Friday Night Video Update - Marianne interviews RA Candidates Fischer, Brandman, Greenberg

Excellent video, Marianne. It's good to see and hear the Retiree Advocate position. Personally, I was pleased to see that Bennett, Bobby, and Gloria are middle of the road people, not extremist and dug in to tear up everything that has been accomplished over the decades. Nor do they appear to be authoritarian 'my way or the highway' types. What we don't need is a "meet the new boss, same as the old boss" scenario at this stage of the game. I'm all in on wanting to get rid of Murphy and restoring some sanity back into the RTC ballgame. Thank you for all you do.... comment

This comment nailed what the RA campaign is all about. Empowering retirees to take control of their own chapter and possibly change the UFT forever. Unity still has a big block of loyal followers who when told to jump, they try, but usually get as far as up on their toes. Maybe we see some slippage of their core vote but I don't expect all that much. Thus we need to make up the difference from the 40 thousand retirees who didn't vote last time.

 https://youtu.be/a-y4DVq6vdA?si=XmslqboOs4dxOFNf

 

Retiree Advocate (RA) Shows Some Muscle at UFT Retiree Meeting: Mulgrew, Tier 6, Paras and Happy Retirees

UFT's Tom Brown kept declaring how happy UFT retirees are. I maintain it is Retiree Advocate retirees who are the happiest because we know we are figthing the machine that wants to change our healthcare and enjoying the battle. To me, the Unity crowd does not look all that happy. Maybe a bit depressed over the possibility RA can win the chapter election and their gigs at the UFT.

Check out the updated Retiree Advocate web site: https://www.retireeadvocate.org/

Saturday, April 20

 

Being ordered around by a 70 something and an 18 year old.

 

I'm taking a few minutes off from my wife ordering me around to prep for the 30 people coming for Passover on Monday night. The young cousins bring pot and that's the only time each year I take a few puffs. I start the seder stoned and then tune out. 

 

I'm also on 4 days of video duty (Thursday, Friday, Saturday night and Sunday matinee) at the Rockaway Theatre Company for these final weekend of the spectacular Urinetown 

which  saw for the 5th time last night - with two more to go.

 

I'm not a spectator for this weekend as I get to follow directions from an 18 year old college freshman film student who is one impressive young lady. I love learning from teenagers. And by the way, let me say that media has been trashing today's youngsters while the theater loving teens and young 20s I meet and work with are amazing. (Our stage manager is 21 and our sound guy about the same age.) My message to parents: Get your depressed child into a theater program.

 

Last Tuesday, the morning of the Retiree chapter meeting, I posited: Expect The Usual Fiasco, but I actually had fun - before and after the meeting. During, not so much. This post is about the before and after and a bit about during. I'll post the Mulgrew part later, but if you can't wait, here is Arthur's meeting report from remote.

 

A bit over 200 were there in person --- a usual crew of Unity loyalists who shun us when we try to hand them a leaflet, but it seems about half the people are not. There were over 4k on line. There was some noise when people pushed back against Mulgrew. It resonates with the online crowd to hear some pushback.  

 

Our Retiree Advocate crew showed up before the meeting to hand out our main leaflet - check it out here - along with RA buttons and did so with verve and enthusiasm. Bennett was called upon to ask Mulgrew a question and a few other voices were raised, but let me not get ahead of myself. I view these meetings as organizing efforts to grow the retiree oppo base and we inch forward.

 

 Many people put on our buttons and signed up for our emails. We always meet some new people at these meetings and we find very receptive people. 

 

We also handed out the notice we were having a meetup after the meeting at a local bar, where we ended up with almost 20 people. Only a little over 200 attended the in person, so that is not too shabby - and others told us they would have come but had some priors. Over the past year at the RCT meetings we have added people and lots were wearing our buttons. Some joined us at White Horse Tavern afterward for food and refreshments. Unfortunately I was due for a blood test for my newly discovered diabetes the next morning and had to avoid the beer.

 

Here's our chapter leader candidate Bennett Fischer saying a few words. I can't say enough about how capable Bennett is in almost any arena he takes on. I have enormous confidence in him -- but also our 10 officer and 15 chapter exec bd (I am the only one I have no confidence in) candidates. Plus the other 275 delegate assembly candidates who we are having a zoom with tomorrow night. If we win, it will be a new chapter in the history of the UFT.

 

The biggest Unity crew I've ever seen at an RA meeting also handed out a leaflet. I felt bad for them having to hand out a leaflet on how great a leader Tom Murphy is and they looked depressed doing so. 

 

Our organizing efforts have forced Unity to put out their own leaflet where found out for sure Tom Murphy is really running, and they actually had 5 people distributing, including former HSVP John Soldini and retired para rep Shelvy Young Abrams. But RA has about a dozen doing the work, a sign that if we win we will have an activist chapter driven by members.

 

Unity Caucus with Murphy leaflet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The leaflet was LOL at points -- word was out that there were some people contending to replace him but he threw a bit of a fit and Mulgrew supported him. It's the king who decided in monarchies. Murphy's 75K retiree consultant  NYSUT gig might be threatened.

