Strategic Error Boxes-Out Class Size Reduction Complaint for Second Major UFT Legal Setback in Past Week

In an apparent miscalculation in the choice of proper forum for which to seek a remedy the Appellate Division, First Department this week, turned back a UFT/NAACP initiated lawsuit seeking proper allocation of Contract for Excellence funds toward class size reduction. Just a few days ago, the UFT/NAACP legal team was defeated in an attempt to stop the co-location of charter schools.

Late last year Bronx Supreme Court Justice John Barone denied the DOE’s motion to dismiss the proceeding. The City appealed and last Thursday the Appellate Division dismissed the lawsuit.

Contract for Excellence is a special State funded program which developed as an outgrowth of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit in 2003, and tied additional state education funds to certain criteria, including lowering class size. A plan is put together, each year since 2007-2008 by the DOE and submitted to the Commissioner of Education for approval. Upon approval the funds are released.

Within the Contract for Excellence legislation are provisions for parents and others to complain about the plan and its implementation. When it became apparent through a City comptroller audit that class size reduction promises were not being met and the additional funding was going to principals to spend how they wish, parents and others began to complain.

Despite the fact that the law requires complaints to first proceed to the state Commissioner of Education the UFT/NAACP legal team decided to commence litigation in Bronx  Supreme Court citing a New York Daily News article as proof of the futility of following this statutory route. The Appellate Division held that an allegation that a secret deal was made with the State Education Commissioner does not obviate the need to follow the statute’s review process and that the Commissioner's decision could be reviewed in Court.

Although the guidelines for the Contract for Excellence funding allocations have not been published for this year it is almost certain that the money will not go to class size reductions next school year. We will keep you advised.

Bargaining With the Devil: How UFT Attorney Miscalculation Led to the Recent Charter School Victory

Riding high from their school closing victory in the Supreme and Appellate Courts last year the UFT and its co-plaintiffs started to see that their interpretation of these decisions were not the same as the DOE’s. Seeing that the DOE was going ahead with its charter co-locations in most of the 19 schools prevented from closing, UFT counsel sent the court a letter on May 28, 2010 complaining that the DOE was not following the Court’s decision.

Specifically UFT counsel asked for a conference with all sides to stop the co-locations arguing that the invalidated PEP vote also prevented the co-locations. The DOE appeared to believe that the decision only invalidated the PEP vote that closed the schools.

A conference was held and on July 14, 2010 a letter “agreement” was submitted, which, incorrectly relied upon by the UFT, seemed to answer their concerns. The letter agreement laid out a plan to provide services to the affected schools.

As usual the UFT claimed a great victory and everyone went on their merry way until it became clear that the DOE had not given up its plan to close most of the schools originally planned and co-locate charter schools. 

The UFT cried foul and based their claim of swindle on the letter agreement which they started to call a stipulation. Few, if any of the services “promised” in the letter agreement were provided or were provided so late in the year that they could not prevent the closing of the schools or the co-locations.

By May 2011 the UFT assembled its prior co-plaintiffs and decided to commence a lawsuit with a request for a temporary injunction to stop the DOE from the closings and co-locations. A temporary restraining order was consented to by all parties on June 21 pending a decision by the Justice Paul Feinman.

Then, on July 21, 2011 Justice Feinman issued his opinion right after the State permitted the DOE to close the schools. He denied the injunction paving the way for DOE celebration.

What went wrong?

As hinted at above the bottom line, relied on by Justice Feinman, was that the DOE never really agreed to provide the services of the letter agreement as a condition before closing the schools. Justice Feinman relied on Joel Klein’s affidavit which clearly claimed that if there were any conditions he never would have agreed. Adam Ross, a UFT attorney, admitted, “Thus, while Defendants are correct that the Agreement does not foreclose the DOE from ever seeking to close these schools, their contention that their promise to provide specified supports for these schools in the 2010-2011 school year (Klein Aff., pp6) is completely irrelevant to any further decision to close is incorrect.”

Feinman made clear in his decision that there was never any representation, implicit or otherwise, on which the UFT could reasonably rely that the DOE waived any of its authority to co-locate or close the schools. To grant the injunction, Feinman ruled, would relegate students in these allegedly failed schools to an inferior education.

Good Summer Reading on Failure of Business Model in Education & Other News and Commentary

My colleague Marc Epstein has written a piece showing how the business model has failed in public education but as usual there is no accountability for failure. Like everything else, accountability is for little people.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-epstein/which-business-model-is-b_b_909695.html

While I was away on vacation, the news was depressing as a judge sided with the city and will allow charter co-locations in public schools and school closings to continue. The judge did leave a window open to continue the suit but this fall will be a disaster for kids in many closing schools as Leonie Haimson of Class Size Matters pointed out.

Then there is the related issue about what is likely to happen to the kids who are currently enrolled at the closing schools. At Jamaica HS, they are planning to allow only the high-achieving kids in the Gateway program to transfer into the new selective small school in the building, called Jamaica Gateway to the Sciences . For most of the rest, they will either be forced to drop out, be discharged to GED programs, or given sub-standard “credit recovery” programs, and never be allowed to graduate with a real HS education. A recent summary shows what happened at Tilden HS when it closed. 44 Haitian students fell between the cracks; they “came to the United States in search of better educational opportunities, but they didn’t find it.” There is no evidence that DOE has learned anything from the past and will do anything different in the future.

I don't know who the person was who confronted a deputy chancellor at the DOE happy hour celebrating the court ruling that will leave thousands of children behind in separate and unequal schools but those of us at Jamaica and Paul Robeson thank you.

It was good to see the parents fighting back on charter co-locations in a new lawsuit filed yesterday.

The march to Save our Schools is Saturday in DC. Great news that wounded education activist Norm Scott will be there.

The DOE has also told principals how they will implement the new ATR agreement. In their video they inform principals that they can still put substitutes into positions and don't have to hire ATRs to fill vacancies.

We hate to say we told them so again and again but each time the UFT makes a deal with the DOE, the DOE subsequently does everything they can to not abide by their part. Shouldn't the UFT learn by now?

UFT Fiddles While Large Numbers of Probationers Are Denied Tenure

Back in November 2010 Mayor Bloomberg and then Chancellor Klein announced "sweeping changes" to the tenure system in the New York City school system. They claimed that tenure was a "rubber stamp" process and needed to be overhauled to assure high quality teachers remained in the system.

