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When I looked at RTTT this morning I saw nothing listed that would help the education of our students.  Why would any American want their tax money going towards this?

Peter,
You wrote: “The world of education is not returning to the past, we face a decade(s) of Obama driven reforms … we should asking ourselves how we, teachers, teacher unions, can survive and play a meaningful role in this environment? ”

This type of philosophy is accepted by the Unity leadership. You were elected to work for those people who pay your salary. You were not elected to collaborate with the opposition. We do not need Unity to act as Bloomberg’s right arm. We need Unity to protect the children of this city from mindless reforms. We need Unity to protect our profession. So far, Unity has sold out both groups miserably.

Randi is probably deliriously  happy; however I think all of those Unity Caucus members who cheered Bill Gates like trained seals will (might) rethink their positions when they start losing their jobs.

Peter,
What you fail to mention is that Unity wins elections with only 30% of members voting. The rest are truly disgusted. As for the ’05 contract, it did pass. But it took Randi and her minions going from school to school spinning the truth and spreading fear. I know because she came to my school. Thankfully the majority of my school still voted no because we knew what was bull and what wasn’t.

Yet, every time you are asked what you think of the “current” ATR situation, you don’t answer.
Are you happy with how this whole ATR situation worked out?? If you had to do it all over again, would you support it??

As for this money. Today Klein proudly hailed that he is going to use this money to open new charters. The rest goes into evaluations of teachers. So what part of the money actually goes to improving public school conditions–new buildings, clearer buildings, small-class sizes, more art and music programs, hiring more AIS services, letting teachers teach rather than test prep??
Aren’t these the issues the union should be fighting for?? Not according to you.

Peter,

Why do we make so much less than Yonkers? What is the UFT doing to fix this situation? 

Oh man, how foolish I’ve been. You ask a simple question, you get an odd response, you try to clarify, and you get no response. There I was, assuming the worst.

I’ve dealt with situations like these lots of times before! What was I thinking?

Peter,

Quiro saber si has firmado la applicacion o no. Firmaste, o no firmaste? Muchas gracias por su cooperacion. Si hay errores, perdoname, por favor. Escribo mejor en ingles.

Gracias otra vez.

A Unity “official” came to our school last May and I asked him the following question.
“If our school will be closed what will happen to the 50% of the faculty that will loose their positions.”
His response was. “They will be hired in another school”
Then I asked: “Will they be treated the way our current ATRs are?
He did not answer my question.
Five more teachers asked the same question.
He refused to answer the question and changed the subject.
This is how the Unity parrots operate. Peter is behaving exactly the same way. If the question is difficult to answer, change the subject. This is the Unity MO.

NYC ED

good morning … lo those many years ago I gave Ray Frankel a check for $10, and presto! I was a Unity Caucus member … I ran for an Ex Bd seat in a Unity Caucus primary, lost the first time, won the second time.

In the late 60s (Marty Loebenthal) and in the 80s (Mike Schulman), anti-Unity candidates won the High School Vice Presidency. For many years non-Unity candidates won high school executive board seats.

Norm: I haven’t attended an Ex Bd meeting in more than 10 years, although I understand the meals, for members and guests, are pretty good. I believe the Manhattan HS DR is not a Unity member.

Michael: The Feinberg Law, passed in the early 50s, required every teacher to sign a loyalty oath swearing that they were not members of the Community Party. About 200 teachers lost their jobs, it gutted the Teachers Union. The Teachers Guild and the more militant High School Teachers Association (HSTA) flirted for years, the HSTA lead an evening high school teachers strike in I believe 1957.

The merger of the Guild and the HSTA resulted in the formation of the UFT. In the 60s the caucus system existed but was not effective, pro and anti war factions crossed caucus lines, as well positions in the two strikes (teachers who crossed the picket lines, not surprisingly, were politcally isolated).

In the AFT the Progressive Caucus is the majority caucus, there are wide differences within the caucus on policy issues, the caucus takes positions on resolutions, they are “recommendations,” and frequently locals continue the debates on the convention floor, the caucus primarily supports and elects candidates.

Weingarten changed the debate rules, from 15 minutes per resolution to an hour per committee, Norm characterized as “the DA on steroids.”

The Weingarten Progressive Caucus slate received 95% of the vote.

Survey says…!