Unity Caucus Insights/How Unity Caucus Prepares for Delegate Assemblies

Updated: Sat, Dec. 11, 8AM
Here are some interesting insights by 2 former Unity Caucus members. Signs of cracks in the machine? I'm not betting on that yet.

The Unity Leadership put out a message regarding school closings that says we are watching closely. We will go to court. We will help schools that want help. Holy Crud. Of course that is all you can do . You don't have a clear and concise blueprint of how our schools should operate. You supported and helped shape Mayoral Control and now are invested in making sure the law is followed. They can close down every school, pump up the ATR pool until it reaches heaven and create an untenable situation down the road where you will have to sell out the ATRS, and you sit with your hands tied because you are following the very law you helped to create. Great job. 
 --- Posted on ICE mail by John Powers, a former Unity Caucus member

Hi,
Just catching up on my email and I read the piece about the two Michael's*.  Do you know about the Speaker's Bureau?  They hold a meeting usually the day before the DA to go over questions for the President and any resolutions.  The president has a map of where people will sit to call on.  They do it for everything.  They used to meet at a junior high on 21st or the china chalet but last year they were starting to have conference calls. - Another former Unity Caucus member

*A Tale of Two Michaels: UFT and Mayor Bloomberg - Who is more undemocratic?

was written by Seung Ok - We are waging a two front battle against major powers - the millions of our own union leadership and the billionaire mayor.  


_____________

Below is the full piece by Brooklyn Chapter Leader John Powers, a former member of Unity Caucus. Powers joined Unity in the summer of 2009 with the intention of trying to create debate on crucial issues within the caucus but when the union supported teacher evaluation measures he withdrew as a delegate to the AFT convention in Seattle (I'm sorry he did as we could have used some more people on the inside - who secretly were slipping me info) in June 2010, effectively ending his association with Unity.

The number one concern that the Unity leadership has is not Cathie Black (and the ATR, seniority situation), but Andrew Cuomo and his desire to hold a NY State Constitutional Convention. The language in our NYS Constitution protects city/state pensions from being changed or "diminished" in any way.

This is the great sleeping giant that will activate workers across the state. What is Unity's plan? Labor's plan? Will they lack the courage and leadership to mount a fight against this great austerity measure? Do they have the imagination, creativity and talent to create a united front that puts forth a clear and concise message that will resonate with citizens across the state? Will they engage in the necessary planning and training of its members to mobilize in ways that might "paralyze" the state? Or will they rely strictly on massaging politicians who may ultimately turn their backs on us. Abandon us? 

I am so worried about how Labor will respond, especially Unity. Our leadership has failed over the last fifteen years I have been teaching to put forth a serious educational worker campaign with a clear message that states what we stand for and what we believe K-12 education should encompass in all of its complexities. The Unity leadership is all over the place constantly defending itself from attacks, making compromises and appeasing individuals, agencies and organizations who hold our work in little regard and seek to pulverize us. 

Remember that absurd cartoon commercial last year about high stakes tests and ed jargon. Wow. That really hit it out of the park. One million bucks on a cartoon that apparently "tested well" with some audiences. What about us? The DOE runs multi-colored propaganda ads on subway cars and shoots "missiles" at us daily via corporate controlled newspapers and magazines. And what does the Unity leadership do: creates a "fluffy" one million dollar cartoon. Who signed off on that one? 

We are such a talented, dynamic force of 80,000 teachers. So many untapped resources and the Unity leadership still operates under a perverted form of "democratic centralism" that insulates them from engaging in dialogs and debates with their own party members as well as the masses of rank and filers who could help them. Their hubris and lack of imagination and openness is a threat to the long-term viability of the UFT as a union.

One way the leadership seeks to divide and conquer their party members and other rank and filers is through "red fear." They paint dissenters or critics as being extreme leftists whose ideas will destroy the union. Here is where it gets tricky. Even if one were to agree that some dissenters / critics appear to hold more "extreme" views than others (funny aren't the ed deformers the real extremists?), this practice makes Unity members docile and hostile to even entertaining relatively traditional modes of unionism that includes various types of mobilizations. 

For instance, we have principals and schools that operate under a climate of fear and intimidation. Why doesn't the Unity leadership help these schools hold small demos that focus on embarrassing the principal and educating the parents of school children who attend? You don't need lawyers and courts for this type of action. You don't even need large numbers of people. Hell, bring in the retirees. Have them stand hand in hand with teachers at affected schools, especially the younger teachers (BTW: Wait until the retirees figure out what's going on with Cuomo and our pensions. The pension "language" I referred to before would not only affect present employees but all retirees too. Are there any retirees out there who are reading this? Create a flier regarding our pensions and Cuomo and pay a visit to the next UFT Retiree Chapter meeting. I'd go but I believe they are held during work hours. Now there is a target group. Boy oh boy, our retirees are an untapped resource. Who is reaching out to them? Who is asking them to come speak at meetings, especially meetings with young teachers. Any CLs out there? Bring a retiree in to talk to young teachers about the importance of unionism, benefits, pensions, seniority, and providing for your family. Ask retirees to canvas schools who need our support. Have them distribute literature that explains the state of our union. Our pensions. ATR's. Seniority. Collect signatures. Put email addresses of names collected on ice-mail and other list serves (with their permission).

Heck, hit the colleges too. Hit all the CUNY ed departments. Private universities. We need the newbies and the newbies need us.   

There is so much to be upset about regarding the "deformers" and the Unity leadership, but I'm hopeful that we are reaching a point where we will have to be heard.

And Unity Leadership: Stop Trying to Dumb Us Down. Stop Trying to Divide and Conquer UFTers. Get a Plan. Create a Strong Positive Message and Get It Out There.

Little Surprise: The Unity Leadership today put out a message regarding school closings that says we are watching closely. We will go to court. We will help schools that want help. Holy Crud. Of course that is all you can do . You don't have a clear and concise blueprint of how our schools should operate. You supported and helped shape Mayoral Control and now are invested in making sure the law is followed. They can close down every school, pump up the ATR pool until it reaches heaven and create an untenable situation down the road where you will have to sell out the ATRS, and you sit with your hands tied because you are following the very law you helped to create. Great job. 

