Shocking is all I can say. Especially the last paragraph on page 9.
Don't cross The Clown. "Vengeance is mine, sayeth The Clown."
Remember the Seinfeld episode in which George was trying to keep unemployment by claiming he interviewed with Jerry to be his latex salesman? George wound up face down in his underwear and Jerry said, "And you want to be my latex salesman?" Take that same sentence and replace UFT president for latex salesman.
All of us get lost in the darkness/Dreamers learn to steer by the stars/All of us do time in the
gutter/Dreamers turn to look at the cars/Turn around and turn around and turn around/Turn around and walk the razor's edge/Don't turn your back/And slam the door on me-- "The Pass" 1990, Peart, Neil
Back in September I wrote this blog post: Teacher Bathroom Behavior Charges, in regards to the 3020-a charges against a certain teacher about leaving several droplets of pee on a toilet seat and not sufficiently cleaning up his doody after having an "issue."
Today an update. And before I continue, I just want to emphasize that after talking with this teacher, that we both agreed that I can write about what happened to him. That his story can help others in the same predicament.
On Thanksgiving morning, this teacher, this friend of mine, was feeling overwhelmed and despondent over his case. He wasn't in the Rubber Room, but in a different kind of hell. Re-assigned to another school being nothing more than a well paid office boy. Unable to share his gift and passion with the students of the City of New York.
So on this Thanksgiving, where we are supposed to be thankful for the friends, family, and everything in our lives, this teacher was just beside himself. The pressure was getting to him. There was nowhere to turn but inwards.
Some people find solace in a beer or whisky or even Jägermeister. Those beverages would just make him forget for a little while. He was looking for something permanent. To never remember again.
He took a red Solo cup and poured some liquid bleach into it. Not all the way, about a third. It was time he thought. He looked at the cup and looked inside.
He drank it all in one gulp.
At that very moment, through all his despair, he realized he had made a big mistake.
Thank God he was not home alone. He was rushed to the hospital and seen by their mental health team. He assured them that he won't try anything like this again and it was basically a cry for help.
The teacher has since been in contact with the UFT's Member Assistance Team and is doing what he needs to do.
There are many reasons this teacher reacted this way and got to this point. But in my opinion one of the culprits has got to be the attitude of the NYSUT attorneys.
"Don't talk about this to anyone," you are told. Why? "It's none of anyone's business." Which is just another way of saying you should feel shamed and embarrassed with what you are going through.
Want your 3020-a to be an open hearing? "No!!! Don't do it. Anyone can then walk in and see what is going on!" Another way to feel shame.
Unlike cops or firefighters or even transit workers who go through their own versions of a 3020-a and continue to have the support of their colleagues, a teacher going through this process is treated as plutonium from those around them.
For anyone going through the 3020-a process, DON'T FEEL ANY SHAME!!! Sing it loud, sing it proud. It is your case, your life, you decide, not your NYSUT attorney. Talk about it with your friends, your family, people you trust. Share your feelings, get them out.
Now of course there are limits to what you should say and whom you should talk to. But please, do not keep anything in. Have a support system. And, remember, there is absolutely zero shame in seeking help by a professional and/or going on medication. Your life is that important!
As for having an open hearing, do it! Peel back the sheath and expose what transpires in 3020-a hearings. The more people who witness a hearing I truly believe the safer you are.
Not only that, the UFT is publicly preening itself in self-adulation as a teenage boy who has lost his virginity in playing its part. Yes, the emails, the phone calls, the robo-calls, and even the text messages from real people got 82% of voters to say heck no to Prop 1.
Just how much is the UFT kvelling in it's unprecedented "win?" Let's just look at Facebook...
So here is what I, and I am sure many others want to know. Why can't the UFT put the same time and effort in for its members that it does for defeating a NYS Constitutional Convention?
Why can't the UFT put the time and effort into doing away with the fair student funding which is keeping many qualified teachers from permanent positions?
Why can't the UFT put the time and effort into fixing the ATR problem?
Why can't the UFT put the time and effort into exposing abusive principals?
Why can't the UFT put the time and effort into make our union a true democratic union in which different ideas are debated and respected?
Why can't the UFT put the time and effort into enforcing our collectively bargained contract?
Why can't the UFT put the time and effort into ensuring that every member, whether active or inactive gets every last cent due them of monies owed since 2009, regardless on how one left the DOE?
Why can't the UFT put the time and effort to have ensured that we all get our retro in one sum, in 2015, instead of waiting until 2020 or 2021, both over a decade from when we should have had a contract and a raise.
Why can't the UFT put the time and effort into just doing the right thing? Really? Is it that difficult?
My dad used to tell me you can do anything you want when you decide to put your mind to it. Maybe the UFT should listen to what my dad had to say.
Usually when I awake I go to my phone and check the latest news. One news alert I received was from the NY Times concerned ATRs. I clicked and when I saw the photograph and the caption “PS 157” I shuddered. This is not going to turn out well.
My worst fears were confirmed with the first two words of the story, “Francis Blake.”
