US SUPREME COURT REJECTS APPEAL FROM NYC TEACHERS WHO REFUSE TO GET COVID VACCINE

This is from the NY Post:

The Supreme Court on Friday shot down an appeal from a group of New York City school teachers who sought to block a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, arguing it violated their religious freedom.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor rejected the emergency appeal on Friday, the same day as the deadline for city employees to comply with the mandate or face losing their jobs.

The city is not backing down from their plan to terminate city employees who won't get vaccinated against COVID. This is from a different Post story:

The city has said that nearly 4,000 of the Big Apple’s approximately 400,000 civil servants could lose their jobs.

 Adams — who spoke as about 100 people protested outside City Hall — vowed to not rescind the vaccination order imposed by former Mayor Bill de Blasio, saying he feared sending the wrong message “to all of the New Yorkers who understood we were at a very dangerous place and they complied.”  

A different federal judge ruled in favor of the city on Friday. Once again, from yet another NY Post article:

A federal judge on Friday gave New York City the green light to fire as many as 4,000 municipal workers for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as Mayor Eric Adams said officials would be working over the weekend to determine who gets the ax.

During an evening teleconference, Brooklyn federal Judge Diane Gujurati rejected a last-ditch, emergency motion for a temporary restraining order against enforcement of the vaccine mandate imposed last year by former Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The legal basis for the vaccine mandate is strong as the Post article shows:

It followed about a dozen similar rulings in other cases involving vaccine mandates on city workers since September, including one handed down by a different Brooklyn federal judge on Friday afternoon, according to court papers.

We also learn from the Post that UFTers make up a good chunk of the employees facing termination:

Those expected to be fired include about 700 teachers, paraprofessionals and social workers, according to the United Teachers Federation.

The NYPD’s Police Benevolent Association and Detectives’ Endowment Association put their total at around 50 and the Uniformed Firefighters Association said 12 of its members could lose their jobs.

CAMILLE ON TALK OUT OF SCHOOL SATURDAY AT 1:00 PM (Updated with Link to the broadcast)

United for Change presidential candidate Camille Eterno will be on Talk out of School on WBAI (99.5) on Saturday at 1:00 PM. You can also listen at WBAI.org.

 Here is a link to the broadcast in case you missed it.

EPISODE SUMMARY

Daniel Alicea NYCDOE educator & parent, Camille Eterno, about the state of our city schools and her run for president of the UFT. We discussed smaller class sizes, mayoral control, health & safety during the pandemic and the response by the DOE and UFT, changes to retiree healthcare, our upcoming teacher contract, school segregation, specialized high school admissions testing, and more!

PRINCIPAL TELLS UFT CHAPTER HE WILL BE FORCED TO CUT SPECIAL PROGRAM IF TEACHERS WIN GRIEVANCE TO GET SPECIAL PER SESSION PAY THEY ARE ENTITILED TO

Teachers who exert their rights in NYC risk all kinds of retaliation including losing cherished school programs. In one high school in Queens, administration for years has underpaid teachers who took on an extra teaching class, and now that a new Chapter Leader is fighting for them to be compensated as per the UFT Contract, the school is saying they will lose a popular program.

Teachers in secondary schools are contractually permitted to volunteer to teach an extra class for a special per session rate of $7,278 per term. The administration at this particular school, however, has argued that since the subject area where they have many openings is not a shortage area, they have the option to pay teachers at a reduced coverage rate of $45.38 per class.

This school has about five full teacher vacancies in one non-shortage area department so it means over 20 classes have to be covered. Traditionally, the administration has lowballed the teachers by offering the $45 coverage rate which if a teacher covers the class for the entire term, would amount to $3,857 for the term. Teachers are shortchanged around $3,400 per semester. That is called cheating the teachers. It is outrageous. Remember, coverages are supposed to be paid for an absent teacher. They are not for filling vacancies for a semester. What's even more depressing is the UFT has not been able to stop this practice.

For years, teachers at this school, and I gather many others, have been losing grievances because there is an annual Department of Education memo that says schools "may" pay special per session pay for non-shortage area classes that are covered for the term. To the DOE it is up to the goodwill of the principal to pay the proper rate. We, unfortunately, have too many principals who if given the choice will cheat the teachers and spend the extra money elsewhere. The UFT has taken the DOE to arbitration but we have been told they have neglected to introduce a different DOE document that makes our case very strong. 

