New Action to Run Slate in Spring UFT Elections
Priority Issues Fight administrative abuse – Defend Chapter Leaders, Probationers, and ATRs Last year NEW ACTION and MORE brought Chapter Leader after Chapter Leader up to UFT Executive Board meetings to speak up against the 200 or so Principals and Administrators who are making life hell for
New UFT Contract Passes: New Action Sees Many Gains, Yet Has Many Reservations
Members voted for a contract that has some very important gains. At the same time, it does not deal with some very important issues. While receiving an 80% vote from almost all units it was rejected by OT’s and PT’s. It is our obligation to stand in solidarity with the OT’s and PT’s. They wi
UFT High School Executive Board asked for endorsement of the anti-IDC Challengers
Primary Endorsements; Primary Elections There was no meeting to decide who the UFT would support at the NYSUT endorsement conference in August. And there were hot races for the NY State Senate – in the wake of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s victory, progressive challengers, including Robert Jackson
Janus – It Takes a Fight to Win
This year the UFT and membership may face the most difficult year in our history with the adverse U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Janus case. We are convinced Chapter Leaders and activists in our schools will rise to the occasion and support our union by convincing every member to pay union dues.
For Sensible Placement of Counselors and Social Workers in Excess
Guidance Counselors and Social Workers in excess are being rotated once a month. In many schools administrators can find or create no short-term counseling assignments – and leave counselors who want to work sitting idle. This may not be from administrative malice; it might just be the result
In Support of Opt Out
In New York State our children are being inundated with Common Core exams that determine their teachers’ ratings (even gym, art and music teachers!) and narrow the entire school year to a rigid “teach to the test” agenda. We stand in solidarity with parents who want to opt their children out
Unfairly Discontinued Probationers
Probation is a training period. Principals, APs and mentors work with beginning teachers. But during the probationary period, teachers can be discontinued at any time. Under Bloomberg weak, abusive, or incompetent principals used probationers as scapegoats. They did not try to help these teachers. A
Funding
The current teacher funding formula is another Klein leftover. It encourages principals to avoid hiring experienced educators. It punishes schools that hire them. This hurts principals, teachers, schools, kids. Shouldn’t Mulgrew and Fariña be ending Fair Student Funding?
Abusive, Incompetent Administrators – What can we do?
(from the New Action leaflet distributed at the October 2014 Delegate Assembly). For a printable version click: October 2014 Leaflet There are plenty of good principals in our system. But under Bloomberg the number of inexperienced and poorly trained principals soared. Abuse of members was encourag
Abusive, Incompetent Administrators – Overlapping Problems in our Schools
(from an updated version of the New Action leaflet distributed at the September 2014 Chapter Leaders’ Meeting). For a printable version click: Fall 2014 Leaflet Front and back The number of incompetent principals in the system, according to Carmen Fariña, is over 300. Many are the same prin