 

 

 

 Arthur has a few words on the Murphy leaflet:

The notion that Murphy is an independent thinker is absurd on its face. Clearly, the Unity notion of serving the union means fawning over Michael Mulgrew and stroking his fragile ego. (In fairness, Murphy is quite good at that.)...Murphy is a “guardian of civility.” Let’s first address the fact that it’s not true at all. Murphy shows blatant contempt for opinions that vary from Michael Mulgrew’s. He refuses to let passionate members speak at meetings. Then he marvels that members shout at him. (Why do people raise their voices when Tom doesn’t allow them to speak? Go figure. It’s a great mystery.)

The Tom Murphy/ UFT Unity Campaign: Hubris, Insinuation, Misdirection and Lies

https://arthurgoldstein.substack.com/p/the-tom-murphy-uft-unity-campaign?

Murphy is running a platform of civility -- don't dare call out during our meetings and if you have a postage sized sign he will be uncivil. Remember this?

• Retired Teacher Chapter Leader Tom Murphy Calls for Decorum - After screaming at people for posting signs in back of UFT meeting hall and calling security

Paras on agenda

Retired Para Chapter chair Shelvy Young Abrams is being handed a big role in the Unity RTC unit -- to try to organize and mobilize the 7k para retirees into a force of resistance to the growing influence of Retiree Advocate and she has a chance since few retired paras have gravitated to the opposition. The whys are worth examining -- maybe at an ICE meeting.

Tier 6 -Suddenly (I'm Tier 1 - I say, Smirking)

Aside from the Mulgrew appearance, which I will address in the follow-up to this report, we heard from UFT Treasurer and TRS pension rep Tom Brown, always an entertaining speaker, listed decades of UFT/Unity achievements and continuously pointed out how UFT retirees are the happiest people in the world. I almost broke out into song:

 

Happy days are here again

The skies above are clear again

So let's sing a song of cheer again
Happy days are here again

 

Brown was followed by current Unity TRS candidate Christina McGrath - Unity has had to put out leaflets for her to counter our campaign for Ben Morgenroth. Before Ben was a candidate, he was pushing the UFT to do more to change Tier 6 --- and he has made Tier 6 reform a major part of his campaign. So of course Unity, which has done barely anything on Tier 6 for a dozen years, suddenly wakes up and McGrath was chosen to make a presentation on the changes they are asking for. 

 

RA's Bobby Greenberg asked a seemingly innocent question. I'll paraphrase:

It's nice to hear how many great things we've done over the decades. Congratulations. So if we've done so well, and everyone should be in Tier 1 but we'll take Tier 4. How did we go from Tier 1 to Tier 6? Or even Tier 4 to Tier 6? 

How uncivil of Bobby to dare bring up such a major failure of COPE and UFT Leadership which sat on its hands in 2012 when Tier 6 was foisted on us. Leadership realized that Ben and New Action had seized on the fact that 55% of UFT members are Tier 6 and that is a major campaign issue Unity is trying to get out from under. Ooopsie.

•   fumfering" --> "A Yiddish word meaning to "mumble", most often used to mean to be evasive; can also mean to putter aimlessly or to waste time."

I won't even waste your time with their lame response.

The Unity crowd was not only caught flat-footed in 2012 but actually told their people it wasn't all that bad. Now that 55% of UFT members are in Tier 6, and people like Ben Morgenroth are raising it time and again, they see the political danger, so they are putting on a campaign to make people believe they are fighting for them.

Daniel, in a brilliant feat of investigative reporting, lays waste to them with this post on The Wire. Here is a segment.

Mulgrew, and his Unity Political Machine, did nothing to STOP Tier 6.

They rolled over when it was proposed in 2011. And when finally enacted in 2012. Now, we are left to pick up the pieces. Struggling to glue back and fix the damage they allowed to happen.

Dan Alicea

 

... we are in the struggle of our lives to try to FIX Tier 6 because more than 10 years ago he did nothing to STOP TIER 6.

Lost in Mulgrew’s trademark verbal acrobatics and rhetoric about trying to FIX Tier 6, along with his snail’s pace, piecemeal lobbying campaign, is the fact that he dropped the ball. We’re here because he failed to organize us to use our collective union power to STOP the agenda to deplete our pension benefits. 

We were NOT caught off guard. Bloomberg and Cuomo telegraphed their Tier 6 intentions. It wasn’t a surprise. It was a long time coming. 

For the ten months before its passage in April of 2012, there were no organized UFT rallies. No large scale, coordinated lobbying campaign coming out of 52 Broadway. Not even a single UFT resolution was passed against it by the executive board or delegate assembly during the year before Tier 6 was enacted. Next to nothing in Mulgrew’s web communiques to members before — and only after the legislature passed the new pension reform.

There was no major UFT-centered action, mobilization or pushback whatsoever to STOP TIER 6 — which still threatens the financial futures of a generation of educators today and has led to a mass exodus within our profession. 

You’ll find little to nothing in the mainstream press archives containing any public remarks by Mulgrew against Tier 6 prior to its passage. No prominent mentions about it on our union website during this time. He skirted his fiduciary duties and let Dick Ianuzzi and Anthony Pallotta of NYSUT be the primary mouthpieces to speak out against the proposal while the UFT communicated little about a ‘Stop Tier 6’ fight. All while it posed an existential threat to our UFT union family. 