This is from page 8 of Circular 6R from 1997-98, available on the UFT website:

Notice it says non-shortage area licenses can use the professional period for teaching a sixth class. It doesn't say the principal then has a choice to pay the shortage area pay rate. The language is: "They shall be compensated in accordance with Article 7-O (Shortage License Areas)." I checked to make sure Article 7A10j (for high schools) and Article 7B11j (for middle schools) were still in the current Contract. I am happy to report that Randi Weingarten did not give those two provisions away in 2005 when she gave away so much else. I was astonished that the UFT was not prepared to use this non-shortage area provision of Circular 6R in their arbitration grievance presentation on the sixth class. However, the new Chapter Leader at this school asked us for help and we easily found the document. It was given to a UFT rep and the UFT is now prepared to make this a precedent-setting arbitration.

Approximately 20 teachers at this school have climbed on board and filed grievances saying they want to be paid at the proper special per session rate of $7,278 per term for teaching an extra class, not at the cut-rate coverage pay.

How has the Principal responded?

You guessed it if you said that he would threaten to kill the school's most popular program because he will have to pay the teachers what they are contractually entitled to so he would have to cut funding somewhere else. He claims he won't have enough money left to run the popular program. The Principal is out there blaming the UFT for attempting to kill a program that nobody wants to see die. In reality, it is the Department of Education that won't properly fund their top programs so teachers can be paid properly for their work. 

My guess is that the sixth-period provision is being abused by principals all over the place to cheat teachers out of their rightful pay for teaching an extra class. We recommend that this Principal work with the UFT to secure adequate funding to pay teachers what they are entitled to by the Contract and also to have funds left to run all of the school's special programs. Teachers wanting to be fairly compensated for their work is not the problem and they should not be guilted into accepting less money.

Elect Camille Eterno and United for Change and all kinds of garbage like this will be publicly exposed as soon as we are made aware of what's going on. No more coddling the DOE.

UFT PUSHES FOR DUE PROCESS FOR UNVACCINATED MEMBERS WHO DOE IS TERMINATING

This is in the NY Daily News:

Roughly 700 city educators got pink slips last week from the Education Department over their refusal to comply with the vaccine mandate — and the teachers union is arguing they shouldn’t be canned without disciplinary hearings.

The hundreds of classroom teachers and paraprofessionals who received termination notices are unvaccinated, failed to win an exemption from the mandate on medical or religious grounds and declined to go on unpaid leave until September, according to the United Federation of Teachers.

But the union is arguing that the staffers still have the right to undergo a disciplinary hearing before they’re officially let go.

“While the [ Education Department] appears to believe that such people can be summarily terminated, the UFT believes that these individuals cannot be terminated without due process,” a union spokeswoman said.

The union says the unvaxxed teachers should get a hearing known as a “3020a,” which allows tenured educators to make their case to an arbitrator before getting fired. It’s unclear if such a hearing would result in the educators keeping their jobs.

We have been asked by two of the impacted teachers to help out. Some of you may be surprised to hear that we have assisted. In one case we have spoken at length to one of the lawyers involved to try to help someone keep a job. While we favor the mandate, we believe exemptions were unreasonably narrow. In addition, tenured teacher discipline falls under State Education Law 3020-a and that is how it needs to be carried out here too. Paras can only be terminated if there is just cause. 

I personally would prefer that everyone get vaccinated as with a vaccine and booster the chances of dying from Covid are roughly one in a million in a week according to the NY Times. I am also very disappointed that public health has become so political. Having said that, if a doctor says it is not medically advisable to get the jabs, then that needs to be seriously considered. Deeply held religious views should be respected as well.

STATES, INCLUDING NY, ENDING INDOOR MASK MANDATES; CDC DOES NOT AGREE

The latest on masking from the NY Times:

Gov. Kathy Hochul will drop New York’s stringent indoor mask mandate on Wednesday, ending a requirement that businesses ask customers for proof of full vaccination or require mask wearing at all times, and marking a turning point in the state’s coronavirus response, according to three people briefed on her decision.

The decision will eliminate a rule that prompted legal and interpersonal clashes over mask wearing, especially in conservative parts of New York. It was set to expire on Thursday and would have required renewing.

Ms. Hochul’s decision will let the mask mandate lapse just as a crushing winter surge in coronavirus cases is finally receding. But it was not yet clear whether the governor would renew or drop a separate mask mandate in New York schools that is set to expire in two weeks.