That's one heck of a job. 

In Solidarity,

John Powers

P.S. Has anyone seen the potential new NYS performance standards for students? After reading them, you will probably need a toilet quickly. If I can get an electronic copy I will send it out. It represents the final nail in the coffin of absolute and total regimentation of teaching and learning. It is spreadsheet fascism at its worst. But more importantly, look for the Unity leadership to highlight these performance standards and talk about how disgusting they are while focusing almost exclusively on how our work day does not permit time to do the activities indicated in the performance standards. Although this is true, it is also true that this will leave the door open for a compromise/appeasement agreement where the Unity leadership will approve some or all of the inanities as long as we are compensated for it and given time to do it. What they should do is???????? You guessed it, advocate for what real teaching and learning encompasses. Wait until you read this draft of performance standards.

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Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/
Here is an article related to the NEA and AFT cooperation in the onslaught on teachers:

Report: Many officials willing to replace half of staff to turn around schools

UFT Unity Caucus Flack Attack and Diversion at Jane Addams HS

A smoking gun - or derringer - pointing to the UFT as ed deformers in drag.

Before you even start reading this, note that over 100 schools have been or are about to be closed by the DOE over the last 5 years while the UFT played twiddle and dee. It took the in your face outrage of closing 19 schools at one shot to get them to take any action at all and even that has not reversed any closings except for one component of AE Smith HS (the chapter leader will be speaking at the GEM meeting on Tuesday). And they are trying to come up with a plan for Columbus which will be tricky indeed.

I was sent this email that Unity Caucus' Anne Millman sent out to Jane Addams HS for Academics and Careers staff members in response to a call for people to attend the GEM meeting on closing schools. Aside from the personal attack on me, comparing me to Sarah Palin - they always resort to the personal when they don't have much else to stand on - there is inherent in the email a blame the people in the school for not getting parents involved. This quote from Millman in which she uses the ed deformer "status quo" expression is indicative as to where the UFT really stands -

if the statistics are not good, we can't argue that improvements are needed. Certainly one area that stands out is the lack of parental involvement, which is a key component that helps some schools improve. The UFT recognizes how important it is for teachers to work with the parents and community in any effort to save a school. For the teachers to protest school change -- even a school closing -- without that parental and community support can look like a self-serving demand for the status quo and that's not good for teachers or for students.

Millman and the UFT know full well that gathering parent support it difficult if not impossible for a school like Jane Addams but in essence dooms the school - the UFT will not fight for teachers because it looks bad - looks bad to the ed deformers who will attack the UFT for supporting the teachers. Note how she even defends the DOE:

I looked at the document the DOE put out and it follows the process the UFT helped negotiate. It doesn't really bash teachers...

Gag, gag, gag. Like the UFT doesn't know the major reason for closing schools is to dump out the teachers and often the students. Well, maybe the leadership never told Anne what is really going on.

It has been pointed out by Glenn Tepper, a teacher at Addams that they were handed a poison pill. I  printed Glenn's email which included information passed on by a teacher there who was outraged at the actions of the DOE. Glenn said

Chancellor Klein and the rubber-stamping DoE deliberately force-fed Jane Addams a series of poison pills, over a period of several years, all with the intended outcome of causing the school to implode over time. And now all the band-aids in the world can't stop the hemorrhaging. All along, the plan was to destroy the school.

The other teacher at the school had written:

They are coming after us... The superintendent came to school on Thursday and Friday. The report below is what they plan for us. They are blaming the teachers. . . it is crazy. This week we are having both the quality review and people from the state to look at our school and decide what to do. But, they pretty much have their minds made up. They know that the parents won't speak up. We only had 3 parents at the meeting. It was supposed to be at 3pm and we had 6 parents. But, the superintendent said she was told it was 5pm. So the 3 of the parents left. We are an easy school to close because parents aren't going to fight. Anyway, please forward this information on to people who care because we need to speak out. We need to be heard.

 FACTS? 

http://schools.nyc.gov/community/planning/changes/bronx/addams
If you look at the numbers - that despite the fact that we have 500 fewer students in the last 5 years. . . we have more special ed students. We also now have more ELL learners with IEPs and about the same number of overage students. In 2006 we had 19 kids in temporary housing, last year we had 105.

None of these facts count to the DOE/ed deformers not it seems to the UFT flacks like Anne Millman. Here is her email:

Norman Scott of Greenroots [sic] Education Movement has been a fixture for decades among anti-UFT factions on one issue after another. He used to belong to various anti-Unity caucuses in the union but he's such a maverick -- a la Sara Palin -- that even those anti-establishment groups have distanced themselves from him. He's a publicity seeker and tends to attract people who want to make noise, not get results.

The fact is that the UFT has taken the school closings very seriously, went to court in some instances and waged a publicity campaign that together prevented the DOE from closing schools unilaterally. The prime example was Christopher Columbus. [Ed Note: Hmmm Anne, that only leaves 18 schools from last year alone that didn't make your prime example cut.]

I looked at the document the DOE put out and it follows the process the UFT helped negotiate. It doesn't really bash teachers, even says that they have worked hard to make improvements. It provides for a comment period to respond to the DOE's plans, which are not yet set. As I read it, they could either leave the school open and try to help it improve OR close and restructure it. Maybe that's not a sincere alternative but you can't ignore it either. [Ed Note: I may vote for this as the funniest line- but oh so many choices, though the next two are in the running also.] If you and others who care about the school prefer one to the other, send in your comments to that effect. Even better, get parents and people in the community to send in comments of support.

There's no doubt that the DOE targets some schools as dumping grounds and JA may well have been one of them. Still, if the statistics are not good, we can't argue that improvements are needed. Certainly one area that stands out is the lack of parental involvement, which is a key component that helps some schools improve. The UFT recognizes how important it is for teachers to work with the parents and community in any effort to save a school. For the teachers to protest school change -- even a school closing -- without that parental and community support can look like a self-serving demand for the status quo and that's not good for teachers or for students.

-Anne Millman

 Note Millman's solution: If you and others who care about the school prefer one to the other, send in your comments to that effect. Even better, get parents and people in the community to send in comments of support.