In fact, in early 2012, when Mulgrew shared his annual January testimony to Albany’s legislature about the proposed budget, Mulgrew only dedicated a small fraction of his time to say he only had “strong reservations” about the “idea that we need a new pension tier.“ 

Strong reservations about the idea? That’s it? 

That’s it. Mulgrew shrugged.

Unity insiders have confided, in hindsight, that they believed Mulgrew when he told them behind closed doors that the defined pension benefits were in jeopardy. They say there was a sense of inevitability about the looming draconian changes and so they maintained a business as usual posture.

Perhaps Mulgrew miscalculated that if Albany gave Bloomberg what he wanted, Bloomberg would finally negotiate contracts with the city’s unions once again? If so, the gamble failed miserably as Bloomberg left office while the city’s labor contracts, including ours, remained expired.

Even in more recent years, we’ve heard folks like UFT treasurer and TRS teacher-member Trustee, Tom Brown, continue to downplay the severity of the Tier 6 giveback, as evident in a 2022 executive board meeting where “Brown and other Unity-elected members made the argument that Tier 6 was essentially fine, better than what (the mostly non-unionized) rest of the country has, and that improvements are being made anyways.”

Brown went on to falsely claim that “Tier 6ers don’t have ‘less net compensation’ than Tier 4ers.”

After Tier 6 passed in April of 2012, Mulgrew, to his credit, refused to receive an award with Bloomberg and Cuomo at a SOMOS gala, shortly after. Something about the optics of attending a party and being really mad.

Daniel follows in the footsteps of the great James Eterno, who in March 2012 nailed the Unity leadership on Tier 6 with this post on ICE:

• James Eterno: TIER 6 A HUGE DEFEAT FOR THE NEXT GENERATION, March 2012 - from the ICE blog

 James pretty much said what Daniel says a dozen years later:

No spin from NYSUT or Leo Casey or President Mulgrew on the legislation to stick anyone hired in April or thereafter with a Tier VI pension...No spin from NYSUT or Leo Casey or President Mulgrew on the legislation to stick anyone hired in April or thereafter with a Tier VI pension...What about those COPE contributions?  We don't seem to have much influence with the legislature these days.

For those yet to be hired, the legislature and governor wiped away virtually all of the pension gains we made over the last thirty years.  A new teacher or new state employee will have to work until they are sixty three to receive a full pension which will only be 55% of final average salary according to what I read.  Final average salary has been increased from the average of the last five years of employment instead of three.

I remember when I started working and all of the people who were on Tier I told those of us who were on Tier IV how horrible our pension was.  Now we will have to face the Tier VI people and tell them they are in it for the real long haul if they want to make teaching a career. It is the same for other civil servants across New York State.

It struck me that in 2012 James talks about those who were about to be hired. Now over half are in Tier 6 and have been hired since then - think of the massive turnover in a dozen years.

I'll get to the follow-up on the Mulgrew part of the meeting, the following day's DA whee Unity rejected reform of the dental plan.

Great news for the next RTC meeting on May 21: Randi will be there. Oh, the joy!

UFT Bits - Backdoor (sellout) deal on mayoral control?

Always watch what the UFT does, not what it says -- Fiddling with the PEP Will NOT do it  --- The wisdom of Norm

Albany to send $35.9B to NY schools as negotiations over mayoral control continue, Hochul says -- Chalkbeat

Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Time to End it and Adams' incompetence may be a magic bullet: Mayor attacks on NYSED Mayoral control report

This recent Ed Notes headline was too optimistic. The absolute incompetence of the Adams/Banks school administration apparently will not be enough to kill mayoral control. And the UFT, a key player, will whine about how bad they are but will not do anything to make it better for its members.

 

I've always maintained that the UFT/Unity crowd will never let Mayoral control lapse no matter their rhetoric about how bad the school system has been run over the past two decades. They don't really care how bad mayors perform - they care about their own power and the ability to negotiate with one administration rather then disperse power into the hands of groups they feel they cannot control, which they perceive as a threat to their hegemony -- that includes dispersing power to rank and file teachers at the school level. UFT/Unity doesn't want to empower their own members -- they want to control the members.

 

So, in recent months we heard Mulgrew criticize mayoral control and ask for changes - which I call tweaks, rather than a distribution of power. Then Monday we hear there is a deal of sorts where Adams would keep control if he would implement the class size law he has refused to implement so far.

This reminds me of those vigilantes who hold your computers ransom until you pay.

There can only be a deal if the UFT is somehow involved and watch them declare victory.

 

From the Chalkbeat article:

For months, lawmakers have argued the future of the city’s polarizing school governance structure should be determined outside of the budget process. But during last-minute negotiations on the two-weeks-late budget, the possibility of extending mayoral control reentered discussions.

 

Leonie speaks: no backdoor deal on mayoral control!

Last week the State Education Department released an excellent report, summarizing the public testimony at the borough hearings and in writing on Mayoral control, and analyzing our NYC school governance system compared to others across the country. The report contained recommendations about how the system should be changed, by giving more voice to parents and other stakeholders, revamping the composition of the Panel for Educational Policy, and establishing a Commission to propose more fundamental changes.

