SHOCKED AND OUTRAGED!
February 28, 2007 -- The counter-revolution begins tonight. That is, the drive to defeat Mayor Bloomberg's effort to reform New York City's public schools gets underway in earnest at 6:30 at St. Vartan Cathedral on 2nd Avenue in Manhattan.
Scores of elected officials, many of whom know better, will be on hand, along with a bought-and-paid-for chorus of false reformers - all to dance to the tunes of Randi Weingarten of the teachers' union, who has been trying to derail real reform since Mayor Mike wrested control of the schools from the educrats some five years ago.
They bill themselves as part of an effort "to put the public back in public education" - but that's a base lie.
Those who are not actually members of the United Federation of Teachers are in thrall to it - financially, for the most part, but ideologically as well.
And the real public be damned.
What is their goal?
First, to kill School Chancellor Joel Klein's sweeping reorganization of the school system, due to take effect this fall.
Then, to roll back school governance to the days when they ran the show - not City Hall.
When there was no accountability.
When billions were spent every year, and everybody got a piece of the action - everybody, that is, save the children of New York City.
Klein's reorganization will shake the bureaucracy to its roots - and cost a lot of drones their jobs.
The mayoral-control law expires unless the state Legislature renews it by 2009.
Weingarten wants it to die.
And she's well positioned to see that it does.
Tonight's shill rally features a full rogue's gallery of public officials - including mayoral contenders like City Comptroller Bill Thompson and Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion.
Lesser lights like Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum and Beeps Scott Stringer of Manhattan and Helen Marshall of Queens will also be dancing to Weingarten's ditties.
But what of the "independent" groups and "concerned" citizens that Weingarten has lined up?
You mean the ones on the UFT dole?
* A media advisory yesterday announcing the rally, for example, bore the logo of the Working Families Party.
But Weingarten's union helped pay for the notice, according to the party's director, Dan Cantor. Indeed, the UFT helped found the WFP in 1998, and has given it mountains of moolah - hundreds of thousands of dollars since 2005 alone, state campaign-finance records show.
* Similarly, the UFT has donated mightily to a radical left-wing activist group, ACORN, whose director, Bertha Lewis, is also expected tonight. Last year, ACORN and the UFT teamed up to form a new labor group, the UFT-ACORN Family Day Care Providers Union, to sign up and represent day-care workers.
* The union has also given handsomely to Thompson and to City Council Members Letitia James, David Weprin, Bill DeBlasio, Vincent Gentile and Eric Gioia - all marquee names at tonight's rally.
To be sure, Bloomberg and Klein have occasionally stumbled as reform has progressed. But much progress has been made.
And let's be clear on one fundamental point: When it comes to public-school reform, they are the only game in town.
Nobody else - least of all, Weingarten - gives a damn about New York's schoolchildren. Her loyalty is to her members.
Period.
The United Federation of Teachers is one of the richest special interests in America. It has purchased a claque comprising some powerful political figures - and they will be in evidence tonight and in the weeks and months to come.
Shame on them, and on the UFT.
Scores of elected officials, many of whom know better, will be on hand, along with a bought-and-paid-for chorus of false reformers - all to dance to the tunes of Randi Weingarten of the teachers' union, who has been trying to derail real reform since Mayor Mike wrested control of the schools from the educrats some five years ago.
They bill themselves as part of an effort "to put the public back in public education" - but that's a base lie.
Those who are not actually members of the United Federation of Teachers are in thrall to it - financially, for the most part, but ideologically as well.
And the real public be damned.
What is their goal?
First, to kill School Chancellor Joel Klein's sweeping reorganization of the school system, due to take effect this fall.
Then, to roll back school governance to the days when they ran the show - not City Hall.
When there was no accountability.
When billions were spent every year, and everybody got a piece of the action - everybody, that is, save the children of New York City.
Klein's reorganization will shake the bureaucracy to its roots - and cost a lot of drones their jobs.
The mayoral-control law expires unless the state Legislature renews it by 2009.
Weingarten wants it to die.
And she's well positioned to see that it does.
Tonight's shill rally features a full rogue's gallery of public officials - including mayoral contenders like City Comptroller Bill Thompson and Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion.
Lesser lights like Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum and Beeps Scott Stringer of Manhattan and Helen Marshall of Queens will also be dancing to Weingarten's ditties.
But what of the "independent" groups and "concerned" citizens that Weingarten has lined up?
You mean the ones on the UFT dole?
* A media advisory yesterday announcing the rally, for example, bore the logo of the Working Families Party.
But Weingarten's union helped pay for the notice, according to the party's director, Dan Cantor. Indeed, the UFT helped found the WFP in 1998, and has given it mountains of moolah - hundreds of thousands of dollars since 2005 alone, state campaign-finance records show.
* Similarly, the UFT has donated mightily to a radical left-wing activist group, ACORN, whose director, Bertha Lewis, is also expected tonight. Last year, ACORN and the UFT teamed up to form a new labor group, the UFT-ACORN Family Day Care Providers Union, to sign up and represent day-care workers.
* The union has also given handsomely to Thompson and to City Council Members Letitia James, David Weprin, Bill DeBlasio, Vincent Gentile and Eric Gioia - all marquee names at tonight's rally.
To be sure, Bloomberg and Klein have occasionally stumbled as reform has progressed. But much progress has been made.
And let's be clear on one fundamental point: When it comes to public-school reform, they are the only game in town.
Nobody else - least of all, Weingarten - gives a damn about New York's schoolchildren. Her loyalty is to her members.
Period.
The United Federation of Teachers is one of the richest special interests in America. It has purchased a claque comprising some powerful political figures - and they will be in evidence tonight and in the weeks and months to come.
