NYC Educator Gives Thanks to the UFT

Really, what can you say about the UFT/AFT/Unity Caucus? If you've been reading my posts (Reggie Landau Faces Student Protest Over Treatment of Teacher (Chapter Leader) about the chapter leader at IS 216 who is among a few of them the principal has gone after, I am hearing the UFT seems as much concerned with who is speaking to me as with going after the principal. Funny how many people from this school over the years have come to be because the UFT has been so inept. But what can I do other than publicize this. Given that this guy has been running rampant for so many years, the fact that only one article has been written in the NY Teacher is astounding.

I will spend more time on the UFT's refusal to tie cases like this attack on the lifeblood of the UFT - see Peter Lamphere and others - to the LIFO fight.

We celebrate today's Delegate Assembly with this post from NYC Educator who pretty much sums it all up. I will be heading over there for to hear today's line being tossed out and the overwhelming majority of Unity Caucus members eat it up.

Thank You Sir. May I Have Another?

Over and over, we lie down with dogs, and marvel at the ensuing fleas. We invite Bill Gates to investigate what makes teachers "effective." He comes in and tests cameras in classrooms, because everyone knows those fowl teachers cannot be trusted unless you monitor them every second. We invite him to speak at our convention, and the following week he attacks the wastefulness of those bloated teacher pensions, wondering aloud why we can't eat cat food like other elderly folk who aren't Bill Gates.

We endorse mayoral control, because who knows how bad it can be, and besides this Bloomberg fellow goes to baseball games with Randi Weingarten. He must be OK. Then after it turns out to be an unmitigated disaster, we make a list of improvements we'd like before we'll accept its renewal. When we don't get them, we support its renewal anyway.

We allow them to get rid of seniority transfers, and give power to principals to have absolute veto over incoming teachers. We design an open market that allows anyone to transfer anywhere, as long as principals think it's OK. Who woulda thunk that principals preferred malleable new teachers at half salary to grizzled old opinionated veterans? After all, just because those are the only people that get hired in the suburbs, why should it apply to us? And when thousands of teachers end up rotting in the Absent Teacher Reserve, demoralized and demonized, we are shocked, and state because more teachers transferred in the new program than the old, it is an unmitigated success.


We make a deal to reduce class size. The deal is so full of holes a tank could drive through it, but we declare victory anyway. When class sizes go up anyway, despite our deal and almost a billion dollars in CFE funds, we wonder how it could've happened.

Finally, we make a deal to allow value-added be part of teacher evaluations. Sure, it has no validity, but everybody's doing it, so where's the problem? We cleverly allow it to be only 20% of our evaluation, while other states are making it 50, and declare victory yet again. When the state passes a law allowing it to be double, we say, gee, how the heck did that happen? And Governor Cuomo, our good bud, is gonna do a Race to the Top and withhold money if we choose to exercise our option to negotiate, and turn down whatever abysmal offer Tweed comes up with.

Gee, how could this be happening? I thought we'd had it all taken care of.

A commenter added the small schools story, which we in ICE started raising questions about as far back as 2005 only to be accused of being anti-small schools when in fact we were issuing warnings about what was to ensue, to deaf ears at the UFT I might add. Leo Casey even recently brought this up in relation to our critiques of charters which he defends if done "right." I have it all on tape and one day I'll take some time to put Leo's presentation together (which we will probably hear again on Sat. night at the film showing.)

Two years ago when the DoE decided to use Teacher's Data Report in grades 3-8, the union said why not.  At every chapter leader meeting, the D.R.s told the chapter leaders to tell teachers that "it's okay" to use as an evaluative tool of their students' progress.  In fact, they showed a video on the how to handle administration if there use the TDR abusively against a teacher.  Now they want to publicize the teachers' TDR, knowing that it is fraught with errors and inaccuracies.  Yet, every teacher mentioned that if it happened in California, publicizing those reports, where one teacher committed suicide, it will happen in NY.  Why the heck are we in court again? 

In 2002, large high schools, especially in the Bronx, were being broken into boutique/theme high schools.  H.S. teachers complained that these small schools would not bring about the a higher rate of graduation because those schools would be dealing with the same population of students and the solution was to help the large, comprehensive high schools with more fundings, resources (more CBO, more attendance teachers, social workers, etc), not close them.  Small schools got the creme of the crop, poor academic, special needs, and behavior difficult students were deflected from the theme schools arnd were placed in already overcrowding high schools.  The results were poor performance, low graduation rate, abysmal attendance rate, high incident reports; DoE's solution is to close the school.  Second result, ATR pool is drowning with senior teachers that no theme schools want because of the new "Fair Funding - Children First" budget, which Randi did not fight against.

I truly feel that teachers, not only got paddled hard, but they stuck it in good and hard, gave a strong twist, and asked us ,"how much do you like this?" because we continue to ask for it constantly. Ouch!

Is the UFT Dead?

NOT

Today's headline at Perdido Street blog: The Daily News Declares The UFT Dead. Reality Based Educator then states, "Can't say they're wrong."

RBE was referring to the Meredith Kolodner/Rachel Monahan Daily News piece on the declining power of the UFT. The article titled, "Support for United Federation of Teachers eroding as once-mighty union forced to make concessions " opens with:

In the recent blowup over the release of teacher ratings, the United Federation of Teachers couldn't even rely on the Democratic White House for support.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan sided with the city - the latest blow to the once-mighty union, which has seen public support dwindle and has been forced to make concessions unthinkable just a few years ago.

Teachers unions were painted as villains in the high-profile education documentary "Waiting for Superman."

And the competition for millions of dollars in federal Race to the Top funds promoted reforms traditionally opposed by the unions, like charter schools and teacher evaluations linked to test scores.

"Public sentiment clearly has shifted in favor of reform and accountability, and the union has had to adjust," said Schools Chancellor Joel Klein.

I was interviewed for the article and made the case that this viewpoint was taking a wrong approach. I view the UFT as not in opposition to many of the ed deform points but a partner of the ed deformers, playing the role of selling a deform package to the members while trying to preserve themselves in the eyes of the members as their defenders.

Thus, the idea they were forced to make concessions is part of the line they sell to the members and this Daily News article reinforces that line for internal consumption. In other words, the UFT has not been forced to make concessions but tries to sell that idea to the members.

Witness this comment by Peter Goodman, UFT/AFT shill who will justify any policy. Goodman made this "I surrender" ("je me rends" in French) comment:

From Seattle to Boston, from Florida to Chicago, from LA to NY, educational policy is undergoing a sea change. It is supported by the President and the States, it is accountability, core standards, free market driven: testing, ratings/remuneration by student achievement, value-added, charter schools, etc. Diane Ravitch and other scholars strongly oppose, however, the electeds are supportive across the nation. If the Republicans sweep to victory these policies wouldn’t change, the fed dollars would stop flowing. Teacher unions can either vigorous oppose and isolate themselves, they are powerless to change these policies, or, attempt to cooperate and modify policies. It is easy to blame Weingarten or Mulgrew, the same policies exist in every state and every major city.

Externally, they sell the idea that they are really aligned with the reformers, but only if they would please stop the most obvious "blame the teacher" attacks. Witness the fact that they go along with the mantra that the teacher is the most important factor in the education equation, which of course is the root of teacher bashing.

I told the reporter that the UFT in most schools was dead at the school/chapter level where principals have absolute power. But the leadership doesn't really care that much about that factor as long as the situation doesn't deteriorate to the point where their control of the union was endangered.

But not to worry. The UFT/Unity Caucus leadership is more powerful and entrenched than ever in terms of controlling the membership, with barely a glimmer of an opposition. And on the national level, the AFT leadership with the UFT controlling so many delegates was also in control, despite Chicago and possibly Washington upsurges. Unity in NYC controls the deal and they have absolute power at the city, state and national level.

