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“We Will Not Go Back” – support march for justice

Published August 21, 2014 New Action , New York , NYC , UFT , United Federation of Teachers Closed
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New Action supports the “We Will Not Go Back” march on Staten Island this Saturday, August 23, 2014. Further, we support the UFT leadership’s decision to be a sponsor.

The event, called by the National Action Network, is demanding justice for the deaths of Eric Garner, 43-year-old father of six from Staten Island, and 18-year-old Michael Brown, killed in Ferguson, Mo. There are three co-sponsors: the NAACP, the UFT, and SEIU-1199.

Garner, a Black man from Staten Island, died after being placed in a chokehold by a policeman on July 17. He had been selling loosies. Michael Brown, a Black man, was shot at least six times by police and killed in Ferguson, Missouri, on August 7. The killing has generated protests in Ferguson and around the country. The protests in Ferguson have been met by disproportionate police force, including military equipment and paraphernalia, including tear gas, tanks, assault weapons, and sniper rifles.

The Staten Island Advance quoted de Blasio:

De Blasio said protesters should model their rally after a 2012 peaceful march in which he was a participant to change the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy.
“It was the decisive moment in crystalizing support for change in the stop-and-frisk policy,” said de Blasio, according to the report. “It was an absolutely peaceful demonstration that got its message out and there was absolute coordination between the police and protesters.”

In the wake of the 2012 murder of Trayvon Martin, New Action’s Michael Shulman proposed to the UFT Executive Board a resolution opposing stop and frisk. A similar resolution was passed, and the UFT’s stance led the way to a citywide coalition calling a powerful demonstration. Opposition to stop and frisk became a key plank in Bill de Blasio’s successful campaign for mayor.

There has been some negative reaction to the march and UFT’s role. The PBA’s president denounced Mulgrew. Others have questioned the leading role of Al Sharpton. While we understand the objections, the march is organized for justice, not against an organization or for an individual. New Action strongly supports the march. Marching for justice is the right thing to do. Further, New Action applauds our UFT leadership for endorsing the march. We are with Mulgrew on this one.

Assemble at Bay Street and Victory Boulevard, Staten Island (short walk from the Staten Island Ferry), 11 AM this Saturday, August 23, 2014. The march kicks off at noon, and is scheduled to end at 3. See here for directions. Or click here to see if you can get a seat on a bus caravan.

Transferring? Know Before You Go

Published July 14, 2014 New Action , New York , New York CIty Department of Education , NYC , UFT , UFT Executive Board , United Federation of Teachers Closed
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(from the New Action leaflet distributed at the June 2014 Delegate Assembly).
For a printable version click: June 2014 Leaflet Front and back

Due to school closures, myriad mini-schools opening, and the creation of the ATR pool, more UFT members have needed to transfer in the last few years, including right now, than at any other time in our history. You should “know before you go.” Check the Learning Environment Survey, the Inside Schools review, any word of mouth you can find. In that spirit, New Action brought the following resolution to the May 19, 2014 UFT Executive Board:

Resolution on Identifying Schools with High Staff Turnover

WHEREAS, the Open Market period runs from the present through the beginning of August; and
WHEREAS, every year thousands of our members apply for schools to transfer into; and
WHEREAS, high turnover rates are an indication that a school may have a problematic administration; and
WHEREAS, our members seeking transfers may not know which schools have high turnover rates, but that information is available to the UFT; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the UFT will establish a procedure in which a member can call a borough office and learn if a school in that borough has a high turnover rate; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the UFT will publish a list in the New York Teacher which details which schools have exceptionally high staff turnover.

Unity argued that this would embarrass hard to staff schools, and voted it down.

Time to Fix School Parking

Published June 8, 2014 New Action , New York CIty Department of Education , NYC , UFT , UFT Executive Board , United Federation of Teachers Closed
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Of all the evil Bloomberg perpetrated on the NYC school system, and on us, the teachers, screwing with our ability park is pretty far down the list.

But the symbolism was immense. The City gained absolutely nothing by taking away many of our parking permits, no spaces were freed up for other purposes, no cost savings was accrued to the municipal coffers. Bloomberg inconvenienced us – because he could.

So, undoing this could be an easy priority for the UFT. Going back to a fair parking system will not cost the city any money. And there would be great symbolism, de Blasio undoing a piece of blatant Bloomberg spite. And, it needs to be done outside of contract negotiations.

So last Monday New Action brought a resolution, calling on the UFT to prioritize this. Unity asked to make one change, which we agreed to. The following became a bipartisan resolution, and passed unanimously.

UFT Executive Board Resolution on parking

June 2, 2014

Whereas, New York City limited parking placards for city workers, including UFT members in 2008, and

Whereas the stated intent of the change was to eliminate abuse of parking placards and to free up curbside spaces, and

Whereas several agencies had placards which could be used anywhere, and were sometimes used unnecessarily and

Whereas teachers had a totally different kind of placard, only allowing access to spaces in front of schools during school hours, on a first come, first served basis, (meaning the permit allowed the holder to park if he or she found a spot, not a guaranteed space) and

Whereas, unlike with other agencies, there were not major concerns about abuse of UFT/school parking, and

Whereas, the City forced a new agreement with the UFT anyway, changing the system from first come first served, to a system where many fewer had permits, outraging many of our members, and

Whereas, the City gained nothing tangible through this agreement, neither freeing up parking nor delivering any cost savings, and

Whereas, “preserving the number of spaces” did no good for those many members who lost their permits, but for schools without sufficient designated parking there is already an appeals process in place, and

Whereas, through this agreement Bloomberg was able to inconvenience thousands of teachers, consistent with his overall treatment of us, and

Whereas, Mayor de Blasio, Chancellor Fariña, and the new city administration have no interest in continuing to harass and inconvenience teachers and other UFT members,

Therefore, be it RESOLVED the United Federation of Teachers will work with the new administration to return to an equitable parking system, where spaces are not pre-allocated, and be it further

Resolved the UFT will push to have this improvement in working conditions in place as soon as possible, and be it further

Resolved the UFT will publicize the appeals process for additional spaces.

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