Friday, January 17, 2020

LARGEST INDEPENDENT TEACHERS' UNION IN THE COUNTRY ENDORSES BERNIE

The latest large teachers' union to endorse Bernie Sanders is the Clark County Education Association. They represent Las Vegas, Nevada teachers. What is so fascinating about this endorsement is that CCEA is a union local that broke away from the Nevada Education Association and the National Education Association in 2018 to become a pretty substantial independent union.

From the Las Vegas Review Journal:

The Clark County Education Association, the union representing more than 19,000 local teachers, has endorsed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the 2020 Nevada Democratic caucuses.

“Sen. Sanders has a stellar record of supporting educators,” union President Vikki Courtney said in a statement released by Sanders’ campaign. “His position on public education issues is second to none. He has always been a champion for educators and working class people.”

The association is the largest independent teaching union in the country. It represents educators in the Clark County School District, the nation’s fifth-largest school district.

“Together, we will finally give teachers a much-deserved raise, reinvest in public education and create an education system that benefits students no matter their background or socioeconomic status,” Sanders said.

How did the Clark County Education Association become an independent union?

This is from The Nevada Independent in 2018:

An ongoing spat between the statewide teachers’ union and its Clark County affiliate over money and operational strategy has ended in a severed relationship — and the birth of a new labor organization.

The Clark County Education Association voted Wednesday night to disaffiliate from the Nevada State Education Association, a decision that has been more than a year in the making. Eighty-eight percent of the roughly 700 CCEA members who participated in the election cast votes to cut ties with the statewide teachers’ union, the union’s executive director, John Vellardita said.

CCEA officials said membership stands at 10,915, meaning roughly 6 percent of its members participated in the election.

“We have officially broken away from them,” he said Thursday morning. “They are an ATM machine. They expected educators in Clark County to subsidize the entire state and its operations for a flawed political agenda that doesn’t advance public education in the state.”

The NEA started a new local affiliate in response. The CCEA reaction was to lower dues:

But CCEA leaders contend its organization will be stronger now that it won’t be sending 70 percent of membership fees to NSEA and the National Education Association. CCEA members’ dues will drop to $510 from $810.50, Vellardita said.

The union leader also said CCEA plans to introduce new benefits for members such as professional liability and group life insurance options, expanded professional development programming and a legal defense fund that would foot the cost of litigation to “best advance and defend the interest of members.”

Vellardita brushed aside any notion of concern that NSEA’s new local affiliate could put a dent in CCEA’s membership or threaten its existence. He said the dual-union concept is designed to “circumvent, undermine and then replace the existing union.”

But CCEA remains the collective bargaining unit and, therefore, still negotiates the contracts with the school district, Vellardita said. He said the union would take legal action against the district if it engages in “aiding or abetting” NSEA in a way that undermines CCEA.

A union local in Vegas stood up for themselves. Teachers in NYC can do the same if they so desire. I know the situation is not totally analogous as in Las Vegas it was a local union that ditched their state union and here our local, the UFT, is basically the core of the state and national unions. However, teachers in Las Vegas found a way to alter their union representation by standing up for themselves. The size of the local is around 19,000, roughly equal to how many high school teachers there are in NYC and larger than our middle school division. Again, it comes down to organizing if a group wants to do something similar in NYC.

Please stop writing anonymous complaints here and organize the teachers around you if you are not happy with your union representation and want to do something about it other than keeping your dues and going home. WE NEED A UNION however 75,000 NYC teachers are not bound for life to the United Federation of Teachers, the New York State United Teachers or the American Federation of Teachers by an act of God. Work together and start an independent union if you feel it is the right way to go. If that is not possible, then please join together to fix our union.

Do something, anything, if you really want to change your union representation! Otherwise, please STOP commenting anonymously about the UFT and sending me anti-union garbage.

65 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Warren shit ain't hurting Bernie.

According to the Reuters/Ipsos poll released late Thursday, Sanders received support from 20% of registered Democratic primary voters surveyed. That figure was enough to edge out Biden who received 19% and the 12% of voters who say they back Warren. Rounding out the top five finishers in the nationwide poll—conducted this week between Jan. 15-16—were former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg (9%) and former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg (6%).