Where was the UFT in all of this? Right behind Bloomberg and Klein. In fact Mulgrew "welcomed" the new, overhauled process and help bring in the new evaluation system that was made a part of it.

Then in December the principals were given general guidelines based on "Framework for Teaching" developed by Charlotte Danielson and a rubric. They were instructed to use these guidelines in making tenure decisions.

The UFT either supported the guidelines, as Weingarten signaled in February, or remained silent and complacent. In fact UFT borough offices began to hold information sessions where superintendents were invited to "explain" the new rules to probationers. These included a mandated portfolio, prepared by teachers up for tenure, in which they highlighted their probationary accomplishments within the rubric.

By May 1, the DOE imposed deadline for principals all recommendations and portfolios were to be submitted to superintendents for final review.

Then the surprise. Although it was common knowledge for almost two years that rates for extensions of probation and probationary terminations were geometrically increasing the UFT stood by and did nothing fearing that if they attacked the new rules they would somehow be perceived by the public that they were protecting incompetent teachers.

Reports from all over the city came in which proved that the "new rules" were a sham. Superintendents told teachers that if they worked in poorly rated schools they were not eligible for tenure. Teachers were told they did not have enough time with their last principal to be properly evaluated or their portfolios did not make the grade even though many of them were not even reviewed.

With all of the evidence in what does the UFT do? It makes a Freedom of Information Request to determine the number of teachers affected by irrelevant criteria in end of probation decisions. Mulgrew's letter demonstrates how fearful the UFT is of the DOE. The fact that the letter went out to Chapter Leaders instead of the entire membership and that they waited until the middle of the summer to start their feeble attack clearly indicates they have no real interest in changing the DOE tenure policy both in its design and in its implementation.

A note on tenure…

We have explained before, in this blog, what tenure is and what it isn't. Briefly stated the law defines tenure as that period of time, usually 3 years, where a teacher has performed satisfactorily. Tenure fundamentally changes the employment rights of a teacher from being an "at-will" employee while under probation and fired for any or no reason at all to one that is entitled to a due process hearing where the DOE must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the teacher should be fired before an arbitrator.

Education Law 3012 provides, in relevant part: "At the expiration of the probationary term…, the superintendent of schools shall make a written report to the board of education …recommending for appointment on tenure those persons who have been found competent, efficient and satisfactory, consistent with any applicable rules of the board of regents adopted pursuant to section three thousand twelve-b of this article. ...Each person who is not to be recommended for appointment on tenure, shall be so notified by the superintendent of schools in writing not later than sixty days immediately preceding the expiration of his probationary period."

 

The statute provides that tenure decisions must be made solely on a teacher's competence, efficiency and satisfactory service. The part of the statute which refers to State Regulations only refers to the new, 4 part, evaluation system, effective September 2011 which make no mention of probation or tenure at all.

So why is the UFT so conspicuously absent in the face of such a radical change in working conditions for so many teachers? Perhaps, their lawyers believe that since tenure is not a subject of bargaining there is legally little they can do. While, admittedly, legal avenues are limited although there are actions that can be brought if the Union knew or cared about its members.

Now, we must wait for a FOIL request to be filled (they can take months or even years) and teachers who have provided competent, efficient and satisfactory service must serve additional probation time or be terminated.

ON EDUCATION

A Failing School? Not to These Students

Librado Romero/The New York Times

In February, the Bloomberg administration placed Jamaica High School on a list of 22 failing schools it planned to shut. No new pupils will be accepted this fall. In three years, when the last of its current students graduate, the school will close.

By MICHAEL WINERIP

Published: July 3, 2011

Enlarge This ImageEveryone knows Jamaica High is a bad school. The past two years, it has received D’s on its report card from the city and been labeled persistently dangerous by the state.

Librado Romero/The New York Times

Muhammad Ahmad at the Jamaica High School graduation last week. He received a full scholarship to Clarkson University.

Enlarge This Image

Librado Romero/The New York Times

Afsan Quayyum, valedictorian. He plans to start an engineering program for degrees from Queens College and Columbia.

In February, the Bloomberg administration placed Jamaica on a list of 22 failing schools it planned to close. The mayor and his schools chancellors have sent letters encouraging students to enroll elsewhere, and the shrinking of the student body has led to a decline in financing, squeezing the juice out of Jamaica High.

There was no money for lab lessons in advanced biology, which upset Doreen Mohammed and Tonmoy Kabiraj,  who hope to be doctors. Courtney Perkins’s advanced math class did not have graphing calculators until eight months into the school year. The last music teacher was sent to another school, which really frustrated Mills Duodu, who plays violin, trumpet, drums and piano.

City officials have vigorously fought a lawsuit brought by the teachers’ union seeking to save the 22 schools, 15 of them high schools. In May, the schools chancellor, Dennis M. Walcott, called the union’s position “unacceptable” and vowed to “defend the honor of our students.”

This surprised Afsan Quayyum and Doreen, who graduated from Jamaica High, in Queens, last week. They did not realize their honor needed defending. Afsan, the valedictorian, plans to start an engineering program this fall that will give him a bachelor’s degree from Queens College in three years, and another from Columbia University after two more. Doreen, the salutatorian, has a full scholarship to Columbia.

Their classmate Gerard Henry is struck by all the people he meets who have never stepped inside Jamaica High yet are sure it is a living hell. “If I say, ‘My name is Gerard Henry and I just graduated Jamaica High School,’ they say, ‘Oh my God, you’re one of them?’ If I say, ‘My name is Gerard Henry and I’m going to Columbia next fall,’ they say, ‘Oh my God, you’re one of them?’ ”

It is puzzling how a school can be labeled failing and yet produce Afsan, Doreen and Gerard, not to mention Mills (who is heading to Denison University in Ohio), Kevin Gonzalez (Stony Brook University), Courtney (Howard University), Nujhat Choudhury (University of Alberta) and two top math students who are best friends: Muhammad Ahmad (Clarkson University) and Mohammad Khan (City University’s Grove School of Engineering), known throughout the school as “the Mohammads squared.”

Of course, it is possible that such seniors are the exceptions. As James S. Liebman, the Columbia law professor who developed the city report card, wrote in an e-mail: “Good high schools aren’t satisfied when just a few kids get into strong colleges. They aim for all kids to do so.” Education Department officials point out that the graduation rate at Jamaica has stayed at about 50 percent for years.

