Is UFT Solidarity Student Friendly?

Sometime ago, when talk of UFT Solidarity was in its infancy I had had a discussion on what it's
name should be, where to stand on the issues, and even what the logo should look like.

Yes, there was this air of militancy and looking out for teachers, but that side needed (In my opinion) to be offset with what would this new caucus do for the communities of NYC.

The name needed to be education friendly and not appear militant. Even the logo should be professionally done and include those that we serve every day as educators. Remember, though this upcoming UFT election is about us as educators in the long run what is most important is how this election and its results will effect the communities.

Teacher abuse, teachers as ATR's, teachers resigning, testing, APPR, teachers sent to the rubber room, Common Core©, etc... can all be---and should-- what we as teachers are fighting against. But, we can take every issue and easily make it how it affects the students of New York City.


But it was not to be. This is not how autocracy works.

But this is not how UFT Solidarity works.

It just seems about revenge, Revenge to right some perceived wrong on somebody's part. Yes, there are many a teacher who has blindly joined UFT Solidarity and listened to the words of Harold Hill. Why not? Not when you are told all these lofty promises that are to come. Not when you learn how to FOIL. But a question remains. What does UFT Solidarity promise our communities?

Looking at the UFT Solidarity Jedi Council and Committees page (Before the ubiquitous cries of trolling, hey it's like watching a train wreck, you don't want to look but feel you must)  one can see many a committee listed.

These include; Member Support, Integrity and Corruption, Outreach and Social Media, Union Democracy. One can surmise this is taken from E4E, but no, E4E only makes you sign a loyalty oath at an event, not online.

I am a great believer in what effects teachers does trickle down and effect the students. We can and should fight for our rights, but in the larger picture (Such as in an election) we need as teachers to articulate how our right, or our lack of rights, effects the students system wide.

We as educators are not in a vacuum. We are in this for our students and the communities we serve.

We can't be in this for ourselves only.