COMPANY UNION NYSUT EXPRESSES OPPOSITION TO STRIKING WHILE SEATTLE TEACHERS USE STRIKE WEAPON EFFECTIVELY

The proof that we are in company unions in the public sector in NYS, led by people totally in bed with management, has come to light after Democratic candidate for governor Cynthia Nixon declared that public employee unions should have the right to legally strike. Nixon wants the Taylor law, which fines public employees and their unions heavily if there is a strike, changed to allow legal strikes of government employees in NYS.

The reaction from the state teachers' union, NYSUT  and another public union official was revolting.

From the Albany Times Union:

"The Taylor Law has worked effectively for more than 40 years. In conjunction with the Triborough Amendment, it has ensured labor peace we are not seeking a change at this time," NYSUT spokesman Carl Korn said. (NYSUT, which represents public school teachers, did not endorse a candidate for governor.)

Another union leader is in agreement with NYSUT.

Fran Turner, legislative director at Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), which represents  a wide range of employees in state and local government, noted the protections in the Triborough Amendment and called Nixon's proposal "naive."

If you want to know why we get nowhere in NY, you need not look any further than our overpaid union leaders who are in bed with management.

For a totally different outlook, go out to the state of Washington where thousands of teachers are on strike and teachers in Seattle, the largest district in the state, walked off the job in 2015. They got a decent contract following the strike so when they threatened it again this year, the city just agreed to a one year teachers contract with  a 10.5% raise and expanded paid parental leave paid for by the government, not their membership.

From the Seattle Times:

A tentative one-year contract calls for a 10.5 percent raise for 6,000 Seattle Public Schools employees, according to an email sent Saturday to members of the Seattle Education Association.

The deal, reached late Friday, also includes five additional days of paid parental leave for teachers and substitutes, classified staff and office personnel. School will start as scheduled on Wednesday, Sept. 5. Union members and the School Board will vote on the contract this month.

That is 10.5% in one year. Michael Mulgrew negotiated 10% over 7 years and 3.5 months in our current contract with NYC. I repeat, Seattle got more than that in one year. Credible strike threats matter!

Wake up please NYC teachers. The problem isn't having a union; it's having a company union like the UFT.

The answer is not to stop paying dues; it's to organize into a real collective force.

It can be done. We need to wake up everyone.