Then this afternoon, there was a lot of chatter on Twitter and elsewhere that a deal was imminent to give Adams two more years of mayoral control in the budget, in exchange for some minor tweaks and concessions (?) on class size. Yet soon after, Governor Hochul held a press conference and said no deal on Mayoral control has yet been finalized.

So it's urgent: please send a message to your Legislators tonight; urge them to provide more checks and balances, transparency and parent voice in the running of our schools - because twenty years of Mayoral control has NOT worked for NYC students. If you're not convinced, check out our point by point rebuttal of DOE talking points put out over the weekend; and an explanation of how the system has failed in terms of real accountability here.

But please send an email to your legislators tonight -- before its too late.

And share this message with others who care.

thanks, Leonie

Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters

 Another news report:

Mayoral control of NYC schools is back from the dead in state budget talks, key lawmaker says - Gothamist

https://gothamist.com/news/mayoral-control-of-nyc-schools-is-back-from-the-dead-in-state-budget-talks-key-lawmaker-says

 

State lawmakers are discussing a possible short-term extension of mayoral control of New York City's school system, though it would come with significant strings attached, according to a key lawmaker in Albany.

State Sen. John Liu, a Queens Democrat who chairs the New York City education committee of the State Senate, confirmed on Monday that mayoral control is back on the table in ongoing discussions on New York's next budget. Mayoral control is currently due to expire at the end of June, despite Mayor Eric Adams' opposition to it lapsing.

Gov. Kathy Hochul recently raised the issue again in budget talks, two weeks after legislative leaders all but declared it dead as part of the state's spending plan, Liu told Gothamist. But he suggested that, if lawmakers agree to extend mayoral control of the city's schools, it would come with a mechanism to ensure the Adams administration complies with looming class-size restrictions, which state lawmakers approved the last time they extended mayoral control in 2022.

“The mayor wants accountability, and so we’re looking for ways to make him accountable,” Liu said. “The governor has brought up mayoral control in the negotiations, and we're looking at the issue.”

Adams and his schools chancellor David Banks have strongly advocated for an extension, arguing they should remain in charge of the city's schools because it’s the best way for them to be held accountable and impose order on the nation’s largest school system. But many educators and parents have called for change, saying the mayor is too far removed from the day-to-day reality of schools.

Hochul included a four-year extension of mayoral control in her $233 billion state budget proposal in January. But legislative leaders signaled by early April that it hadn’t been a serious part of budget negotiations.

Adams’ administration still kept pushing the issue, with Banks traveling to the state Capitol earlier this month to urge lawmakers to consider putting it in the spending plan. “We think we’ve done a great job in rebuilding trust with our families and our communities, and we’ve been delivering real results,” Banks said in Albany on April 2.

Asked a day later whether mayoral control would be in a final budget agreement, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Democrat from Yonkers, flatly said “no.”

Now, Liu says any possible extension would include "substantial guarantees" for the city to follow through on the mandates of the state class-size law, a major goal of the United Federation of Teachers union and many New York City parents. Democratic lawmakers are expected to discuss the issue behind closed doors on Monday afternoon.

The law requires a significant reduction of class sizes in the city’s public schools over time. Adams argues the city cannot make those changes without more funding from the state.

When the law is fully implemented, kindergarten through third-grade classes will be capped at 20 students, fourth- through eighth-grade classes will be capped at 23 students, and high-school classes will be capped at 25 students. The city’s Independent Budget Office has estimated that almost 18,000 teachers would need to be hired to meet the mandate, at a cost of up to $1.9 billion per year.

New York City would also have to identify more space for the smaller classrooms. Reducing class sizes is generally popular with parents, but some say they worry about increased competition for certain schools and programs.

The latest talks on another extension of mayoral control come days after the state Education Department released a lengthy review recommending possible reforms. Legislators required the review as part of the 2022 extension of mayoral control, which was for two years.

The nearly 300-page report called for more opportunities for input from families and educators and stronger checks and balances around mayoral control. It noted that New York City currently gives the mayor more power over education than any other school district in the country.

Under that system, the mayor selects the schools chancellor and appoints a majority of members to the Panel for Educational Policy, an oversight board that votes on school-related contracts and other matters. The non-mayoral members are elected by parent councils or appointed by borough presidents, and some of them have said they feel powerless because the mayor appoints most of the panel.

The state Education Department's report did not ultimately offer clear recommendations on the fate of mayoral control. Instead, it called for a commission to further study the issue.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in Albany continue to negotiate the finer points of the broader state budget, which is expected to total $235 billion once approved. It was due before the start of the state’s fiscal year on April 1, but the Gov. Hochul has struggled to reach consensus with lawmakers on a final deal. Lawmakers have approved four short-term budget extenders to keep the state’s payroll running.

As of Friday, the governor and legislative leaders were closing in on an agreement on the hotly contested issue of housing policy. If a housing deal is reached, that could clear the major remaining hurdle to a final budget. But tenant and landlord advocates aren’t pleased with the emerging deal.

The state Senate and Assembly’s Democratic majorities are expected to hold closed-door conferences on the final remaining issues on Monday afternoon and evening.