Reality Based Educator follows up with a great summary of the UFT failures, which as I say are not failures from their point of view:

Leaving aside the billions that have been employed by Uncle Joel's billionaire buddies on anti-teacher p.r. that have helped shift sentiment against teachers, I would say that the UFT and the parent AFT have been the biggest reasons why the union is where it is.

Rather than frame issue like merit pay or teacher test scores correctly, they allow Klein and his minions to frame the issues, then try and battle on ceded ground.

It's not actually difficult to frame the issues correctly.

The Vanderbilt study has proven merit pay DOESN'T work. But the UFT, have helped Uncle Joel do a limited merit pay program in NYC, they cannot claim purity on the issue, so whenever they argue against expanded merit pay programs, critics say things like "But you were for them a couple of years ago!"

And those critics have a point.

The same is true of the test score evaluations. Because the UFT caved on RttT and allowed test scores to be tied to evaluations, it gives the scores some validity that they do not deserve.

Same can be said for charters. The UFT runs a couple of charter schools on its own, so anytime they try and point out problems with charter schools, critics point toward their own and say "What about them?"

So the UFT and the AFT leadership have been the driving forces behind the loss of power. Bad decision-making, ill-conceived compromises that brought short-term economic gain but long-term contractual erosion, and just plain pathetic leadership have brought the UFT to the brink of irrelevancy.

Even the supposed victory of the school closure lawsuits will become a defeat this year when the city closes those same schools anyway.

The UFT is not dumb or misguided. Rather, they are Vichy. Or a fifth column.

RBE then calls for new leadership. There are no signs of a new leadership in NYC like we saw in Chicago. Not yet. Before calls for a new leadership we need to see a CORE-like group of activists in NYC that demonstrate an ability to educate, organize and mobilize. It is not the leaders but the group behind them. Chicago Teachers Union leader Karen Lewis made that clear - she is chosen by CORE and there were a few choices. The UFT/AFT has always had a maximum leader (think UFT- Shanker/Feldman/Weingarten/Mulgrew - in 45 years.)

I met about a hundred of CORE members at the AFT convention in Seattle, just about every one very impressive. Where are they in this city?

Sally Lee at Teachers Unite is attempting to find and bring these people together. The TU web site says:  Rank and File Leaders will build a new movement within the UFT for educational and social justice. Read more

She has invited CORE member Jen Johnson, who I got to meet (see a video I did of her and a Unity Caucus delegate presenting a joint reso in Seattle), to speak in NYC on Nov. 13th.

Rank and File Leadership Program

(Rank-and-File: Individual members of an organization, exclusive of its leadership)

In several U.S. cities, teachers committed to social justice have mobilized to win the leadership of their unions. Teachers Unite seeks to inspire New York City public school educators to transform the United Federation of Teachers so that it effectively advocates for educational equity. Participants in this program will work on projects that mobilize rank-and-file members to elect new leadership in chapters across the city and in the union itself.

November 13th

11 a.m.

Teachers College

229 Thompson Hall

Enter at 525 W. 120th St. btw Broadway and Amsterdam

Bring Picture ID

Jen Johnson from CORE

What can we learn from Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators or CORE? This new caucus won leadership of Chicago Teachers Union through grassroots organizing, and citywide mobilization. Learn from CORE leaders some keys to their organizing success, and their vision for a new kind of teacher unionism.

Space is limited. Register now! To reserve a seat, please click here and scroll down to How to Register.

Baltimore Redo is New York Contract circa 1995, Take Three

We know that the Baltimore teachers rejected the contract a few weeks ago. A contract in which Randi Weingarten played a major role as part of her national strategy of selling teachers onto elements of the ed deform movement.

Stephen Sawchuk at Ed Beat terms it Baltimore Tentative Contract, Take Two.

....teachers were to receive raises by collecting "achievement units" for getting good performance evaluations and participating in professional development. Hailed in some quarters as a landmark proposal, the contract also earned some snarky reaction—teachers could earn some achievement units for serving as a building rep [chapter leader in NYC]. 

But it didn't go over well with the teaching corps, who voted down the contract by a 3-to-2 margin. The vote sent the district and union scrambling back to the bargaining table and resulted in a bunch of news stories about a perceived lack of communication between senior union folks and the rank-and-file teachers.

Sawchuk could have very well titled his story New York Contract circa 1995, Take Three.

In 1995 Sandy Feldman still ran the union and Randi was the clear heir apparent. She was given the job of negotiating a contract. I won't go into the details, but they so miscalculated and the contract was rejected for the first time in history. They were so confident that people would accept a 5 year deal with double zero raises in the first 2 years, a penalty for new teachers, along with extending the time it took to reach top salary from 20 to 25 years (female teachers who gave up years for child care made pointed remarks about how Feldman and Weingarten had no children) that they neglected to send out the Unity hordes to sell it.

So they made a few modifications - 22 years for top salary instead of 25- and removed the new teacher penalty - and this time took no chances as they sent out the entire union Unity Caucus machinery to invade the schools. I was the chapter leader and wouldn't just let the District Rep filibuster the union line and forced him into debating me.

 Now Randi full well knows from here in NYC that the building reps have enormous power - which is the core of Unity strategy in controlling the union - all new reps are pulled away for weekend training sessions in which they are bound, gagged and locked into rooms and not allowed to communicate with outside forces. Actually, they are just plied with food and liquor and access to top union officials who then recruit them into Unity.

So in Baltimore they decided to encode perks for building reps right into the contract as way of selling it. Sawchuk continues:

Now, the word on the street from sources is that the district and union have essentially finalized a second (tentative) pact—and that the BTU was essentially shopping it to its unions' building representatives today during a four-hour meeting. "They had us all over, had us released from school, they fed us an entire meal, chicken, all this stuff, and gave us a gift at the end and sent us off with the 'newly revised' contract," a source told me this afternoon...... There appear not to be many substantial changes to the contract, merely the addition of some clarifying language, the source told me.

Randi's henchwoman Marietta English had all sorts of excuses for the defeat. What is Randi to do with her current and former loser allies? See Chicago, Detroit, Washington DC - where Nathan and Candi got the most votes and are now in a runoff with George Parker, one of the biggest jokes of a union leader.

Mike Antonucci at Intercepts asks Is the Baltimore Teachers Union Underestimating Its Own Members?

After having its much-lauded contract voted down by the rank-and-file, the Baltimore Teachers Union has responded by… presenting virtually the same contract again. This isn’t sitting too well with some of the people who opposed it the first time:

“The major reason we wanted a delay in the vote was for the democratic process and to have these details,” said Robin Bingham, a teacher who started an electronic petition against the contract until the evaluation system is complete. “I feel it’s really disrespectful to dress up the same contract and present it again.”

The BTU campaign to get the thing approved this time seems to consist of “regional information sessions for its members with the American Federation of Teachers” and schmoozing sessions with building reps (who already have a plum in the new contract).

 Even Mike throws up his hands at this one:

I’ve sworn off predicting the outcome of contract ratification votes, but I’ll be waiting to see if these tactics work.

Not me. I know for a fact those tactics do work. I'm betting they sell this baby- a short term victory for Randi and crew. Give the contract a year or two in operation and then watch what happens in Baltimore.

Can someone photoshop "Baltimore" and "2010 - and beyond" on the Randi sell-out photo?


Ed Notes recent articles on Baltimore contract:

Education Notes Online: More Baltimore from a Teacher Who Said "No"!

Oct 16, 2010

It seems, in a modest way, that teachers in Baltimore have essentially just handed a defeat to the education direction of the national government, our national union leadership, our local union leadership, the public schools CEO here in ...

Education Notes Online: Baltimore Teachers: STAND UP AND TAKE A BOW!

Oct 16, 2010

Chicago, Baltimore, perhaps detroit, LA, who knows maybe there can be some movment if AFT locals fire back. What happened in D.C. did the opposition to AFT win that local? The movement must come from the trenches up the leaders at UFT ...