While the poll has a 5-point margin of error that puts Biden and Sanders in a statistical tie, the results show Sanders gaining steam and Biden remaining flat compared to a similar poll taken last week. In addition, Reuters noted in its reporting, "The poll shows that standing does not appear to have been hurt by his recent confrontation with Warren" that captured political headlines throughout the week.

Anonymous said...

Wall Street hates us.

Drug companies hate us.

Insurance companies hate us.

The fossil fuel industry hates us.

The military industrial complex hates us.

The 1% hates us.

You know why?

Because we're going to take on their greed and corruption.

And we're going to win.

Bernie Sanders

He might want to add:

Scabs at the ICEblog hate us too.

Anonymous said...

If you don't think Sanders would make a difference for working people, read this in Jacobin.

Sanders’s labor plan also stands out with measures to bolster worker power broadly. Ending at-will employment would mean that workers could only be fired for just cause, universalizing a cornerstone of union contracts. Instituting wage boards would allow unions to work together to push wages up across an industry, rather than fighting out contracts with individual companies.

Anonymous said...

Thought you’d want to see this:

National Reuters / Ipsos Poll (Jan. 15-16)
Bernie Sanders: 20%
Joe Biden: 19%
Elizabeth Warren: 12%
Mike Bloomberg: 9%

This is the first time Bernie has led in this national poll.

And if you’re with him, soon we’ll start racking up a delegate lead on our way to the nomination. What do you say?

Can you make a $20 contribution to our campaign today? Keep giving if and when you can and We. Are. Going. To. Win.

Early voting in Minnesota starts today. Less than 3 weeks to Iowa. Four to New Hampshire. Seven to Super Tuesday.

We’ve come too far to stop now. Stay positive. Stay focused.

Faiz Shakir
Campaign Manager

Anonymous said...

UFT/NYSUT/AFT members should definitely support Bernie, since the vast majority of them spend their lives indoctrinating pliable young minds into the glorious paradise that we will have under communism. I have seen it my entire career in nyc public schools. This is the culmination of a very long journey for many of us.
Luckily for me and my family, though, we were able to escape the nightmare in Venezuela years ago.

James Eterno said...

I printed the above but what total nonsense. Do you know the difference between a democratic socialist and a communist?

Anonymous said...

I am not 147...But, Sanders wants to give tons of handouts. That cannot be argued. Add that with letting lawbreakers and welfare recipients run loose, not what i want. Like the no bail law? Punch someone in the face, knock teeth out, rob a bank, no punishment.

anon said...

Please, some democratic socialist here just answer one question: what % of your hard-earned money does the government deserve to take from you and redistribute? You can give a range if you're more comfortable.
Bonus question: raise your hand if you've taken econ101.
Thanks for participating!

James Eterno said...

About as much tax for middle class as we pay now would be acceptable. We would pay for Medicare for All between $6,000 and $8,000. Right now NYC pays around $20,000 for our health coverage. Bernie's plan says we would get the extra back.

I also favor a just cause standard to fire a worker. So many untenured teachers would keep their jobs with a Sanders NLRB.

No more socialism for corporations and rugged individualism for us.

James Eterno said...

I am more of a social democrat than democratic socialist. Bernie's positions are very mainstream throughout the developed world.

Anonymous said...

Check his record as Burlington mayor.

Sanders's administration balanced the city budget and also drew a minor league baseball team, the Vermont Reds, then the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, to Burlington.[15] Under his leadership, Burlington sued the local television cable franchise, thereby winning reduced rates for customers.[15]

As mayor, Sanders led extensive downtown revitalization projects. One of his primary achievements was the improvement of Burlington's Lake Champlain waterfront.[15] In 1981, Sanders campaigned against the unpopular plans by Burlington developer Tony Pomerleau to convert the then-industrial[68] waterfront property owned by the Central Vermont Railway into expensive condominiums, hotels, and offices.[69] Sanders ran under the slogan "Burlington is not for sale" and successfully supported a plan that redeveloped the waterfront area into a mixed-use district featuring housing, parks, and public spaces.[69] Today the waterfront area includes many parks and miles of public beach and bike paths, a boathouse, and a science center.[69]

Anonymous said...

And reelected three times as mayor.

Anonymous said...