But it is also possible that the deck has been stacked against Jamaica High, that the 15 “worst” high schools have been packed with the students with the worst problems. According to an analysis by the city’s Independent Budget Office, these schools have more poor children (63 percent versus 52 percent citywide), more homeless students (6 percent versus 4 percent), more special-education students (18 versus 12). For 24 percent of Jamaica High students, English is a foreign language, compared with 11 percent citywide.

The “worst” high schools are sent the eighth graders who are the furthest behind: their average proficiency score on state tests is 2.6 out of 4, compared with 2.9 citywide, and more of these students (9 percent versus 4 percent) are over age, suggesting they have had to repeat grades.

It is no big mystery to Doreen why Stuyvesant High gets A’s on the city progress reports while Jamaica gets D’s: “Only the smartest kids are accepted,” she said.

Jamaica High’s enrollment has fallen to about 1,000, a quarter of what it was in the mid-1970s. No new pupils will be accepted this fall. In three years, when the last of its current students graduate, the school will close. Four new small schools will take over its storied building.

Each administration wants to be remembered for pioneering something or other, and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg long ago chose small schools and charters.

James Eterno, Jamaica’s representative to the teachers’ union, has been portrayed in the news media as a man who cares more about preserving jobs than — as the mayor never tires of saying — “putting children first.”

That is not how Kevin Gonzalez sees it. For Kevin, Mr. Eterno is the United States history teacher who stayed late to tutor his students, helping Kevin earn a top score of 5 on theAdvanced Placement test.

Doreen and Gerard definitely feel put first. Jamaica had no college adviser this year — until October, when Mr. Eterno stepped in. “Before Christmas break he stayed late to make sure everything was perfect to send to the colleges,” Gerard said. “Mr. Eterno went way beyond.”

After Doreen was accepted to Columbia, she spoke with people at the admissions office. “They told me how Mr. Eterno kept calling them about me and faxing them stuff,” she said.

Last Tuesday, students did not have to be at the graduation ceremony until 9 a.m., but Doreen was up at 4:30 getting ready. To ensure she was out of bed by 6, Nujhat set two alarms, “my cellphone and my mother.” When Afsan was asked if he was nervous about delivering a speech, he said: “A little, but I’m fine now. I’m fine. I got my confidence back.”

No Jamaica High band is left to play “Pomp and Circumstance.” But Clayton Ezell, a senior, belted out “The Star-Spangled Banner” as if he were Robert Merrill standing at home plate in Yankee Stadium.

The third-ranked student in the senior class, Tonmoy, whose father was a professor in Bangladesh but drives a taxi in New York, gave a speech about the need to see the glass as half full.

After the ceremony, the parents lingered: it was hard to tell that their children had attended a failing school. Muhammad Ahmad’s father, also named Muhammad, said his son’s full scholarship to Clarkson was a sign that the family plan was working. The father had been an accountant in Pakistan, but he, too, drives a cab here. “My job here is not a recognition of my dignity,” he said, “but I am supporting my kids to a great future.”

Of course, it is still possible that Jamaica High is a failing school. The two D’s may be deserved. But it did not fail Afsan, Doreen, Courtney, Nujhat, Gerard, Mills, Tonmoy, Kevin or the Mohammads squared.

E-mail: oneducation
@nytimes.com

A version of this article appeared in print on July 4, 2011, on page A17 of the New York edition with the headline: A Failing School? Not to These Students.

A DELEGATE ASSEMBLY THAT LEONID BREZHNEV WOULD HAVE BEEN PROUD OF

UFT President Michael Mulgrew took dictatorial control of the Delegate Assembly to new depths that one time Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev would have been elated with. The issue at the special DA today was the worst part of the new agreement with the City-Department of Education that will permit the DOE to reassign Absent Teacher Reserves to new schools every week.

The low point of the meeting was not the agreement that contained some positives including a no layoff agreement and new procedures to help ATRs get hired. The nadir was that the president had to be forced before he would allow anyone to speak in opposition to his new agreement. When he opened up the floor for debate, multiple loyalty oath signing members of his Unity Caucus heaped praise on him for preventing layoffs. (Unity members must sign a statement saying they will support the decisions of their caucus [political party] in public and union forums.) We certainly agree that not having layoffs is an excellent outcome. Only after a Unity person moved to close debate did I stand and raise a point of order so I could have the opportunity to defend the Absent Teacher Reserves who in the new agreement are being shoved to the back of the bus if they can’t secure a position.

Roberts Rules says, "Debate of a question is not ended by the chair's rising to put the question to vote until both the affirmative and the negative are put;" I read this clause verbatim to the Delegates. Roberts Rules goes on to say, "A member can claim the floor and thus reopen debate.” That is exactly what I was attempting to do. Mulgrew passed to the UFT's parliamentarian who the president noted is paid for by the UFT. (By the way, I read Roberts Rules closely tonight and a point of order [procedures not being followed] takes priority over a motion to close debate.) The parliamentarian abruptly ignored Roberts Rules and told Mulgrew he had to have a 2/3 vote to let someone speak against the motion (the ATR and no layoff agreement) at this point. Mulgrew then improperly asked that the rules be suspended to allow someone else to speak. He got the vote to suspend the rules which was ridiculous but at least we thought were going to be heard.

We were still muzzled, however, as President Mulgrew for some reason did not call on me but instead called on a delegate from my school who yielded his time to me. That wasn't good enough for the president who at this point quickly said the delegate couldn't yield time to me and called on someone else who didn’t speak at all about the ATRs. What is the president so afraid of? Were 900 or so members of the Unity Caucus going to vote against their leadership and side with me because of my rhetorical skills? I doubt it very much. At least the DOE gives us two minutes to speak at their Panel for Educational Policy meetings before they cast aside what we say.

Mulgrew didn't even afford me any time to make the important points I made in tonight’s earlier piece. Leonid Brezhnev would have been so happy with the way our union conducted its business.

CITY BUDGET BEING BALANCED ON THE BACKS OF UFT'S ATRS

• We have an agreement between the UFT and the city that eliminates the possibility of over 4,000 layoffs this year. We also gain increased hiring opportunities for Absent Teacher Reserves to be hired provisionally and to get considered for positions at reduced costs to principals. In exchange the UFT has agreed to suspend sabbaticals for 2012-2013 and to allow the DOE to move Absent Teacher Reserves who are not lucky enough to secure a permanent position from school to school on a weekly basis.

