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“The blatant attacks on collective bargaining rights in Wisconsin and elsewhere do nothing to improve education.”

That’s funny, E$E is doing just that in NYC.

You’re too new to the system to realize it and you’re blindly following the agenda of hedge fund people who don’t have benevolent intentions and have never stepped into a public school.

Ruben, again I’ll ask, do Evan and Sidney each make over $100,000 a year? And if so, in your opinion do they deserve it?

Let me say for the record that, as someone who helped organize the EDUsolidarity project, we respect that you respect the #EDUsolidarity project. However, from everything I’ve seen from E$E (appropriate because when you hit shift+4, you get $), you really want to take down the union, not actually help it progress. You and your group have made it so a discussion proliferates between younger and older teachers would rift, not amend, the tenuous relationship between younger and older teachers in our system. As a younger teacher, I’m disappointed that your group also aligns itself unabashedly with anyone willing to corrupt our (albeit not perfect) union.

While we welcomed anyone to contribute to EDUsolidarity, please note that, as divergent as our opinions are, our main message and works support a general collective bent on producing more collectivity. I’m afraid yours promotes quite the opposite.

Ruben – I’d like to ask you a question about this post off the record before I publicly respond. My email is my first name dot my last name at bronxlabschool.org. Please give me a way to get in touch with you.

Mustafa,

I don’t know Evan and Sidney’s salary sorry, but I don’t believe it’s considerably more than their salaries as teachers. Either way, I don’t think it’s relevant to this conversation. I also disagree that E4E’s agenda is at all equivalent to Gov. Walker’s assaults on worker’s rights in Wisconsin. Changing the layoff system is not comparable to outright dismemberment of worker’s rights.

As usual, Ruben Brosbe is grossly uninformed.

Tenure predates the union’s collective bargaining rights by decades, and is embedded in state law, not the union contract.

Second, what Evan and Sidney and their fellow fifth columnists earn at ME$ME is far less important than who pays them and calls the tunes they dance to: Bill Gates and the hedge funders behind Ed Reform Now. Their approach to destroying the union and teacher rights – despite Ruben’s late and perfunctory nod to them – is stealthier than Walker’s, but not much different.

One more thing When you get into trouble and it will happen. Who are you going to call to help you? Bloomberg, Klein, Black, Rhee, Gates I know the answer and so do you.

Hmmmmm

Whoa! I knew I just typed something? Where did it go? OK, I’ll do it again.

Ruben, it is time for you to be honest……

What exactly is your role with E4E?

Other than the Gates Foundation, what other sources has E4E solicited, received monies from?

Have you ever solicited monies for E4E?

How many teachers at your school have signed a loyalty oath to E4E?

At what point will you, of course with names redacted, share the score of your students?

What exactly is Ruben’s role with E$E?

Good question.

He titled his piece “Why Teachers Like Me Support Unions: An E4E Take on Edusolidarity”. Did he have to get Evan and Sidney’s permission for that? Is he the official new E$E blogger?

Hey Ruben, E4E argues this teacher should be fired:

UFT chapter leader at Brooklyn school attached by principal in an incredibly ugly smear campaign:

The Manhattan district attorney’s office, state Human Rights Commission and teachers union are all investigating the anonymous letter. But Department of Education lawyers argue there is “no evidence of a hostile work environment” and have asked the human rights commission to drop the case.

http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/136187/ny1-exclusive–city-principal-investigated-in-retaliation-probe

So many chapter leaders seem to be under attack; one wonders what the UFT strategy is on this.

03/24/2011 08:13 PM
NY1 Exclusive: City Principal Investigated In Retaliation Probe

By: Lindsey Christ

A veteran public school principal is under investigation for allegedly attempting to smear one of his teachers through a hate-filled letter.
Last June, an anonymous letter was sent to the managers of Michael McPherrin’s co-op. It contained ugly allegations against McPherrin, a public school teacher, and his longtime partner Andre Lopes.

“As you read, your jaw just keeps dropping because it just gets worse,” McPherrin said.

There were private details, like the couple’s HIV and immigration status, as well as allegations of drug use and pedophilia. It said, in part:

“The talk of the building is that both Mike and illegal immigrant Andre suffer from full blown AIDS and have no problem infecting others including the underage boys they bring to the apartment.”

“This was an attempt to destroy our lives and me professionally,” McPherrin said.

The writer claimed to represent concerned residents, but the building management called it “anonymous hate mail” and wrote McPherrin that, “our records indicate there are no complaints against you or your partner.”

McPherrin says he knows who sent it: his boss, Ron Smolkin, the principal of Independence High School in Manhattan.

Since the addresses on the anonymous letters were handwritten, McPherrin hired a handwriting analyst who found it “highly likely” they matched samples of handwriting McPherrin said were Smolkin’s. Then, there was the information in the notes.

“That we are HIV positive. That Andre has an outstanding immigration issue. That we have a second residence. The social security number. That information could’ve only been gotten from my personnel file,” McPherrin said.

McPherrin says his trouble with Smolkin started after he became the teacher’s union rep and organized staff members concerned about Smolkin’s leadership.

“He has a history of retaliatory vindictive actions,” McPherrin said.

Other staff members at the school make the same charge. In one case, a judge ruled Smolkin falsely accused a school aide of an assault inside the building and fired her without benefits. A former assistant principal says Smolkin had her removed on trumped-up charges after they hadn’t been getting along. Current staff members also gave NY1 other examples — off the record — saying they were afraid of further retaliation.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office, state Human Rights Commission and teachers union are all investigating the anonymous letter. But Department of Education lawyers argue there is “no evidence of a hostile work environment” and have asked the human rights commission to drop the case.

Smolkin would not speak with NY1 on the record but through a lawyer says he denies the allegations. Also, the DOE and the groups investigating him all have policies against speaking on the record about ongoing cases.

Meanwhile, McPherrin says the principal continues to target him and has slapped him with four disciplinary charges this school year. He says they’re the first in his 23 years of teaching.

Ruben, your group and Governor Walker are both being funded by the same people. Yes, it’s an equivalent analogy.

My response: http://stephenlazar.com/blog/2011/03/you-dont-stand-with-us-my-response-to-an-edusolidarity-highjacking-attempt/

Well said, Stephen. I love how you pointed out the differences between those of us who have chosen to be career educators/activists and those in E$E who see the profession as a stepping stone to something else.

Bravo!

Ruben has been PWNED!