EXECUTIVE BOARD VOTES 99-1 AGAINST ELECTRONIC VOTING IN UFT ELECTION; ARBITRATION ON SPRING BREAK PAY ONGOING; MULGREW SAYS PRIVATIZED HEALTHCARE ISN'T PRIVATIZED

 Arthur Goldstein has a very interesting report from last night's UFT Executive Board meeting up at NYC Educator.

The Executive Board voted approximately 99-1 against electronic voting for the upcoming UFT election. Here is what Arthur wrote in his report (with my notes on who is Unity and who is not in parenthesis). The debate is on allowing electronic voting in addition to mail-in balloting for the upcoming UFT election:

Michael Shulman--(Election Committee member; Head of New Action, not on Executive Board)Thanks LeRoy Barr for invitation. Thanks Carl Cambria for chairing. Wants to discuss balloting. Favors voting electronically due to low voter turnout. That is key. Not a caucus issue. Big issue is getting membership to participate. Important to be proud of union democracy. We are not moving with the times. About 25% of our membership vote. That is unacceptable. There have been proposals to GOTV, but we are lagging. 

Since pandemic, our union uses secure electronic voting for DA, for CL, for SBOs. Not a radical new proposal. Other public sector unions doing this. We have capability, not as sole source. We could use both. If someone votes both, we could distinguish which came first and that would take precedence. 

I come from older generation. I believe many younger teachers use electronic voting. Snail mail alien to them. 

Akeel Williams(Unity Caucus member)--As far as us moving toward electronic voting, no real proof that it will guarantee more turnout. Maybe we could do this for next election cycle. Wouldn't be vetted and ready for Spring. 

(Another Unity member)--During pandemic used electronic voting for chapters. No evidence it increased participation. 

Mike Schirtzer (Independent)--Agrees with Shulman. PSC (Professional Staff Congress-CUNY union) has option of online voting. We are in a battle to enfranchise folks who lost right to vote. Eric Adams is looking to union bust. Need to show we are strongest and best union. DA and Town Hall numbers are staggering. We trust AAA to get it right. Teachers under 30 don't know where mailboxes are. Need to open options. 

Pat Crispino (Unity)--Respectfully disagrees. Today got email from DOE email, though everyone knows not to do this. We will be repping our members who use DOE apparatus when teaching. Opposes change.

Rashad Brown(Unity)--Opposes recommended change. Electronic voting has had issues. Many don't get emails or text. Not there yet. 

Servia Silva (Unity)--Opposes change. Had lower participation for SBOs and CL elections. Paper had much more. Calendar was voted on.

Mike Sill(Unity)--We don't know what's coming with new admin, or pandemic. Moment of instability not good to make change. Election season already begun. If we face hostile admin, we don't want voting called into question. Not time to experiment. 

Tom Murphy (Unity)--Sympathetic to anything that will increase turnout. Retirees had larger turnout because of controversial issue. To get vote out, we should campaign. 

The Executive Board then voted with only Schirtzer dissenting to have exclusive mail-in balloting. Mike and Mike were too polite to make the argument that Unity, just like the Republican Party, is very much for suppressing the vote. They know that they would be taking a very big chance if there was voting in the schools or electronic voting as more people might vote to throw Unity out.

Mike Schirtzer pointed out to me later that the 99% to 1% vote illustrates how the UFT Executive Board does not represent the membership. Seriously, if you asked 100 UFT members if there should be electronic voting, I very much doubt 99 of them would say no unless they were 99 Unity Caucus members. 

We need to vote to oust Mulgrew and his entire caucus.  After spending four months negotiating within United for Change, I can guarantee you that there will be robust debate if we were elected to run the UFT.

In other Executive Board news, the arbitration for Spring Break 2020 pay is underway.

Once again we turn to Arthur's report:

Spring break--Arbitration going on. Five unions involved. We are first. Others will follow. Cannot go into details, but we have made clear we must receive the value of our work. Arbitrator concerned about money. Car day not equivalent. Two for one upon retirement. We need value of 7 days work, which we did. Expecting to know something by next week.

Finally, today I want to define the word privatization for President Michael Mulgrew:

Privatization-the transfer of a business, industry, or service from public to private ownership and control.

This is from Medicare.gov:

Original Medicare:

Original Medicare is coverage managed by the federal government.

Now for Medicare Advantage:

Medicare Advantage is Medicare-approved plan from a private company that offers an alternative to Original Medicare for your health and drug coverage. 

Mulgrew from his report last night, via Arthur, on the new Medicare (dis)Advantage plan Mulgrew is touting for city retirees that a judge has delayed the start date:

People say we're privatizing health care. Ridiculous.

What does Mulgrew call it when Medicare-eligible retirees are switched to an Advantage plan administered by  Blue Cross and Emblem Health (private entities) rather than staying in government-administered Medicare for 80% of their coverage?

Many city retirees are choosing to stay in government-administered Medicare that will now cost them almost $400 a month for a wife and husband to avoid going through bureaucratic gatekeepers Medicare Advantage Plus (Mulgrewcare) requires to get medically necessary procedures approved. The cost for the current original Medicare plan is $0 after reimbursements. Keep up the hands off our healthcare fight folks.