She is trying to sell them on the idea that Joel Klein actually will hear the comments and they will make a difference, offering the hope that they can reverse things through the DOE's own fake process. More UFT ice water in the winter. 


AFTERBURN
What will it take? Only by organizing ALL the schools into a collective body instead of following the UFT policy as evidenced by Millman's comments of isolating each school can a movement be started to point out that closing or reorganizing schools is a political and not an educational move, can we begin to see reversals. It hasn't worked in Chicago or other urban centers and it is not working here in NYC. The GEM closing schools meeting on Tuesday Oct. 26 is designed to begin to forge such alliances, something the UFT and the DOE are desperate to stop, as evidenced by Millman's missive.

And oh yes, Anne, I am a noise maker and proud of it. I just love all those "solutions" you guys have come up with over the last 8 years. How's that teacher data report "solution" working out?
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Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/

Where the UFT Money Honey Flows

This email dropped in from an anonymous source soon after our earlier post -
UFT/Unity Machine Facing Cuts? Why Not Just Raise Dues So They Can Continue to Live in Style?

Follow the UFT’s Money 

by He/She Who knows Too Much

Anna Phillips’s story on today’s Gothamschools.org about shrinking UFT dues is wrong. We have 36,000 brand new members--the health home care providers! What’s happpening with that dues money?

Meantime, here are my recommendations for curbing the UFT’s elite socialist paradise and capping its unconscionable dollar leaks:

►Rent out the 40 parking spots in the UFT building instead of rewarding Mulgrew's pampered class who park for free instead of being with the great unwashed on the subways and buses.

►Cut back on the consultant contract with Glover Park, whose partner is Howard Wolfson, Bloomberg's deputy mayor. Remember the mayor, the guy who wants to destroy public education in New York?

 ►No more open bars at chapter leader weekends, thus saving $30,000 per weekend.

 ►Force Mulgrew meet his deadline for reading every word in the New York  Teacher. His delays cost the union tens of thousands in extra printing and mailing costs.

►Pay cuts to $100,000 for everyone who earns over $100,000, the top teacher salary. CFO David Hickey makes $205,000 a year. (You can check everyone's top pay at ICEUFT.

 ►No more expense accounts for Hickey to travel to Coney Island to hang out with Mulgrew at the Cyclones ballpark to "throw out the first pitch." (N.B., Mulgrew keeps striking out when trying to get us a raise).

►Make sure the cut in hours is across the board and not fall on the mainly black and  Hispanic support staff, most of whom make around $30,000 while whites makes triple and quadruple that sum.

 ►Reduce TV and radio ads--one million bucks--which do nothing but promote Mulgrew.

 more to come. 

From the ICE blog side panel (top).

UFT Reports Filed With Labor Deparment

Each year our union is required to file UFT employee salaries, membership, and disbursements reports. The form, called an LM2, is available here. These reports were prepared on December 30, 2009 and reflect transaction for the year ending July 31, 2009.

Caucuses and Unions: Part 2 - The Chicago Experience

Part 1: Unity

Part 2: The Chicago Experience
Building a democratic union and building a democratic caucus go hand in hand


I am trying to piece things together from afar so I may not be totally accurate but here is my sense of things.

When Debbie Lynch won the Chicago Teachers Union election on a reform slate in 2001, she had a few problems. More than a few. She had a caucus (PACT) but from what I can gather it was somewhat limited in reach. How did she win? Personal reputation, the worsening conditions in the school and a Unity like leadership (UPC) that was  incompetent. I mean of you want to rate Unity vs UPC on a scale of ability to manage the members - Unity was a 10 and UPC was a 3. Maybe.


So Debbie is in power. She is saddled with a staff hired by UPC that she can't get rid of because they are in the Teamsters union and have a contract (the same situation faced today by CORE). They do all they can to undermine her. She also doesn't have control of the House of Delegates which is still controlled by the UPC. Her caucus is not really strong enough to fend off the attacks by the UPC, which still continues to function to win back power. And she also makes some mistakes which I won't get into now.

I'm guessing here, but I have a sense she worked on building the union - CTU - and possibly neglected on continuing to build her caucus.

Still, in the 2004 election she almost wins without a runoff but falls short and it ends up with PACT vs UPC. And there are some irregularities and the AFT rules against her. And the UPC is back in power. In 2007 she gets smashed by the UPC.

Now stuff begins to happen. UPC's Marilyn Stewart who defeated Debbie in 2004 and 2007 goes after people in her own caucus, even having the guy who ran her campaign thrown out of the union and splitting with a person elected as an officer on her slate. Eventually, two caucuses will emerge from this split in the UPC.

In the meantime, Debbie Lynch rebuilds her caucus for a run at the 2010 elections, figuring she has a real chance with the UPC splits. But out of the grassroots, another group starts rising.

Caucus of Rank and File Educators
We found out from new CTU president Karen Lewis when we heard her speak to a CTU party in Chicago that CORE started out as a study group – things were so bad in the schools and in the union that a group of people started getting together to try to figure out what was happening. "We had no idea of getting involved in the union the way we did," Lewis said. But with the charter influx, the closing of schools and the numbers of teachers losing their jobs, they had no choice. More activist oriented than the other caucuses, they began to grow quickly. When I met with a group of CORE members in LA last summer they told me they felt they had a chance to get into the runoff and then "anything is possible."

The year since has been momentous. CORE influence kept growing as quickly as UPC ineptness and indications were coming in that the prediction of last summer would come through - that with 5 caucuses running, the UPC would not get a majority in round 1 and they had a shot at squeaking into the runoff. To show you how clueless Marilyn Stewart was, as late as the first round election she was sure the UPC would get over 50% and a runoff wouldn't be necessary.

The shocker was that CORE and UPC ran neck and neck with around 32% of the vote each, with the other 3 caucuses splitting the rest. Debbie Lynch got about 15%. A few days later all 3 of the groups out of the running endorsed CORE. Word is that Debbie truly delivered her vote into the hands of CORE, which had about 60% of the vote in the runoff.

