And the response from the evil empire?
It's wonderful that you are embracing even persons whom you deem are your adversaries,who represent 90% of the folks out there. I personally appreciate that you are taking the high-road in this matter at this time. Your moratorium on aspersions will, I trust, be observed.
I regret you must characterize inconvenient facts as aspersions, but I can't say I'm surprised. Perhaps I was mistaken when I said you retired at the end of the first year of the contract you loved so. Perhaps I was mistaken when I said you got a job working for the union afterward.
Please enlighten me. If I was wrong, I'd be glad to apologize.
And while we're at it, when last here, you said:
there is NO 6th period class.
However, there’s another point of view.
Actually, teachers have emailed me and also commented on these pages that they disagreed with you. Furthermore, those of us in oversize schools, like me, spend the extra time teaching not small groups, but full classes.
You also wrote the following:
There is no foundation to the cardboard edifice of any of your other arguments either.
Looking back, I believe I made several other arguments:
1. Teachers are subject to 90-day unpaid suspension based on unsubstantiated allegations.
2. New Action purports to be independent, though its leaders all have UFT jobs (and received them precisely at the same time they determined they would no longer compete with Unity in elections).
3. We have permanent building assignments.
4. Randi Weingarten failed to make class size part of contract negotiations, and not for the first time, either.
5. Teachers are no longer placed in schools, but into an Absent Teacher Reserve.
6. We no longer have the right to transfer without approval from principals.
Kindly explain, point by point, the flaws in these assertions. I eagerly await your response. Doubtless you forgot to do so last time and the time before that. I've no doubt the facts are right at your fingertips
As always, thank you for reading NYC Educator.
NYCE, please help me get my head around our mafia-style teacher's union.
Another teacher at my school who's a member of TJC, the opposition to Unity/NA in the coming elections, was putting leaflets in the teacher mailboxes of another school in our building. Later, he gets hauled into a room to be scolded by the principal of our school, the principal of the other school, and the chapter chair of the other school, who all essentially told him that they had taken the leaflets out of the mailbox and thrown them away, and that they were going to try to get a letter put in his file. He pointed out that DoE policy explicitly protects campaign activities if done outside work hours (he put the leaflets in the mailboxes during his lunch period). They replied in so many words that what he was doing was reprehensible and the principal has to authorize what teachers receive in their mailboxes.
What do you and your readers think this teacher can do to allow his democratic rights to be respected by the school and the union?
What's really comical is that a chapter leader is calling for a teacher to get a letter in their file.
Call Mike Mendel and give him the name of the chapter leader and the school. Unity at the top level will not risk Landrum-Griffin violations.
Pulling stuff from mailboxes is clearly a violation of Board of Ed policy, UFT policy as well as labor law. The UFT notice of election gives you the right to distribute literature as does a Board of Ed Memorandum and the US Supreme Court. In addition, the Baizerman Step III grievance decision clearly allows someone to distribute the leaflets as does a Board of Ed resolution that dates back to 1962. I agree that you should call Michael Mendel. Or, call me(James Eterno). I work at Jamaica High School in Queens; it's easy to get in touch with me through the Independent Community of Educators (ICE). You can also call Norm Scott. We will help in any way we can.
The action of the principal and the chapter leader were reprehensible.
Thanks.
I'll pass this information along to the other teacher. He has contacted someone at the UFT district office.
I just wanted to check that this was, in fact, as outrageous in the letter of the law as it was in the spirit.
Also, NYCE, if you're reading this, I think it would make a good blog post--maybe you or some other readers have had similar experiences or will soon now that we're heading to the election.
Also, bit of advice, I was supposed to post flyers in the mailboxes of the other school in our building (three total). Should I wait til we hear back from the district guy or is it safe enough to forge ahead? One issue is that I don't have my own principal in my hair now and would like to keep it that way. Yes, that's partly cowardly but it's also for the good of all the children I teach.
You are not cowardly, just rational. Why not go in and speak to the other principal as a courtesy? If he says no then just notify the UFT to contact the chapter leader. We have the decision if you want it and you can show it. Just don't do it on school time. You can also have a conversation with your principal if you feel comfortable doing it just to cover your back.
3 years ago one of the ICE people had the same problem when the CL of the other school in the building threw a shit-fit and went screaming to her principal who didn't really care but didn't want any hassles with her so he complained to the ICE guy's principal. Nothing really came of it but being attacked by a chapter leader should be cause for some kind of public censure. Or put them on display in those old stocks.
Thanks for the advice. My principal is certainly not approachable (crazy, crazy, with no time management, a true Leadership Academy shining star); I don't know about the other one. It's just such a ridiculously minor thing--flyers for God's sake--that I'm embarrassed to bring it up. I can't believe they got so upset over it at the other school.
My principal is not all that approachable either, but I do ask him permission when I bring people into the building, as a courtesy, and I think it works better that way.
Also, I've posted about your comment today, as you requested.
Years ago when I, foolishly believed that New Action was a viable alternative to Unity, I invited New Action to speak at my school. I posted flyers in mailboxes and on the UFT bulletin board. They were disappearing with great frequency, so I posted a note to whom it may concern, that I had the number to the NLRB and thatI did not think Richie Farkas, then D24 rep, would enjoy a call from the NLRB re Landrum Griffith,. The flyers stopped disappearing. Unity does indeed have a fear of being ID'd as a rogue union, right up there with Jimmy Hoffa.
If you can do this before or after working hours, why not just hand them to your colleagues as you pass them in the hall, or rooms, or where the crowd gathers for their morning coffee. Explain that Randi made it illegal to put them into the mailboxes, so you need to do it in person. Maybe give them a few extra copies to hand out to people they see at lunch. Just warn them not to do it on school time.
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