The most democratic way of apportioning seats in a democratic assembly is by proportional representation. If a political party gets 20% of the vote, that party is entitled to 20% of the seats in an elected body.
The UFT abhors proportional representation as it may lead to them having to answer tough questions or deal with groups that won't listen and follow everything Michael Mulgrew says. Michael Mulgrew's political party is called Unity Caucus. Unity members must sign a membership obligation that forces them to support all of the decisions Mulgrew and his followers make inside of Unity Caucus in union and public forums. Dissent is not allowed.
Unity is the caucus that has run the UFT since the 1960s. Unity controls its members by offering part-time and full-time union jobs as well as free all-expense-paid trips to AFT Conventions and NYSUT Representative Assemblies in return for absolute loyalty. They take this obligation very seriously. If an opposition group wants to change the UFT, they must defeat this highly successful political machine that serves itself better than its members. The Unity machine is at its most powerful after teachers and other UFTers retire.
If anyone wants to change the UFT, they have to deal with the retiree issue. The Retired Teachers Chapter is 70,000 strong which entitles it to 300 Delegates at the Delegate Assembly. That is the Delegate Assembly that makes policy for the entire Union, including active teachers. The RTC is by far the largest chapter in the UFT.
For anyone who still doesn't think ousting Unity chapter leaders and delegates is important to changing our union, I submit for your consideration this story that was covered in EdNotes online.
The leaders of the Retiree Advocate, the group opposed to Unity in the Retired Teachers Chapter, approached Unity Retired Teachers Chapter Leader Tom Murphy to ask Unity to support five Retiree Advocate candidates for Delegate Assembly positions as a show of union solidarity. Recall there are 300 retiree delegates so this would be a tiny sign of union solidarity.
Since Unity supported three independents for the 102 person UFT Executive Board that constitutionally runs the UFT in the 2019 general union election, Retiree Advocate figured 5 out of 300 at the DA was possible. That's less than 2% of the Delegate Assembly seats that the Retired Teachers Chapter is entitled to. Unity said NO. Retiree Advocate has run for years in the Retired Teachers Chapter Election and has received up to 30% of the vote in the past and garnered about 20% in the last election. They asked for less than 2% of the seats and were rebuffed. It is all about power to Unity. Only you can change that.
For full disclosure, Norm Scott of Retiree Advocate approached me about the possibility of being one of the five and I said no as Unity would not approve me. More importantly, I wouldn't want their endorsement. I was elected to the UFT Executive Board for a decade without a Unity endorsement because opposition to Unity won the high schools.
I will be running for a Retired Teachers Chapter Executive Board position on the Retiree Advocate slate this spring. If you are a retired UFT member, email Norm (information below) to join the slate. It won't be easy, but let's make Unity worry that there is strong opposition even among the retired teachers.
Those 300 retirees that are Unity are all going to do whatever Mulgrew tells them to do at the Delegate Assembly. Understand that as we move forward. If you are active, tell your retired colleagues to support the Retiree Advocate. We are a diverse group of independent thinkers.
UFT Retirees are invited to join us (you must still be a union member)
We have a few more days left and I thought that if there any retirees left reading this blog I'd invite you to join us. Email me with name, address, phone, file # or last four of social and email if interested to normsco@gmail.com or retireeadvocate@gmail.com.
Yeah, make them worry. Sounds like an organization I would want my dues to go to. What else do you need?
ReplyDeleteThere won't be a hundred comments here or lots of anger. This is why our union sucks. Nobody except for a few souls does anything but complain. If there were awards for selfishness, most UFT members would win easily.
ReplyDeleteI complained. Then mulgrew got 86% of the vote. Then I opted out.
