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In part two of a rough guide to the upcoming teachers union elections, here’s a look at the union’s internal party system and who’s running for major positions.

Part of the reason why UFT ballots have the heft of a college acceptance package is that they’re filled with a dizzying number of names. This year, 1,485 candidates are running for about 900 positions.

Most of those positions are for delegates to the conventions held by the national and state union branches, as well as the country’s largest teachers union, the National Eduction Association. But others have a direct influence on how the union is run and where it stands on issues like merit pay, charter schools, and how difficult it is to fire a teacher.

Along with voting for a union president, UFT members also cast their votes for ten officer positions and 78 executive board positions. The executive board, which meets once a month and votes on resolutions, breaks down into 42 “at large” positions held by any UFT member, and 36 positions that are parceled out among elementary (11), middle (5), and high school teachers (6), as well as “functional” employees (14) such as guidance counselors. (more…)

In the first part of several posts on the upcoming teachers union elections, here’s a look at how voting works and who does it.

Every three years, the UFT contracts its internal election out to the American Arbitration Association, and on March 12, the AAA sent out 167,000 ballots to UFT members. Those ballots went to members who have retired as well as to those who are still working, landing on doorsteps across the five boroughs and in sun-soaked places like Florida and Arizona where retirees often cluster.

The thick packets arrive via snail mail — union officials say this is because they can’t count that retired members will have an internet connection — and contain the names of the 1,485 candidates running for about 900 positions. (We’ll have more on who those people are tomorrow.)

Once a member opens and fills out her ballot, she places it in an envelope marked “secret ballot.” The ballot is sealed, sent to the AAA, and counted on April 7. (more…)

Tonight, as members of New York City’s teachers union celebrate the union’s 50th anniversary with a line up of political and labor celebrities, some of their members will be sitting at home or in schools filling out ballots.

That’s because the United Federation of Teachers is in the midst of an election for its president and governing executive board, as well as hundreds of other positions. To outsiders and even some teachers, UFT elections are a little puzzling. This year, there have been no stump speeches, no public debates, and the only tangible evidence that candidates are campaigning is the fliers distributed in teachers’ school mailboxes and ads printed in the union’s newspaper.

The thousands of ballots counted on April 7 will decide the future leaders of America’s largest union local, and one of the most influential in the state. The UFT’s power to set education policy and craft pension deals  in the city and statewide is so formidable, its former leader was once called “governor” in a newspaper editorial. And no matter how much the city detests the union’s policies, even Mayor Bloomberg admitted today that “they are part of the solution.” (more…)