Great analysis on the contract.
A lot of this goes to the benefactor model so embraced by BloomWeinKlein and the threat to public education, as so pointed out in today's Times about the benefactors who threatened to withdraw support for the charter school unless all teacher and parent reps left the steering committee.
Weingarten's deal with Green Dot not only sells out teachers, but also a fight for full funding of education by the public sector. My full post on this issue is on the ednotes blog.
Randi's initiative is a giant thrust of moral "realpolitik." She is liberating a massive infusion of faith in education from potential assets who might have been in some cases jaded by all the muck and rhetoric in the marketplace of educational debate.She is boldly steering the union into a better defined and embracing acceptance of our role as a professional organization, and proving that not only can this be done, but that it is imperative that it is achieved without the loss of cherished protections of labor. Embarking on this move took courage, vision, integrity, and statesmanship.
And let's make it crystal clear that Green Dot has a "just cause" standard that applies to probationers as well, and that is the standard that's been used in UFT contracts. The only difference it that the Green Dot covers untenured folk as well.
I wonder how long before Randi holds this up as a "model contract" for UFT members.
Dittersdorf, are you a teacher? If so, it strains credulity that you don't know how easy it is for admins to write up bad observations and make that case for just cause. A friend of mine is sitting in the rubber room for 2 years because the principal got his cronies, including two (count 'em, two) superintendents to write him unsatisfactory observation reports.
Either the implications of no seniority rights are beyond Randi, or she just doesn't care.
Either way, it's very, very bad for city teachers.
Hey, did our union dues pay dittersdorf for the time it took for him to write the jive above?
I bet it did!
Ah, to be a member of the UFT patronage mill.
Alas it will never happen for me because I can't write stuff like "Embarking on this move took courage, vision, integrity, and statesmanship..." with a straight face or a clear conscience.
Why don't you join the Green Dot school, dittersdorf. Let us know how the "professional workday," the longer school year (though just barely thanks to Randi's sell-out), and the weakened job protections work out for you.
And NYC, keep up the great work exposing the Randi regime for the sell-outs and hacks they are.
And you got the scoop on this way before the Times.
The Hacks are already spinning the web the way they did for the '05 contract.
Randi didn't have an ounce of courage in '05 to protect the rights we once had, and now this Hack is claiming this is courage????
It obvious this Hack is not a full-time teacher.
I just received a UFT E Mail celebrating this move. I think if you search my prior comments something will show up where I said this is a move by Randi to usurp Bloomie's and Klein's efforts to saturate the city with schools like KIPP and Edison.
I think Randi actually believes that the public system, as we have known it in big cities is doomed, and she is determined that the institution that is the UFt will survive in this new environment by allying itself with a group like GD. Gd has the resources to overwhelm KIPP and become the primary provider of charter services in NYC in partnership with Randi.
Those of us presently in the public system will, IMHO, soon be in a struggle to get our union leaders to be even mildly concerned with our status.
Ditterdorf is right in one respect. Randi is practicing Realpolitik, but Otto von Bismarck was more moral in his practice of it than Randi is now. There were some things the Chancellor believed were not worth the bones of a Pomeranian grenadier. Randi, I believe, has no such qualms about us.
I'm on vacation already so I'll make this quick. Bad, Real Bad.
Unitymustgo
I'd just like to know the source of that shovel full of high falooting bs used by that Ditterdorf character. The name sounds a little like Dumbledore from Harry Potter and I thought that guy died.
I don't agree with xk that this move is to oust the mayor's plan for schools like KIPP. I think the mayor is in on it because since it would look bad to her members not to oppose mayoral control, and it would make the mayor look bad, the compromise is GreenDot since it is supposed to be a "partnership" between the mayor and the schools.
It's a win-win for both of them in the political areana and a loss for us.
Just a quick reminder to the 78% of teachers who didn't vote in the last UFT election: your apathy lets this destruction of teacher rights proceed unabated.
The 78% of teachers who don't vote probably don't read that much either.
Does the mayor or chancellor have something on Randi Weingargen? Is there blackmail involved? Or is she just completely insane?
To allow GreenDot in is an insult to all of you dues paying teachers.
Hey Dittersdwarf take your ball and go home already, you are not a teacher or you are joking and just playing devil's advocate. No sane UFT member would ever write the sarcastic drivel you do. Maybe you're a Unity hack who can string together a sentence.....good for you. Obviously, you don't feel a threat from this Green Dot fiasco that others will no doubt soon feel. Bully for you, Dittersdwarf, go home now, we don't want to play with you or your kind.
Dittensdorf wrote that:
"Embarking on this move took courage, vision, integrity, and statesmanship."
and ascribed these traits to Randi Weingarten.
Au contraire, my friend. Randi Weingarten is the lead destroyer of teacher seniority, the lead destroyer of the UFT and the lead destroyer of all that we senior teachers have fought so hard for.
Randi is too stupid, too blind or too pathetic to realize that her relationship with Mike Bloomberg, Joel Klein and others from whom she seeks approval (such as newspapers) only endanger us members.
Why am I paying such high union dues when my union does nothing but destroy my rights?
Randi--resign now and save our union. PLEASE!
What about the 78% of teachers who didn't vote in the UFT election? The fault is partially ours.
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