  
  

  UFT President Michael Mulgrew's report at tonight's emergency Delegate Assembly highlighted the no layoff part of the agreement, which we are all happy about. Nobody in their right mind wants to see over 4,000 teachers lose their jobs. Mulgrew also thanked everyone for doing work with the state and city council. He told us the mayor said he wanted non seniority layoffs. He talked about opposing the mayor with the city council. He didn't, however, talk for too long about the part of the agreement that dealt with Absent Teacher Reserves becoming nomads.

  The new agreement forces each principal to interview at least two ATRS per semester if they have vacancies and they are supposed to hire ATRS for vacancies and leave replacements. I don’t quite understand what happens if they interview two and don’t like them. Can they then hire someone from outside or give the classes away in a secondary school as a sixth class for special per session pay or to substitutes? UFT leadership believes these new procedures will lead to a big reduction in the ATR pool. I hope they are correct because anyone unfortunate enough to be left behind in the ATR pool risks becoming a teacher gypsy.

  The agreement on page three contains the following ominous clause: "An Excessed Employee/ATR shall be assigned to a school within his/her district/superintendency each week. A 'week' shall be Monday through Friday, or shorter if the work week is less than five(5) days." Then there is clause C which says: "An Excessed Empoyee/ATR shall be notfied no later than Friday (or the last work-day of the week) if he/she will be assigned to a different school the following week and, if so, to which school. An ATR who has not been notified that he/she has been assigned to a different school by Friday shall report on Monday, or the first work day of the work day of the work week, and for the duration of that week, to the last school to which he/she was assigned." In other words, if a teacher does not find a permanent job on his or her own, buy a good GPS.

  Besides the obvious problems of ATRS not having stability from week to week and not being able to bond with students, or know which person in each particular school to go to in order to resolve issues with payroll or their sick bank days or other items, this makes it virtually impossible for ATRs to do any per session work (extra activities for money that are pensionable.) We are truly worried that ATRS will now become third class citizens.

  One of the worst parts of the horrible giveback laden 2005 contract was the loss of placement rights for members whose schools close or are excessed because their school or program is downsized. Since then, there has been a pool of teachers ranging from the hundreds to thousands called ATRs who have no permanent job and must substitute. Under current rules, ATRs usually stay in a school for a year and then can be reassigned. It is not a very professional existence but we are told by UFT leaders that at least the ATRs have jobs. In 2008 the DOE and UFT came to an agreement to allow principals to hire ATRs and only get charged on their budget the cost of half of a starting teacher for seven years. (The teacher still gets full pay.) The UFT predicted this would basically end the ATR problem but it didn't. The reasons ATRs are not hired are either because they have obscure licenses or they are activists who are not going to say, "How high?" when a principal tells them to "Jump!"

  UFT Secretary Michael Mendel told me the ATRS will have a much greater chance of getting a full time position under this new agreement. Again, I truly want him to be right but I fear he might be wrong. The subsidies didn't lead to the withering away of the ATR pool and neither will this as I see it because unfortunately some principals don't care about cost as much as they care about control. Furthermore, having teachers do coverages is much cheaper than hiring someone they don’t know.

  Balancing the budget on the backs of ATRS is not quite as awful as balancing it on the backs of newer teachers who would have been laid off but it was totally unnecessary. With Bloomberg’s poll numbers on education sinking to "Bushian Post Hurricane Katrina" levels, the UFT was holding all of the cards and should have insisted that to save money that the DOE should be compelled to place all of the ATRS into positions in their districts. That would save some money for sure as it would eliminate the ATR pool if DOE was not allowed to do any new hiring until every ATR in a license in a district was placed. Any remaining ATRs could cover classes in an individual school so as not to create the potential chaos that this agreement could bring.

  Teacher bashing continues. When firehouses close, the firefighters aren't blamed and they are sent to another firehouse. When police precincts redeploy whole precincts because of corruption scandals, the clean cops who worked in the corrupt precinct don't have to apply to other precinct captains. They are transferred. Only teachers face the indignity of having to pound the pavement to seek a job because a program was downsized or closed.

  President Mulgrew said this union leaves no educator behind. This is not totally true as the ATRs have certainly been left to basically fend for themselves.

THE LAST MINUTE BUDGET AGREEMENT: IS IT GOOD OR BAD?

It is very hard to comment on the UFT agreement with the City-DOE that was announced last night. It is certainly a very positive development that over four thousand teachers won't be laid off. On the other hand, the teaching force will be reduced by thousands through attrition, while student enrollments are increasing; this will invariably result in larger class sizes which is educationally unsound to say the least.

It is also not so good that we gave up sabbaticals for 2112-13, which will save pennies, while nothing has been done to control ballooning administrative costs within the DOE.

However, this sabbatical concession is not my central concern. We live in the real world and the national and state political climates are definitely anti teacher and anti union. We know that the sabbatical giveback for a year is not a fundamental loss.

It is the ATR part that concerns me. Absent Teacher Reserves are teachers who have been excessed because their school or program has been closed or downsized. They are in that position through no fault of their own and policy now is to usually send ATRs to a school for a year so at least they have some certainty in their lives.

ATRs at my school are currently utilized to cover classes for absent teachers on a daily basis before any day-to-day subs are called. If through this agreement the DOE is truly going to be compelled to deploy ATRs into vacant positions, then this is a positive development. If, however, the UFT just gave the DOE license to shuffle ATRs around on a weekly basis to different schools within a district, then ATRs who already are treated like second class citizens will have become third class UFT members.

Until I see the language of this agreement, I will reserve judgment. Yes, the devil is in the details.

I would hope that the UFT would send out the actual agreement before Tuesday's emergency Delegate Assembly meeting so we can discuss it with our members before we break for the summer.

For a detailed analysis, read Perdido Street here.

TWO TEACHERS STEP UP TO FIGHT DOE ON THEIR OWN

We constantly hear people complain that they are paying over $48 a check in UFT dues and don't get proper services from the Union. While the UFT should be everyone's first line of defense when under attack, it is certainly not the only avenue available to battle back against horrible administration. Two teachers who I know are taking their fight outside of the UFT.