I
know Francis extremely well. He’s a good friend and better person. He's also a damn fine teacher and is there for the students. He comes in, does his job and gets along with everyone.
Francis has been a vendor at Yankee Stadium for over 40 years. If he knows you and
sees you the first beer is on him. That’s the type of guy he is.
Francis
comes in and does what he is supposed to do. He gets along with
everyone and is Mr Knowledge when it comes to US and World History. What
elementary school wouldn’t want him to mine his depth of
knowledge, his ability to share history as if he lived it, with its
students?
Francis Blake was railroaded at PS 157. But it was the school's (at the time) LIS Mychael Willon that put the nail in the coffin.
Francis’ mistake is he was not an administrator. Then he would have had carte blanche to do whatever he wanted to do.
One
of the others involved in Francis’s framing was Donald Conyers, who is
currently (I believe) super of Brooklyn HS’s. Conyers is one of the
slimiest scummiest people ever in the DOE. I knew him when he was
principal at PS 18 in D7 and I was a staff developer. He never left his
office. He was more interested in seeing dollars flow to him and
chasing and bedding young female teachers. Oh, and having several AOL IM
windows open on his computer chasing women online.
I have briefly spoken with Francis. He was at the Columbia football game Saturday afternoon and from there he went to the Rangers game. I caught him between periods. Francis is curious as to how reporter Kate Taylor got his cell phone #, that Ms Taylor never inquired about the sleeping incident with Francis and the insubordination charges, in the words of Francis, are "bullshit!"
Two more things. According to the article, Ms Taylor somehow, someway, had access to the Excessed Staff Selection System...
"The New York Times cross-referenced two sets of records: the Education
Department’s Excessed Staff Selection System, which lists available
staff and openings in the system"
Did the DOE give her access? If not it was an ATR, then an ATR that threw other ATRs under the same bus as the Times and Ms Taylor had?
Secondly, this from the article...
"In a system in which only 1 percent of teachers earn the lowest possible
ratings, of ineffective or unsatisfactory, 12 percent of the teachers
who were in the Absent Teacher Reserve at the end of the last school
year had received one of those ratings in 2015-16."
Duh! Really? Why is there this disparity? An ATRs entire lesson during an observation can be perfect, but not enough students raise their hands, BINGO! The lesson is rated a U.
Sorry for being so long winded. In summation, Francis was screwed. How screwed? Read this.
The New York Post had a story the other day in which a dance teacher was brought up on 3020-a charges because she had the audacity to ask cheerleaders who were cheerleading to be a tad more modest. How dare she!
According to the Post, the DOE spent over $300,000 prosecuting Karen Eubanks in which the arbitrator ruled that Ms Eubanks should get a letter to the file for she should not have used words like "vagina" and instead should have used the euphemism, "private parts."
So all that for what could have been from the outset just a letter to the file. What a waste.
The more shocking part is that the Post, yes the Post, has come out with an editorial speaking out against the persecution of Ms Eubanks.
Sadly the Post is silent with all the imprudent persecutions against teachers that could have saved the DOE millions is only handled at the school level between adults.
But what is confusing us here at SBSB is how the Post is speaking out in defense of Ms Eubanks while nary a word has been heard from 52 Broadway, the UFT, and UFT President Dunsel.
This all started in April 2016 and it can be save to say that the hearing was sometime earlier this year? Where was UFT President Dunsel's outrage? Where was his staunch defense of Ms Eubanks? Was he too busy with fabric and paint swatches for the new UFT Welcome Center and Spa at 52 Broadway?
Has much as one can or does disagree with the NYPD, it's officers, and the PBA, at least Patrick Lynch (whether or not he is wrong or right) speaks up and out for it's members.
John Samuelsen, the president of the TWU speaks out for his members as does the leaders of DC37, 1199, FDNY, Sanitation workers, gee, the list can just get too long.
We here at SBSB are happy that the UFT decided to save money yet saddened for the UFT and others who looked forward to the glamor and frolicking in Westchester County.
The Crack Team wants to help.
The Crack Team has been in session for about a week to find suitable hotels in Westchester County that will put the glamor and camaraderie that every UFT retreat emboldens. The hotels are ranked in no particular order and have been thoroughly vetted to ensure that the utmost of glamor, stylings, and agreeabilty to the UFT's needs.
Disclaimer: At no time were the members of The Crack Team compensated by the hotels that made the list.
This motel overlooking the former Putnam Railroad right-a-way (Train buffs will love this!) and on Yonkers Ave not far from the Yonkers Metro-North station is chock full of surprises. Some rooms have Jacuzzi's, some with water that has been actually changed. The Crack Team thinks UFT President Dunsel will love this place. At our night spent here we heard screaming for a deity many times coming from the rooms and we all know how President Dunsel sees himself. Trip Advisor rating 1 star!
