Saturday, October 23, 2021

WHY DOESN'T THE UFT ENDORSE SOME BALLOT INITIATIVES?

I got this from the Professional Staff Congress (CUNY teacher union).

These initiatives are on the November 2 ballot:

The Ballot Initiatives would: 


1. Amend New York State’s apportionment and redistricting process.  

2. Establish the right of each person to clean air and water and a healthful environment. 

3. Eliminate New York’s requirement that a citizen be registered to vote at least ten days before an election.  

4. Authorize no-excuse absentee voting.  

5. Allow the New York City Civil Court to hear and decide claims for up to $50,000 instead of the current limit of $25,000.  

I know the devil can be in the details and number 1 is way too complex but what are the problems with 2-5? Don't we have a right to clean air? Isn't same day voting registration a good idea?

Here is the UFT political Director's email on the initiatives:

Dear _______,

Early voting begins this Saturday, October 23. When you receive your ballot, in addition to voting for local representatives, you will be asked to vote Yes or No on five statewide ballot proposals. While UFT does not have a position on the proposals, we want to ensure you, as a UFT member, have the information you need to make an informed choice.

Here’s what’s on the ballot>>

The UFT is committed to strengthening our communities, and likewise, each ballot proposal gives us an opportunity to have a say on how our systems can work. Take the opportunity to read up on the five ballot proposals to ensure that you are informed when you vote in this election.


Stay safe and healthy,

Cassie Prugh
Assistant to the President and Political Director

8 comments:

  1. This is bs. Who cares. And if they do support this stuff, you'll say they did it the wrong way. No winning with you. Best example of that was when you wanted uft to push for eri. UFT pushed hard, got it in legislature only to have mayor decline it. Ok, noble effort thwarted, right? No, according the omnipotent James Eterno, the UFT never should have tried because they should have known in advance that it would fail. Naturally, had they not tried, Great James would have accused them of, er, not trying. Typical bs. Damned no matter what you do. Intellectually dishonest blogger.

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    Replies
    1. I think you put a whole load of things in there that I never said 10:07. For the record,please cite chapter and verse. I understand the city's economic situation changed greatly between October when the early retirement incentive was proposed and May when de Blasio killed it. I don't think I blamed Mulgrew for trying.

      As for the initiatives, the UFT has a take on just about every elected office. They couldn't spend some time analyzing the initiatives and taking a position?

      Delete
  2. This is the year the opposition unites and breaches the Citadel of Unity. This is the year when the Communists of MORE and the Nazis of Solidarity unite behind a single viable alternative to Boss Tweed-grew. What a hoot. Mark my prediction...
    Unity 79%
    Solidarity 14%
    MORE 4%
    Bella Abzug write ins 3%

    Sunday, October 24, 2021 10:15:02 AM

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    Replies
    1. 10:17 wow, you should probably stop using words. meaning and definition is clearly a lost cause for you. and honestly, why come here if your goal is to blur all and any meaning, and to be as unhelpful as possible.

      Delete
  3. Here you are back in June criticizing uft for not knowing months in advance that the eri was a dead letter.


    +++The UFT knew the federal money was on the way in January when Ossoff and Warnock gave the Democrats control of the Senate. The stimulus was passed by Congress and signed by President Biden in early March. Why push for the ERI in Albany in April and waste political capital if theUFT knew de Blasio was no longer behind it? +++

    But had the uft not pursued it, your criticism would have been even more strident. See? Can't win.


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  4. Once Ossoff and Warnock were elected in January 2021 and stimulus money was there from DC in March, the ERI had little chance. Pushing it if deBlasio was no longer on board in April does seem like a questionable tactic. I just asked a question and don't list the lack of an ERI as a big Mulgrew failure. My words in June:

    "Why push for the ERI in Albany in April and waste political capital if the UFT knew de Blasio was no longer behind it?" That is a simple,legitimate question.

    You wrote: "No, according the omnipotent James Eterno, the UFT never should have tried because they should have known in advance that it would fail."

    I was all on board for the ERI in October and throughout but if de Blasio indicated he would not go for it after the money from DC came in March 2021, yeah what was the point? Hardly a big critique of Mulgrew and I didn't say the UFT should have never tried like in your first comment.

    To end this, I won't have the lack of the ERI on my list of criticisms of Mulgrew. Too many other things. Here is why he should've been gone in 2020:

    There was a memo in March 2020 sent by the UFT when UFTers were threatening a legitimate sickout but the UFT lawyer, I am fairly certain with Mulgrew's approval, tried to stop the sickout. Mulgrew absolutely needs to be held accountable for trying to stop UFTers from protecting their lives. Mulgrew put union dues over member lives and a day later told teachers to go into buildings for useless PD from March 17-19, 2020 when COVID was spreading like crazy in NYC and he knew it was in school buildings. That memo and the March 15 email are indefensible. A failed ERI: just a political setback.

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  5. When are we supposed to get the pay for the google classroom? It's not in my next paystub. Anyone see it on their paystub?

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  6. Here is information from the league of women voters.

    https://lwvny.org/voting/

    ReplyDelete

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