece that’s hopeful, not the Democrats ranting and raving about how bad Trump is, that’s not helpful. But I believe we’re at the cusp of a labor upsurge, and that gives me a lot of hope.
Collective action and fixing the structures. If the structures include the UFT's rigged system, then I am all in for repair.
Happy 4th of July readers.
9 comments:
Ultimately, things are going to have to change. The way I see it it's going to have to be "change or die" for our UFT. With Janus and the other anti union forces marshalled against us I don't see that there's much of a choice. It's about survival. Hopefully our union leadership,which we we are not a part of, will recognize this and right the ship before it's too late.
Brilliant Lady. Outshines sawdust -for- brains Mulgrew.
That's what the UFT needs TERM LIMITS for EVERY union official. Plus cut the pay in half so that it really is SERVICE. End the career union FATCATS feeding off of membership dues. If and when I ever see this, I'M OUT.
They are incapable of changing.
Union fat cats feeding off of membership dues describes the UFT.
The UFT will do some cosmetic changes but most of it will be rhetoric and PR.
The UFT doesn't have to change and it won't die. Politicians won't let it die though weakening it is OK with them to lesson their impact. They control the members and help make them powerless. Imagine if all the crazies on this blog were turned loose?
You saw that lady climb the statue of liberty? What would happen if teachers reached a stage of mass civil disobedience and mass arrests instead of Randi doing a faux arrest? We are a long way from that but I imagine one day a mass of teachers from schools with horrible principals getting so desperate they are ready to go this far.
Well, maybe we start with mass refusal to turn in lesson plans.
Or dump them in a pile in front of the principal's office.
So why pay union dues? Waste of money by helping them according to your logic Ed Notes.
Withholding dues just might be the perfect opportunity to educate the ignorant in your building.
Remember, a high percentage of these so called "Brightest" don't understand math and were happy to vote for the last contract.
Most NYC teachers(unless the ballots were corrupt) voted for Mulgrew and Unity's leadership.
If just a few in each school withhold dues and then can articulate reasonably why they are doing so, it just might be an opportunity to cure the blind.
Why pay union dues? Good question. Let's just focus on the local not the big union aspect -- the union in your own school.
I would pay just on the basis of showing solidarity with my co-workers who do pay. For the sake of school wide unity - small u.
Your biggest enemy is not the UFT leadership but most likely some of your supervisors and their enablers at the DOE.
Even with the union it is so hard to fight back against these people.
Try to imagine a divided school where the principal can use the wedge against you all. It could also go the other way where some principals support the idea of a union and punish those who leave -- but I don't see this as the norm.
So an anti-union principal encourages people to leave the union -- devastate the chapter so there is no pushback at all and also no place at all to go to complain -- even if the UFT is poor in responding -- just the fact it exists can be a factor.
Now the other reason is that in a state of having to cater to get you to pay dues the UFT/Unity become more responsive and maybe even willing to fight. Don't hold you breath -- but if people actually banded together - say in a school with an abusive principal and threatened to leave the union en masse unless there was some action -- but you would give them time -- like a year.
Now imagine a whole bunch of schools banding together -- and also saying they will stay in the union but organize people to seek out other representation unless the union reforms democratically.
Just some thoughts.
I've been paying dues voluntarily for 16 years since I retired because I support the concept of unionism and want to stay involved.
James just retired and is covered under his wife's health plan and could walk away but he is passionate about staying involved.
WHat is interesting is that the Unity crowd ignores that some of the most passionate support comes from its internal critics and Unity sectarianism means people like us will never be allowed to actually go into schools and support people.
We could mobilize a group of retirees who are not Unity and I believe out critical view of the UFT would allow us to be able to really talk to people the way we do on our blogs instead of going in like a used car salesman to sell fluff.
Norm, You make some very good points. I hope you read the next post and react to that.
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