2. Elmsford
The Elmsford Motel has been a mainstay of Elmsford for decades! This motel hard on Rt 119 and accessible from the Cross Westchester Expressway or the Saw Mill River Parkway has hourly rates in case the UFT wants to save money along with hourly turn down service just in case. Approximately 100 yards west from the motel is the El Dorado diner where the UFT can have it's meals. About 50 yards east and just on the other side of the parkway leads you to the shores Saw Mill River. A great place for team building activities as long as one doesn't mind all the shopping carts in the river.
3. Ardsley
Faux luxury awaits the UFT at two of (and only) Ardsley's famous motels. The Apple Motor Inn which is smack dab in beautiful downtown Ardsley and Ardsley Acres Hotel. Two hotels, more people, but bring those quarters! The Ardsley Acres has vibrating beds. And the security of the Apple Motor Inn can't be beat! It seems that the Ardsley Police Department is always there. Both motels are easy to get too. Right off exit 7 of the New York State Thruway. And, lest we forget, the Ardsley Acres is on the shore of the Saw Mill River!
4. Greenburgh
Right off of exit 4 of I-287 is the Alexander Motel. A place so popular that many people use it as it's residence. Though The Crack Team thinks this place might be haunted. All that was heard were the squeaking of beds all night long. 5. White Plains
Central Motel on, you guessed it, Central Ave (The Champs-Elysees of Westchester County) in White Plains. Perfectly located, across the street from McDonald's and it's meeting rooms. Sadly, rooms overlooking Central Ave have a 10% surcharge. While the UFT is there, all retreat members should stop over at Dante's Deli, which is just down the street. Tell Dante that The Crack Team sent you and get a 1/4 lb of imported Capicola on the house.
We here at SBSB and The Crack Team hope that this small list helps the UFT in any future retreats and/or events it plans in the future, especially if the US Supreme Court rules in favor of Janus.
It's been some time since I took the UFT and it's "leadership" to task, but now is as good as time as any.
I was looking forward (As are all of us) to my retro pay coming up in a few weeks. Even better, I was going to get a double retro check due to me being suspended (But technically "on leave") when teachers got their first checks in October 2015.
I was told, specifically, by several within the UFT that I was to get TWO payments with the upcoming retro check. Yes, more taxes will be taken out, but a double check would be nice.
I checked with a good person within the UFT and I received confirmation.
Then a few days later Chaz the Blogger called me up to share the news.
Then I told my wife. YIKES!
Yeah, it is true. Anyone considered on leave when the first retro checks came out in 2015 this year's check will be considered their first payment and next years the 2nd and so on and those of us affected by this inanity will have to wait until October 2021 to be made full.
According to my sources the UFT never shared this part of the agreement with the rank and file. It is deeply embedded in some super duper double secret part of the MOU.
The UFT does it to us again. Just for the f*&*ing seat at the table. Just to f*&*ing acquiesce to the f*&*ing city once again.
"NO! You can't get your retro all at once, we might bankrupt the city. There are too many UFT members. You are not entitled to retro," goes the gibberish from 52 Broadway. BULLSHIT!!!!
It takes two parties to agree to no retro. It takes one party to cower like a scared UFT President Dunselto give into the city this f*&*ing ridiculous, moronic retro schedule!
DC 37 has as many members if not more than the UFT and they got their retro checks in one lump sum. So did the cops, the firefighters, the sanitation workers, the shit cleaners, and everyone except the UFT thanks to President Dunsel.
Who the f*&* came up with this idea of paying us over the course of 5 years? And worse, if you are terminated, quit, or die you get nothing! Bupkus! You are then royally f*&*ed!
So come 2021 when I get that last check, my son will be starting his junior year in college, the Jets will still be without a quarterback (I'm not a Jets fan), mass murders will increase, Trump will be in a mental hospital, and the UFT offices, thanks to Janus, will be down to a 250 sq ft office storefront. Now located next to Sizzler's on Tremont Ave in the Bronx with President Dunsel sitting a high school desk.
I swear when I tell friends who are members of other unions how the UFT operates they just don't believe it. This shit can't be made up!
It is time, with Janus on the horizon, that the UFT starts to heed the wants and needs of the rank and file.
Shocking is all I can say. Especially the last paragraph on page 9.
A hearty handshake is extended from us here at SBSB to our leadership at the UFT for not only being at the forefront, but for having the foresight, to not only oppose Proposition 1 in this past Tuesday's statewide vote, but also in the defeat of the aforementioned proposition. Kudos!
Usually when I awake I go to my phone and check the latest news. One news alert I received was from the NY Times concerned ATRs. I clicked and when I saw the photograph and the caption “PS 157” I shuddered. This is not going to turn out well. 
The New York Post had a story the other day in which a dance teacher was brought up on 3020-a charges because she had the audacity to ask cheerleaders who were cheerleading to be a tad more modest. How dare she!
Last month on these pages we opined about the coming end of days of the UFT due to a possible negative decision in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31. In fact the UFT, to either save money or for appearance sake, decided not to have their September retreat at the Rye Town Hilton, as has been the norm in the past, but rather at 52 Broadway, home of the UFT.
It's been some time since I took the UFT and it's "leadership" to task, but now is as good as time as any.