Education Notes Online: A Day Off - But still gotta duck from the ...

Oct 07, 2010

American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten called me last week full of excitement over her Baltimore local's new teachers contract. Education leaders often exaggerate when talking to journalists, but Weingarten has taken ...

Education Notes Online: Andres Alonso Alienates Baltimore Teachers

Oct 02, 2007

BALTIMORE -- Baltimore city school teachers concerned about their contracts are planning to set up what they call informational pickets. They said the goal of the picketing is to put pressure on the administration to sign on the dotted ...

Labor Dept. Rules Randi Take Over of Nurses' Union Illegal

“The trusteeship appears to have been imposed to prevent disaffiliation,” according to the ruling. “It is the Department’s position that it is unlawful to impose a trusteeship for the purpose of preventing.”


But too late to help displaced union leaders.

Last year we reported on how Randi Weingarten sent in the AFT goons to invade the offices of a nurses local in Portland Oregon after they held a meeting to discuss disaffiliation from the AFT (see below for links). We had been contacted by one of the people in the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals Local 5017 (OFNHP).

Now, this was beyond outrageous. Hold a meeting to discuss disaffiliation and get 20 people invade your union and put you under trusteeship.

(Included in the goon squad was the head of the UFT Nurses' chapter Ann Goldman, whose husband is Jerry, the former Manhattan borough office President - he was supposedly the only high level UFT employee ever fired though no one will talk about the reason. Their son was supposedly hired by the PR dept - the entire family was taking down around 400 grand in our dues money.)

Randi must have remembered the time when the AFT lost 40,000 members when the Puerto Rico teachers union left the AFT in 2003. The leader of that walkout was Rafael Feliciano, who called the AFT "dues sucking vampires" or something like that. (Feliciano is a pal of our own Angel Gonzalez and we have had the opportunity to meet him numerous times - Angel is in PR right now getting film and stories to bring back.) Search this blog for "puerto rico" and find all our stories.

 Diane Lund-Muzicant reports in her Oregon based Lund Report:

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) took control of the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals Local 5017 (OFNHP), establishing a trusteeship, after the union tried to hold a special membership meeting to consider disaffiliating from AFT by amending its constitution. 

To protest, Kathy Geroux, the deposed president, filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor in Seattle.

On Aug. 10 – a year after receiving the complaint – the U.S. Department of Labor determined that the trusteeship violated Title III of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959.

“The trusteeship appears to have been imposed to prevent disaffiliation,” according to the ruling. “It is the Department’s position that it is unlawful to impose a trusteeship for the purpose of preventing.”

Six months earlier, in February, the Department notified AFT of its findings, but decided not to file a lawsuit, according to Mike Shimizu, regional director of public affairs, who said, “The trusteeship was not recognized by us.”

Now here's the rub. The Labor Department withheld the ruling to protect Randi according to the people displaced. They claim the ruling came after the AFT convention in Seattle to keep it from becoming an issue. Shows you which side the ruling bodies are really on, which is what I tell my friends who want to got to court all the time.


Diane Lund continues

Yet lingering questions remain, particularly for Geroux, a cardiology nurse at Kaiser Sunnyside Hospital, who’s convinced the ruling was purposely withheld until after AFT’s national convention in Seattle last month.

“Had we known,” she said, “it would have been a big victory for us; we would have mustered hundreds of people to show up at that convention. They (AFT) would have been scared to face us. Up until then, they kept up the conversation about the bad things we had done. ”

Geroux considered running again for president, but feared she’d be demonized by AFT. “They (AFT) played this like a fine instrument,” she said. “They didn’t want me back in; that’s why this information was withheld from me.”

If the Department of Labor’s decision had been announced earlier, all the former officers would have walked right back in, said Carol Posluszny, who retired recently from Kaiser as a licensed clinical social worker. “What happened was illegal,” she said.

Bing Wong, a clinical lab scientist at Kaiser, is convinced the Department of Labor took sides by showing its non-partisan leanings.

But in the end, Geroux who was president for 8 ½ years feels victorious – the ruling, she said, proves she did nothing wrong by holding an emergency meeting last July to talk about disaffiliating.

“They wanted us out; it was all built on untruths and was a cover-up,” she believes. “Otherwise we would have created the domino effect and taken other unions with us. Now they’ve taken the union back in time; it will take them a decade to catch up. No way will they ever let the local disaffiliate.”

In the small world department, I was on a subway train in Manhattan in July 2009 and saw a couple and their daughter trying to decide what stop to get off. I offered to help. I asked where they were from. "Portland, Or" the woman said.

"Funny" I said, "I was just writing about takeover of a union by the AFT a few hours ago."

"Local 5017," she said. She was Diane Lund-Muzicant on a NY vacation with her family. She said she was going to try to interview Randi about the situation while in NY. She never got that interview.

Come on now, what starts were aligned for that? It turns out Diane is a leading health care writer and puts out the Lund Report. So I subscribed and that's how I heard about the Labor Department ruling, which of course you will not read about on any UFT/AFT or mainstream press.


Here are links to my reports on local 5017, including my July 20 '09 report of the subway meeting with Diane.

Randi Goes to Portland As AFT Threatens Local Considering ...

Jul 11, 2009

Portland OR--At 9am Tuesday July 7, approximately 20 representatives from American Federation of Teachers Healthcare national offices arrived at Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals Local 5017 and put the health care ...

Education Notes Online: AFT Hack Attack on Portland Local 5017

Jul 13, 2009

On July 7, 2009 Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, Local 5017, a small healthcare local in Portland, Oregon was taken over by its parent union and put under trusteeship. We want Local 5017 back! ...

Randi In Portland (OR) and a Weird Subway Meeting

Jul 20, 2009

Kathy Geroux, who was removed as president of Local 5017, declined to comment. But she and union leaders released a statement defending their actions, saying the bylaws allow special meetings. "We believe that everyone on the executive ...

AFT Takeover Sanctioned By US Labor Department

Oct 21, 2009

I foresee road trips in my future, though Randi jokingly invited me to go to Oregon with her at the Ex Bd meeting the other day. My bags are packed, Randi. .. Education Notes Online: AFT Hack Attack on Portland Local 5017 (Jul 13, 2009) ...

UFT/AFT: Think Like Vichy

Where I pose the question: Is Diane Ravitch our De Gaulle?

I've been criticized from all sides for my comparison of the UFT/AFT leaders to French Vichy in WWII (make sure to click this link if you are unaware of the historical context before reading on.) Even some of the anti-Unity buddies say I am going too far. The union after all, they claim, is still ours no matter how distorted their policies and accusations of collaboration go too far.

I don't agree.

I've been intending to clarify my position - I am not comparing them to Nazi sympathizers - but to a way of thinking.

Peter Goodman, UFT/AFT shill who will justify any policy, has been leaving droppings on his own Ed in the Apple blog and on Gotham.

Goodman made this "I surrender" ("je me rends" in French) comment:

From Seattle to Boston, from Florida to Chicago, from LA to NY, educational policy is undergoing a sea change. It is supported by the President and the States, it is accountability, core standards, free market driven: testing, ratings/remuneration by student achievement, value-added, charter schools, etc. Diane Ravitch and other scholars strongly oppose, however, the electeds are supportive across the nation. If the Republicans sweep to victory these policies wouldn’t change, the fed dollars would stop flowing. Teacher unions can either vigorous oppose and isolate themselves, they are powerless to change these policies, or, attempt to cooperate and modify policies. It is easy to blame Weingarten or Mulgrew, the same policies exist in every state and every major city.

I really gag every time I read this, but here is my reasoned response, something I am not known for.


In France in WWII there was a choice. Oppose the Germans unequivocally or compromise - in Goodman's words  - "they could either vigorously oppose and isolate themselves, they are powerless to change these policies, or, attempt to cooperate and modify policies."

