Mulgrew and UFT Came Through on Parental Leave

I am or was agnostic about parental leave. Kind of the way how I feel about inter league play in MLB. If the Yankees never played the Reds (except in the World Series) again I couldn't care less. I mean heck, my wife is 55. Her child bearing days are over. But we have it and I am happy for those who plan to take advantage of it. I would have much rather have had family leave, but let's take it step by step.

My biggest concern about parental leave was how much it would cost me and others in my past their child bearing years cohort. Having the contract extended another 73 days plus full salary for six weeks is not bad. Look at what DC 37 gave up for family leave. Yes, DC 37 will get up to 10 weeks, but only up to 55% of their salary. Plus, they will have .13% deducted from each pay check.

Having said that, we got the better deal and it could have been worse if it were not for Mulgrew.

A very very good source has shared with The Crack Team here at SBSB that the city was originally demanding a deduction from our check of .5%. After confirming with my 17 year old son, .5% is more than .13%. Mulgrew held his ground that there would be no deduction.

Plus, the timing of the announcement last week was no coincidence. Mayor De Blasio was about to fly down to Texas to show solidarity with the parents and children being separated but he was about to be shamed by the UFT for showing more concern for the children down in Texas than the unborn children of NYC teachers.

I'll give credit where credit is due. Let's hope this holding firm is a pattern in the upcoming contract negotiations.

Leave UFT and You Get Nothing!

So the Janus ruling is in (Read the ruling in it's entirety here). I'm going to continue to pay my dues and pay them proudly.

Yes, there are plenty of things I can list and discuss about how I don't feel the UFT has been there for me or for many. I have major disagreements. But, I believe in unionism, I believe in the members of the union, and I believe that only it's members can affect change.

I empathize with those who wish to withhold dues now that Janus is in. These people have every right to feel left out and angry. But cutting your nose off to spite your face is not the way to go about it.

The way to fix the union is to be more involved. To speak up more in meetings, to speak up more to the leaders, to have more knowledge of what goes on about you. We are only as strong as our weakest link. To those who wish to stop paying dues, you will damage those who remain members of the UFT. As with parental leave does not benefit all members, those that will not ever benefit from it are accepting of it for it will benefit other members of the rank and file. The time to stick together is more important now than ever.

Having said that, what will one lose if you leave the UFT? The UFT was good enough to publish what will happen on it's website today.

No Free Legal Services

There you go. Get called into SCI or OSI. You get nada. Bupkus. No lawyer, no UFT rep. You are on your own. Same goes with if you are called into a discipline meeting with the principal. You are left to your own devices. Good luck!

Free counseling

Free or discounted training or professional development

An attorney during 3020-a employee discipline procedures

There you go. Yes, NYSUT lawyers can be hit or miss but I believe that if you are not proactive in your defense whether or not you use NYSUT or private attorney you are destined to be screwed. Go out and spend unless you hire Jordan Harlow your are looking at spending $10-15k for your 3020-a.  

Member discounts through the UFT, NYSUT and AFT

Who gives a shit? Discounts for the Brooklyn Nets? Big deal.

And you will not be able to participate in union elections, contract ratification votes or votes about school-based options.

There you go. You are a nothing. Zero. A ghost. Want to be part of change you can't and should not. 

In my opinion, anyone that opts out (And I have mentioned this before) should get nothing. No rights to the pay scale, no health benefits, a big fat nothing. Negotiate as an individual for your own salary, hours, time off, health benefits, working conditions, lunch, prep, everything! Better, each Chapter Leader should hand out a list of who has paid in and out and distribute the list hang on UFT bulletin board in each and every school.

Those who benefit from what I and others who are members are nothing but moochers and freeloaders and worse, rats.

Yes, you do have a right to be angry at the UFT, but now is the time to grow a set, roll up your sleeves and stop making excuses at sitting around and not being active in the UFT.

MORE Misjudges It's Priorities Yet Again

It's June 20. The school year is about over. What's happening in the world of the NYCDOE?

We got family leave. I will write more about this tomorrow. ATRs are getting the rating sheets in. Some are not very happy. I had to counsel one very pissed off ATR the last few days. The Open Market is out but as we know it's a scam. Regularly assigned teachers are find out whether or not they are ineffective, developing, effective, or highly effective. Teachers are being denied tenure or having their probation extended. Teachers city wide are taking copious amounts of anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications. ATRs are concerned if the next contract will be their end. Teachers are facing abusive principals. Teachers see incompetent and crooked principals get away with everything. The list can go on and on and on and on.

But where there should have been leadership, a light to guide the rank and file by, to grab the bull buy the proverbial testicles has once again taken an opportunity to miss the opportunity.

MORE again stretches a triple into a single.

At tonight's Delegate Assembly MORE is bringing up a resolution (in which none of the above, nor anything that was not mentioned that would be 100% beneficial to the rank and file) matters one iota to putting food on a teacher's table, putting a teacher's children through college, or just having a teacher not dread going to school in the morning.

What is this resolution? It's all about the upcoming New York State gubernatorial election y in September. More so, in my opinion, it is more to get Howie Hawkins name out there.

Look, I think Andrew Cuomo is a complete putz. As for Cynthia Nixon, I want more information. I think she is a stalking horse and put in there by De Blasio to piss off and pull Cuomo to the left. But Hawkins? He's turning into Lyndon LaRouche or Gus Hall. Just running for the sake of running. Besides, his policies are fantasy land.

It really needs to be realized that a teeny, tiny, percentage of the rank and file has true Socialist inclinations. Most have nice egalitarian lives and those are fine. Then there are the Evangelical Socialists that are completely out of touch with reality and seek out young impressionable teachers that still live on mommy and daddy's dime to convert. I get it with these kids. They move to New York City Brooklyn, they are own their own for the first time, they want to save the world. But they are missing the bigger picture.

Any UFT caucus must do right for the ENTIRE rank and file, not just their little corner of the DOE world. MORE in essence has become a top down organization just like the UFT and it's agenda now only benefits a select few.

   Resolution for June 20th DA - Google Docs by South Bronx School on Scribd