The easing of New York’s pandemic restrictions on businesses comes as Democratic-led states from New Jersey to California have announced similar moves this week, in a loosely coordinated effort that is the result of months of public-health planning, back-channel discussions and political focus groups that began in the weeks after the November election.

It was Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey who began the effort last fall, weeks after he was stunned by the energy of right-wing voters in his blue state, who nearly ousted him from office in what was widely expected to be an easy re-election campaign. Arranging a series of focus groups across the state to see what they had missed, Mr. Murphy’s advisers were struck by the findings: Across the board, voters shared frustrations over public health measures, a sense of pessimism about the future and a deep desire to return to some sense of normalcy.

Public health decisions based on focus groups. It looks like the country has reached the denial stage of the pandemic. COVID-19 is still here with over 2,000 Americans a day dying. The total death count is now over 900,00 in the United States and the excess deaths in the United States and globally are so high that they are difficult to even contemplate.

Back to Hochul, she is not ending the mask mandate in schools for now. This is from LoHud:

Gov. Kathy Hochul told education leaders Tuesday that she's not ready to lift the indoor mask mandate for schools, but hoped that a change could come after February break, according to observers of the meeting.

"She said that right now the state’s intent is to wait and see how circumstances change through the school break," said Bob Lowry, deputy director of the New York State Council of School Superintendents.

Further down:

"[Hochul] indicated that her preference would be to do what the other states have done and end the mask mandate," Worona said. "But she doesn't want to do that if it imperils safety."

As for the CDC, they are sticking to their guidelines on masking indoors. This is from News 22 in Springfield Massachusetts:

CDC officials say that we are not close to the finish line when it comes to getting rid of masks.

“And all of us should wear high quality masks when in public indoor settings. This is how we can continue to create a wall of protection around our children under five as we look to safeguard their health,” said Dr. Vivek Murthy of the U.S. Surgeon General.

Last year, the CDC recommended indoor mask mandates in cities and towns recording more than 50 cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people per day. Today, 99.9% of U.S. counties are above that threshold even with cases new case numbers dropping by 33-percent from last week.

There’s a few factors keeping masks. There’s concerns of a future variant, the BA.2 variant could raise cases again world-wide.

“What we know about BA.2 so far is that it does have a modest transmission advantage over BA.1. However, it’s not nearly the transmission advantage that we’ve seen between omicron and delta,” said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

Unless this poll is off by 38 points, the public in general is fine with mask mandates.

Note to Democrats: If you actually get COVID-19 under control, you will have a much greater chance of the voters rewarding you at the ballot box.

UFT TAKES FOUR YEARS TO WIN CEASE AND DESIST ORDER AGAINST ANTI-UNION PRINCIPAL

There is a story on the UFT main webpage about a win in a case against the principal of PS 186 in Queens who was retaliating against members for exercising their union rights. This is what the UFT says:

Grievance victory at PS 186 in Queens

A four-year-long battle against a retaliatory principal who created terrible working conditions has ended in triumph for the UFT chapter at PS 186 in Queens. An arbitrator has ruled that the principal must "cease and desist" her anti-union behavior after the members filed a grievance.

There is a video showing the District Rep, the Borough Rep, and a Grievance Department Rep talking to the teachers. Below are a couple of screenshots from the UFT video:

We totally agree with applauding the bravery and commitment of the PS 186 UFT Chapter.

We do have several questions:

1-Why did it take four years for this case to be decided by an arbitrator? What happened in the meantime?

2-Why wasn't President Michael Mulgrew standing with this Chapter at this school at the first sign of trouble in 2018? He did send political director Paul Egan but why wasn't Mulgrew there right from the start and all along the way?

3-What happens to the Principal if she violates the cease and desist order?

4-Did the arbitrator retain jurisdiction or does it go back to step I if the principal violates the cease and desist order?

5-Will Michael Mulgrew commit to visiting any school himself where there are verified reports of a consistently abusive principal? 

ADAMS SUPPORTS MEDICARE ADVANTAGE FOR MUNICIPAL RETIREES

 February 6, 2022

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today issued the following statement on the NYC Medicare Advantage Plus Plan:

“City retirees have earned their benefits, and, as mayor, I’m committed to delivering for them. The NYC Medicare Advantage Plus Plan unveiled last year — the product of many months of negotiations between the city and the Municipal Labor Committee, representing more than 100 unions — will continue to offer premium-free health coverage to retirees, along with new and enhanced benefits. That is why after a careful and thorough review by my administration, I am announcing my support for this plan. I believe the new program will be in the best interest of retirees and the city’s taxpayers, who stand to save $600 million annually.