The French resistance chose the former, the Vichy government chose the latter. DeGaulle vs. Petain. After all Vichy reasoned, "The Germans were dominant." Vichy asked, "Do you want to be totally under their boot or have us there to modify their policies? We know they want to kill all the Jews but we can save at least some of them."

I am not calling anyone a Nazi sympathizer but I am using the most graphic example I can think of what I would call "The Vichy" mentality. A way of thinking that is so prevalent coming from the very forces that had the ability to put up a fight but instead think like Vichy.

Unions can fight for what is right for teachers and students and if done in a moral and democratic manner, they will not only not be isolated but will win people over to what is clearly right to so many educators and increasingly the public (see new leadership in Chicago). In fact it is the leadership of the AFT and UFT that is becoming isolated not only from its own membership but from the astute non teaching community.

It may look like the summer of 1940 in Europe to many. Maybe having Diane Ravitch (our De Gaulle?) not only join but help lead the resistance is akin to the US entering the war.

When Diane Ravitch and others break with your policy it is clear that it is you who are on the wrong side of history.

You can follow the thread here to see the comments go back and forth.

Norm Does History at the AFT Peace & Justice Meeting in Seattle

I was asked to provide some historical context to the current state of resistance in NYC at the AFT P&J committee meeting on July 9, 2010. Lisa North (ICE/GEM) chaired the meeting.

"You not only have to deal with charters, you have to deal with charters that are like a cancer in your own building."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMLPrWrcAGk&feature=player_embedded


Want more of my drivel?

I was asked to cover for a guest too chicken to appear by Bronx Teacher on his penetrating weekly internet radio show (every Tuesday night at 9pm).

"The union has consistently been giving back since 1968." Well, psychologically at least. There was one more contract with gains and then in '72 it was all downhill.

He asked some great questions and I had a chance to get into issues in terms of historical context of the UFT - the '68 strike, the '75 massive cuts to schools and other issues to help prove my point that Randi Weingarten DID NOT CHANGE DIRECTION but continued and amplified the policies set in motion by Al Shanker.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bronx-teacher/2010/07/28/the-mind-of-a-bronx-teacher

Randi and Rhee: Firings in DC Aided By AFT Subversion of Union Elections

I was on the phone the other day with a long retired teacher I worked with for many years - she is 80 years old today so I sent congrats (and flowers) to her. She has had little interest in education issues for many years. "Oh, those firings in Washington," she said. "They must be crazy."

Yes, the Rhee in DC story has captivated people's attention. I've noticed lots of our buddy bloggers have castigated Randi Weingarten for screwing the teachers in DC by negotiating the contract with Rhee that allowed for these firings.

What they haven't touched on is how Randi helped subvert the DC teacher union elections which were supposed to take place sometime in May. In essence Randi functioned as Michelle Rhee's agent. Is she a Manchurian Candidate?

As chronicled by Candi Peterson, the current president of the union, George Parker, has run the union into the ground. But he was more amenable to the contract than his opponent in the presidential race, Nathan Saunders, who currently is the VP. Except he isn't since both he and Parker's terms expired on July 1.

Now follow this bouncing ball. If the election had been held in May and Saunders were elected, the chances of the Rhee/Randi contract being voted up might have been jeopardized. I know, I know - it passed overwhelmingly. But if all the information as to repercussions had been distributed with a new union admin coming in, who knows what would have happened? Randi could not take that chance.

So when Parker did not submit the legally required petitions to enable him to run in time for the deadline, Randi was aghast. In essence, Parker has handed the election to Saunders at a crucial time when Rhee and Randi were about to seal the deal. Getting this done was very important to Randi as this would help seal her reputation as an ed reformer when in reality we know she is an ed deformer.

Now the Washington DC teachers union election is in the hands of an AFT committee and no matter what they say and do we know one thing- Randi does not want Saunders, a version of Karen Lewis in Chicago (who just called for the cancellation of Teach for America contracts as one example of someone with union moxie) to win.

At the AFT convention in Seattle a few weeks ago, I had a chance to do a brief interview with Nathan Saunders at the Chicago Teachers Union party and the next day filmed Candi Peterson as she made a presentation on the DC situation to an AFT Peace and Justice Committee event. I'll let them speak for themselves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4wo0viVzT0&feature=player_embedded

And here is the latest info from Candi:

Norm
Please take a look at this survey, designed by AFT - no doubt. I have never seen anything like it. Have you? Surveying our union members about the upcoming mayoral and DC City Council chairman race when we have a political arm of the WTU. My guess is that George Parker, WTU President and AFT President, Randi Weingarten may want to throw their support to Mayor Adrian Fenty . Another term with Fenty would guarantee Chancellor Rhee and company will stay at the helm. This is absurd when every other union in DC is supporting Chairman Vincent Gray for Mayor. Wonder why? because Fenty believes in firing everyone in this town.

I'd love to know your thoughts on this survey?

Candi

(See Survey at Norms Notes)

AFT Survey for DC Teachers

 

 

CORE and Unity on Charter Schools - Where the Rubber Meets the Road

Chicago-based Lee Sustar, who I got to hang with at the press table at the AFT convention, does a penetrating analysis of the AFT convention – and links to reports from George Schmidt's Substance, Ed Notes and Leonie's HufPost article on Bill Gates, "The Most Dangerous Man in America".

Lee's piece is long but well worth reading. Lee writes for the Socialist Worker, associated with ISO (International Socialist Organization). We have been working closely with a number of ISO teachers here in NYC.

Lee goes beyond the Bill Gates issue and touches on the major Weingarten sell-outs in Colorado and beyond. This is information every single one of you should share with every single colleague in your school and beyond. Just send them a link to this ed notes post.

Before you delve into it, I want to highlight the area that I have been emphasizing – the flash points between the two big caucuses - Chicago's CORE and New York's Unity.

Lee writes:

While not formally part of the opposition--CTU President Karen Lewis joined the union's ruling Progressive Caucus and won election as an AFT vice president--there were frictions between the Chicago delegation and Weingarten's home union local, the United Federation of Teachers in New York City.

The main disagreements were over convention resolutions on charter schools--where the Chicagoans wanted to call for a moratorium on charters as a form of privatization, the New York delegation insisted on restating the AFT's support for charter schools as a matter of school choice, and prevailed.

For the moment, the debate over charters, teacher evaluation and merit pay may fade to the background as the Chicago teachers gear up to fight the threat of layoffs. But the AFT's pursuit of partnership even as teachers are under their greatest attack in decades will inevitably lead to a struggle over the future of teacher unionism.

Read the above carefully and connect the dots to the story on the firing of the 10 key teachers at the Merrick Charter School in Queens that were trying to organize for the UFT. This charter school is founded by the head of the NY State Senate Malcolm Smith, who I bet the UFT has endorsed in the past and maybe even is endorsing again - he has no opposition so it is a mute question. The UFT has a press conference today at 1pm on this issue. See our updated post from last night:

Malcolm Smith founded charter school fires UFT teachers- Mulgrew threatens law suit

It seems the UFT would be going wild in Albany over this outrage, calling for Smith's head. But I bet they are too timid to do this. So a law suit is all they can threaten.

So how does this connect, aside from exposing the bankrupt policy of the UFT's total focus on political action?

Chicago/CORE called for an moratorium on charter schools at the AFT convention because they undermine public schools.

The AFTUFT/Unity gang supports charters along with a policy of organizing charter school teachers. How is that working out so far? Chicago people have pointed to how few charters have been organized and also point to how even when they are, there are individual contracts signed, which dilutes the power of a big union. Another bankrupt strategy of the UFT/AFT.

I was asked last night by a parent activist if the UFT had issued a press release or has any notice of the press conference and I said I only knew about it from her.

"Why not," she asked?