A Florida poll, conducted by Florida Atlantic University, showed Sen. Bernie Sanders topping Trump by a margin of 53 percent to 47 percent. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden both had smaller leads of 51 percent against Trump's 49 percent. Sanders was the only Democratic candidate with a lead greater than the poll's 2.6 percent margin of error. Pete Buttigieg tied with Trump at 50 percent. The poll sampled 1,285 voters between January 9 and 12.

Anonymous said...

In a video update posted on social media on Wednesday, Sanders announced that his campaign had raised $4 million in the past two days.

Sanders said the nearly $4 million raised came from 200,000 contributions. Notably, the campaign welcomed 25,000 new individual donors, who had not previously contributed to his campaign, in the past two days alone.

Anonymous said...

Here is another reason why Joe Biden is not looking out for the poor and the working class at all. We need medicare-for-all.

"If you like your plan, you can keep it, assuming—I should add the obvious—if your employer doesn't take it away from you," said Joe Biden.

"And with that, my friends, Joe Biden successfully makes the case for single payer healthcare," tweeted activist Evan Sutton."

Anonymous said...

Do you really think any of the Jokers will beat Trump.. Look at the rallies Trump is filling stadiums across the country.. Be honest with yourself...

Anonymous said...

Keep talking about Polls. Remember they had Clinton up double digits. MAGA 2020

James Eterno said...

Trump has a ceiling in that over half the country despises him.

Anonymous said...

Only thing that will change student behavior is a consequence...Conform or get out. No principal is gonna be afraid of teachers because sanders says he will empower us. That is a meaningless word. The only way is to make public what is really going on in schools.

James Eterno said...

A just cause standard for termination is a game changer in the power structure. If you don't see that, it is hard to start a discussion.

If we had a just cause standard, teachers could speak up about the conditions in schools without the fear they feel today.

I think much of the public already knows something is wrong in the schools.

Bronx ATR said...

I see a real paradigm shift since Trump’s assassination of that Iranian general. No one really cared per se, what they did care about was it was an obvious move to deflect attention away from the impeachment proceedings. Americans do not like to played as fools. Even those who didn’t care about the impeachment farce took notice. The Democratic Party does not want Bernie to win the nomination. The AFT/UFT does not want to endorse Bernie and you can put that bitch Randi at the top of the list. If Bernie gets the nomination, he will trounce Trump - just as he would have done three years ago. Bloomberg, even if he doesn’t get the nomination, wants to make sure Bernie doesn’t get it. If any of the other Democratic clowns gets the nomination, Trump wins big. Bernie is an incredible threat the status quo of both parties and I wouldn’t be surprised if they colluded against the way the DOE and UFT has done to us.

Anonymous said...

Two weeks to Iowa, team. Two weeks. Polls go up and polls go down, but if we keep fighting, we are going to win. We can do this. We can shock the world.

I say we do it.

Faiz Shakir
Campaign Manager

Anonymous said...

You can try to ask Maria Fuertes what she thinks of democrat policies but she can't answer. Meanwhile dems busy mourning Suleimani.
Can't make this stuff up.

Anonymous said...

I am so stressed out at my school and I feel like my principal is after Me and wants to get rid of me. If I get a position through the open market can she still discontinue me? How does the open market work?
Any information will help.
Thanks

Anonymous said...

My school’s chapter leader has been out for months. I’m not sure exactly what is going on, but I believe this person is being investigated for something that happened towards the beginning of the year.

With this, a member of our administration is taking advantage of our CL’s absence and is penalizing teachers for things like the format or content of their lesson plans during observations (including my co-teacher and me).

Without a CL, I don’t know how to fight this. On top of all of this, the CL was also an ENL teacher which means that my classroom has been without that support for the entire duration of this absence.

What is our recourse?

Anonymous said...

She can discontinue you up until you are in a new school but usually they don't if you get a new position.

Anonymous said...

Today, a 5th adult in 2 months was assaulted in my school by a student, including myself. What is becoming of schools today? This is insanity! The UFT has done nothing. We have all filled out UFT incident reports. I got an email explaining how to put in for a LODI. I don't need an email telling me that. We need help. These kids are so nasty and so disrespectful. Something must be done. Kids are out of control.

Anonymous said...