Analysis shows that though some people in CORE are claiming an overwhelming victory, the reality is that the UPC still had about 40% and the other 3 caucuses might hold a balance of power in the future. It all depends on whether CORE learns from the past and continues to build the CORE caucus at the same time as rebuilding the devastated Chicago Teachers Union while trying to maintain democracy at the caucus level and within the CTU. (How tempting would it be to treat the UPC the way they treated everyone else all the years in power?) And let's not forget that a reform movement that refuses to cooperate with the ed deformers as Randi and Mulgrew do is a major threat to the political and financial forces arrayed against them and to the power structure in the AFT/UFT.

Some say it is never too early to win power when you can. But there are pitfalls if you are young like CORE and if you have not consolidate the organization into a cohesive force while at the same time maintaining a good relationship with the other non-UPC caucuses that supported them, in particular Debbie Lynch. They seem to be making moves in this direction. This was posted on their blog on Aug. 4:

CORE owes a debt of gratitude to the PACT team for their efforts to promote democracy in the CTU and defend the rights of all members to campaign. We are grateful, as well, for their far-sighted support (along with CSDU and SEA) of CORE in the runoff election to move the CTU forward.

 That they took the time in the midst of the enormous challenges they face is a good sign.

CORE seems to be in the tween faze - it grew real fast and seemed to keep control over things as they grew. Can they continue to grow while also trying to run the union and battle the forces of ed deform?

CORE certainly has its work cut out for it.


Read more at Substance


 Part 3 will address how NYC differs from Chicago and the chances of seeing a CORE-like group here in the near future.

Caucuses and Unions: Part 1 - Unity, NYC

Why the need for a caucus?
I'm not opposed to the concept of a caucus – a political party – inside a union. I think it is important for people to get together over ideas they agree on and whether in power or not fight for those ideas to be union policy. When there are two or more caucuses in a democratically run union with open discussion, the result would be better decision making and better policies.

But when you have a one party system with a caucus that has no interest in a debate on policy - even within the caucus itself - whose major focus is on maintaining itself in power - then you get distorted policies. Policies that are not decided upon in the cauldron of debate but from the very top that are then forced down on the members of the caucus in power to be further forced down on the rank and file they reach in the schools.

Of course I am describing Unity Caucus. Now things are not as simple as this. Most Unity Caucus members come to agree with the policies - they are convinced through selective arguments that don't give the kind of full picture they would get through an open debate. Those who don't agree - and these often come from the school level Unity people - mostly remain quiet due to a bunch of reasons: selfish (no jobs, no trips to conventions, no protection if attacked by supervisors) or in fear that they won't be able to service their members by being shut off.

It is important to point out right here that the people running the UFT have always paid the most attention to maintaining and building Unity caucus, even at the expense of the larger entity - the UFT. This is a true legacy of Albert Shanker (he is given too much credit for the wrong things) who was a genius at managing power.

One of Randi's real impacts was on how she changed Unity Caucus from a narrow invitation only to one where they invite everyone (even me at one point). That was her genius. Open it up to all, especially potential dissidents and coopt them into the caucus. We've actually been meeting some great, smart people who are in Unity - people who might have been part of an effective opposition. In fact, if there was a serious opposition that had a real chance of challenging for power, some of the people not happy with the direction of the union might go in that direction.

Randi's other genius was in making a deal with the leading opposition, New Action.  While not in Unity, they might as well be. Eight Unity endorsed New Action members are on the Ex Bd. She gave New Action leader Michael Shulman his own little empire where he controls a batch of jobs - where a Unity person and a New Action person go into schools supposedly to help them organize. These jobs are coveted by retirees.

Unity tries to make sure they have top people running the caucus. And no matter what you read about the attacks on Jeff Zahler from within the moles at Unity, he was/is extremely competent at doing this. (I don't know his exact status now - Randi sent him to Wash DC as AFT staff director while she was still UFT Pres but he got sick and came back. But I bet he is involved in some way.)

Building caucus vs. building union?
Since we have been under the yoke of Unity - if you're not Swedish you might pronounce "yoke" a different way - we don't often think of what would happen to a caucus that actually won power. You now run a union. How does your caucus relate to the larger entity, especially if you don't want to be another Unity?

Events in Chicago over the last decade provide serious food for thought. I'll address that in Part 2, which I'll publish later tonight.

Caucuses and Unions: Part 2 - The Chicago Experience

Parsing Inside Unity Info - Part 1- Does Klein Have A Mole in the UFT?

Well, reporters have been calling about some of the Inside Unity stuff appearing in the comments section of this post Is UFT Bronx Leader Vargas Going Rogue? - Updated. We started hearing from Da Moles (there are definitely more than one) while in Seattle and posted the July comments here.

Now some of the stuff seems "out there" but within all there are many grains of truth. We have confirmed that staffers are unhappy with Leroy Barr and Jose Vargas. As to whether Barr and Vargas are at war we have not confirmed. Lurking behind the anonymous info was the hint of racial issues. Is Vargas setting up a Latino/a only operation? Is there resentment on the part of some black Unity people? When in Seattle we had some contact with some black members of Unity who told us they secretly read and supported many ed notes positions and expressed some unhappiness at the way jobs were being given out.

This Mole comment on July 24th was interesting:

FORGET THE CONVENTIONS AND THE PERKS AND THE DO- NOTHING JOBS AT 52 BROADWAY.
RANDI LEFT MULGREW IN CHARGE- THEN KLEIN SENT HIS GUY BRIAN GIBBONS IN TO KEEP MULGREW ON A SHORT LEASH 

Gibbons used to be the spokesman for the principal's union, which doesn't necessarily condemn him to being "Klein's" man. But who knows?

There was more in the July 24th comment of interest:

RANDI HAS GIVEN UP ON UNIONS AND PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND SHE WANTS TO BE A PLAYER IN D.C.
SHE AND MULGREW WILL DO ANYTHING TO WIND UP ON THE RIGHT SIDE- THE RIGHT SIDE BEING GATES, BLOOMBERG, ET. AL., AND BOTH OF THEM COULD EASILY BE AT D.O.E. SO SHE GUTTED THE CONTRACT, LEFT THE RUBBER ROOMERS IN LEGAL LIMBO FOR TEN YEARS AND STARTED PROTECTING HER FRIENDS IN D.O.E AND GREEN DOT AND SHARPTON AND THE OTHER MISCREANTS.
THIS IS ABOUT DESTROYING TEACHERS UNIONS AND DESTROYING PUBLIC EDUCATION AND RANDI AND MULGREW ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF IT.
EVERYTHING ELSE IS A DISTRACTION.