"Because they are very nervous these firings will kill off any organizing they are doing as charter school teachers realize the UFT has no real ability to protect them from retaliation. So the UFT is doing a semi-public relations gambit and threatening a law suit which can take a bit of time and do no good to the teachers who were fired." This entire thing can turn out to be a major PR disaster for the UFT/AFT.

The Merrick situation must be sending a chill in a very hot July down the spine of the UFT/AFT strategy because it is in the belly of the beast - with heavy Democratic black politicians associated with the firings. By the way, the charter school is managed by for profit Victory Schools which just hired Michael Duff away from the DOE. Victory also took a pound of flesh from another Malcolm Smith founded school in Rockaway - Peninsula Prep. Rockaway's local paper, The Wave, has been claiming that the closing of Beach Channel HS was related to a land grab by Smith for his charter.

The NY Times did a major front page expose on the Floyd Flake/Smith/Greg Meeks scams a few weeks ago.

Make sure to check out the Resolutions Chicago suggested at the AFT:

Chicago Teachers Union Resolution at AFT Convention

I usually include entire articles here for those too lazy to link or with slow networks. But I'm saving some scrolling space on the blog on the assumption that you all will read every word of Lee's article. There will be a high stakes test to follow.

The wrong partner for our schools

Lee Sustar looks at the implications of the "partnership" between American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and Microsoft chairman Bill Gates.

July 22, 2010

http://socialistworker.org/2010/07/22/wrong-partner-our-schools

AFT Convention: UFT/CTU Deal Expose Fault Lines in School Closing Policy

There is no more volatile issue than that of closing schools. It leads to disruption of students, parents and teachers who are tossed onto the scrapheap– in NYC they are known as ATRs - absentee teacher reserves as even the most experienced teachers are used as subs.

The difference between the new Chicago Teachers Union leadership from CORE and the UFT/Unity Caucus almost came to a head at the recent AFT convention in Seattle, where the UFT initially supported a resolution that did not include much stronger language. Randi, fearing an embarrassing floor fight that might expose the fault lines in AFT/UFT policy on closing schools — they have refused to oppose them unequivocally — had Unity leaders approach the CTU and together they negotiated language the CTU would be willing to accept.

The 9 minute video below opens with Unity's Janella Hinds (one of the UFT point people in NYC on closing schools) making a strong statement on closing schools – which at first surprised me until I was filled in on what had gone on behind the scenes. She is followed by a strong statement from CORE's Jenninfer Johnson thanking Local 2 for "seeing the light" - my words.

Jen Johnson went where the UFT won't go – she flat out stated that the closing of schools is an attack on teacher tenure and seniority rights and talked about Chicago's ATR problem, where they can be fired after 10 months if they don't get a job. She said there was an attempt to cut into this time limit. (In NYC, ATRs cannot be fired at this time. It is hard to imagine even the UFT giving on this issue, especially after seeing the impact that issue has had in radicalizing Chicago teachers.)

Jen is followed by new CTU president Karen Lewis, who said, "I would like to thank Local 2 for understanding what it means to be on the front lines of a policy that is not only dangerous, it's deadly." You gotta love the underlying dig here at Unity. She talked about how closing schools undermine neighborhood stability and even lead to the deaths of students.

One of the reasons Lewis, who was teaching chemistry a few weeks ago, is now the CTU president is because the Unity style leadership in Chicago that preceded her went along with the closing schools, as has the Unity leadership in NYC. It wasn't until the slap in the face by the NYCDOE when they announced 19 school closings in Dec. 2009, that Unity, facing an upcoming union election, started to take action by organizing a rally in January and filing a lawsuit.

The UFT/Unity Caucus leadership has been making a big deal over their "victory" in lawsuit to keep schools open, especially at the AFT convention. I can't tell you how many people came over to talk about that "win" — even our pals in Chicago.

Of course, people on the ground here in NYC know better:

Bloomberg is sending so few students to those schools that, in effect, they won't be open anyway. And in a startling deal with the UFT, he's placing replacement schools in a bunch of them anyway. It's incomprehensible to me that they've agreed not to file another lawsuit and are essentially allowing him to walk all over the one they managed to win. But such is the transitory nature of victory when you have no follow-up strategy, I suppose.

Read full post at NYC Educator

There was disgust over a recent agreement between the UFT and DOE to insert new schools at Jamaica HS, one of the closing schools where ICE's James Eterno is the chapter leader (Eterno ran against Mulgrew for UFT president) while the incoming freshman class has been undermined by the DOE. Eterno wrote on the ICE blog:

We suffered a setback today when the DOE-UFT agreed to co-locate the two new schools in our building for September and the UFT agreed not to sue. It is hard to believe how we were stabbed in the back by the UFT. They didn't even have the decency to consult with us before they allowed the DOE to move new schools into our building.

Read James' full piece: Committee At Jamaica Vows to Fight on After UFT Gives us Away

Here is the video, also playing on the ed notes sidebar, GEM, and CPE.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bhailiqr4uQ

The UFT at the AFT - Part 3

Whenever we have a UFT election campaign here in New York, people ask, "Why a 10 page book of names on the ballot? What is this delegate thing with 800 names for Unity? How can we be electing delegates (to the DA) when we elected them in the schools?"

I try to explain that the 800 people they elect are for the AFT convention every 2 years and the NYSUT convention every year.

They often go off shaking their heads in confusion.

And therein lies some of the significance of the Bill Gates appearance at the AFT last week. The news and blog reports have raised that event to a higher level of consciousness in the minds of the more active and engaged UFTers. Seeing Randi in action in the videos and the 800 Unity people who were elected in March cheering her on made an impression.

Remember how during the election campaign the word coming out of Unity was how relieved they were when Randi left? Now they had a real teacher who would function differently than Randi. We tried to tell people that there would be no difference, that Mulgrew was chosen for the very reason that he would present a different face, but behind the scenes nothing would change.

Insiders tell us how Randi left UFT Counsel Carol Gerstl in charge of managing Mulgrew.

Remember when Bloomberg announced Mulgrew agreed with him when he decided to not give the raises back in May and even the Times reported the union had agreed? It took hours for Mulgrew to respond. The reason for the delay was that the UFT had to wait for Randi's response.

New boss, same as the old boss. And "The 800" (Into the valley of death rode The 800) who rose up to cheer Randi and Gates numerous times provides ample evidence.

Bill Gates at the AFT - 1984 - UPDATED

UPDATE: July 17 2pm

This comment from TFA Friend... This comes from 1984? Wow, I wasn't even born yet. -- made me think I have to do some background on the historical perspective of the Orwellian year 1984 and the brilliance of the Apple commercial in that context - an attack on the corporate culture of IBM - Gates and Microsoft were just a short time away from replacing IBM as the monopoly power. There is so much irony in that commercial, which was shown only once at the Super Bowl. It was the first shot in Apple's introduction of the mouse and the graphical interface on the MAC - revolutionary. More irony in that Gates copied all the ideas from the Mac for Windows - another term for the graphical interface. So the idea to use that commercial to parody the Gates appearance at the AFT seems magical.

Reminder to the younger gen - Orwell wrote "1984" in 1949 pointedly directed at the totalitarian regimes - Hitler, Stalin, etc . and how they controlled the minds of people. When we actually reached 1984, the corporatization was becoming more of a threat, as we have seen in education.

I may put up a longer historical retro this weekend on Norms Notes and link back here.



July 17, 1am
The brilliant idea was hatched over dinner Sunday night in Seattle with George Schmidt and some CORE members — to use the famous 1984 Apple Super Bowl commercial, an intro to the Macintosh and a takedown of IBM and Microsoft, to parody Bill Gates' appearance at the AFT convention where Unity Caucus drones cheered him on while a small band resisted. What a perfect metaphor for what occurred. Monday AM I emailed David Bellel with the idea and voila, by the time I got home Tuesday morning he had it ready. A few refinements on my end and here it is. All you Gates Windows supporters, come on over to the Mac and see how easy all this stuff is to do. Enjoy!




URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYQzoDy_ocA

UFT at the AFT - Part 2

When the UFT held a meeting for delegates at 52 Broadway a few weeks before the AFT convention (according to Unity insiders this meeting violates labor laws - as does any meeting of Unity or New Action on official union property) they harangued them with words like, "You don't represent yourself, but 200,000 UFT members."

Sure. What they are at the AFT to represent are the policies of a small group at the top. Certainly members are not represented. For example, Arthur Goldstein as chapter leader of Francis Lewis HS, the 2nd largest HS school in the city with 300 members could not be a delegate - unless he joined Unity - and then he would be forced to vote the way he was told - not by his chapter but by the leadership.

Even though ICE/TJC got only 9% of the vote - or however we would calculate the votes for the AFT- one could argue they should have gotten a proportion of the delegates. Even 50. Even New Action which ran a slate of their own even if they endorsed Mulgrew should have gotten a share too. Would that make the AFT and UFT more representative of the members views?

But not in the winner take all system of the autocratic UFT/AFT.


What did it cost to send 800 plus Unity people to Seattle?

Each delegate was given $2000. Do the math. If you add in the extra people who were invited as guests and the staffers, I get $2,000,000 of our dues. At a minimum. Add in the costs of the NYSUT Convention in Washington DC a few months ago and the numbers are staggering.

Last Sunday we ran into a delegate from Wisconsin - one of 2 out of 20 they could afford to send. She carried the votes of 10 delegates.

In other words, the UFT could have sent Mulgrew by himself to vote the entire block of votes and save 2 million bucks. Why not? Unity has caucus discipline and everyone is required to vote the same way.

Well, we know why not. These trips are one of the things that keep the Unity faithful, well, faithful. So faithful that even if they agree with us, they will hoot and cheer people like Gates and lead the flock they represent to the slaughter (make sure to read Arthur Goldstein and Sharon Higgins on the sidebar).

CORE Rocks, Unity S_cks! - Part 1

Photo by George Schmidt

I have a lot to write on this topic but won't throw it all at you in one shot. Here is Part 1.

There were a lot of subtexts at the AFT convention in Seattle. Some emphasized the Detroit led BAMN (By Any Means Necessary) slate running against Randi's Progressive/Unity Caucus, but given the overall platform of BAMN and skepticism if not outright hostility of other left activists this is not a long-term building block to challenge Weingarten. I'll do more on the left at the convention and their impact at some other time.

More interesting was the role being played, and that might be played in the future by the newly elected CORE (Caucus of Rank & File Educators), a 2 year plus old caucus in Chicago that won a run-off in the recent elections against the UPC (Unity allied).

No matter where you ran into or listened to CORE members, they issued warnings about the disaster of the ed deform program on a system after 16 years, warnings that mostly went on the deaf ears of Unity and their national clones.

I was sitting with a national reporter at the press table and he assumed that the CORE leadership, based on their militancy in defense of teachers would naturally align with BAMN. Thus, he was somewhat surprised when new Chicago TU President Karen Lewis ran on Randi's Progressive Caucus platform as a VP while other CTU delegates ran with BAMN. One UFT leader asked someone in CORE, "Don't you have caucus discipline?" I guess not.

I explained to the reporter that if Lewis didn't run with Progressive which was destined to win (and did win with 95% of the vote), then Chicago for the first time in history wouldn't have a member of the AFT Executive Board council. To not have Local 1 (the UFT is local 2) as part of the council would be embarrassing for the AFT. Soon after arriving in Seattle, negotiations began between CORE and the Progressive Caucus. Reports surfaced that there were demands that at least 50% of the CTU delegates must join Progressive. CORE balked. In the end I believe 3 joined.

More interesting - when the election results came in, Karen Lewis finished with the second hightest total. Professional Staff Congress' (New York based) Barbara Bowen finished with the highest total. Bowen's caucus defeated the Unity supported caucus many years ago and is considered a left dissident group even though Bowen is in Progressive. At the Progressive Caucus meeting I attended Bowen consistently battled them, often against Leo Casey.

So, what does that say when the two VP's with an agenda that is not in alignment with Randi get the highest votes for VP? I'll let you mull that one over while I work on Part 2.

In the meantime, when it came to the Gates speech/walkout, CORE held a meeting to decide what to do. There was some division. The majority decided to remain in the hall, wear their red CTU hats and sit on their hands as a silent protest against Gates. Those that wanted to walk out were asked to remove their hats so as not to represent the CTU. A very democratic solution. As a matter of fact one of the leading people in the protest was a CORE member.

George Schmidt has a good article on Substance with a reprint of the late Gerald Bracey's comments on Gates and a reprint of Gates' speech. Here is his photo of the CTU delegation (around 145 strong) during the Gates speech. Karen Lewis is on the left in the red skirt.




http://www.substancenews.net/articles.php?section=Article&page=1529#comments

Many of the members of the Chicago Teachers Union delegation, including President Karen Lewis and Financial Secretary Michael Brunson (above) remained in the hall during the walkout protesting Gates's speech. They then sat silently listening to Gates while delegates from some other union locals, especially New York City, gave Gates a standing ovation even after he promoted charter schools, merit pay, and an end to tenure in his speech (see speech). Substance photo by George N. Schmidt.

The Underbelly: Teacher Pay Linked to Student Evaluations

"If I were a veteran teacher in Hillsborough, I would take to the hills, now!" Leonie Haimson


There was much talk and excitement post Gates speech about Bill Gates and the AFT Innovation Fund. Hillsborough was a major point of contact - or attack. Read Leonie's post carefully to see where this is headed. Pay scales based on the results on tests. It is worth checking out Valerie Strauss' posts at WaPo.


I also have some links to Ed Week and EIA from AFT and NEA - though as always, EIA is anti-union and Ed Week's Sawchuk has to be parsed.

My huffington post piece has been reprinted by Valerie Strauss and is in her WaPost blog today:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/teachers/bill-gates-troubling-involveme.html

please go there and leave a comment!

See also in today's Post the article below; which sort of proves my point.

Since January 2008, more than 250 Gates grants have targeted causes such as charter schools, testing research, data systems, science and math education and common academic standards...

Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who has recruited some key aides from the charity, described the foundation as "one of many stakeholders really interested in seeing things get better. I appreciate their commitment and stick-to-itiveness. They're in this for the long haul."

So the Gates foundation is one of the key stakeholders; but where are public school parents? Nowhere to be found.

The Wapost reporter goes into length about the new Gates-supported teacher eval system in Hillsborough:

Every year, teachers here will be evaluated on a formula based on student achievement gains (40 percent), principal observation (30 percent) and peer observation (30 percent). By 2013, a four-tier pay scale will take effect that will reward high performers regardless of their academic degrees or years of experience -- a major break from precedent. Veteran teachers will be allowed to remain in the seniority-based pay scale or opt into the new one. New teachers will not have a choice and will be subject to more rigorous scrutiny before gaining tenure.

I predict the system will be totally unreliable; as based 40% on test score gains, (which fluctuate wildly from year to year, and are reliant on many factors out of the teachers' control. ) Only 30% will be based on peer evaluation, by full time teacher"evaluators" expert in using "data", and none on the views of parents and/or students, who obviously don't count in these people's minds.

And as all merit pay schemes have shown so far, it will be an awful waste of money and probably wreck morale as 20 year veterans will see their incomes slide up and down.

Also see this, not from this piece but another; http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/tenured-or-not-hillsborough-targets-weak-teachers/1083411

"Hillsborough officials told the foundation they expected to fire at least 5 percent of the district's 8,500 tenured teachers each year for low performance, once a new evaluation system is established. ....With more precise evaluations, they predicted rating at least 15 percent of all teachers as "performing well below expectations" and in need of further support or dismissal."