 

Today: Calling UFT Retirees - Join Retiree Advocate at chapter meeting at 1PM, followed by gathering at White Horse Tavern

Are we nearing the end of Tom Murphy's reign as chapter leader? Possible successor, former UFT VP Carmen Alvarez, will be a mainline speaker today - I will report later on the lousy bagels served at RTC meetings which beer I drank at the tavern.

The March meeting of the UFT Retiree chapter is today at one. I will be joining the RA crew in the back lobby of 52 at noon. Unity will try to exert maximum control of this meeting. We expect (hope) new people will be there to raise issues - if they allow it. Expect lots of filibustering to stall. One reason Murphy may be out is his bull in China shop approach. 

I wonder at how effective Carmen might be and whether Mulgrew trusts her to be able to handle it. There isn't a lot of talent at the top, especially among retirees in Unity. We heard rumors they had problems and may still be having problems getting people to agree to run as delegates, with some flatly turning down the opportunity. Some even may be running with RA. In contrast, we have been oversubscribed and don't have room for all the people who volunteered to run.

 Here is today's leaflet.

 

Will Mulgrew Flip Flop on Mayoral Control Like Randi did in 2009?

Randi and Bloomberg do the flip in mayoral control renewal 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deja vu all over again?

Mulgrew at the Feb. 2024 DA on Mayoral control – 

-----when it sunsets, know what our position is. Want to be a little bit more. Position mayoral control, went through Cleveland’s, Boston’s, New Haven’s – they have mayoral control, the mayor chooses the final decision making panel (i.e. PEP), but the Mayor may only choose from people selected by nominating committee, of which they often have little control. Once put on these boards, they’re on a fixed term, mayor can’t do anything about it. Not saying what want, but have to dispel myth that changing mayoral control from way it is here—with mayor picking majority of PEP—is only version of mayoral control. People here fired for not doing what they’re told – that’s crap. Goal of last week was to tie different things together. Has the mayor supplanted school funding (yes), was there a financial reason (no)... How do you give the mayor any sort of control, who supplants funding, who removes money from funding despite being bound to lower class sizes by NYS law. One thing in that law that allows process to be stopped. Happens in a year in a half. Had all the money we needed and since then 2.5 billion dollars have been taken out of the capital plan, because trying to use financial review period to stop the law. ... Nick Bacon Notes at NAC

 Let me take you back to the 2009 battle over renewal of mayoral control:

Chalkbeat/Gotham Schools: The frustration began with a May 21, 2009 New York Post column, in which Weingarten indicated that she is open to allowing the mayor to continue appointing a majority of members to the citywide school board. A union task force recommended in February that the state legislature reverse that majority as a way to strengthen the board, known as the Panel for Education Policy or PEP.

Weingarten’s Post op/ed dismayed some members of her own union. “I was quite disappointed and angry, actually,” said Lisa North, a teacher who sat on the union’s task force to consider revisions to mayoral control.

North said the task force never seriously considered recommending that the mayor keep his majority of appointments, and so when union delegates ratified the committee’s final recommendations, she expected Weingarten to promote them. “The delegate assembly is supposed to be the highest authority of the union, and it voted for it,” she said.

I wrote this in June, 2009 - Weingarten Didn't Flip on Mayoral Control-- UFT positioning is akin to planes spreading tin foil to try to fool radar.

We opposed the very idea of a phony UFT task force dominated by Unity Caucus that would give cover to Randi's doing what she intended to do anyway over the past 7 years. (I have been a lone voice in ICE urging boycotting these farce task forces.) I spoke to Philissa (Kramer of Gotham) and made the point that Randi's flipping on the constitution of the PEP panel is just flack covering Randi's consistent support for mayoral control. More egregious, I told her, is her modifying the report of the UFT task force that spent a year addressing the issue that was voted upon at a delegate assembly. One of the few good things the report recommended was taking away the mayor's ability to appoint a majority of the PEP. That is where Randi has flipped. The task force was c0-headed by UFT VP Carmen Alvarez, who has been racing around the city representing the UFT on panel discussions and trying to give the impression the UFT supports checks and balances. Tsk, tsk, Carmen.

“I do feel betrayed,” said Michael Fiorillo, another chapter leader who sat on the union’s task force. “I just wish I could say I felt surprised.” He said Weingarten has veered away from members’ consensus on other topics in the past, and so he had early doubts that she would hold firm on the task force’s recommendations. (Fiorillo ultimately voted against the recommendations, saying they weren’t aggressive enough curbs on mayoral control.) “My guess would be the sense of betrayal would be stronger among people outside the union,” Fiorillo said, noting that union members were accustomed to watching Weingarten change her mind.

Weingarten doesn't exactly change her mind. What she does is throw up lots of tin foil like those planes trying to foil radar detection do in manipulating public perception of where the UFT stands. It is necessary to see through the flack and keep one's eye on where the real plane with the bomb is.

Why does the UFT leadership love mayoral control? Because it allows them to negotiate in back rooms with one person instead of opening up the process to democratic scrutiny. Totalitarians behave that way. When Obama was talking in Cairo today about bringing the light of democracy to places of darkness he might has well been talking about mayoral control and the UFT.

