KENTUCKY SICKOUTS TO LOBBY STATE-USUAL UFT LOBBY DAY IN ALBANY

The contrast couldn't be more striking. Teachers in Louisville, Kentucky defying their union by calling out sick and shutting down the schools six times recently in order to protest a series of bills at the state capitol while New York City teachers orderly lobbied in Albany for more education dollars.

From the Courier Journal in Louisville:

Due to approximately a third of teachers being absent and the inability to safely cover a large number of classes with substitute teachers, all @JCPSKY schools will be closed Thurs., March 14, 2019. @YMCALouisville CEP “Snow Day” sites will be open: https://goo.gl/7H9q3o

Here is a summary of the Kentucky sickouts from World Socialist Website.

The work actions have been called in response to multiple anti-public-school legislative initiatives aimed at privatizing public education through vouchers, charter schools, and the funneling of tax money into homeschooling, private and religious operations. The legislation has been endorsed by US Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and the right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council lobbying organization. Many teachers who called in sick have travelled to the state capitol in Frankfort to protest during the last days of the legislative session, which ends on March 28.

Are these teachers courageous? You better believe it.

Here is what their union told them and a reaction from a teacher:

The Kentucky Education Association issued an opinion to the Jefferson County Teachers Association that regardless of whether a school district cancels classes, teachers who call out sick to protest at the Capitol could face disciplinary action.

For Rovira, who is four years from retirement, potentially risking her job to be at the Capitol is worth it.

“I can’t retire until I’m 65 because of the insurance,” she said. “I’m risking more than most people here, but you know, people have died for issues like this. Nobody’s threatened my life. I’m sacrificing a lot less than a lot people have done.”

Now I would argue that Kentucky teachers' fundamental existence is being threated by these awful bills but teachers are risking everything for this fight.

Here in New York, where teachers are paid better than in the south, there is a sense of calm. Lobby day in Albany was business as usual with UFT reps going and performing their kabuki style play with the Legislature looking for more money.

Nothing yet on UFT website but I did see this from NYSUT:

With a dais busting with high-profile union presidents and officers, emcee Anthony Harmon turned the tables and introduced the audience, calling them “the biggest, baddest trade unionists this side of the Mississippi River!”

Harmon, staff director for the United Federation of Teachers, was talking about the hundreds of grassroots volunteer members of the UFT who came to Albany Monday to share their front-line stories of conditions in New York City classrooms with state lawmakers.

After a quick lunch and an uplifting briefing with leaders, the lobbyists-for-a-day set out to push for the state to fund what they know works — things like Teacher Centers and Community Learning Schools, which provide medical and social services in schools where they make a difference every day.

NYSUT President Andy Pallotta reminded them that UFT, NYSUT, the Board of Regents and education groups across the state were united in calling for a $2.2 billion increase in education funding. Both the Senate and Assembly recommended nearly doubling the governor’s insufficient K-12 aid proposal, which shows “that united front is moving the debate.” But budget negotiations continue, with an April 1 deadline.

In meeting with lawmakers, give credit where it’s due, Pallotta said: “Thank them for restoring the funding for Teacher Centers, which the governor wants to eliminate... and thank them for passing APPR legislation to end the mandate that test scores be part of a teacher evaluation.”

The Empire State Plaza Convention Center was chock full of activists from every borough of New York City.

“God knows what we’re doing up here is his work … or her work,” said UFT President Michael Mulgrew. “It is because of the people — including parents and lawmakers — in this room that the state has continued to invest in public education. The problem is, the need is great.”

American Federation of Teachers President Randy Weingarten introduced a social media campaign called #FundOurFuture. Saying the Trump/DeVos agenda in Washington, D.C., aims “to make the rich richer and the poor poorer,” she called on New York “to continue to put working- and middle-class people first.”

In NY, we have plenty of charter schools that suck resources from the public schools while not having the same accountability. Class sizes have not been lowered in half a century in NYC even though state law said they should be reduced over a decade back and the evaluation system is still a mess. In addition, in too many schools it is unsafe to teach and teacher autonomy is a dream from another universe. Test and punish is alive and well with terribly flawed state tests coming and the UFT doing absolutely nothing to starve the data beast by pushing opt out.

Maybe the UFT approach is the way to go. It is the corporate Democrat model. Who am I to say it does not work as I retired last year with a decent pension? However, a newer Tier VI teacher won't get that same pension and from from what I hear in the schools, we should be considering thinking about maybe contemplating talking about taking a more Kentucky style approach to lobbying in what is our deep blue state. Perhaps we could go on offense and stop performing the kabuki play.