If I were a veteran teacher in Hillsborough, I would take to the hills, now!

Leonie Haimson

AFT Gates- California teacher chastises Randi for actions at Gates Protests

AFT Gates- Randi chastised for actions by California teacher



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkSSSYQuIcs

Breaking into the Progressive Caucus

July 12, 2010

When I attended the AFT convention in Washington in 2004 with Loretta and Gene Prisco we were surprised when we heard that membership in the Progressive Caucus, the national version of Unity Caucus, was open to all. We joined and were able to attend the first meeting and see how they going to manipulate the rest of the convention. No one said anything to us about being there.

Thus, when I got to Seattle, I asked if that was still the policy and was told it was - all I had to do was pay $20 and I was in. So when Unity hack Washington Sanchez saw me and came over to challenge my right to be there, I was mildly surprised.

"How did you get in here? You have no right to be here," he said. He asked me to show credentials.
"What right do you have to ask me for credentials," I said?
"I am a member of this caucus and have the right."
"No you don't. Only officials have the right."
"You're saying I'm nothing," he whined. "Is that what you are saying?"
"In your case you are nothing."
He walked off in a huff.
I knew that Sanchez was a low level (and low life) do nothing Queens special rep who people I know complain often about his arrogance and incompetence - a guy who as a full-time union employee has no qualms about booing and hooting at opposition speakers at UFT delegate assemblies while on union time. HE would have no clue about national caucus policies. He would follow orders to march off a cliff.

Two minutes later he reappeared with UFT Staff Director Leroy Barr.
I expected Leroy as a top union official to know the rules.
"You have to leave," Leroy said. I just sat there. "You have to be a member to be here."
"I got in didn't I? Only members can get in."
"Come on Norm, we can do this inside or outside. Come outside and talk."
I didn't move.
"Then show me credentials."
"Who are you? Are you an official here? Why should I show you credentials?"
He and Sanchez walked off in a huff. Two minutes they were back with a Sergeant at arms. I showed her my credentials. "You are a visitor and not a delegate," she said. "I don't know if you can be here."
"I asked that question when I paid my $20 and they assured me it was OK or why else would I pay?"
She said she would check. She never came back.

I moved to the back of the room. Whispers. People pointing. Lots of hostile stares. Some friendly nods and a few nice words.
Michael Mendel stopped by to chat. As usual we talked sports. He said, "You are really topping yourself being here, Norm. I really don't care, but you really aren't supposed to be here." I told him the open policy and he seemed truly surprised.
Then retiring UFT grievance head Howard Solomon. "Why are you here? This is a private meeting." Not in a nice way.
Then UFT middle school VP Richard Farkas: "Norm, does this give you reciprocity to attend Unity Caucus meetings?" Rich at least seemed to be having fun with this.
Finally, I get slapped on the shoulder.
It was Randi: "Norman, I see you joined the caucus. You must miss me."
Randi also seemed surprised that I could be there.
"I think you miss me more," I said. "I joined because you finally convinced me. Best 20 bucks I ever spent."

So with the top UFT officials either unaware or not expecting someone to take advantage of a loophole in Progressive Caucus policy, don't be surprised to see that policy modified in Detroit in 2012. And other policies like restrictions on the movement of visitors like they have done at the DA.

I realized that this is the first AFT convention that Randi has run - she was elected in 2008 at the end of the convention. Given her history of taking what was an undemocratically run UFT and doubling the lack of democracy in such a way as to make Al Shanker look like a paragon of free thought, expect an even higher level of tightening in the future.

Video - Bill Gates at the AFT: Bringing in a Trojan Horse

Who is the real Trojan Horse?

Here is a rough video of low quality I put together very quickly. First a small demo outside before the speech, then Randi's intro of Gates to rousing cheers, the most vociferous from most of the 800 Unity Caucus people who were there on our dues, the walkout to Unity led jeers and the song na-na-hey-hey-goodbye, selections from Gates' speech with some commentary from me, and the final demo outside as people left. Here is the direct link if it is slow loading:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6Ezri0pVOg

An Ex-Unity Caucus Member Issues a Warning

"The UFT/AFT has caved to this educationally unsound pressure time and time again and need to be stopped. We should be following Diane Ravitch and the NEA, not a union that has consistently worked with power to sell out the students and teachers, the majority of whom live in poverty, of New York City."

An ex- Unity Caucus chapter leader

I encourage you to stop the AFT leadership from continuing to follow Bloomberg, Duncan and the major media outlets down the wrong education reform path. AFT/UFT leadership has always demonstrated a willingness to sell out the membership and students of color for their own personal gain and success.

I write to you today not as a disgruntled ex Unity delegate but as an educator who’s first and foremost concern has always been to ensure that poor Black students receive the same education and opportunities as students of means. I am glad that I do not have to ignore what I know to be right to support UFT leadership and follow my team leader as delegates were told on in June. Make no mistake about it, as a UFT/Unity delegate, there is no voting other than the way one is told to vote. The UFT/Unity delegation works very hard to get their way on everything at the conventions. By packing the committees with their people and having a contingent of delegates ready to line the microphones, it is an orchestrated effort to enforce their way. Trust when I say delegates follow along for many reasons, none related to education or any common sense education reform. Now they are poised to lead us further down the path of the quick fix in education which will allow the achievement gap to flourish not close.

Since taking control of public schools in New York City, Bloomberg has had one goal in mind. He wants his legacy to be the man who solved the problems in public education, specifically closing the achievement gap between Black and White. He had only 8 years to accomplish his goal he set out on quick fixes, not once doing what was necessary to truly close the achievement gap. He identified teachers as the problem, and in turn, closed large high schools, created test requirements for promotion and advocated for charter schools. Now with an additional four years in office he has been given the opportunity to continue and influence more people.

Any rational educator in NYC knows his tests are the new word for social promotion. One can score a Level 2, enough for promotion to the next grade without even reading a question on the 6th grade ELA and 7th grade Math Exams. Yet UFT leadership has stood beside Bloomberg and declared social promotion has ended.

To truly close the achievement gap Bloomberg and his followers would have to acknowledge poverty and those disadvantages associated with it that affect children’s ability to learn. Children in poverty enter school far behind in their exposure to reading and language than their advantaged counterparts. These deficiencies persist throughout their lives in public school as schools have traditionally not provided the necessary resources to bring children of poverty to the level of their peers in the early grades. To remediate for this, in elementary school, would require the kind of tax money; no urban district has yet been willing to spend.

We come to this point today where many states have passed legislation tying test scores to teacher evaluation. Now the AFT wants to officially make it union policy to support this. There are 2 major problems with this.

The first is when administrators/teachers are rated or paid based on test scores and credit accumulation they will reach those goals by any means necessary, as I have seen firsthand for many years. The second problem is the way in which the UFT justifies their actions. The UFT says that the observation/evaluation system is broken. They negotiated the rules yet somehow it is not working.

It is not working because the UFT have allowed Bloomberg/Klein to run roughshod over our contract specifically Article 21D. I requested information from the Department of Education (DOE) under the Freedom of Information Law, as to the amount of U-Ratings for the past 30 years and how many were sustained and overruled. I expected to see a huge increase in both U-Ratings and the number sustained under Bloomberg/Klein. It is unfortunate that the DOE has yet to find the information from May when I made the request.

It is also unfortunate that the UFT has also failed to secure this information. Despite the UFT Delegate Assembly passing a resolution regarding U-Rating appeals in 2007 the UFT has never followed through. The resolution says they will seek applicable data from the DOE, canvas members and analyze the information. I have not seen any evidence this was done. Email to UFT officials went unanswered.