This is pretty on target. I think there is more to it. I don't look at personalities as causal - what Randi/Mulgrew want, etc. There is policy and I see it as more of a direct line of consistency over 30 or more years than just as Randi's wishes. (GEM has set up a UFT/AFT study group to delve deeper into this issue.)

One thing is noticeable. Randi had her finger on every single button and jumped in at the first sign of trouble. Clearly she monitored the blogs for those signs and any rumblings coming out of dissidents in schools. She jumped in early and tried to coopt or even buy people off (see one New Action Caucus).

Mulgrew just doesn't have the chops Randi had to manage all this. Someone called yesterday and said, "Randi jumped ship just in time and left Mulgrew holding the bag." I used to disagree with this analysis since Randi's power base at the AFT was totally dependent on the UFT and behind that Unity Caucus. (I'm going to do a follow-up on why the management of Unity Caucus is of a higher priority than managing the union itself and will compare it to the Chicago situation.)

But maybe the combination of buying off the leading opposition for 20 years and the ineptness of the current opposition in making a dent (and yes, I play a role in that ineptness)  have made Randi so confident of not having to face a Chicago style revolt in NYC for a very long time, if ever. (More on this in follow-ups too.)

Another thing has emerged: One of the moles seems to be trying to redirect suspicion by giving clues to other people. I have some ideas as to who these people may be. Some are lower level school based and others are in 52 Broadway. Are they just people with grudges - didn't get a job, jealousy, etc -  or are there serious cracks showing up?

One of the more intriguing pieces of information is that there are deals between Klein and Mulgrew for UFT people to be placed at Tweed. We'll delve into some historical aspects of the UFT at the old BOE and what might be occurring. Key words: Aminda Gentile and teacher centers.

See part 2: Parsing Inside Unity: Does the UFT Have Backroom Deals for Jobs With BloomKlein?

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Afterburn1

Some of the latest info tells us that Brooklyn/SI high school district rep Charlie Friedman was forced into retirement. Charlie was one of the many Unity crew that enjoyed a cruise to Alaska after the AFT convention - they paid their own way we hear. His replacement is rumored to be closing school Maxwell's chapter leader Jeff Bernstein. At one time I heard Bernstein was going to replace Mulgrew as Vocational HS Veep supposedly Bernstein and Mulgrew are close). Berstein, on the surface a nice guy, used to have me deliver Ed Notes and then throw them away. And when I went in and put them in boxes he and Distr rep Charlie Turner made sure they didn't stay there. They both went after a GEMer at their school who dared to call out during Randi's farewell speech.

Maxwell by the way had 22 people excessed. ATRville here they come.

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Afterburn2

Our ICE pal Julie Woodward's daughter Lisa, who performs under the stage name Lucy Woodward, made a fabulous appearance on the CBS morning show this morning, performing 2 songs from her new jazz album. I've seen her perform as a rock singer a few times but now she is going back to her jazz roots. Her mom is an accomplished music teacher so we know where it comes from.
I put up Lucy's last email newsletter to fans on Norms Notes. From Lucy Woodward
Her web site is: http://www.lucywoodward.com/

I loved this piece:

The Pizza Sessions:
After a recent gig in NYC, I ended up in a pizzeria (naturally) on Bleecker street with my friend, Heather. It was a stormy night, 3 am. Six stoned, english laddies walk in and on the spot, we bonk them over the head with a couple of my songs convincing them to beatbox to 'Babies' and 'He Got Away'. It was a classic New York moment and we got it on videotape here....(viva Flipcam!)...

Is UFT Bronx Leader Vargas Going Rogue? - Updated

Ed Note: A batch of comments from insiders at Unity Caucus and rank and file Bronx teachers have been coming in on this post. None of it is vetted but lots of leads for enterprising investigative reporters so I am reposting and will put a tab up top if more info comes in so the info can be easily found.

Original post: Weds. Aug. 4, 8 am

We've been getting complaints about Jose Vargas from Bronx rank and file teachers over the way he was running the Bronx UFT office. Lack or response, lack of interest, etc. There were charges he was tied into the Bronx Democratic party machine in unhealthy ways. Principals connected to the Bronx machine being favored over teachers they were harassing. Calls and complaints to UFT leaders were to no avail. They almost seemed to fear reigning Vargas in.

Now a new level of complaints have started emerging about Vargas, this time from within the belly of the Unity beast at 52 Broadway. That Vargas has set up his own machine and power base independent from the leadership. Word of friction between Vargas and Leroy Barr.

Was he taking advantage of the transition from Weingarten to Mulgrew before Mulgrew could consolidate his control? Was Vargas placing key operatives into position for a power play? Some tell us that it has not gone as far as to be a threat to Mulgrew but may be positioning himself as a Mulgrew successor. At any rate, some people at 52 are concerned. As for the Bronx rank and filers, some of whom were actually considering a protest rally at the Bronx UFT office last spring, the beat of lack of service will go on.

AFT Convention: CTU and UFT Compromise on School Closing Reso

Want to see why the CORE victory in the June Chicago Teachers Union election has national implications? The UFT dominated convention was faced with a much stronger resolution on closing schools from Chicago than they advocated. The UFT backed off and offered a deal to include the CTU language in the school closing reso. Follow the bouncing ball with this excerpt from a powerful article written by CTU delegate Jen Johnson for Substance.

On Friday, July 9th, UFT Vice President for Educational Issues Aminda Gentile approached CTU convention delegates Carol Caref (also CTU interim Staff Coordinator and CTU Area A Vice President) and Jen Johnson (also CTU Area B Vice President) to discuss possible ways for CTU and UFT to work together on the issue of school closings.

