Selim Algar at the NY Post has a piece on United for Change uniting factions in the UFT to challenge President Michael Mulgrew and his Unity Caucus in the 2022 UFT election.
A new city teachers’ faction has had it with union boss Michael Mulgrew.
Arguing that he operates without properly engaging members, a coalition of politically disparate blocs has united against Mulgrew.
The groups are setting aside their sometimes contentious histories to remake the leadership of the United Federation of Teachers.
Calling itself “United for Change,” the coalition includes left-leaning progressive groups like the Movement for Rank and File Educators along with more centrist blocs like UFT Solidarity.
United for Change has produced a video. Please watch and spread far and wide.
26 comments:
Menacing music, and a long reading assignment. Not an auspicious start
Members were sent into infected buildings to get sick and die at the start of the pandemic. We Don't need a Unity music critic to say we don't need ominous music.
We absolutely need change. The way it is going new teachers will be burned out in under 5 years. Insane expectations and work load. How on earth can the UFT claim it is a victory that they caved in once again.. and agreed for teachers to complete a questionaire with over 40 questions when they first agreed to 7?
How is it a victory that we can use the time we need to do other things to complete and enter this data? or 4 hours per session? Not all teachers want to spend more time outside of the workday on this AND the rate of per session which is an overtime rate since we are working all week should be closer to $90 not $54.
Bottom line-WE NEED NEW LEADERSHIP NOW. THE CURRENT ONE DOES NOT PROTECT US. WE CAN'T SURVIVE ANOTHER 4 YEARS OF MORE GIVEBACKS AND THERE WARPED VIEW OF WHAT THEY CONSIDER A VICTORY.
Unity is garbage. It's time to take out the trash. Why worry about a video, worry about what the current leadership is NOT DOING FOR US! It's time for Mulgrew and co to be put out to pasture. CHANGE IS NEEDED AND WELCOMED!!!!!!!!!!!!
How many of you have signed class size petitions and volunteered to help your chapter leader to plan a day of action on class size?
I will totally vote for this new caucus. However, I am not a fan of the name. It sounds too, "one contract fight but if we loose and we will dissolve" to me.
I'm not convinced. Unity wants lower class sizes too. Unity negotiated highest urban pay scale in country. Unity closed schools in 2020 and opened then in 21. Unity got paras into TRS. I don't see how the caucus would have done half as well. And who's the face of this great new fusion ticket? Some refugee from the rubber room? Some geek with a comb over? Some shopping bag lady? We're waiting with bated breath for this new Churchill.
Hey anno 3:36, not sure what Koolaid you have been drinking but Unity sucks ass and has been doing so for the past 20 years. Remember the 2005 contract they got us? "Raises" in exchange for a longer day, no more seniority based transfers, no more grieving letters in your file, etc. Oh yeah, let's not forget that Unity got us 4 observations a few years back instead of the state mandated 2 for tenured teachers. Every teacher that I have known over the years who gets brought up on bullshit DOE charges won't even use a UFT lawyer because they suck so bad. I'd rather put my trust in ex-rubber room teachers who know how to fight instead of ass kissing Mulgrew and his Unity clowns who don't even teach and just hide in their ivory tower at 52 Broadway.
@336...you're not convinced? You certainly are judgmental. We won't hold our breath waiting on toads like you to do anything other than name call.
No, I didn't drink Kookaid. In fact, I tend to look at every situation with a clear eye. For instance, I remember 2005. Bloomberg was very popular. We were getting killed during the Bush years and he was pushing us to strike, a strike that would have been divisive and probably a disaster. Instead we accepted a lot of money in exchange for a lot of shit, but some of it turned out to be not so bad. Letter-in-file grievances were bullshit. We're better off without that hair splitting. The mistake was getting rid of Step 2. We often solved problems with the Supt. Step 3 is just a rubber stamp. Seniority transfer was great for anyone over 30 years, but meant nothing to the youngsters. The ATR pool was bad, but go ask some ATRs privately how they liked it. So many on this blog say it was the best years of their lives. 2005 was the culmination of Bloomberg's attempt to destroy us. Members don't realize how close he came. Seen in that light, the contract, while bad, was a relief. I voted yes with a big sigh.
I faced 3020a charges and used the UFT (NYSUT actually) attorney, and they were excellent. I spoke to loads of people who went through the process. The notion that the UFT attorneys are bad is just WRONG. They are very professional. If you ask James or Norm, they will tell you the same thing. At the level of their attorneys, the UFT is fine. You may choose to hire your own, but the vast majority of members who use the free UFT attorney are glad they did.
(Let's face it, though. Some people deserve the charges they face and the punishment they get. They will say they got a lousy attorney, but the fault was their own)
The NYSUT lawyers are first rate. I had some trouble and I was told by people with experience that the union lawyers were great. I also got the name of a great private lawyer but I saved 15k and the case was settled. Honestly, you don't need Perry Mason. Just good professional legal representation. I was happy, so don't believe that bs that union lawyers are bad.
For retirees...
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/11/19/corporate-plan-murder-medicare-runs-through-medicare-advantage
My union lawyer seemed good and I believe he was.then he flip flopped at the hearing.they make deals with doe lawyers and u know there are quotas;the people who hear the cases are agreed to by both doe and uft.side deals are made.this was explained to me by a layer who is a relative.