As I said then I do support the UFT current position of opposing the mayor choosing a majority of members on the PEP but will they stick to that position? Mulgrew still claims to be for mayoral control. If the mayor can't appoint a majority is it really mayoral control? Yes in the world of UFT machinations.

 

Being surreal at December UFT Retiree meeting - the Morning Joe Edition

I'm still reeling from Tuesday's retiree chapter meeting and then I get deja vu all over again while watching Morning Joe, with former Dem Senator Claire Caskill bragging about the record amounts of drilling Biden is doing. That's a sure way to capture the votes of the young people who see climate change as an existential threat.

It's surreal to watch how they talk about all the great Biden stuff but can't understand why the polls are so low, especially within his own coalition -- They admit that Biden hasn't laid out a second term agenda -- only talks about what has been done while ignoring what hasn't been done. A guest says people have to have a real sense that a second Biden term will make a difference in their lives. It's not enough not to be Trump. But no worries. They think people will come to their senses, especially after Tom Murphy rouses the masses in the UFT retiree chapter meeting. So, watching Morning Joe this morning is like a nightmare repeat of Tuesday's RTC meeting where I was more convinced than ever that Trump will be our next president.

December 21 - last day of fall/first day of winter -- brrr.

 

Tuesday started off peaceful enough. The day began with a gym, swim and sauna. Done by 8:30 AM. Downloaded the flyer for Retiree Advocate to hand out at the RTC Dec. meeting later that day. Dropped by the FedEx on Lexington and 40th St and the ladies there were so helpful in sending the pdf to the copier. Then off to oatmeal and coffee at the Pret at Park and 40th, followed by the library on 40th and 5th and then off to check out the Bryant Park holiday fair and the ice skating - watching, not skating. Then off to Grand Central to head downtown.

So I was pretty mellow when I got to 52 Broadway to meet with the Retiree Advocate crew with leaflets and sign up sheets for RA. We got a pretty good response to our leaflet - a lot of people seemed to know us and wanted a copy. One guy referred to the last meeting where we saw a presentation on seniors avoiding fraud when "the biggest frauds of all were sitting up there running this union and RTC." 

 

And once again the frauds were in action.

 

So.....I spent an angry hour and a half at Tuesday's Retiree Chapter meeting. I wasn't the only one pissed. Arthur wrote about the meeting from a remote point of view. (When Is the Best Time to Dump UFT Unity?) 

 

Here's a sense of the meeting from Arthur:

...when someone actually has a question, Murphy interrupts her relentlessly. That’s off topic. That’s not a question. Murphy sarcastically calls her “nice.” The woman wants to know what AFT’s position is on Medicare. The woman says if the whole city gets off of it, the program may be in danger. Murphy snidely says, “Thank you,” over and over again, until some Unity hack finally grabs the mike from her. 

Lucky for Arthur he wasn't in the room where there was a lot of rage from both sides -- Unity hacks upset at how dare anyone challenge them. And he missed out on those stale bagels in cellophane wrappers. At the top of my platform for the RTC election would be promising to bring back real bagels and real pastries - strudel for sure. Maybe lox. Arthur also missed some awful xmas cookies. But you know me - I ate the bagel and the cookies.

I usually don't get too excited at the shenanigans by the gang running the UFT/Unity Caucus syndicate and its retiree chapter subsidiary, but I had to listen to stuff that set me off. At one point Tom Murphy made a mistake and actually pointed to me for a question but when he recognized it was me he looked horrified and said "NO" and pointed in the other direction. He should make better use of the UFT welfare eyeglass fund. 

 

The meeting, as usual, got off to a rousing start with moments of silence for death notices. (I wanted a moment for the death of our healthcare). RTC leadership loves death notices - which may explain why they want us off Medicare and in a MedAdv managed care program, a sure way to increase death notices. 

 

I can't wait for Murphy to filibuster an entire RTC meeting dedicated to moments of silence, though a recent meeting dedicated to the death of George Altomare where he comes back to life to sing Solidarity Forever - and he means Forever - repeatedly because Murphy couldn't hear it well enough, qualifies. Murphy should make better use of the UFT Welfare hearing-aid fund.

 

I was sorry to hear of the death of Bernie Zemsky, longtime Unity Caucus member, who soured on the leadership and communicated his feelings to people in the opposition. I was told he was fired by the union and sued them and there was a settlement but he had to sign an NDA. I had planned to get in touch with him to ask him to run with RA in the chapter election. He probably would have. Ooops. I gave Bernie away. Look for Unity to rescind the moment of silence at the next meeting. 

 

When I'm gone I want one minute of people screaming at the leadership "U Suck!"

"Why aren't we talking about retiree issues," someone calls out a few minutes into the meeting. The meeting reinforced the inept AFT/UFT gang as part and parcel of the inept Democratic Party leadership which is a major reason the Trump phenomena exists. And yes, we retirees get the danger Trump presents. Don't waste our time beating our heads over it and take care of our healthcare. We don't need to go to a meeting to tell us how bad Trump is and how good Biden is. Trump is strong because the Dem Party is so inept. And it's not only about perceptions but policy.

 

Using UFT Retirees a political force while ignoring their health needs

This meeting was about the role for retirees for political action. Randi's NYT Sunday ad warning about the Trump danger to democracy was referenced. How ironic to talk about democracy at an undemocratic UFT meeting. 