Vice President Gentile was in the Educational Issues Committee and witnessed the work of CTU delegates to have their concerns heard by the convention. That morning, CTU convention delegates Jen Johnson, Xian Barrett (also CTU interim Legislative Coordinator), and Carol Caref met with UFT Vice President of Academic High Schools Leo Casey, UFT Special Representative Janella Hinds and UFT Special Representative Amy Arundell to negotiate what amendments could be made to existing UFT resolutions based on the language of the CTU resolution.

The CTU and UFT representatives agree to add language to Resolution 8, which was the UFT’s main priority resolution and Resolution 58. The representatives also agreed to adding one from the CTU resolution resolving that AFT demand that RTTT funding being used equitably rather than competitively was also agreed to be added to Resolution 60, which was not made a priority in committee so the amendment never made it to the convention floor.

Because of disagreements between the CTU and UFT representatives over how charter schools should best be dealt with, the amendments to Resolution 58 did not include a call for a moratorium on new charters despite the CTU representatives’ desires for one. The CTU representatives made clear to the UFT representatives that CTU delegates would make the final decision as to the delegation’s support for the proposed amendments and that CTU delegates were free to speak their mind on the floor of the convention if they had disagreements, especially concerning their perspectives on charter schools.

Here is Jen Johnson's full report to Substance which includes the entire amazing resolution proposed by CORE/CTU.

AFT CONVENTION: Resolution on school closing, charters required hard work, some compromises

Jen Johnson made a passionate speech from the floor, followed by new CTU president Karen Lewis. They were preceded by Unity's Janella Hinds who also made a good speech, which we'll parse in our followup article.

See the video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bhailiqr4uQ
(The video is also at the GEM blog and playing in the ed notes sidebar.)

By the way, if you haven't noticed, Karen Lewis got the 2nd highest vote total for AFT Ex Bd VP.

Let's remember that CORE has just come out of a grueling half year election campaign, took control of the CTU on July 1 - only 2 weeks after winning - and then left for Seattle on July 6. Most had little idea of how a convention operates especially one controlled by the UFT out of NYC. (Think: Block of 800 out of 3400 - almost 25% - and they control many other blocks - a lot of NY State which has 650,000 out of the 1.5 million AFT members. By the way, most of these 800 - Unity might have as many as 1500 or more members - also pack the Delegate Assemblies in NYC - in a room that only holds 850 people.

So, they get there and have to figure things out. And they start learning quickly. In every conversation I had with a CORE member I was impressed — by their knowledge, their passion, their commitment to public education. Remember - almost every one of them, including Karen Lewis, were in classrooms teaching just a few weeks ago. Quite a contrast to New York City.

CORE/CTU/Local 1 delegate Katie Hogan left this comment on Jen's article at Substance based on what happened at the committee meeting:

It's hard to understand, unless one was there, the total and complete orchestration of Local 2 - New York - of all committees and floor debate. I did get up in my committee (Organizing and Labor Issues) and try to add our original Resolved: "Resolved that the AFT and its state and local affiliates will march, petition, rally, hold media events, mobilize its members and utilize the help of supportive community partners and use all resources at its disposal to dispel the myths about the success of charter schools compared to traditional public schools, to expose the inequalities that exist within the funding and management of public education and to improve the public perception of public education" -- the amendment was voted on by voice -- and in audible surprise it was unable to determine to pass or vote down. You had obviously NY delegation voting against -- they had actually stacked the committee. It went to vote by hand and we were unfortunately defeated -- but not overwhelmingly. I also got to speak in that committee about WHY it's so important to add this particular resolved considering the national wave that is on its wave courtesy of Arne Duncan. This was a huge learning experience for everyone and I think when we go to Detroit and can write our own resolutions we will be much more prepared. However, we were fighting tooth and nail for anything we could get with our limited experience and resources. I was very proud to represent Local 1.

George Schmidt over at Substance has started posting these wonderful reports from inside the CORE caucus who sent 108 delegates to Seattle and came up against the massive 800 member Unity juggernaut, totally controlled and under caucus discipline. They listened, learned, fought back and compromised when they could and stood their ground when they couldn't.


Ed Note:
Look for the follow-up article later in the day that discusses UFT policy related to closing schools.

Add-on:
Good point by commenter Esteban who said: "Call me a cynic, but passing a resolution and actually following it are not the same thing" Esteban is so right. The Unity compromise was for PR purposes and will have zero impact on policy - unless there is an increasing national uprising, especially in New York.

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.

UFT Coverup Over Columbia Secondary School - from INSIDE THE UNITY CAUCUS

"Did Mulgrew and Ellie Engler cover up for the principal at the drowning school? That is what was being discussed all day yesterday in a furious exchange of emails and phone calls at 52 Broadway." - INSIDE THE UNITY CAUCUS

"Roughly 10 teachers filed unrelated complaints about Mr. Maldonado-Rivera with the United Federation of Teachers after the drowning on June 22. [UFT Chapter Chair] Mr. Nalley said he was upset that those complaints had not been part of the investigation, but union officials said they had not yet forwarded them to the city." -- NY Times, July 17, 2010

DUHHHHHH! What else is new? They were all too busy preparing how to sing Na, Na, Hey Goodbye to the people leaving the Gates appearance in Seattle.


Our favorite Unity mole takes another swipe after this story. Last week DA MOLE predicted a shakeup at UFT HQ, which could be titled, "Mr. Casey Goes to Washington, Mr. Barr Goes to Albany and Mr. Mendel Returns to Staff Director.

So, who knows what Da MOLE really knows. But this one certainly looks interesting given the excellent piece today from Jenny Medina at the Times - WOW- the Times gives the teacher point of view - over the drowned student at Columbia Secondary School. Her article and the piece from Da MOLE also reveal fault lines within the UFT and how it has abandoned teachers. Before we get to Da MOLE, here are some choice tidbits from Medina's article:

The fallout has bred resentment among some teachers who say they believe that the two administrators deserved harsher punishments.

The drowning and its aftermath have also unearthed long-simmering tensions between some teachers and Mr. Maldonado-Rivera, who they say can be an unfair and unyielding boss.