Dena Gordon is a social studies teacher at East West School of International Studies in Flushing. She works for administrators (Principal Ben Sherman and Assistant Principal Mala Panday) who have abused the staff continually. The harassment and intimidation have been so severe that the last two UFT Chapter Leaders were compelled to leave the school and now they do not have a chapter leader. Can anyone blame people for not taking the Chapter Leader job under those circumstances? Dena was a UFT Delegate previously so Sherman has targeted her all year with illegal observations where she is denied mandated pre-observation conferences and letters for file over inconsequential issues that are ignored with other teachers.

Dena has filed multiple grievances that are clogged up in the interminable grievance process. Step I is the principal and Step II is the Chancellor. Basically, teachers have very little chance of having an objective hearing at both steps. The Union has a limited number of arbitration dates available where grievances would be heard by a neutral third party so grievances back up for years at times while administrative harassment continues. We need to expose what is happening and get help to teachers like Dena.

Dena decided she could not wait a second longer so she has hired her own lawyer and taken the principal to the state Public Employees Relations Board charging him with anti union bias. We believe she has a very strong case as clearly she is an activist who has been targeted by an administration that is more interested in controlling the Union than in educating kids. Union buster Ben Sherman truly deserves the designation: "Principal From Hell."

Gagan Diwan is a math teacher. He taught successfully at Humanities and the Arts High School in Queens until 2009 when suddenly administration turned on him.He asked administration for an accommodation to have classes on one floor and a key to the elevator as he has muscular dystrophy.

Administration ignored his requests and went on to terminate him several months later. UFT would only file a U rating appeal, which as we know is basically a kangaroo court where we almost always lose. However, Gagan would not accept the loss of his job so he hired his own lawyer and filed a complaint with the New York State Human Rights Commission. A few weeks ago they found there was probable cause that his rights were violated and now the case will go to a hearing. The NY Post covered this story.

The point of all of this is to tell our readers not to give up when confronted with a seemingly impossible situation. There are people out there who aren't going to take the employer abuse and are finding ways to help themselves either inside the union or if they are not satisfied, then outside.

GRADUATING STUDENTS SPEAK OUT

The piece linked below by Anna Gustafson, an excellent education reporter, is from the Queens Chronicle. It needs to be read by everyone.

Anna interviewed a bunch of graduating students in our school slated for closure. The kids talk about their hopes and also the obstacles they confronted in high school. I'm quite confident this story could be repeated all across the nation. There are consequences on real life people when school officials starve a school of resources. These kids succeeded in spite of what was done to them by the New York City DOE.

Please read and comment.

http://www.qchron.com/news/queenswide/article_9badb0f7-fcfa-5e19-af5e-1074e576b975.html

Also, we totally support the lawsuit that has been filed by the UFT, NAACP and others like State Senator Tony Avella to save our schools.

PREMIERE OF INCONVENIENT TRUTH BEHIND WAITING FOR SUPERMAN

Last Thursday I attended the premiere of the Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting For Superman along with around 700 other people in Harlem. This educator and parent produced film is the response to the highly misleading documentary glorifying charter schools called Waiting for Superman.

What a pleasure it was to see the new movie in which teachers and parents worked together to produce a quality work that tells us what is really going on inside our nation's public schools.

It is a hopeful sign when you see regular people take the "Do it Yourself" philosophy to a new level. It also felt good to watch young veteran teachers Brian Jones and Julie Cavanaugh as the stars of the film.

The audience at the premiere was a diverse group of educators, parents, students and activists.

The Grassroots Education Movement that produced the film consists of retirees, veteran teachers, new teachers and non teachers too. People who are united by a common agenda to support public education and fight back against the so called reformers who are actually trying to destroy our public schools.

In addition, this was the first time I have ever heard Diane Ravitch speak live. She led a panel discussion after the film along with a student, a parent and two teachers that was quite enlightening. Professor Ravitch lives up to the hype and we thank our lucky stars that a person of such high regard is leading the battle against so called school reform.

Finally, it wouldn't be a James Eterno story if I didn't put in a plug for the kids from my school. So with an apology to the reader who hates that I like to talk about Jamaica High School, a school that is at the center of the school closing controversy, the names of the two students from Jamaica who appear in the film are Syeeda Nasim, a sophomore, and Kevin Gonzalez, a senior. I hope in future editions they get credited.

UFT Chapter at Aspirations HS Stops Charter School in Its Tracks

A Joint Hearing scheduled for Thursday evening for the colocation of a new charter school for just released incarcerated students and other "disconnected youth" was abruptly cancelled by the proposed school. A Charter School Association representative stated that the failure of the new proposed charter to obtain a principal caused the sudden withdrawal for the application while others understood that the pressure by local civic leaders and Aspirations High School staff brought to bear was too much for the DOE and the proposed Charter.

The building at 1495 Herkimer Street in Brownsville was converted from a sewing factory in the early 1990's and was the home for neighborhood school, EBC/ENY High School for Public Service and Law until its closing for poor management and performance by the Klein administration. In 2008 Aspirations High School, a transfer school for under-credited and over-aged high school students was opened in the building to occupy one half of the space. The remaining space left by the vacating EBC/ENY High School was then offered to Roads Charter School, a school for newly released incarcerated students.

Roads, which boasted new teacher salaries of up to $100,000 per year and a plan to take over large parts of the building, concerned the staff at Aspirations and others. The UFT Chapter at Aspirations voted, almost unanimously, to oppose the new charter. Community leaders and some parents also recognized that the proposed colocation of the Charter school the existing public school was a real estate grab for the DOE's preference for privatizing public education.

"The colocation of this school was just wrong at every level," said United Federation of Teachers Chapter Leader at Aspirations High School Jeff Kaufman after the application for the school was withdrawn. Kaufman had taught incarcerated students for many years at Rikers Island before joining the staff at Aspirations.

"We have learned precious little since Brown v. Board of Education," [the landmark US Supreme Court which outlawed segregation in education.] "Segregating released students further stigmatizes these at risk students," he argued. "Newly released incarcerated students need to be carefully integrated into the community."

Kaufman also stated that concentrating newly released incarcerated students in the vacant space would have posed a risk to the students at Aspirations and the neighborhood around the school."

Kaufman cited the failure of Community Prep High School, a DOE public school attempt to segregate this population which was closed soon after it opened in a segregated facility on the East side of Manhattan.