In the vast majority of cases, the teacher did something wrong, albeit small. Something that teachers did daily in 1955. But the lawyer cannot guarantee that the arbitrator, who is approved by both sides, won't fire you. It's a small risk, but a huge penalty. So, a good attorney urges you to make a deal. Pay 10k to protect a career worth 3 million. That's a good attorney, not a lazy one, not a corrupt one. A year later, the teacher convinces herself a better attorney could have won the case. That's where "bad uft lawyer" stories come from.
In the vast majority of cases, the teacher did something wrong, albeit small. Something that teachers did daily in 1955. But the lawyer cannot guarantee that the arbitrator, who is approved by both sides, won't fire you. It's a small risk, but a huge penalty. So, a good attorney urges you to make a deal. Pay 10k to protect a career worth 3 million. That's a good attorney, not a lazy one, not a corrupt one. A year later, the teacher convinces herself a better attorney could have won the case. That's where "bad uft lawyer" stories come from.
How about you?
Did you sign the petition?
Did you volunteer to help your chapter leader have a successful day of action?
Mike is that you?
336. Yeah, they closed them too late, hand in hand with the Mayor. And opened them too soon, hand in hand with the Mayor. not once through that process did they ask the rank and file what they wanted or how they felt. not once, all they did was sell us the Mayor's plan, albeit with a few changes to testing percentages and school closure threshold numbers which they later backed down from anyway. they did the least, as usual.
3:36 they negotiated a garbage pay scale for the cost of living in NYC. and when it comes to our SLP's, they negotiated an unlivable wage for NYC. they did nothing substantial, they never do, and they never will. Unity caucus has to go. They are in the way of progress for our working conditions, and our living conditions.
Here is some Untiy approved Gold Standard stuff right here 336...
https://champ.gothamist.com/champ/gothamist/news/nyc-schools-bought-weaker-air-purifiers-now-underventilated-campuses-are-more-prone-covid-cases
The key is to get more intel on the DOE attorneys than they have on you.
Via the grapevine: Which DOE attorney and a friend caused a contentious scene in a smoothie shop? The issue was whether a certain type of smoothie came with strawberries included or whether there was an extra charge.
Hopefully the next contract will address the fact that teachers are forced to participate in wasteful soul-sucking professional developments or time-consuming, bureaucratic initiatives like: Learning Partners... Renewal and Rising... Continuous Learning/Network Improvement Communities... ...etc. Every 2-3 years there is new incarnation of ill-conceived nonsense that makes the lives of teachers miserable and distracts from the the real work of teaching.
Letter to the Editor
Worse Hazard Than COVID
The Chief Union-Leader
Sep 18, 2020 Updated Sep 18, 2020 0
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To the Editor: As a Teacher experiencing visual problems due to my school being built above a toxic site, I was denied a pension, too.
The city testified that it did not do air-quality inspection for two years after my complaint. In that time there were numerous cancers, and the Teacher in my room before me complained all year as her children remained listless and she developed nodules in her throat.
One Teacher died of brain cancer, another friend had kidney cancer and a nonsmoking teacher developed lung cancer.
I was in the building for only six weeks. I and my colleague who taught in that room had medical documents calling for an investigation. It was stressful, both of us knowing that no one cared, including the union. Three bricklayers who built the school won a settlement from the city for toxic exposure.
I would gladly take a school with COVID with the extremely low death rate, rather than being forced to breathe chlorinated solvents with my students.
When we look at Teacher deaths, we need to have previous data.
JOSEPH MUGIVAN j.mugivan@yahoo.com
Letter to the Editor
Worse Hazard Than COVID
The Chief Union-Leader
Sep 18, 2020 Updated Sep 18, 2020 0
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp
SMS
Email
Save
To the Editor: As a Teacher experiencing visual problems due to my school being built above a toxic site, I was denied a pension, too.
The city testified that it did not do air-quality inspection for two years after my complaint. In that time there were numerous cancers, and the Teacher in my room before me complained all year as her children remained listless and she developed nodules in her throat.
One Teacher died of brain cancer, another friend had kidney cancer and a nonsmoking teacher developed lung cancer.
I was in the building for only six weeks. I and my colleague who taught in that room had medical documents calling for an investigation. It was stressful, both of us knowing that no one cared, including the union. Three bricklayers who built the school won a settlement from the city for toxic exposure.
I would gladly take a school with COVID with the extremely low death rate, rather than being forced to breathe chlorinated solvents with my students.
When we look at Teacher deaths, we need to have previous data.
JOSEPH MUGIVAN j.mugivan@yahoo.com
Letter to the Editor
Worse Hazard Than COVID
The Chief Union-Leader
Sep 18, 2020 Updated Sep 18, 2020 0
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp
SMS
Email
Save
To the Editor: As a Teacher experiencing visual problems due to my school being built above a toxic site, I was denied a pension, too.
The city testified that it did not do air-quality inspection for two years after my complaint. In that time there were numerous cancers, and the Teacher in my room before me complained all year as her children remained listless and she developed nodules in her throat.
One Teacher died of brain cancer, another friend had kidney cancer and a nonsmoking teacher developed lung cancer.
I was in the building for only six weeks. I and my colleague who taught in that room had medical documents calling for an investigation. It was stressful, both of us knowing that no one cared, including the union. Three bricklayers who built the school won a settlement from the city for toxic exposure.
I would gladly take a school with COVID with the extremely low death rate, rather than being forced to breathe chlorinated solvents with my students.
When we look at Teacher deaths, we need to have previous data.
JOSEPH MUGIVAN j.mugivan@yahoo.com
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