ReplyDeleteMany newly retired, past 2-3 years, are totally disgusted with the UFT. I decided not to remain in the UFT because of their treachery toward senior teachers who found themselves thrown into the ATR pool. Most of my retired friends have stayed only for the SHIPP and the annual $720 prescription check that the UFT sends out and makes believe comes from them. They tell retirees they’ll have no medical, dental or optical coverage if they drop out of the UFT. One of my friends called me to say, ‘see what I got, $720, and you didn’t’ - I got it too and $1000 more in my retro check because they couldn’t take out triple dues - but it’s not about the money. It’s about being lied to, taken advantage of and treated like moron. So Mulgrew, Murphy and Unity can keep their inclusive club, I don’t want anything to do with it or them. And my cheap, cheap and angry friends are planning on opting out before July’s retro payment, mostly over Mulgrew’s cringe worthy YouTube performance, ie, “Here we go again. We fight, this is what we do ...” The Academy Award does not go to Michael Mulgrew. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me ten thousand times shame on me.
ReplyDelete1 year late for spring break money and counting.
ReplyDeleteStill waiting 12 years for retro.
Mulgrew got 86%.
Give up.
I’m going to decide in the next few months on whether or not staying in this union is worth it. I hate for it to be just about money, but the UFT leadership isn’t offering much for me to stay in. It’s sad.
ReplyDeleteLol. You need to think about it? I couldn't go through the day to day torture, have the uft stand by and make excuses, and keep paying. Proven right everyday. The best is when sill emails and tells me he agrees but he can't do anything. Happily out since 2018.
DeleteI have to think about it because I come from a Union household. My dad worked for the city and was DC 37 until he retired. I was happy to join my first Union when I became a teacher. It really means something to me, but the undemocratic nature of this union goes against everything I thought unions stand for. I wish there was another option.
DeleteHello Saturday April 3rd, 2021 3:17:00PM,
ReplyDeleteI retired in June 2020 and the UFT previously informed me that I would lose SHIPP and my health benefits if I didn't pay dues and join the UFT post retirement. I KNOW THEY LIE AND MISINFORM. Is it true that I would not lose my dental, and the welfare benefits? Are there any benefits that would be affected?... or lost? Thank you,
FED UP with Mildew & Co.
Have all benefits except uft lawyer which i don't need nor do I want. And you can't vote in a rigged election where mulgrew gets 86% after 15 awful years.
ReplyDelete@5:10, Hi this is 3:17. Sorry about the late response I’ve been in more civilized environs. They are lying about everything other than SHIPP. As the previous responder answered you lose the ability to have a UFT lawyer, but you don’t need one when you retire unless you want one to f-ck up something of importance, like your will. You’ll save yourself quite a bit of money in the next retro payment, as well. You you also save what’s left of your self respect after decades as a teacher. No, I don’t see any upside to remaining in the Uft other than SHIPP. If you find yourself catastrophically disabled, (I personally would take the bullet), but SHIPP is the other option. good luck to you sir or madam. It’s time for retirees to say, “Fuck You to Michael Mulgrew.”
ReplyDeleteRetirees (and soon to be) need to be looking quite seriously at their benefits. Municipal Labor Council is in the process of negotiating some far reaching changes that were slated to be shared at a meeting with the CUNY retirees earlier today. UFT members, do not forget, retiree health care is neither a right nor guaranteed...
ReplyDeleteYes, 10:54. And the only reason we are catered to is for our votes. Maybe that’s a good thing? I’m not sold. Completely ignored for thirty years as a teachers, while spending tens of thousands of dollars in dues and then completely catered to as a retiree, while paying a tiny fraction of active teacher dues rate. Now you throw in a not so veiled threat and fear of loss of benefits into it? No other municipal union’s members get to vote in union elections. No other municipal union is openly lying to its members as to who is paying for those benefits or threatening the loss of them. Heck, I asked one of my friends, who is a retired cop and he doesn’t even know if he pays union dues as a retiree, he’s been retired since he turned 43 years old. Then he started talking about the Uft, like it was some type of mafia run shake down for retarded children. I really couldn’t argue with him. But I’m not a retarded child, and sorry for the politically incorrect term, and I’m not paying them anymore.
ReplyDelete