“As a blue-collar mayor and someone who himself will collect municipal retiree benefits, I am sympathetic to those who have voiced concerns about how this plan will affect their coverage. Our administration will continue to work to assuage these concerns before and after the plan is implemented. To all retirees: We assure you that the city has had, and will continue to have, your best interests at heart.”

Retiree Group Responds:

We are disappointed that Mayor Adams came out in support of the proposed Medicare Advantage plan -- without ever meeting with retirees or hearing about alternatives. We understand how tempting it must be to "find" $600 million in new revenues; but it shouldn't be on the backs of senior citizens and disabled first-responders.

The City actually knows this is an inferior plan, which is why they are forcing retirees to pay thousands of dollars annually to opt-out and keep their current insurance.

We are fully confident that the proposed plan is a violation of both law and past contracts, and we look forward to seeing the City in court.

UFT ELECTION COMMITTEE REPORT FROM NORM SCOTT: UNITY ADMITS THEY VIOLATE RULES; CTU PRESIDENT JESSE SHARKEY NOT RUNNING AND WILL GO BACK TO CLASSROOM

Norm Scott wrote an interesting report today on the UFT Election Committee meeting that took place yesterday. Norm also covered the state of petitioning for the upcoming UFT election. 

The UFT Constitution requires candidates for officer positions to get 900 signatures from UFT members to get on the ballot. Executive Board and AFT Convention Delegates need 100 signatures. United for Change requested that petitioning should be done electronically because of the Omicron wave. The Unity dominated Election Committee said no. Note that the Unity people are all being paid to sit on the Election Committee while UFC members are volunteering their time. 

We can confirm that one of the key people in UFC who was going around his school blames the UFT petitioning process for his coming down with COVID this week. Those of you who don't get involved with the Union should know that it takes major work and coordination to get hundreds of people on the ballot for the UFT election. Norm is in his seventies and lives in the Rockaways. Yesterday, he spent the day meeting up with friends at 52 Broadway in Manhattan for petition signing and then he went to the Election Committee meeting. Today, Norm is traveling to the Bronx to get more signatures at a signing party.

The entire process favors Unity but they still cheat as Norm's report explains:

Well, here's my report on the election committee meeting - the highlights of which were the chips and plastic wrapped cookies and a diet coke.

Coin Flip for ad position in NY Teacher

We were there to fundamentally flip a coin to decide the order the Unity and UFC ads will appear in the NY Teacher. Chair, Manhattan Borough UFT Pres Carl Cambria, announced that the winner would get to choose to go first in the Februrary NY Teacher edition or the March edition. Carl, who tries to be eminently fair - considering - and also seems like a decent guy -- decided Unity would be tales and UFC heads - and Unity. They didn't seem to have a strategy so he invited them to go outside and caucus and they came back with what would have been my decision: Let the other caucus go first in February and take the first position in the later edition. So UFC will have the pole position this month. I hear our ad is beautiful so keep an eye out -- and note the ICE logo was designed by Kara Eterno.

District 1 and 9  Unity officials used official UFT sites to promote Unity and disparage UFC. They offer a remedy for UFC - equal time

This was an interesting one. And let me say that a UFT lawyer is on all these meetings remotely. A Unity member, Dist 4 rep Servia Silva made a reso to tve UFC equal time on those sites for the same amount of time Unity had and for similar ads. We quickly checked out pockets. Not thinking through all the implications the three of us voted in favor. 

Later when we reported to UFC we were told we probably should have abstained. They are discussing whether to turn down the offer because allowing us to post for the same time and same type of ad allows them to control what we do. Unity will use our vote against us but that is trivial. 

Shulman and access to mail boxes blocked not by principals but Unity Chapter leaders

Mike told the story of a New Action member telling his chapter leader he would be putting materials in the boxes and was told that only the chapter leader has that right. Bullshit, of course. Mike asked for the union to put out a statement to chapter leaders. I added an amendment that Mulgrew should make the announcement at the Feb and March DA. Unity unanimously opposed it, showing that underneath they will turn the other way when their rabid CLs deny us access. They voted to send it out in the chapter leader update. We will hold any Unity CL who tries to stop us accountable -- and use it in any court case.