It is not clear, at this time, how the DOE will utilize the newly vacated space.

NEVER SAY DIE JAMAICA WILL RALLY AGAIN ON SUNDAY

We refuse to quit. Thanks to the energy of Senator Tony Avella, Jamaica will be out there again rallying to show the world our school that is scheduled for phase out is still alive. This time it is the alumni leading the way. Alumni include musical group the Cleftones, who will be performing at Sunday's rally, Councilman Leroy Comrie, State Assemblyman David Weprin, Councilman Mark Weprin, CBS Sunday Morning's Nancy Giles and plenty more. Hopefully, they all will all be there on Sunday and you are invited too.

Jamaica is located at 167-01 Gothic Drive in Jamaica. Take the F Train to 169th street, go to the back of the station and walk two blocks up the hill on 168th to the school. See you on Sunday at noon.

Michael Fiorillo Warns Not to Celebrate Black's Departure; Leonie Haimson Gets it Right in the NY Times

Hello All,

This is not a good development. Every day that Black was Chancellor, she further undermined Bloomberg and revealed his contempt for students, parents and teachers. Walcott will follow the same smash-and-grab agenda, but will be far more adept at it, and his being black will provide a partial shield from criticism.

After all, if people are motivated by power and greed, better for the rest of us if they are incompetent and the butt of jokes. Black was a gift from the Gods of Absurdity, which they have sadly taken back from us.

Let's all hope that this comes too late to revive people's view of Bloomberg, but it makes our job harder, not easier.

Best,

Michael Fiorillo

She Inherited a Mess

Leonie Haimson, a New York City public school parent, is the executive director of Class Size Matters, a citywide advocacy group.

New York City has the largest school district in the country, with 1.1 million students. Unfortunately, as the experience of Cathie Black shows, having a good record in business is not enough to be a successful chancellor.

Cathie Black inherited a huge mess from Joel Klein, who made one mistake after another.

You have to understand something about teaching and learning, how to listen to stakeholders, and how to work collaboratively with communities to move their schools forward. Joel Klein came in with an attitude that he knew best, that the schools were his fiefdom to control, that parents had nothing of importance to communicate, and proceeded to make one disastrous policy mistake after another.

He coasted for many years on effective public relations, increased budgets and test score inflation. When he started cutting school budgets and the test score bubble burst, he had nothing left to rely upon and departed for greener pastures.

Cathie Black came in and inherited a huge mess. One-fourth of all elementary schools have waiting lists for kindergarten because of overdevelopment and incompetent planning. One-tenth of eighth graders were not admitted to any of their high school choices. In a system supposedly based on expanding choice, this administration has taken away the most basic choice of all: to be able to send your child to a neighborhood school.

Class sizes are larger in the early grades than they have been in more than a decade, schools have lost art, music and science, and are forced to focus on test prep; and parents’ desire that their schools be helped to improve, rather than threatened with closure or lose precious space to a charter school is routinely ignored.

Dennis Walcott has a big job ahead of him. He clearly has more experience and political skills than Ms. Black. But what he needs to do is convince parents that he cares about their priorities for their children, show teachers that he knows something about the challenges they face every day, and demonstrate to all New Yorkers that he is ready to take the school system in a new direction. Whether that will happen is unlikely; but one can always hope.

MLK VIGIL MONDAY ON BAI

I'm scheduled to be on with Mimi and Ken from the vigil on Monday between 7 and 8 pm. Hope to see some of you there or at least know you are listening on WBAI (99.5 FM).

WBAI’s Radio Building Bridges: Your Community & Labor Report
Produced by Mimi Rosenberg and Ken Nash
Monday, April 4, 2011, 7 – 8 pm EST, over 99.5 FM
or streaming live at http://www.wbai.org
******************
Martin Luther King’s Economic Justice Agenda

From Memphis To Wisconsin

Forty three years ago, a struggle by 1,300 sanitation workers for economic justice

brought Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to Memphis. On the eve of his death, hours after

marching with the AFSCME sanitation workers, being denied the right of collective

bargaining & facing down the armed forces of a city & state, Martin Luther King, Jr.

declared: “work that serves humanity…It has dignity and it has worth.”

WE ARE ONE

Today in Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida and more than a dozen other states,

well-funded, corporatist politicians are trying to take away the union rights Dr. King

gave his life for. This year, to commemorate his sacrifice, the AFL-CIO has called

for nationwide events and actions to link the struggle of 1968 to the challenges we

face today, We Are One. And, Building Bridges will be there to bring you the

April 4th protests and continue the legacy of Dr. King.
*******
Carrying On The Legacy Of Dr. Martin Luther King
with
Dr. Vincent Harding, an associate of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, has written

numerous books, including "Martin Luther King: The Inconvenient Hero". On this

43rd year since the death of Dr. King, speechwriter, confidante Dr. Harding

discusses Dr. King’s economic justice activism and its relevance for us today as

workers battle for the survival of their labor organizations, against give backs,

stagnating wages and unemployment
****
From Ground Zero Of the War on the Workers: Reports from
Wisconsin and Ohio
with
Peter Rickman, Teaching Asst., LaFollette Law School , Univ. of Wisconsin,

& member of the Teaching Assistants’ Assn., AFT Local 3220
and
Joseph Rugola, Exec. Dir., Ohio Assn. of Public School Employees, AFSCME

The Ohio legislature just passed Gov. Kasich’s union busting bill which nullifies public

employee rights. Meanwhile, Gov. Scott Walkers’ rush to cut public sector worker

benefits, and bust their unions in Wisconsin has been stymied by court action. But

the workers in both states aren’t taking the assaults lying down, we’ll find out how

they’re carrying on the legacy of Dr. King and attend the We are One demonstration

in Madison Wisconsin.
***********
Carrying It On: They Stay Get Back, But Workers Rally For A Living Wage
On Anniversary of Dr. King’s Death

We'll go live from the Bethel Baptist Church in Brooklyn where a community/labor

coalition is demanding passage of the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act, to address

the plight of the working poor in New York City. More than $2 billion of our tax dollars

is being spent annually in the name of economic development and job creation, but

is actually creating poverty wage jobs, rather than living wage jobs.
***********
Workers' Rights Are Civil Rights - NYC Teachers Fightback on April 4
with James Eterno, Chapter Chair, UFT, Jamaica High School