212 has it spot on. No discipline. You either have schools or you dont. Must have consequences. To think that this is the state of NYC schools is both laughable, pathetic and sad. And they just made a huge deal about grad rates, which we all know are fake. We are nothing mpore than a diploma mill. Conform or get out.

Anonymous said...

Like a well oied machine...
Outraged parents jeer DOE head Richard Carranza off the stage at Queens town hall meeting
By Selim Algar

The Department of Education boss faced the wrath of more than 500 parents at MS 74 Nathaniel Hawthorne in Oakland Gardens.

“What is happening here?” parent Katty Sterling yelled at Carranza. “We’re not getting answers! Nobody is giving answers!”

Exasperated, Sterling told school officials how her daughter had twice allegedly been assaulted by a female classmate at MS 158 Marie Curie in Bayside and is now too afraid to return to school.

Her daughter’s tormentor was never suspended and remains in class, according to Sterling.

“The other student is sitting in school getting all the privileges and what is my daughter doing? Sitting at home, sick, getting traumatized!” Sterling screamed at the dais just feet from Carranza.

MS 158, one of the district’s highly regarded schools, has been hit with a string of ugly incidents in recent months, including a vicious lunchroom fight last week and a classroom sexual assault last month. Both incidents resulted in arrests.

Tired of an attempt at reassurance by School District 26 Superintendent Danielle Giunta, Sterling had approached the dais to give Carranza and other officials a piece of her mind.

As she vented her frustrations, others in the audience joined in.

After several unsuccessful attempts to quiet the crowd, Carranza rose and exited the stage as the hooting continued.

Earlier in the meeting, after the superintendent spoke, a school dad whose daughter was allegedly forcibly touched in an MS 158 classroom in November, tried to address the panel.

Anonymous said...


Teachers giving final exams AND going around the class to HELP students (telling them what to do - how to do it) WTF is this crap?

James Eterno said...

Go to the police. Make a loud stink. Stop taking it.

Anonymous said...

The American Postal Workers Union Local 44 of Central Iowa has endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders for president, the campaign announced today.

“Senator Bernie Sanders stands for the working class people of this country,” said DMI APWU Local 44 President Mike Bates. “He will fight for postal banking that would bring in revenue to the Postal Service and stop the legalized loan sharking of check into cash and payday loans that feed on the working poor.”

The Local 44 members voted to stand with Sanders during their meeting this past week in Des Moines.

The union is 700 members strong and adds to the growing list of more than 130 individual union worker endorsements that Sanders’ Iowa team previously rolled out. Sanders’ campaign has courted union members heavily throughout the Iowa Caucus, positioning himself as the leader for blue-collar America.

Anonymous said...

I have never had this happen before. I am in a kindergarten ict class. I brought in a book called Jump Rope Magic by Afi Skruggs and the principal looked at and told me I couldn't read it to the class because it's racist! I've read in almost every school that I've been sent to and no one's ever complained. In fact the kids I've read it to loved it. It's going back home with me.

Anonymous said...

I have never had this happen before. I am in a kindergarten ict class. I brought in a book called Jump Rope Magic by Afi Skruggs and the principal looked at and told me I couldn't read it to the class because it's racist! I've read in almost every school that I've been sent to and no one's ever complained. In fact the kids I've read it to loved it. It's going back home with me.

Anon2323 said...

shuttttt upppppp about biased polling. Clinton was given 96% CHANCE to win, means nothing!


AWWWWWW people despise Trump. Maybe if 93% of his coverage was fair and not solely negative the mindsets would change, cut that shit out. If Obama had 90% negative coverage ( which would never happen to a DEM especially if our former half black man, otherwise you will be labeled a racist.) he would not be revered for his terrible presidency. Imagine if Trump Jr worked for Ukraine making that money? Pelosi, Romney, Biden and Obama are trying to cover this up because their kids worked for Ukraine.

Trump allows school choice, he might not be the best with his education plan, my TDA surely likes it.

Anonymous said...

shuttttt upppppp about biased polling. Clinton was given 96% CHANCE to win, means nothing!


