Betsy Combier Is A Real Heroine Who Helps Reassigned Teachers In Their 3020-a Hearings

Many of the UFT officials, especially, the "Unity Faction", has been slammed in my posts and rightly so. Starting with the terrible 2005 contract, the ATR mess, and the terrible morale in the classrooms. However, I will point out one heroine who works long hours in support of teachers. Her name is Betsy Combier.

Betsy Combier who is a parent advocate became involved in the reassigned teacher plight and vowed to help any teacher as they prepared for their 3020-a hearing. Betsy has attended many of the 3020-a hearings as a guest of the teacher and her valuable insight in the 3020-a process is important for any teacher facing their hearings. By attending the teacher 3020-a hearings she provides the teacher and his/her lawyer an extra set of eyes and ears and helps them spot discrepancies in the DOE testimony. She is quite friendly with many of the arbitrators and can help the teacher and lawyer in their argument in front of these arbitrators. Further, she is a sympathetic voice to traumatized teachers, especially, in the Brooklyn and Manhattan TRCs, where she is the authorized UFT representative from headquarters.

Betsy Combier spends the majority of her day in teacher 3020-a hearings. To Betsy's credit she does what she is asked by the union and still has time to help the reassigned teachers at their 3020-a hearings. It is a pity that a union that has abandoned it's reassigned teachers has a jewel in their ranks at headquarters who have these teachers' trust and does not support her wonderful work.

In my book Betsy Combier is a real heroine and should be recognized as such by our union leaders.