• Has Mulgrew been a threat to democracy?

Using the Trump threat as a way to distract people from the healthcare issue is not a surprise. The Trump threat is real but so is the healthcare threat the UFT foisted on the retirees. 

 

What will kill us first? Trump or Aetna? 

 

The idea that getting the UFT retirees wired up about the Trump threat in the face of the assault on our healthcare by our own union is what made this meeting surreal.

 

The major theme in the opening presentation by John Ost, AFT Director of Political Mobilization was all about how Trump is a danger to democracy and is leading Biden in all areas. DUHHHH! He was interrupted constantly by Mulgrew riding in a car trying to talk but all we heard and saw was static -- which is how I always view Mulgrew talking. 

 

Arthur's report:

Murphy says we’ll bring on a speaker from AFT, but we’ll interrupt him whenever Mulgrew sees fit to show up. As soon as the guy starts to speak, he’s interrupted by Mulgrew, evidently in a car, and no one in the room can hear him. After we waste time on that, Mulgrew says he’ll drop in on the meeting later.

Back to Ost. But of course it's not the fault of Biden or the inept Democrats, which includes our UFT leadership from the top national down to the locals they control. UFT/AFT is inbred with the right/central Dem Party -- which is controlled by the corporate wing. They will sit by while the Israeli lobby wipes out the progressives. 

John Ost posted charts - he charted us to death about how much of a danger Trump was and how bad Biden was doing in the polls. I kept calling out WHY? But they are not interested in WHY and when you don't want to know WHY, you will never have an answer. The WHY is that the corporate Dem agenda sucks and alienates the progressives and opens up Biden to weakness on both flanks. 

And they don't get why young people are deserting Biden in droves? Student debt - inept. Climate change - inept. Healthcare improvement: inept. Note: Biden ran on extending Medicare. Don't just blame Republicans. Biden never mentions it.

 

So they talked about Biden bringing down drug prices and medicare negotiating for lower drug prices. But always watch what they don't say: the delay until 2025, that it's only a few drugs, etc. A Unity former VP made a point that Medicare and Social Security would be in more danger if Trump won? I slapped my head -- The UFT leadership has been a threat to Medicare so far, not Trump, who is one of the few Republicans who chastise them for talking about cutting Medicare -- one of his few redeeming points - even if he's probably lying.

You see the problem is that the wonderful work Biden has done is just not getting through. Like people who can't pay rent or buy a house should bow down.

 

In the first minute of the presentation I was more convinced Trump may win than ever because these people are so clueless. They are hoping to beat Trump by getting states to not put him on the ballot or the courts to convict him. Why so many people are either supporting Trump and rejecting Biden? Not interested.

 

And how about those Dems in states like Florida, Massachusetts and Tennessee manipulating or cancelling primaries to protect Biden? Dems are not a threat to democracy? 

Biden's insistence of running may end up being the biggest threat to democracy, enabled by his enablers in support groups like the UFT.

 

We heard a long report from the UFT’s new political director, Venecia Wilson.  

 

Arthur reports:

She is charming as she relates a few personal anecdotes. I had expected her to answer the question, but she doesn’t. She then talks about Santos and says the GOP has picked a candidate for his seat, but we’re waiting to hear from the Democrats. Oddly, I heard yesterday the Democrats had picked Tom Suozzi, and a member later brings it up. (It’s a little disconcerting our political director seemed not to know this.)

I try to get a question in on Suozzi who is to the right of Hochul but Tom ignores me again. Joel Burger shows Newsday which announces Suozzi and leaves egg on their faces. Did they not know or were they hiding that this is the guy we are going to be asked to support? Not all good news on Suozzi either as he's blamed for running a dumb primary campaign against Hockul which helped Republicans in numerous ways -- maybe even the House loss is partly his fault with Santos replacing him.

Mulgrew walks in and he's in a good mood --- I'm glad he wasn't driving the car. He's handling the heckling with a hearty "Happy holidays". 

Back to Arthur.

Mulgrew shows up at 2:15. Says this chapter will work harder than any other chapter. Other people have to go into classroom. Evidently, he assumes we have nothing else to do. He criticizes corporations who want unfettered control. This strikes me as ironic. Mulgrew, despite professing that the Delegate Assembly is the union’s highest decision-making body, opposes the NY Health Act, twice endorsed by the DA. He himself has unfettered control.

Murphy, to his evident dread, has to allow questions. He says there are “lots of health question, or statements posing as questions,” in yet another barb at those of us who want to keep our insurance. Belittling us yet again, he snaps, “Here’s an apt question,” which turns out to be about Tier 6.

Murphy finally allows ONE question on health care to reach Mulgrew’s ears.

Sarah Shapiro—Why are you more concerned with the city’s health than our health? NYS Supreme court found Advantage would cause us irreparable harm. Isn’t that enough of a reason to preserve the coverage we have now?”

Mulgrew—We are at war with the health care industry. We can’t just say no, no, no. We see around the corner with what will happen in the future. We will make sure every member gets the best health care with the same benefits, I know the city’s appealing. Keep hearing the rhetoric and the same lines. Responds “Happy New Year and God bless” to people. I support your right to your opinions. I will give you facts and you have a right to agree or disagree. Moving on to next question.