If the UFT were to admit the contractual language has been abrogated they would have to do something. By ignoring the fact that our U-Rating appeals under Bloomberg/Klein have been sustained at an unprecedented rate, they have perfect justification for their resolution on testing and teacher evaluation. They may continue to convince the membership the system does not work and therefore having a percentage of your evaluation based on tests is a great advance. I have seen firsthand the tyranny of the observation and rating system under Bloomberg/Klein, carefully orchestrated under the guise of supervisory discretion. I am a chapter leader and I have received U-Ratings and according to the UFT I should be happy that 40% of my evaluation will be based on test scores? Oh and with new categories instead of just Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory.

I want what I have always wanted since setting foot into my first urban public high school 12 years ago. Essentially to provide students in poverty with the education and tools they need and to guarantee they have the same education and opportunity I had in my public school experience. Mostly I would like to see public education live up to its responsibilities to educate all equally. In ten years in the south Bronx I have not seen it, nor have I seen Bloomberg or Duncan suggest they will do anything to secure this right. I have seen each blame teachers and advocate for tests as measurement of student progress and more incendiary, teacher effectiveness.

The UFT/AFT has caved to this educationally unsound pressure time and time again and need to be stopped. We should be following Diane Ravitch and the NEA, not a union that has consistently worked with power to sell out the students and teachers, the majority of whom live in poverty, of New York City.

Updated Again: AFT Update - and Gates as the Most Dangerous Man in America

Update 2: July 11, 1am PST

The morning session is over and we are pre-Gates, but this came in from Leonie Haimson:

Hope its not too late to create a buzz at Seattle…please share!

The most dangerous man in America is taking the stage at the AFT conference in Seattle today:

Watch out, America! You have nothing to lose but your public school system, at the hands of the richest man in the country who, like a spoiled child carelessly playing with toys, breaks one after another.

check it out at

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leonie-haimson/the-most-dangerous-man-in_b_641832.htm

Key debates on educational issues
[I have video of it all so won't go into tremendous detail.]

The most controversial issues on education were up for debate this morning. Reso # 5 on teacher evaluation was supposed to be the most contentious. Randi/Unity prepared carefully. A few weeks ago the Unity delegation met in NY and were told this was the crucial reso and were prepared to manipulate in committee and at the floor debate.

Chicago vs NYC was a key background. Chicago/CORE people were a little taken aback at some of the tactics used at the committee meetings on Thursday. At the main sessions one CORE/CTU teacher after another were the key people standing up to Unity/Progressive Caucus, telling of the experience of being in the belly of the Duncan/Daly beast.

Today on Reso 5 the mics were packed with Progressive Caucus people until Randi pulled the democracy issue and "allowed" 2 people - CTUers it turned out - to speak against some of the language that they said opened up teachers to attacks. But then the question was called as we always see in NYC.

Chicago and NYC cooperate
On the closing schools reso we saw a different scenario. A UFTer/Unity got up to amend the reso and everything she said was on the mark. The next speaker was from Chicago/CORE - local 1 - and thanked local 2 for working with them to strengthen the reso. Both speeches were very powerful.

I spoke to CORE people after and apparently there were some intense negotiations between the two big powerhouse locals to find some common ground. And they did.

What is playing out here is a baptism of the Chicago group just a few days after taking power in the union. I have been very impressed with the number of quality people. One after another you speak to are articulate and educated on so many issues. CORE clearly has done a great job of educating, organizing and mobilizing. In two years at Detroit they will be prepared.

But that won't stop Randi from trying to coopt them, something she is so good at doing.

To be continued

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Everyone wants part of the GEM banner - well, not everyone

Speaking of co-opting. New Action's Jonathan Halabi is here. Now don't get into a snit. New Action did not get delegate positions. He is here as college prof delegate - PSC. As some of you know he is not my favorite person for his constant ICE bashing - he was even overheard doing it in a bar the other night. You know, "the ICE opposes everything mantra" - like mayoral control, merit pay, measuring teachers by data - stuff like that. Stuff that the UFT has supported.

When there was discussion about the Gates protest today and people talked about holding up the GEM banner, there are reports Halabi balked, saying GEM was sectarian or something like that. Ridiculous. Though GEM has many ICE people in it, it has attracted people from every active group in the UFT. Not New Action of course. GEM has not been active within the UFT very much and is not a caucus, one of the reasons so many ICE people who feel there is a need for a broader movement than just a caucus have jumped on board. New Action on the other hand sticks to the narrowest of issues and does little more than function as a completely owned subsidiary of Unity.

In defense of ICE/GEM
Pretty ironic that Lisa North and Gloria Brandman, two key ICE people have been amongst the leaders of the the AFT P&J committee which Halabi has been hanging around. And they have been on the UFT Peace and Justice Committee. And the UFTers to stop the war.

Other ICEer/GEMers: Fiorillo is one of most respected voices out there. As is John Lawhead. Julie Woodward has been relentless in holding the UFT's feet to the fire. Arthur Goldstein is chapter leader of the second largest school in the city and is one of the leading voices in defense of teachers with his columns at Gotham Schools. Eterno and Kaufman have been enormously respected for their strength and knowledge of the contract. And John Elfrank chapter leader of Murray Bergtraum. And the retirees: Ellen Fox, Loretta and Gene Prisco, Vera Pavone who co-wrote the review of the Kahlenberg book with me - and she did most of the work. It's late. I'm sure I'm forgetting people. Jeez! The nerve to disparage the work of these people.

How else have we been able to build alliances with just about every group in the city - teachers and community activists? From NYCORE to Teachers Unite to TJC. And parent groups around the city. People I meet here from all over the nation know our work and want to stay in touch. Ed Notes received over 2000 hits in the last 3 days alone.

We have links nationwide. Chicago CORE are allies and we've been spending time with them. Karen Lewis know our work. And the Washington DC crew with Candi Peterson and Nathan Saunders who are here. Detroit called us when they were taking action. LA people are in touch. We linked to a group in Philly on this trip. Now, quick - name New Action activists who have done anything close to this work.

Who do they call? GEM
Halabi may carp about ICE and GEM but he and New Action have been invisible while GEM/ICEers have been at numerous charter school co-location and school closing meetings supporting teachers and parents and building alliances. When they need support they call us. And we have been there for them.


Well, anyway, given all this, today he impressed me - for about 2 minutes. He got up to speak against a reso that everyone supported. It had language on credit recovery and some other issues and he was nervous but extremely articulate. I will get the video up when I can (I am very backed up on the videos). What he said is important to us in NYC.

And he did put up a very good piece critical of Weingarten on the first convention day.
AFT Convention in Seattle Day 1

Maybe there's some hope for some people in New Action. I respect and like New Action's Arjun Janah who today wrote a great poem about Bill Gates which I will post.

After burn
I was hanging with Stephen Sawchuk today and we had some good chats. I really didn't know his work 'till this week but I will take a closer look.

He was chosen to do a private interview with Gates post-speech. We talked about what he would ask and I am looking forward to seeing what he writes. Meanwhile follow his posts at: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/teacherbeat/


I got to watch his computer while he went to meet with Gates. Maybe next time we switch and I interview Gates- hear that Janet Bass (who as AFT press chief was extremely gracious throughout the week- in case you didn't know I am here as press for The Wave - I think there is a Rockaway somewhere in the Pacific Northwest).

While I was baby sitting his computer I ended up in the midst of what looked suspiciously like a Unity Caucus meeting about voting in the AFT elections. I wasn't asked to leave as almost everyone was gracious - only Sandi March was nasty - but what do you expect? I was extremely pleased when Alan Lubin came over to say hello. Alan is one of the most respected union officials I have met. He was once Dist 32 rep and then Brooklyn boro chief. He is VP of NYSUT for quite a while. I had heard he was ill but he looked great. He just retired. No matter how much we all disagreed politically, Alan was always a mensch, never making things personal, always with a quip. It is funny but many of the old guard Unity people do not look at this as war. But I find many of the Unity relative newbies are rabid.


From two observers, one of them associated with the Chicago Teachers Union Twitter feed on Gates appearance at AFT convention