I told a story of how I went to a school a few years ago where the Unity CL was known as a hack who had removed oppo lit from mailboxes. I went at 5 PM when I figured she was gone and stuffed the boxes. I had no problems getting in. I went back the next day with another leaflet and was told by security I could not go to the boxes. I said who said I couldn't since you let me do it yesterday -- he fingered the CL. Now that CL is a full-time union official and is in fact on the election committee --- I made sure to look in her direction while speaking.

Election reporting by school and districts to counter voting deserts

The turnout in UFT elections by working members illustrates how weak the structure of the UFT is. Maybe 25% at most while retirees turn out is well over 40%.

I called for the UFT to pay the AAA for school and district voting per centages as a way for the union to monitor voting deserts which are a sign of union weakness. I had raised this at the 2016 vote count with then election chair Amy Arundell and other union officials when I asked the AAA guy if that info were available. David Hickey I remember said the union didn't pay for that data. I Said they should in future elections.

Unity spec rep Patti Crispino said she opposes that but before she could give her reasons a motion to table until the next meeting in March was made. We all agreed. I asked Patti for why she wouldn't want a report on school voting patterns and her response was turnout is always low and why embarrass people. In some circles that is known as Unity Think.

The meeting ended and I grabbed a few bags of chips and raced to get the ferry.

My prediction is the UFT will not ask for a school-by-school report from the American Arbitration Association on who votes in the election because in my humble opinion the UFT is quite content with a minuscule turnout as long as the loyal voters are Unity. It's all about staying in power and not supporting the members.

As for making us go out and petition in a pandemic, even Unity should be ashamed of themselves but I don't think they have much, if any, shame.

Union leaders actually do go back to the workplace. This story from Chicago was also on EdNotes:

CTU Pres Jesse Sharkey Not Running for Re-election - Going Back to Classroom

Some teacher unions do not have dynasties. Jesse Sharkey is moving on and seemingly back to teaching. He is not the first prominent CTU member of leadership. A few years ago, Jackson Potter. who was in many ways the architect of the rise of CORE to lead the CTU 12 years ago, left his high position in the union to go back to teaching. And in Los Angeles, Alex Caputo-Pearl left the presidency also but took the VP role in the union. Alex had taught in the classroom for 20 years before becoming union president.

Not so in the UFT where you become president for life. Can you just imagine a similar announcement from Mulgrew? Can you imagine Mulgrew back teaching -- I'm going to punch you in the face if you try to take my prep period away.

All the best to Jesse Sharkey.

DOE DOESN'T ADD VACATION DAYS FOR UFTERS WHO DON'T HAVE ENOUGH CAR DAYS

It is no surprise that the Department of Education is not keeping their end of the deal on adding vacation days for all UFTers who were forced to give up their spring break in 2020. This is in this week's UFT COVID update:

Update on 2020 spring break vacation days

Vacation days appeared in UFT members' accounts on Feb. 1 as ordered by the independent arbitrator in our spring break grievance.

As a reminder, UFT members are entitled to a vacation day for every day they worked during the 2020 spring break. If you worked the full seven days (April 9-17) of the spring break, four CAR days in your sick bank should have been converted to four vacation days and three more vacation days should have been added.

We have received reports that members who currently have fewer than four CAR days in their banks only received three vacation days because the DOE claims these members do not have enough CAR days to complete the conversion to vacation days. We disagree with the DOE’s interpretation of the arbitrator’s decision. Our position is that according to the arbitration ruling, members are owed a vacation day for each day they worked during the 2020 spring break and should not be penalized for having a lower CAR day balance due to parental leave or illness.

We are fighting to get those members the full value of the time worked and have asked the arbitrator to intervene in the dispute. We will keep you posted.

Martin Scheinman is the arbitrator that the UFT will have to go back to. He is the same arbitrator who extended the 2014 contract twice (once when it was already expired) to allow the DOE to delay for 12 years to pay teachers back in full for work that was done from 2009-2011. The DOE will get something if this is taken back to arbitration if Sheinman keeps to his pattern.

If you don't want to see Martin Sheinman arbitrating UFT cases, then vote for United for Change in the upcoming UFT election. We need donations to get the word out.

NEW UNITED FOR CHANGE VIDEO ADS RELEASED

UFC keeps moving ahead with the campaign. We need monetary donations so more UFTers see these ads.

Please help us by contributing what you can.

These new ads were released on YouTube. We need you to help us spread the word.

