A Better Contract? Don’t Get Your Hopes Up (By David Ginsberg)
It’s election season for the UFT and an upstart opposition caucus has sprung from nowhere to challenge Unity for control over our union. You would think this should bring many members, angered by years of Unity ineptitude, a reason to celebrate. Unfortunately, the opposition caucus in question, A Better Contract, is being puppeteered by Unity higher-ups. While some members of A Better Contract are legitimate anti-Unity members, the real power is being wielded by Unity’s minor league team, led by a small group of disgruntled former Unity members. There are many problems – and even more questions – that we should all consider as a result of this unlikely pairing.
One large problem is that the identities of the Unity members running the show over at ABC had been orchestrating this move for months, unbeknownst to many members of their faction. The small group of power players at ABC who weren’t Unity members are completely aware of the type of people with which they have decided to align themselves. Did they get tricked into believing these Unity members are ready to turn over a new leaf despite years of evidence to the contrary? Did they simply forgive all of the things these Unity members have said and done to us over the years? Are they going along with these Unity members because they simply want power? The best case scenario is that the public faces of ABC are doing this for altruistic reasons and believe that this is the best way to help our members. It’s like getting back with your ex who has cheated on you repeatedly but promises that, this time, they will change for good.
At a time when a unified opposition stood the best chance of defeating Mulgrew and Unity, ABC’s former Unity members decided to divide and conquer the opposition caucuses. The worst part is they actually got some good people to fall for it and join their cause. This leaves the door open for Unity to eke out a win in the 2025 UFT elections.
Either way, the ending of this movie is predictable. With lifelong Unity members running things, ABC runs the (likely) risk of devolving into Unity-lite, despite the best intentions of their non-Unity contingent. After all, why would anything change when these people have repeatedly proven time and again that they are quick to throw their members under the bus and that they are not to be trusted?
ABC has a wonderful social media game and some of their members have large followings, but so did Jim Jones. Their ideas make sense and some of their power players truly do have UFT members’ best interests at heart. However, what happens when they are powerless to implement the changes they want once the Unity power brokers drop the hammer down? Do yourself a favor and look who’s pouring your glass before you drink the Kool-Aid.
If you would like to become a member of the only group not being run by recent Unity members, join ARISE, a faction of established UFT caucuses New Action, MORE, and Retiree Advocate.
By David Ginsberg
Nick Bacon
At first I was confused by ABC’s candidates, though the more I think about it the more I realize that who they ended up selecting is a good marker of why things ended up breaking down between the groups (ABC and ARISE). One group’s vision was of a few Unity folks getting power and using opposition infrastructure, messaging, and resources to do it, and one group’s vision was of changing this union for the better. As much as ARISE tried to reach a compromise, it was impossible to reconcile those two visions. Looking at their adcom candidates, one literally heckled me for asking that UFT leadership show the contract to the negotiating committee before sending it out for a membership vote. Another candidate ran many of the meetings to sell us some of its worst aspects (e.g. the inflation adjusted paycut). How can UFT members be asked to trust that ‘a better contract’ would deliver if elected, when so many of its top candidates obstructed getting a fair contract the last time around? Them being in Unity at the time is no excuse. ARISE had the right positions the last time around, and they’ll have the right positions this time around. Their actions speak to that, not just their rhetoric. ARISE is who I’ll be voting for in this election.