The UFT is drawing inspiration from Dr. King and will stand in solidarity with workers

under attack across the country with a vigil at Battery Park. We’ll join this protest live

where the UFT with labor and community activists protest Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to

lay off thousands of NYC teachers, shred their seniority and pension rights and close

26 public schools while expanding charter schools.
*************
Listen on your Smartphone
WBAI live streams are available on the iPhone, BlackBerry, Android & other
smartphones. For more information, go to http://stream.wbai.org

Listen When You Want
Building Bridges and most WBAI Programs are now being archived
for 90 Days. These links will be live ca. 15 minutes after the program ends.
To listen, or download archived shows go to
http://archive.wbai.org/show1.php?showid=bbridges

Visit our web site -
www.buildingbridgesradio.org

Mayor Laguardia vs. Mayor Bloomberg, Unions and The Rest

By David Pambianchi

The Mark of Greatness - The Mark of Infamous
Prelude: As New York City's Bloomberg Administration exposes itself, at last the people see. At last they know as corporate America reveals itself, not as the provider of opportunity, progress, free enterprise and the promise of the American Dream, but a warped entity of human failing and degradation, a corruption so contrary to the fabric of the American conscience and the vision of the founding fathers that it sickens the body and soul and makes a mockery of everything wholesome and good.

Dollar after dollar flows into the media and into politics, drummed into the ears of our citizens attempting to deafen hope, brainwash and convince the people that we must distrust our neighbors, question our friends, keep our place, and obey those who usurped our financial security. We shall not. All the golden lies spread across the land by billionaires cannot make the people believe in their hearts that teachers fundamentally do not care about children or that police and fireman fundamentally do not care to protect us and prefer to make a buck.

The people begin to sense the truth, see the truth and understand that our children will pay for the corruption and greed of the few. The children of the middle class will watch the birthright left to them by generations of working ancestors crumble, and the children of the poor will pay with thicker chains of poverty. And while they pull the wool over our eyes, the audacious position of the Bloomberg Administration that pounds at our doors, inundates us with messages from a Yellow Press with hate, threats and fear, is that the wealthy must save us from ourselves.

Billionaire Mayor Mike Bloomberg vs. War Hero Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia Illustration: Ekaterina "Katie" Aksenova

Since Billionaire Mayor Mike Bloomberg fancies himself the greatest mayor of all time, a brief comparison is in order between him and who many "thought" was the greatest mayor, War Hero Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia.

Lifestyle

LaGuardia lived modestly in East Harlem with his family, had no major campaign contributions for his election and after his death left only his legacy.
Bloomberg bought and coerced a third mayoral term and "somehow" managed to triple his billions, while the country went through one of the greatest market crashes since The Great Depression.

Where LaGuardia and Bloomberg stand on Unions

Who is the Union?
The union is the police, fireman, teachers, sanitation, transit, communications, garments, electricians, painters and carpenters, auto workers, teamsters and represents every other trade in New York. Workers and their families, for the people, by the people, this is the Union. And the Union delegates have a basic responsibility: to collective bargain for fair wages and hiring practices, health benefits and workplace safety, pension after years of faithful service and the like.

LaGuardia supported the people and as Dr. Martin Luther King later understood, Unions were one of the best ways to fight racism and nepotism in the work place. The Norris-LaGuardia Act outlawed yellow-dog contracts that prevented workers from joining unions. While LaGuardia promoted Unions in the private sector, he feared the striking power of Public Unions, however (for better or worse depending on your point of view); this concern is moot as the Taylor Law of 1967 paralyzed Public Unions by making it illegal for municipal employees to strike. In out-of-time context, the NY Post still quoted LaGuardia concerning, "keeping young teachers during a layoff," for a false comparison with Bloomberg. They would never print what LaGuardia also professed, "...let all the money of the taxpayers go into schools instead of politicians." Then, he opened and modernized schools.

"I think the reporter should get his facts straight before he distorts them." - Fiorello LaGuardia

Bloomberg diverts funds to strangle and close schools. First the Puritans, then Thomas Jefferson, and then Benjamin Franklin gave America the concepts of free education. When the Bloomberg administration has exhausted all funding, Elementary and Secondary school will no longer be free. Likewise, Freedom of the Press has become a farce and an anathema with the majority of the media already under Bloomberg influence and control.

Day after day, the papers still mock public intelligence and knowledge, relentless in their attack on the "Bad" Union Teachers. History repeatedly teaches the imperative need for unionization. March 25th 2011 marks the Centennial Memorial of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, the worst industrial disaster in U.S. history with 146 workers that burned, asphyxiated or jumped to their deaths. (No one was found guilty of negligence, but a later lawsuit won compensation in the amount of $75 for each deceased person.) New York was full of low-wage sweatshops with horrendous working conditions and still the corporate powers stymied safety laws and kept employers safe from punishment. It took this tragic disaster to bring about the expansion of the International Ladies' Garment Union (Now, a merger of unions called UNITE HERE).

But like today's teachers, the laborers are still under fire from Corporate America, and still there is no punishment for destroying livelihoods or the economy by stealing and defrauding the American people. One name is recognizable, Bernie Madoff, punished for stealing from the rich. Senior company partners continue to collect billions in bonus checks, which included the public's "Bailout" money under the concept we cannot tamper with "Contracts," and in the next breath demand an end to Union Collective Bargaining Contracts lest a laborer needs to go to the dentist. We must continue to fight for community and solidarity, the decency of job security, medical insurance and something other than a "gold watch" as we are "sent out to pasture," or the "glue factory."

Nonsense in newspapers continues to blame unions for any industry's failure, negating factors such as a company's poor judgments and direction and lack of vision concerning foreign competition. A Television commercial pressures the public to become anti-union because union members get paid more and have medical benefits over non-union workers. The Robber Barons think people are so shallow that this logic will upset the segment of the American people they already hold down into turning against unions when many will think, "We need more unionization." One hack writer for the N.Y. Post stooped so low as to do the unthinkable: refer to the coal mining union as an example of "siphoning wealth" from businesses. The old mining industry conjures the quintessential images of horror that includes horrendous and dangerous working conditions, The Company Store, cave-ins, Black Lung disease, long work hours, child labor and death. In essence, the writer then comes to the "unique" conclusion that since government employees are paid from tax dollars rather than private, the taxpayers are providing them with a "Free Lunch."