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RETIREES SHOULD NOT HAVE TO RISK THEIR HEALTH TO GET PETITION SIGNATURES; WE NEED YOUR HELP TO CHALLENGE MULGREW-UNITY

The piece below is copied from EdNotes today. 

I would like to say how much we appreciate Norm Scott and all the other retirees and active people who are working diligently to get United For Change on the ballot for the April UFT election. This could all be done electronically but the ruling Unity Caucus has made it as difficult as possible for us to get on the ballot during a pandemic. 

We hope everyone here donates whatever you can to help us spread the word that Camille Eterno and all of us are a viable alternative to Michael Mulgrew. We've raised over $1,100 in a day. Much of that came from our readers. Thanks to all who have donated.  Let's keep this momentum going. More money means a better chance for us to run a proper election campaign.

UFT Election Ground Hog Day - A Repeating nightmare and this is not a movie: As We Warned UFT Leadership - Teachers/Retirees Down With Covid

 

80 plus Retiree: Norm, I'm still positive with Covid and can't come today to help.

 

UFT Chapter Leader running with UFC: I've been out a week with Covid and haven't been able to petition.

 

HS Teacher: Norm, I'm down with Covid and will be out for a week. I know I promised over 50 signatures from my school but I only reached 30.

 

Elementary school candidate: Can't circulate his petitions because he has pneumonia

If you are pissed off at the Unity gang, donate to United for Change. https://unitedforchange.vote/donate/

Wednesday, Feb. 2 - 

Ground Hog Day - A Repeating nightmare and this is not a movie. While UFC people are in their schools on the lunch hours scrounging for signatures to get on the UFT ballot, Unity people don't seem to be much around schools. Camille Eterno is getting signatues. Let me know if anyone sees Mulgrew in their school doing the same. 

Notice the note for Unity Caucus members: They are meeting at Fashion Industries HS at 6PM next Wednesday. I'm tempted to show up with a picket sign accusing them of trying to murder the opposition.

Many of us have to race around the city collecting petitions and running small mass signing events instead of the one shot events for 60 people at a time we used to run.

But the almost criminal Unity Caucus leadership knew all that when they refused to consider changing some rules for this election.

UFT Exec Bd Vote Opposing Electronic Voting: Mike Shirtzer and another are Lone Dissenters, 13 Reasons For Electronic Voting as Unity Echoes Republican Vote Suppression, MULGREW SAYS PRIVATIZED HEALTHCARE ISN'T PRIVATIZED

The above is only a sampling of how the UFT leadership has put so many people in danger by refusing to delay the petition and election campaign by a few weeks.

I'm helping run a number of mass petitioning events, four this week alone. Last week I met a New Action member last Friday to hand him a stack of 500 petitions for his Staten Island signing event. He used to hold a mass event but this time he had to race from one place to another. On Sunday he handed he petitions to a Queens New Action member who had a signing event in his house on Monday and Tuesday morning. A few promised people couldn't come as they had covid. I met up with him in a KFC parking lot yesterday for the transfer of petitions in time for me to run an event for about 14 people. Saturday I'm going to someone's house fora batch more signatures. 

All the above are retirees, most in their 70s and even 80s. People are coming out of the woodwork to sign, risking their health and welfare. You know why: Medicare. 

A teacher at a major school running with us and petitioning texted: "The biggest reason people give for signing my petitions is the taking away of Medicare for retirees." So, today, I will be holding a signing event for 15 retirees. But instead of taking an hour at amass event I had to stagger their times to keep them safe - and one good friend who is unvaxed was told not to come. I have to track her down at another time. Another signer called last night to say he was still positive. He's 82 years old.

Yes Virginia, Welcome to UFT Elections: Petitioning in the Age of Covid - Unity Caucus Policy Risks Retiree and working member Health

I'm not through with my signing events yet. On Friday I drive to the Bronx to pick up another batch of 500 petitions for a signing event at a diner in the Bronx for 15 people. I haven't eaten in a restuarant yet but for this election I'm forced to to make sure we get on the ballot. I know, I know.  My wife says I'm nuts and promises to lock me in the bedroom for a week if I get covid. One signer will take the petitions to someone's house to cover 5 people on Saturday, pick them up later and then off to another signing event Sunday on Long Island.

Meantime, another batch of up to 60 people will gather to sign another pack on Saturday. 60 people? They are doing it outdoors. 