Shame on them, and on the UFT.
posted by A Strong, Proud UTP Member at 2/28/2007 06:36:00 PM
16 Comments:
Correction:
Her loyalty is to some of her members.
Are you endorsing the Post's view? I hope not.
Does this mean you guys are pro Klein? I hope not.
* A media advisory yesterday announcing the rally, for example, bore the logo of the Working Families Party.
But Weingarten's union helped pay for the notice, according to the party's director, Dan Cantor. Indeed, the UFT helped found the WFP in 1998, and has given it mountains of moolah - hundreds of thousands of dollars since 2005 alone, state campaign-finance records show.
* Similarly, the UFT has donated mightily to a radical left-wing activist group, ACORN....
What are we to make of this?
Weingarten's loyalty is not to the UFT members, or the children of NYC, but Unity and her own ambition.
As the DOE does, the UFT does. One game played in a big bed.
Stacking the deck is the favorite UFT/Unity game. They do it micro-and macro-. And the Post calls them on it. Too bad.
It is fascinating to see where a portion of our dues wind up. The UFT is apparently one of the more powerful lobbying groups and it should come as no surprise to which political direction they lean.
I for one would like to see them lobby on behalf of our membership half as hard as they lobby for their external political interests.
"Radical left-wing activist group."
More anti-democracy, anti-American Unity. From the union leadership that doesn't support the American troops.
You tell 'em UTP.
The UTP is not pro Klein. The UTP did not sell out teachers for three consecutive contracts. We did not support the '05 contract that gave virtually unlimited power to the DOE. We were not photographed getting a kiss from Klein. J' accuse Randi Weingarten of being pro Klein. J' accuse the UFT of serving it's members up on a platter to Bloomberg. But keep wearing those buttons.
Randi Weingarten and the UFT leadership sure as hell are in bed with radical left wing groups, but certainly are not advocates on behalf of it's members. Right now education is the biggest shell game in town. Weingarten, Klein, and Bloomberg are running a scam that screws both children and the membership of this union. We have no control over what the mayor or the DOE do, but we should take a stand against our union leadership for being Bloomberg and Kleins whores. Let it be known that we despise being lumped together with "the UFT" and its political aims and ambitions. Lets disassociate ourselves from radical left wing lunatics and their twisted ideology that is ruining our educational system and our country.
And replace it with what?
More buttons, please!
Let me get this straight, you are opposed to UNITY and Randi Weingarten because they are in league with radical leftists -- according to the NY Post.
But you support Kit Wainer for President, who you can find on the Internet promoting a "revolutionary socialist tradition in the US." [http://www.solidarity-us.org/sot]
It seems to me that this is a case of the radical left [Wainer] and the radical right [yourselves] finding common cause.
Why aren't you guys doing something about this from NYC educator?
Power Corrupts...
...and absolute power corrupts absolutely. I wasn't always so critical of UFT President Randi Weingarten. In fact, I saw her speak at my school, was very impressed with her, and voted for her as a result. I was optimistic about Edwize when it first appeared. In fact, I used to write for NY Teacher every now and then (before I opposed the contract).
But when the 05 contract rolled back every gain I'd seen since I began teaching, I knew we needed new leadership. When I found out that Ms. Weingarten had bought off New Action (the ex-opposition party) and its leadership with patronage jobs, I knew the UFT's lookout was not rank and file.
I just received an email from a very inside UFT source, claiming the following abuses were documented by the accounting department:
1. The lease and purchase of 50 and 52 Broadway were through a company represented by Thomas Pappas' (ex-UFT Director of Staff) son in law (not what you would call an arms length transaction).
2. When we moved downtown all furniture and equipment (computers, printers, desks etc.) no matter how new and usable, were thrown out on the street as garbage.
3. Randi has a car and driver all paid for by the union. This is used meetings as well as for commutation and personal.
4. Her teacher staff regularly cheats on their expenses (lunches, dinners, false receipts for car service etc.).
5. The PM staff paid per session puts in for sessions not worked.
6. More than a quarter of a million dollars spent unnecessarily on a new logo so she can revamp the UFT into the United Federation of Randi Weingarten.
7. Kick backs from the Hilton Hotel to one individual so that events would be held there.
Others have told me about 1, 2, and 6, so they don't surprise me. As for corruption on the part of staff, I find that believable too. Imagine you're a district representative, no longer elected, but hand-picked by UFT President Randi Weingarten. You now teach only one class, receive your full teacher salary, plus fifty thousand dollars a year. Are you going to bite the hand that feeds you?
If you answered yes, I have a bridge to sell you. Ms. Weingarten's minions think they own us, they don't do hall patrol, and they cannot tolerate anyone who questions their authority. How much regard do they have for real teachers? Well, one of Ms. Weingarten's entourage came over here last week and cavalierly outed me, writing my real name in the comments section. What did Ms. Weingarten do about it?
Maybe she had a chuckle with her chauffer, who I'm told gets paid more than most teachers.
Actually, dissent enables democracy. But it's routinely ridiculed by our union's management. Instead of entertaining voices from the opposition, it presents an "opposition" party that fails to oppose. While New Action claims to have opposed the 05 contract, its leaders were on the committee that "negotiated" it, which voted unanimously for its approval. I was very active in the 05 contract fight, and I can tell you that New Action was absolutely nowhere to be found (unless you looked in UFT headquarters, where they hold meetings).
In an all-out effort to purge the union of the only existing opposition voices, New Action is running a slate for the high school executive board that's cross-endorsed by Unity. They think we're too ignorant to notice.
We'll soon find out whether they're correct.
Posted by NYC Educator at 6:54 AM 6 Letters in File| Trackback
Weingarten and UFT may become fall guys for Cantor in the Working Families finance scandal. Watch.
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