AWWWWWW people despise Trump. Maybe if 93% of his coverage was fair and not solely negative the mindsets would change, cut that shit out. If Obama had 90% negative coverage ( which would never happen to a DEM especially a black Dem, otherwise you will be labeled a racist.) he would not be revered for his terrible presidency. Imagine if Trump Jr worked for Ukraine making that money? Pelosi, Romney, Biden and Obama are trying to cover this up because their kids worked for Ukraine.

Trump allows school choice, he might not be the best with his education plan, my TDA surely likes it.

James Eterno said...

I somewhat agree with you that polling doesn't mean that much. An anti establishment Democrat will get clobbered by the media just like Trump. See Sanders for an example and he isn't that close, at least not yet. As for your TDA, it did well under prior administration's too.

School choice means privatizing public education. Public schools are a public good. They should be controlled by an elected school board and accountable directly to the voters. Mayoral control with a unitary executive in charge goes against our checks and balances republic. De Blasio and Bloomberg are both terrible education mayors.

More school choice will just encourage more fraud as schools do anything to make themselves look good.

James Eterno said...

A totally unfettered Trump with a Republican Congress would kill public education.

Anonymous said...

2:09 Open market is a big joke. Principals like hiring first year teachers. As for the graduation rate, it should be termed the giving out diploma rate because that is all it is. The diploma, sadly, is worthless nowadays. It's sad for kids who actually do earn it. I now heard that at Flushing High School the APs now want teachers to give students 70s and 75s. The real reason is that too many 65s in one class is a clear sign of grade inflation. In a class of 30 students, there should only be 3 65s. I read in another blog that schools should be rated on their SAT scores. There are tons of kids in NYC high schools who have 90+ averages who have below average SAT scores. The only problem is you can't inflate or appeal SATs the way we can Regents.

ed notes online said...

All indications are that Randi wants Warren. Coming from deep inside the UFT and AFT.

Anonymous said...

How can I (perhaps anonymously) let the admin of my school know that something is wrong with the way the school is being run? Most teachers are unhappy and planning to find new jobs next year.

It's hard to say exactly why we're so unhappy. Obviously the amount of work any teacher has to do these days is unreasonable, but even veteran teachers who have taught in other schools have pointed out that far too much is expected of us. Everything we do wrong is promptly pointed out, but what we do well does not feel appreciated. Some feel the school was misrepresented as very community based and progressive, but it is failing its students with every initiative it tries to put out.

The principal does seem to have his heart in the right place and I feel as though he should know that he is curating a place that no one wants to work at (and that he may need to hire an entirely new staff next year).

How can this be addressed anonymously?

Anonymous said...

The UFT wanting a back stabbing, lying asshole like Warren is typical Randi. Hillary 2.0.

Anonymous said...

11:17, If you don't even give out the name of the school, there ain't shit anyone can do.

Anonymous said...

The majority of the problems with the NYC public schools are local. We can begin with the corrupt and inept mayor, chancellor and the rest of the DOE cronies. Then move on to the lack of student discipline and accountability, incompetent school administrators, corruption, manipulated data, "everyone passes" agenda, free diplomas, hours of paperwork, Danielson's, useless PD, etc.

All politicians should stay far away from education. They only make things worse.

Bronx ATR said...

The AFT/UFT will endorse the candidate that will promise (openly or on the down low) Randi a Secretary of Education cabinet position - and that includes Mike Bloomberg. Demand the AFT and UFT endorses Bernie and if they don’t tell them you’ll pull your dues. Maybe that will get some democracy into Randi’s Democratic Presidential endorsement.

Anonymous said...

Dems want choice for post-birth abortion but not allow parents where their living child should go to school. Go figure that. As a NYC public school teacher I want to have choice where my kids are educated (not indoctrinated).

Anonymous said...

11:17 and 12:20

Same shit at Spring Creek Community School in Brooklyn. School named. Now what? We wait until they investigate and accuse someone of this post and watch the observations rise and ineffectives fly. It's everywhere and until we rise up like a real union it will stay that way. Stop doing your admins work. That is the first step in taking back the autonomy and demanding the respect teachers used to have.

Anonymous said...

1:04, No more unfair competition for public schools.

James Eterno said...

Get in touch with us. We will expose if people are retaliated against. Iceuft@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

I am reading these comments and laughing. Why . Because the same people who are complaining about observations and lesson plans would be the same people who vote for Mulgrew. Until he is thrown out office expect the abuse to continue

Anonymous said...