You might ask why do we have to do all this? Because every single candidate must get at least 100 signatures. Most schools are much smaller. Retirees are not even in a school.  So how does a candidate get all the signatures? Unlike Unity Caucus, which has its own internal mechanism, we have to work to get 100 plus a cushion in dribs and drabs in this Covid election cycle, whereas in the past we just ran two mass events.

And to top this all off, there is a live UFT Election committee meeting today at 4:30 at UFT headquarters with the main purpose to flip a coin on ballot position. I will do a bit of venting. I will also have 500 petitions, each signed by almost 60 people. Shhhhh, don't tell Unity.

DONATE TO UNITED FOR CHANGE TO HELP GET A BETTER UNION!

Funding elections, even union elections, costs a great amount of money. The UFT has close to 200,000 members. We are roughly the size of Yonkers and have more eligible voters. We want to reach them all as many times as it necessary to convince them that the entrenched Unity Caucus needs to be defeated.

United for Change is attempting to run a modern well-funded campaign to challenge Unity. We need every reader here who has commented or read our posts and said that Michael Mulgrew must be defeated to contribute to our effort.

https://unitedforchange.vote/donate/

Put your money where your mouths are folks. Please help us out.

ADAMS KEEPING SCHOOL SAFETY WITH NYPD

This was  a story in the Daily News yesterday:

Mayor Adams reaffirmed Monday that he will keep NYPD safety officers at city public schools, pointing to a Manhattan middle-schooler caught with a backpack full of knives and other weapons last week as an example of why the officers are needed.

“When people attacked me for having school safety agents in our schools, they need to see this,” Adams said, holding up a photo of the knives, brass knuckles and other weapons found in the backpack of a 14-year-old student at NYC Lab Middle School for Collaborative Studies in Chelsea on Friday.

According to school safety sources, the student showed one of the knives to a friend, who reported it to the principal. When school officials and safety agents searched the student’s bag, they found four knives, a set of brass knuckles, an expandable baton, fireworks and a laser pointer.

School principal Megan Adams told families in an email that the “NYPD was immediately notified and it was later determined that there was no immediate threat to our school building, students or staff members,” according to a copy of the message obtained by the Daily News. The student was not arrested, but was issued a juvenile report and suspended from school, according to school safety sources. The school, which does not normally have metal detectors, had temporary scanning on Monday.

“These are real weapons that can be used on teachers, staff, administrators, and most importantly our children. That this is in a backpack of a child, that sends the wrong message,” Adams said.

During the first month-and-a-half of the school year, the NYPD reported a nearly 30% rise in weapons seizures at city schools compared to the same period in 2019, with the bulk of the increase coming from weapons like pepper spray canisters and tasers. The number of guns turning up at city schools also rose substantially. The NYPD has not reported new school weapons data since Oct. 24.

DOE officials and students say many teens toting weapons bring them for protection on their commutes to and from school.

Adams added that he is considering some changes to school safety to make it feel less “heavy-handed” and ensure students don’t “feel like criminals.” He said he’s considering changing school safety officers’ uniforms to look less like street cops and exploring new technology to replace current metal detectors.

Change the uniforms? Okay, that will end school violence.

WEEKLY COVID DEATH RATE AMONG VACCINATED AND BOOSTED ABOUT ONE IN A MILLION SAYS NY TIMES

We have been asked numerous times in comments here for UFT presidential candidate Camille Eterno's position on vaccine mandates. Camille was quite clear on CNN last summer that she was in favor of the mandate for school staff.

Camille talked about public safety. She said she was afraid many more people will die. That has happened, unfortunately.

Camille was on CNN before the Omicron wave. The difference in deaths between vaccinated and boosted people as opposed to unvaccinated is huge. We saw this in the email summary of the NY Times sent this morning:

That is not a trivial difference. The Times does some analysis:

The average weekly chance that a boosted person died of Covid was about one in a million during October and November (the most recent available C.D.C. data). Since then, the chances have no doubt been higher, because of the Omicron surge. But they will probably be even lower in coming weeks, because the surge is receding and Omicron is milder than earlier versions of the virus. For now, one in a million per week seems like a reasonable estimate.

That risk is not zero, but it is not far from it. The chance that an average American will die in a car crash this week is significantly higher — about 2.4 per million. So is the average weekly death rate from influenza and pneumonia — about three per million.