"We must close union offices, confiscate their money and put their leaders in prison. We must reduce workers salaries and take away their right to strike"
- Adolf Hitler, May 2, 1933

Bloomberg despises anyone or anything he cannot control, the teachers' union in particular. He would spend a hundred trillion tax dollars of an education budget on consultants, private contractors and cronies' programs (and privatization that would eventually bring profits back to him), before he let an extra nickel of "good" slip into a classroom, all the while professing that the Union and its members greedily seek benefits like medical insurance, job security, modest pensions, and non-hostile work environments. We watch as Wisconsin and Rhode Island teeter on the brink of descending back to the turn of the century coal mining days and the Bloomberg "Company Store." Something out of Star Wars's Intergalactic Empire "for a more safe and secure society," Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has started the process to toss away Democracy and the U.S. Constitution altogether dissolving laws, elections, contracts and unions under the guise of "Emergency Management" based upon his "discretionary" budget predictions. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42115121/ns/politics-more_politics/
Compromise year after year, take piece by piece until nothing is left. New York is next. Bloomberg first stuck the STOP Last In First Out bull-ring in Long Island's Senator John Flanagan's nose who is pulling the "Band Wagon" trying to make a name for himself. Since Governor Cuomo hopped onto the cart, Union members fear another Union compromise will be the "Final Sellout."

"In Washington DC, former Chancellor Michelle Rhee, announced a budget crisis, laid off vets and then "unannounced" a budget crisis and hired newbie TFAers....It is interesting to note, that despite a lingering recession, budget crises and widespread teacher hiring slowdown, TFA teachers are being hired at a steady pace. The growth is often times coming at the expense of veteran teachers who are losing their jobs- in some cases to make room for TFA teachers who typically are hired at much lower salary levels. Remember the 266 mostly veteran teachers who were laid off in 2009 subsequent to the hiring of hundreds of TFA'ers? A recent study from the Education and the Public Interest Center report titled: "Teach For America: A Review of the Evidence" found that the learning curve and turnover rate of TFA teachers does harm to vulnerable students who are in need of highly trained and highly skilled teachers." http://thewashingtonteacher.blogspot.com/2011/03/veteran-teachers-need-not-apply.html

Bloomberg future quote:
"Ask not what your mayor can do for you, but what you can do for your mayor."

The time has come for Federal Investigators and Prosecutors to take an interest in the Intentional Fraudulent Misrepresentation and Deceit of the above and the likewise dealings of the Bloomberg Administration to include his Patronage and the accountability of Federal, State and City funds in the public and private sectors.

In Vision and Character
LaGuardia denounced Germany's Nazi Party and warned America of impending danger.
As Bloomberg decimates the school system and irrevocably mars the teaching profession, his education representative Chancellor Cathie Black compares her "decisions" to the movie "Sophie's Choice," where a woman is forced to choose which of her children is carried off to a Nazi death camp. Bloomberg emphasizes, "It's just a joke. Let's move on."

On Bias
Mayor LaGuardia championed Women's Suffrage.
Mayor Bloomberg settled many sexual harassment lawsuits.

Parks and Recreation
LaGuardia read the comics to children over the radio, built playgrounds, opened the 1939 Worlds Fair and renovated the Zoo.
At the Zoo, Bloomberg gets bit by Chuck the Groundhog and calls him a "Son of a bitch."

Combat Record
During World War I, LaGuardia insists on flying dangerous bomber missions through enemy cross-fire. He becomes Unit Commander.
During the Vietnam War draft, Bloomberg receives multiple Student Deferments and years later at the Zoo, gets bit by Chuck the Groundhog and calls him a "Son of a bitch."

LaGuardia worked for the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and campaigned against Child Labor. He fought organized crime and government corruption.
Bloomberg makes charitable donations to hedge his reputation, reminiscent of the Robber Barons of the early 1900s, except they did not use public funding to make amends the way the mayor plans to renovate the Manhattan shoreline.

Infrastructure

LaGuardia built 2 airports, Floyd Bennett Field and the other named after him, bridges, tunnels, highways and much of the infrastructure we know today.
Bloomberg puts in bike lanes doubling traffic and auto exhaust pollution. Perhaps a dozen bicycles used the Bronx bike lanes since September and during the infamous snow storm a few lay buried tied to trees at the Prospect Avenue unemployment center. So that Elites can sit along Broadway sidewalks sipping tea, traffic and truck deliveries are backed up and down the streets along with angry cab drivers who must buy and maintain a GPS system they cannot use. Bloomberg calls it an improvement in the quality of life.

(A NY Post spin claims park crime is up because people are not watching their belongings. As if it is your fault that criminals rob you and not the Bloomberg administration's fault for not hiring enough police. New Yorkers should be pleased to know that so far in 2011, crime is down, "except" for a rise in murder, rape, robbery and felony assaults. The number of parking and traffic violation tickets has skyrocketed.)

LaGuardia opened fire houses.
Bloomberg closes them or shrinks crews endangering the public.
LaGuardia opened hospitals and medical centers.
Bloomberg closes them.
LaGuardia unified the transit system and reorganized the Police department.
Bloomberg demoralizes every agency in New York.

LaGuardia brought NY out of the great depression, revitalized the city, provided quality low-rent housing and restored the faith of the people. Bloomberg brings us back into depression, destroying the people's faith in just government and the press.

We can surmise that Bloomberg "profits" not merely in monetary terms. He and his cronies have spent enough funds on a slander campaign against educators that by now could have quadrupled the number of city teachers. The most likely explanation is that Bloomberg believes someone with 20 Billion dollars must be 20 Billion dollars happier. Bloomberg and his type cannot tolerate the idea that a bus driver at the beach watching his children play in the sand or a cab driver working the family grill on a summer day can be more satisfied with life than he. So he must make them suffer, reduce their wages and insurance benefits and make their families beholding to his majesty, never understanding that these actions cannot lift the shadow of his miserable existence and the reality that like us all, he cannot escape his mortality.

"When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall - think of it, ALWAYS." - Mahatma Gandhi

There is no happy ending to any comparison for our Greatest Mayor is from a time gone bye. LaGuardia will forever be cherished and remembered as "The Little Flower." Bloomberg will forever be despised and referred to as, "The Little Despot."

Illustration by Ekaterina "Katie" Aksenova

Visit David's Website: "Writer's Edge"
http://davidmtc.web.officelive.com/