Mulgrew did not answer the question. He implies we are contrary imbeciles, and suggests he has vision, but offers absolutely no supporting evidence. I’m glad he’s not in my class writing a persuasive essay. (He should be glad too.)

There are a few statements on health and welfare. Notable is this one:

Bennett Fisher—Retiree Advocate had very well attended general meeting. Discussed health care going forward. Discussed health care with UFT other unions, and NYC Retirees, Very happy most recent lawsuit went into our favor. If anybody has interest in learning more about RA, please come see us and sign up.

Murphy tried to interrupt, but Bennett got to complete his statement. There was another speaker, and then Murphy loudly cried, “Meeting Adjourned!” Clearly, there was nothing he wanted in life more than to end this meeting.

Bennett was speaking under Good and Welfare which is where anyone can get up to the mic and say something. Well, not everyone. I'm waving my hand and shouting Good and Welfare. "Meeting adjourned" says Murphy, 20 minutes before it was supposed to end.

More info on the Suozzi story:

NYT: Inside the Secret Meeting That Cleared the Way for Tom ..

Politico: Not everyone’s welcoming back Tom Suozzi

Anna Kaplan doesn’t like George Santos. And she isn’t so sure about Tom Suozzi either.

“After almost a year of this district having embarrassing representation, Tom Suozzi thinks voters on Long Island have forgotten that he abandoned us to George Santos,” Kaplan, who is running in the 3rd Congressional District as a Democrat, said in a statement. “The Democratic Party is a pro-choice party, and unlike Tom Suozzi, I will always stand up for a woman’s right to choose — period.”

That was just a preview of just some of the attacks that fellow Democrats will make against Suozzi after the longstanding, though divisive figure in New York politics launched his own campaign Tuesday to win back his old seat.

Suozzi “abandoned” the Long Island district last year, forgoing re-election to challenge Gov. Kathy Hochul in the Democratic primary from the right.

Team Hochul viewed Suozzi as a nuisance, at best. And she slammed him for initially supporting the Hyde amendment, which bans federal funds like Medicaid from being spent on abortion care.

 

Ugly Democracy and Ugly Sweater Day for Unity Caucus - and Ugly Truths too - Breaking: Mulgrew says a truth, Lawsuit Filed in NYS Supreme Court against MTA & TWU Local 100 to Demand Access to Promised Medicare Benefits

A certain former congressman has been voted out. DC  can’t get anything done... Michael Mulgrew, Dec DA

Monday, December 18, 2023

Finally, some truth from Mulgrew. How dare people say he lies and lies and lies and lies?

Another thing Mulgrew doesn't hide - the increasingly open strangulation of democracy in the UFT. 

People look to Trump to kill democracy if elected - his model can be Mulgrew.

There actually was a time when any UFT member could walk into a Delegate Assembly. Now you can't even get in the building.

I was in the back lobby of the UFT the other day and a retiree told me a story. She was there for two issues, one a welfare fund story. She couldn't go up to see the people she had to see. Instead the security guard had to track down each person and it took some time. Then each person had to come down to the lobby to meet with her sitting at one of the rickety tables instead of their office upstairs. Are they afraid to show members how comfy they are? The process took over an hour when she could have settled each item in ten minutes.

Arthur talks all about our vaunted UFT Welfare Fund -- the absolute best according to Mulgrew.

We Have the Best Welfare Fund in the Country

I was struck by several remarks made by UFT President Michael Mulgrew at last night’s Delegate Assembly. He’d said he’d have a major announcement on health care, but simply reiterated that there were two finalists—Emblem/United and Aetna. (Mulgrew just can’t wait to dump Aetna on retirees, so I suspect he’ll lean toward them regardless.)

That said, this is very disturbing—As Daniel Alicea pointed out on Twitter, there’s a slide from the PowerPoint they used last night that speaks to “real managed care”. Mulgrew also said that members would need to declare a primary doctor. This suggests the new plan may be more of an HMO than a PPO. If that’s the case, you will have far less choice among providers (despite Mulgrew’s happy talk about paying 10% less for something “as good or better”).

 Continue reading

Mulgrew continues to claim his Aetna Medicare Adv is no different than Medicare -- maybe even better. Even better than the Emblem MedAdv plan he claimed was the best just two years ago.

Even the corp media on NBC exposes Mulgrew as a liar:

NBC segment: :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7KWytC8DvQ

I was outside the Delegate Assembly on Wednesday (Dec. 13) with Retiree Advocate colleagues and retirees from New Action handing out our leaflets. It was cold and some of us old folks wanted to in to distribute - a right we always used to have but in the increasing restrictions on democracy in the UFT, we had to fight to even stand inside the warm lobby.  As for the table the opposition always has had - that is long gone -- according to sources under the orders of LeRoy Barr.  As for our right to actually watch the DA even at the 19th floor - well that is long gone.

Adding to the ugliness, it  seemed to be ugly sweater day for the Unity Caucus gang. And of course Mulgrew made sure not to call on any opposition people who might actually challenge his lies. 

Nick wrote up the minutes.

UFT Healthcare cuts – Delegate Assembly – 12/13/23