Vaccine mandates save people's lives. The vaccines are no longer experimental either as Moderna now has full FDA approval just like Pfizer. While I don't fully agree with the Times that Omcron is milder because it is so much more contagious and US deaths are unacceptably high, mandates will keep more people alive.

Do you really think Camille should change her position based on the accepted sceintific and statistical record?

That said, both of us feel there should be reasonable exemptions and we have helped UFT members who should have been given exemptions but were denied.

 

UFT ENDORSES HOCHUL

Remember last year when the UFT said they had the most open process for the mayor's endorsement. We knew it was not real then but at least they asked some members to weigh in.

When it comes to the governor's race in 2022, the UFT is not even pretending to consult with the rank and file. It is Kathy Hochul all the way. Forget that she is for mayoral control of our schools (a complete disaster since 2002 that has to be renewed this June by the State Legislature and governor) and she hasn't opposed charter schools getting more funding.

Were the Executive Board and Delegate Assembly even asked? Mulgrew takes us for granted. There is not even any pretense of democratic decision making. 

You get one chance to fix this mess. Vote United for Change in the UFT election this April. We need your help to spread the word.

NEW UNITED FOR CHANGE AD ON TWITTER--#voteMulgrewOUT

 United for Change is doing its best to get out there on social media. Here is the latest Twitter ad.

South Bronx School (Peter Zucker) says fear is emanating from Unity on this election.

 We need all of you to get involved too. 

NYSUT ENDORSES HOCHUL

 I was a little surprised as I haven't heard much discussion at all that NYSUT has endorsed Kathy Hochul for governor.

Hochul called for a renewal of mayoral control. She doesn't deserve our endorsement.

UFT's Michael Mulgrew and others from the UFT hierarchy are on the NYSUT Board of Directors. 

Did they bring this up with any of you in the schools?

MULGREW ASKS FOR MINOR CHANGES TO MAYORAL CONTROL WHILE CAMILLE ETERNO SAYS GET RID OF IT

If you want to see on display the differences between the two candidates for UFT President, read some of Michael Mulgrew's testimony in Albany concerning mayoral control of the NYC schools. The law giving the mayor a majority of the Board of Education in NYC sunsets in June and must be renewed by the State Legislature and Governor to continue.

This is from Mulgrew's testimony:

If this is the UFT's opening offer that would leave the mayor appointing a majority of the members of the Board of Education (Panel for Educational Policy), the UFT essentially wants to keep mayoral control.

Camille Eterno opposes it.

Last night she appeared with Abby and Matt on Grading the Drama, DOE Unplugged. Camille's part starts at the 22-minute mark but I recommend the entire show.

Camille clearly states that it's time to let mayoral control sunset. How about an elected school board like they just passed in Illinois for Chicago Public Schools?

Camille also strongly favors lobbying in Albany as a major priority for the repeal of what a UN labor agency has ruled is a human rights violating loss of two days' pay for every day on strike provision of the Taylor Law. You won't hear a sound from Mulgrew on this issue.

UNITY SAYS "#wedothe work" -- WHAT DOES UNITY ACTUALLY DO?

 

The UFT election season is here so Michael Mulgrew's Unity Caucus is out there with a hashtag saying, "#wedothework."

Here is a response from a United for Change supporter saying what Unity really does.

We do the work of...

• pretending we're doing the work.
• handing out givebacks.
• rolling over and playing dead while John King & NYSED demoralize us with Danielson APPR ratings.
• selling off retiree healthcare to for-profit insurance companies.
• lobbying against universal healthcare.
• letting new teachers be tortured with four years of probation.
• negotiating wage increases that don't keep pace with inflation.
• ignoring our membership.
• letting teachers work in unsafe, Covid-filled buildings
• getting rid of seniority school transfers.
• providing patronage jobs to Mulgrew's sycophants.
• firing UFT phone staffers and replacing them with Salesforce™ call-center-script-readers.
• quashing debate at Delegate Assemblies.
• supporting mayoral control (and saying that we don't).
• hiring lawyers and consultants who have never stepped foot in a public school classroom.
• doing whatever (arbitrator) Marty Scheinman tells us.
• bending over and getting f***ed by every politician who says they'll give us "a seat at the table."
• telling you that everything Mulgrew does (including bending over and...) is the greatest victory ever.

CAMILLE ETERNO FOR UFT PRESIDENT

 The UFT election is by mail-in ballot in April. 

You want a better Union? Get involved in our campaign.

United for Change.vote