“I think the teacher was a scapegoat in order to keep the administration’s jobs intact,” said Chris Jones, who teaches social studies at the school. “It’s symptomatic of the entire attitude — all the weight and blame is placed on teachers. There was none of ‘This is what you should be doing, this is what you should not be doing.’ We were all on our own for these trips.”

[A teacher] said she complained of other safety hazards at the school, like allowing hundreds of students to walk down five flights of stairs to the gym unsupervised. She said several physical education classes were taught by college interns rather than certified teachers in Mr. Maldonado-Rivera’s effort to expand sports offerings.

“The faculty are so outraged, not specifically by the incident even,” said Chance Nalley, a math teacher and the chapter chair of the teachers’ union at the school. “We are outraged that we had been so patient and long-suffering, and we’re mad that we didn’t deal with things sooner.”

Several teachers have left the school, frustrated that they did not have enough support from the administration, which they said would constantly demand that they take on more responsibilities and work longer hours — often without extra pay.

“I worked 12-hour shifts, which was not enough for Jose, and he went so far as to ask me to come on the weekend,” said Carla Cota, who left the school after two years to teach at a private boarding school in Tucson. “He made it clear that if that couldn’t happen, he couldn’t foresee my future at the school.”

Roughly 10 teachers filed unrelated complaints about Mr. Maldonado-Rivera with the United Federation of Teachers after the drowning on June 22. Mr. Nalley said he was upset that those complaints had not been part of the investigation, but union officials said they had not yet forwarded them to the city.

Let's see - teachers forces to work 12 hour days and weekends? Forced to take dangerous field trips without prep? Interns teaching regular classes? Did I miss any? All things the UFT supposedly knew about.

The UFT response was due to - choose one A) Ineptness B) Disinterest C) They're on the wrong side (as Da MOLE indicates) - or all of the above.

Naturally the first year teacher was fired while the AP is still working - as a teacher- and the Principal remains. Did we hear from the DOE that he couldn't be fired due to tenure? Didn't principals give up tenure years ago? Or is the DOE blaming non-existent tenure as an excuse to not fire a principal? Not that we are saying people have to be fired at all over a terrible tragedy. (One day I'll tell you about time I took my class to Coney Island - without a chaperone - just me and 27 kids - and yes some did get wet. Hope statute of limitations has run out.)

Well, here is the report on the repercussions from -

INSIDE THE UNITY CAUCUS (ITUC)

Did Mulgrew and Ellie Engler cover up for the principal at the drowning school? That is what was being discussed all day yesterday in a furious exchange of emails and phone calls at 52 Broadway. Top union staffers even reached out to Randi to get Mulgrew out of his pickle-or was it to hang him? Mulgrew doesn’t know which back stabber on his staff to trust. Engler is “this close” to Randi.

Today’s Post said teachers sent the UFT information about safety issues-before the drowning- involving the principal but that the union did not forward to the complaints to DOE.

For real?

So the family should know they can now sue Mulgrew because he covered up for the principal (nothing new there; his motto is “Principals Rule. Teachers Suck.”)

The question is what did Mulgrew and Engler get out of the deal? Jobs at the schools? Jobs at other schools?

This is a major, major cover up story. Mulgrew has no interest in going after horrible principals but this time it appears to have bitten him on his ass.

What did Mulgrew and Engler ( a non-teacher by the way) know and when did they know it?

The Times and Wall Street Journal reported that two days after the drowning, teachers met at the UFT and gave the union documents about the principal, which the union kept at 52 Broadway and did not forward to Condon!

Is this a bad movie?

Mulgrew allows a teacher to get fired but doesn’t demand that the principal walk the plank?
Wow- all this for double zero raises?

Mulgrew and the a..s s.. kissers in his circle must be getting more out of these cover ups than flying on the mayor’s jet.

This is what happens when Mulgrew hired a CSA person as his Chief Bottle Washer.

Teachers should post the documents they sent to the UFT.

Follow-up the story at Norms Notes with commentary from Steve Koss and Leonie Haimson
Harlem principal got tenure after deadly beach trip where student Nicole Suriel drowned

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.

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.

Bill Gates at the AFT: Bringing in a Trojan Horse

The chief ed deformer in the AFT hen house. But with Randi Weingarten playing the role of the Manchurian Candidate, (or the Trojan Horse herself as Fiorillo notes) those chicks came home to roost a long time ago.

Or as NYC Educator states in today's brilliant post.

Nazis Address Synagogue

Klansman Addresses NAACP Convention

.....a follow-up to yesterday's post where he catalogued Gates' persistent failures of judgement on ed policy - and touches on just one of the numerous failures of Microsoft even in the computer field. (Both of us are Apple users for a reason - and I who was a school tech since 1984, know full well the extent of so many Gates failures.)

Beginning July 8, the AFT convention will take place in Seattle. That city's favorite son, Bill Gates will address the convention. Diane Ravitch will not - she is going to speak at the NEA a few days before instead.

I wonder if the AFT leadership really wants to hear what Diane has to say since they seem much more in alignment with Gates' educational philosophy that hers.

One of my thoughts is that Gates speaking to the AFT is like the proverbial Trojan Horse (thanks to David Bellel for the graphic), though Michael Fiorillo's comment – "Gates is not the Trojan Horse; Randi Weingarten is" - may make more sense.

I will be in Seattle to cover the convention for Ed Notes, The Wave and as a stringer for Substance and will try to put up daily reports. If the Wall Street Journal or the NY Times wants a stringer I am available. I work cheap - which means nada.

Below are the 2 target posts from NYC Educator that I am cross posting to give them the widest possible coverage. They are so in the must read category as to make me insanely jealous that I didn't write them myself.

The only statement I would dispute is: "Fortunately, he'll only be addressing those teachers who've openly collaborated with him, so we won't have to worry about his converting anyone new." That may be true of the recently elected 800 Unity slugs who would vote unanimously to abolish free air if told to by their UFT masters - anything for a free trip, though recent contacts with Unity people indicate that even some of them are not happy. But then there are those 150 newly elected delegates from Chicago and others that have been in touch from around the nation who know exactly what Gates is and the role he plays in undermining public education and using his money to privatize not just schools but control over educational policy.

Ay, Caramba!