Yes people name your schools! It's okay, you're anonymous. Let the other bloggers know what's going on at your school. Sometimes things written on a blog do end up in the media.

Anonymous said...

James, do you know of any lawsuits where a UFT member sued a CSA member and the Department of Education for libel based on an observation report or an end-of-year APPR?

I’ve only been able to find the following judicial decision from 1975, but it doesn’t reveal the ultimate result:

www.leagle.com/decision/197552982misc2d4471406

Anonymous said...

Same at my school

New Principal

She was a teacher 10 years ago
She married her students father

Gets promoted to Principal after our Principal retired earlier than expected because of illness.

The morale at our school is terrible.

This woman should not be leading anybody, all she does is name call and insult.

08 X 152 is hell on Earth right now

Anonymous said...

From a Chicago teacher: Why am I supporting @BernieSanders ? Because he supports us.

He came to help us during contract campaign and he supports our stance on the veteran pay stand off with the district.

Teachers are a force field for good in this nation. Many of us are organizing for Bernie.

Anonymous said...

From AOC:

Really big deal - @PramilaJayapal has endorsed Bernie Sanders for President.

Pramila is a major leader in the House, carries the Medicare for All bill & co-chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Both chairs of the Progressive Caucus have now endorsed Bernie Sanders.

Anonymous said...

" “I have enormous respect for Elizabeth Warren,” Pocan told The Associated Press in an interview. “I just think not only do families connect very strongly with Bernie Sanders, the electability is very important.”"

"Pocan, who also will be chairing Sanders’ Wisconsin campaign, is one of the most liberal members of Congress and co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. He said that he decided to endorse this year because he felt Sanders had a strong connection to his beliefs and the best chance of winning."

Anonymous said...

Well, to the extent anybody cares, the NYT just endorsed Warren and Klobuchar. Apparently without a trace of irony the NYT notes that Warren is a "a gifted storyteller". (This is the woman who falsely and famously claimed to be a Cherokee Indian year after year.)

The good news for Bernie fans is that nobody really cares who the NYT endorses (except as an opportunity to mock their choices).

I am not sure NYT realizes how silly and irrelevant they look endorsing two candidates (in our country you just vote for one).

Anonymous said...

It's time to end austerity for working families and put a little austerity on the billionaire class. Bernie Sanders

Anonymous said...

I don't tolerate bullsht terribly well.

Bernie Sanders

Anon2323 said...

The Bernie Train passed in 2016 sorry not sorry. The DMC robbed him and let Clinton walk all over him. Softy Sanders did not want to expose Hilalry's emails and was too easy to take down.Same thing is happening with Pelosi holding the articles to help Biden.

CNN airing the exchange with Warren to hurt Sanders.Sanders supporters will vote for Trump once he gets screwed again and into an old age home with Pelosi.

Trump hurt us with SALT tax but Bernie will kill us on taxes to pay for his make believe hand flying russian loving FREEEEEE STUFFF!

Anonymous said...

Anon2323 only wants freebies for corporations and defense contractors. Regular people can fuck off.

Anonymous said...

What's more important than the New York Times endorsement?

The endorsements Bernie received from:

- National Nurses United
- United Electrical Workers
- United Teachers Los Angeles
- Clark County Education Assn in NV
- NH State Employees
- IA/NH postal worker unions & many more

Anonymous said...

It's happening!

CNN National Poll (1/16-1/19)
Bernie 27% (+7)
Biden 24% (-2)
Warren 14% (-2)
Pete 11% (+3)

Not time to get comfortable - it's time to put it into high gear!

VOLUNTEER - DONATE - VOTE

#Bernie2020 #PresidentSanders

Anonymous said...

Just released Jan 25

New York Times - January 25, 2020
Sanders: 25%
Buttigieg: 18%
Biden: 17%
Warren: 15%

Anonymous said...

NEW Suffolk University Iowa youth poll not only shows @BernieSanders leading by a HUGE margin w young voters, it indicates a potentially historical youth turnout at the caucuses, 3X the participation rates of 2016!

Sanders - 39%
Warren - 19%
Buttigieg - 14%
Yang - 9%
Biden - 7%