Archive Page 110

After the Elections

Published December 3, 2012 New Action Closed
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(from the New Action leaflet distributed at the November 2012 UFT Delegate Assembly).
For a printable version click: Leaflet 2012 November

Obama Wins

Three weeks ago the threat of an ultra-right victory was turned back. We knew what they had done in Wisconsin, Michigan, and other states, and we knew they would try to do the same nationally.

New Action is proud to have introduced the resolution calling for UFT support to Obama at October’s Delegate Assembly. The Retired Teachers Chapter merits special mention for its active work in Florida and other battleground states, and for the volunteers it sent to Ohio.

No “Grand Bargain”

Republicans, having just lost the presidential election, are trying an end run around the voters. The bargain to avoid the fiscal cliff includes cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

Opposing this bargain should just be the starting point. We need a jobs bill; we need universal health care; we need to invest in infrastructure, and in public education.

New Action initiated this bipartisan resolution, and urges delegates to support it.

 Time to Talk

Obama has won reelection. And there will continue to be challenges. But now is the time to talk education policy. As we support Obama, where he needs our support, we should be reminding him of what we need, of what students, parents, and teachers need.

Race to the Top has had disastrous effect throughout the country – we knew it would – and needs to be ended.

And it is time, with the new term, to fire Arnie Duncan.

End Mayoral Control of the Schools

Published December 2, 2012 New York CIty Department of Education , NYC Closed
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(from the New Action leaflet distributed at the November 2012 UFT Delegate Assembly).
For a printable version click: Leaflet 2012 November

It is almost ten years since State legislation gave Mayor Bloomberg control of New York City schools. Our union played a major role opening the door to making that happen by letting our legislative friends in Albany know we did not oppose the change.  This has proved to be disastrous for educators, students, parents, and our schools.  New Action opposed giving mayoral control to this mayor.

In November 2008 New Action introduced a proposal to campaign against Bloomberg’s effort to overturn term limits. That proposal was defeated at a November 2008 UFT Executive Board. That was a colossal mistake – mistake number two.

In the last mayoral election New Action/UFT was the only caucus to endorse William Thompson for mayor. The UFT stayed neutral and Thompson lost by four percentage points. Mistake number three for our UFT.

In June of 2012 the UFT called for a Task Force (a second one) to look at Mayoral control. This followed a New Action petition campaign calling for an end to mayoral control. That campaign garnered over 2,100 signatures. New Action is adamant that the UFT should not tinker with mayoral control but rather call for its demise. We chose not to serve on the Task Force – the right conclusion is already obvious.

This month we have learned that the MORE caucus will call on the UFT to reject its support for mayoral control. New Action welcomes MORE’s effort to weigh in on this topic. A united union can successfully turn back this near ten year disaster.

Fact Finding Revisited

Published November 25, 2012 Contract , New Action Closed
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(from the New Action leaflet distributed at the October 2012 UFT Delegate Assembly)
For a printable version click: Leaflet 2012 October.

FACT FINDING- REVISITED

Our contract expired in October 2009. The UFT was prepared to negotiate in good faith. But that proved impossible given the hostility and unwillingness of the city administration. In other words, long ago we hit an impasse. Clearly, any attempt to negotiate a contract with the Bloomberg administration is out of the question.

Upon appeal, the state’s Public Employee Relations Board appointed a mediator to see if headway could be made. There could not. Finally, the UFT decided to go to fact finding. The UFT and DOE decided on a panel of three arbitrators. And after the UFT and DOE present their cases, the arbitrators will issue a report. In the past, while the report is NOT binding it usually becomes the basis of the final settlement.

However, we should ask, “Is fact finding the road to take to get us to a good contract?”

What does this mean and what can we expect?

Fact finding offers no guarantee that the UFT point of view will prevail. In 2005 the fact finding report was loaded with givebacks despite the fact that President Weingarten and other UFTers who testified at hearings made an excellent case for us.

We saw the DOE demands this time – they were published in the newspapers. They demanded one core issue giveback after another. Yet there is real chance that the fact finders will agree with us on some issues, but also agree with several of the DOE demands for givebacks. Our members simply cannot afford that scenario!

New Action believes that we must stand united, including with all our chapter members: paras, secretaries, social workers, school psychologists, guidance counselors, librarians, non DOE members see gains in the next contract.

But we must also prepare the membership for a contract fight. We must mobilize all union members to reject any givebacks in the fact finding report.

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