Nazis Address Synagogue

Klansman Addresses NAACP Convention

Unlikely headlines. Nonetheless, I keep reading that Bill Gates is addressing the AFT convention. It kind of makes me glad I won't be there. What the heck can Bill Gates, who knows nothing but union-busting, trendy gimmicks, and ungodly alliances with Wal-Mart, tell a bunch of teachers?

Fortunately, he'll largely be addressing those teachers who've openly collaborated with him, so we won't have to worry much about his converting anyone new. After all, UFT leadership insisted we collaborate with him on a value-added experiment back in September. Bill placed his surveillance cameras in classrooms all over the city to figure out some sort of rubric for good teaching. His lies and Big Brother techniques alienated a handful of teachers in my school to the point at which they dropped out, turning down his $1500 payoff.

Then, before this experiment even concluded, before its results were even imposed upon us, UFT leadership made a deal with the state to have value-added used to assess teachers. They promised us they'd do research. They promised us they'd negotiate how it was done. After all, there's no research whatsoever to support the validity of value-added. I suppose if you're going to do something baseless and stupid, you may as well do it carefully. Teachers will certainly lose jobs as a result of this, particularly coupled with the rubber-room agreement that makes sure they're dumped quickly and efficiently.

Last week, though, in order to avoid some of the school closings (which, if not for the UFT collaboration on mayoral control, may not have even been a consideration), the UFT agreed that a bunch of schools would begin value-added assessments next year, a full year ahead of the agreement, with no research, no planning, and no specifically negotiated plan. One might argue, since the entire notion has no validity, that there's no point fretting over a valid model.

Considering all that, why shouldn't the most destructive force in education address his collaborators? What have we got to lose? You'd hope that an AFT convention would be a place where they'd discuss a productive future for education, a vision for improving the lot of teachers.

Instead, you've got the Antichrist coming to deliver the Sunday sermon.

Ding Dong, the Kin Is Dead

Microsoft, after having invested who knows how many millions, has killed its cool new phone, the Kin. Here's the problem--no one wanted to buy it. So the Kin is kind of a modern-day Edsel. How could Microsoft, the company practically synonymous with rich guy/ educational genius Bill Gates make a mistake? It's a mystery. Why am I writing this on a Mac? Yet another mystery.

Of course, Bill made a few errors himself. There was that small schools thing, which was a great idea, except that it didn't work. Oh well, you can't have everything. What's important is that Gates is still widely regarded as an expert, despite his utter lack of credentials and his repeated willingness to support ideas that are not only unproven, but which must be repeatedly propped financially up by Wal-Mart to even exist.

Now, of course, we're talking about charter schools, the most recent panacea, the magic bullet that will change everything just like all the previous magic bullets failed to do. Bill's billions will see to that. With Eli Broad, the Wal-Mart family, and all the faux-Democrat hedge fund managers, they continue to push non-union charters as ways to get our children accustomed to working long hours with no play time--just as they want them to do as adults.

For our children, though, the ones who will be left with even fewer decent job opportunities, Bill's latest wide-eyed golly gee whiz venture may not prove to be an Edsel after all.

Indeed, it could be the Titanic.

Yvette Felarca Opposes Weingarten for AFT President - First contended election in AFT since 1974

UPDATED: June 30, 12pm


We heard from Berkely Ca. teacher Yvette Felarca who will be running against Randi Weingarten for AFT president next week at the AFT convention in Seattle.

Hi Norm,

It would be great if you could send my campaign flier and invitation to run with my slate to the listserves.

I especially appreciate it if you get the info. to particular people who you think might be interested in running, whether they're coming to Seattle or not (they can still run).

And of course, if you're a delegate, I need your vote!

Thanks again.

--Yvette

Only delegates can vote- and we know that with 800 Unity slugs going at our expense, they will control the convention. But it will be interesting for future reference just how well Yvette does. Maybe having Bill Gates be a feature speaker will spur people to vote for her.

Unity Caucus held a meeting last week for THE EIGHT HUNDRED to tell them how to vote and to train them on monaipulating Roberts Rules to their advantage (I'll do a follow-up on this meeting later). Apparently they were spreading some hysteria about the Felarca candidacy even though they know Randi can't lose in such an undemcratically controlled union.

One of the things the Unity crew told the delegates was that this was the first contested election since 1974 when Al Shanker ran against the incumbent David Selden, who had been Shanker's mentor. (I seem to remember some other elections but can't pin them down.)

The story of that 1974 election is chronicled in a Wiki which is a must read.
It talks about the ideological underpinnings over the Vietnam War where Shanker was the war hawk and Selden was opposed.

I was at that 1974 convention in Toronto and got to ask Shanker some questions at the candidate forum. Whenever I had the chance, I asked Shanker why he favored guns over butter. The next year a bunch of us went to Hawaii for the 1975 convention to hand out The Case Against Shanker, a pamphlet we wrote. (Our Unity pals were thrilled.)

Remember, the 1975 convention was a short time before the 1975 financial chrisis devastated the NYC school system. My guns/butter questions to Shanker grew more pertinent.


Ed Notes will be in Seattle covering starting on July 6 and through the 11th.

Here is s section from Yvette's leaflet, which is posted below- click to enlarge or email me at normsco@gmail.com for a pdf.

Education Must Be a Right –
Our Children Are Not for Sale

Save Dr. King's Vision for America

• Organize Independent Mass Actions and Build the New Student-Led Civil Rights Movement to Defend Public Education from Pre-K Through College
• Stop Relying on the Democrats to Save Us
• End "Race to the Top" Now – Release All Federal Funds to States Based on Need
• No More Charters, No Vouchers
• Save Public Education: Stop Union Busting, Get Rid of Arne Duncan Now
• Build Independent, Integrated, United Teacher/Student/Community Action to End Legislative Attacks Against Teachers and Black, Latina/o, Immigrant, and Poor, Working-Class and Middle-Class Students of All Races
• All Our Students Can Learn and Excel – Reject High-Stakes Testing & Market-Economy-Based School Reform Plans
• Stop Teacher Bashing. Defend Our Union's/ Teachers' Dignity, Ability, & Character