Yes, we'll have to get to the back of the line if we fail to ratify this contract. Well, if it means getting behind the NYPD's Sergeants Benevolent Association (Which is claiming the city has a $4.1 billion surplus!) then we here at SBSB are all for being at the end of the line. Seems the SBA has some guts.
But there is another reality that just might be plausible enough if the contract does not get ratified.
Is it possible that if the contract does not get ratified that Governor Andy swoops in and saves the day with the money to pay the retro immediately (or at least a big chunk of it) and to give us that 8% raise now instead of five years from now?
If you think about it this might not seem to far fetched.
Andy has aspirations on becoming president in 2016. For that too happen he needs two things (among many others but most importantly) to get the nomination. One, Hilary mustn't run, and secondly, he needs some sort of a mandate. Pundits have said if he gets 55% or less of the vote this year his dreams are done.
Western New York and Long Island are up in arms about what Andy has done for education and add
to that the economy of upstate and we can see Andy not doing well there. Astorino has been elected twice in Westchester County and that just might take the county off the chart for Andy. Andy will need Albany County and the Five Boroughs which have always gone Democrat, but Queens and Staten Island can be wild cards. Andy can't just win, he needs to win big.
Now we all can't vote for Rob Astorino and hold our nose for he will be Andy lite. Expect the number of charters to get bigger in the state and for unions to be more under the gun. Plus, and as much as Astorino claims he his against Common Core and high stakes testing, I am sure that ALEC will be leading him around by the nose.
This is why Andy was involved in getting the TWU the sweetheart new contract. He needs those union votes. He needs their phone banks. He needs the goodwill.
And where is there a lot of good will to be had, or at least in Andy's mind? Teachers of NYC and the money we are owed. Now, I am not saying it will work, but Andy is low enough and self absorbed enough to do it, especially when he sees a threat to his coronation.
There are alternatives. Howie Hawkins is running as the Green Party candidate and he has named Brian Jones as his Lt Governor. But that just might not make Andy scared enough.
The Daily News is reporting that the Working Families Party has asked Diane Ravitch to be their nominee. Now this can make things quite interesting.
I believe that a Diane Ravitch candidacy is quite viable. She can win, but at the very least throw a monkey wrench into Andy's plans. Imagine the major p3wnage Diane can inflict upon Andy in a debate. Think about it, can Diane have Andy move back, or at least introduce him to the politics of honor that his father embraced?
The vote is to be counted next Tuesday, June 3. Let's see what Andy does if the vote goes against the UFT.
As much as I hate the tentative contract, I do not not see Andy getting involved in paying a red cent to the teachers of NYC. It is not his battle to fund. (What would the rest of New York State say? He would be using State money for this and it would not look good in the big picture. If this does happen, I would be excited but I am not getting my hopes up for Andy flying in and saving the day. The city can afford to pay us what it owes us on it's own and that is how it should proceed.
ReplyDeleteCuomo has looked so presidential, saying the right things while letting others write the checks for his beneficence. The charter school mess is typical, with Eva Moskowitz getting the entire Mother Cabrini school building on the NYC taxpayers' dime while kids in District Six get no relief from more than 30 years of overcrowding. It does seem like Cuomo never misses a cameo or shuts his mouth, but the checkbook stays tucked away in his pocket.
ReplyDeleteYou have got to be kidding. Cuomo won't even fund the schools, much less the teacher's retro pay. If you think that we will get a better deal if this contract does not get ratified you are delusional. Teachers will come across as entitled and self absorbed, and we aren't actually ENTITLED to retro pay at all, just because other unions got 4% twice while we were left out of contract does not guarantee us that raise or the money retroactively. When the negotiations began we had little hope of being offered any retro, now we complain that it is not large enough or coming soon enough? I for one will be happy to see my paycheck go up at all!
ReplyDelete^^^ I'm not saying it will happen but IMHO it is a plausible prediction considering how easily Andy whores himself out.
ReplyDeleteYou're forgetting Andy had zero core beliefs and will no what is expedient for him. Coming in on his white horse and making 100,000 voters and their families happy so they can vote for him is right up his ally.
I am at a loss for words after reading this post. "Is it possible that if the contract does not get ratified that Governor Andy swoops in and saves the day with the money to pay the retro immediately (or at least a big chunk of it) and to give us that 8% raise now instead of five years from now?"
ReplyDeleteThat has to be a joke. The answer to that is no. We are talking about the Governor that signed the law to enact pension Tier VI program. The Governor who won't fund public schools properly. The Governor who stands side by side with Eva Moskowitz while allocating state funds to charter schools. The Governor who was playing games with the Universal Pre-K funding.
Have we also forgotten that retro pay is NOT entitled to us. Bloomberg offered us straight 0's across the board. Many other teacher unions outside the state and on Long Island received 0's and minimal to no salary raise increases. If we are speaking about "reality" look around the country. This IS reality.