I have been highly critical of our disconnected union leadership and rightly so. Our union leadership has given us inferior contracts that are short on money and loaded with "givebacks". They agreed to allow the DOE to impose a school-based "Fair Student Funding" (fsf) formula that forces schools to "hire the cheapest and not the best" teachers for their schools. Agreed to reduce our TDA interest from 8.25% to 7% and forcing Tier V and VI teachers to have 15 years of service to receive retiree health benefits, and let's not forget how they conspired with the DOE to make ATRs second class citizens. I could go on but you get the message. In complaining about our disconnected union leadership under "Unity caucus" there are some real benefits to have a union representing your rights.
The Good:
Our union can collectively bargain to retain our due process rights and influence legislative action that benefit our profession. By collectively bargain we are stronger together. Just imagine if we didn't have a union to protect us against Mayor Bloomberg assault on teachers like the elimination of "First in, last out" , there would be no class size limitations, forget our "due process rights", and tenure would be replaced by an arbitrary and capricious dismissal policy that the DOE uses for untenured teachers and "U" rating appeals. Moreover, our union supplies NYSUT attorneys and advocates to represent our interests and gives us guidance when confronted by the corrupt investigators. Finally, having a strong union makes it harder for their members to be bullied or abused by vindictive administrators.
The Bad:
Our dues continue to go up, year after year, as the "Unity" bureaucracy continues to expand and a new group (25 or more) of high salaried friends of our Unity leadership has been established, I believe they are Chapter Leader advocates (how are they different from District Reps?). Is it any wonder that our dues are increasing yearly? Besides the bloated bureaucracy, all members must sign the "Unity oath" and provide a $75 dollar check to stay as a member in good standing as well as to blindly vote how the leadership tells them to, even when its against the best interests of their members. Let's not forget about COPE that is used for political action that's supposed to be on behalf of the members but seems to be used for actions that have no member input, benefit, or agreement?
The Ugly:
The union's treatment of the ATRs is ugly. Our disconnected union leadership allows the DOE to sic field assassins on the ATRs, which has led to a rise in 3020-a termination cases and ignore the hiring of 5,700 new teachers this year while more than 1,300 ATRs languish in a rotation pool while also refuses to allow them a functional chapter to represent their interests. No other Municipal union allowed their excessed members to be treated the way our union has allowed the DOE to abuse the ATRs. Then there is Michael Mulgrew's continued "love affair" with Chancellor Carmen Farina while she goes from school to school and tells principals her top priority is to get rid of their "bad teachers". Finally, the union's involvement with racial arsonist like Al Sharpton and giving priority to Bill de Blasio's interests which results in continued large class sizes, inadequate funding and inferior instructional time (Science) , over their own membership requirements of lower class sizes, full funding, and adequate instructional tine for the students.
The bottom line is that I rather have a union than not have one but it would be nice if we had a union that was more responsive to their members than to their favorite political causes.
Sorry Chaz, but the UFT does not give nor provide any good advice when it comes to investigators coming down on teachers. I was accused of "verbal abuse" by an admin and the UFT provided NO HELP AT ALL. There are 3 other teachers at my school who were in the same situation as me and the UFT did nothing. Yes, if SCI sends in one of their goons, the UFT will provide one of their cheap lawyers to help out, but if a teacher has an OSI or principals investigation, the UFT will literally not even return a phone call. Why in the Hell am I paying $1,200 bucks a year if I can't even get a phone call returned?
ReplyDeleteYou ungrateful sack of sh**. Ugly? What's ugly is ATR's who are so disgusting that no self-respecting human being would have them in their presence, let alone allow them to teach their children. While there are many wonderful, talented ATR's, there are also a significant proportion of bottom feeders, mental defectives and losers, not to mention all the hangers-on who would retire exactly 3 seconds after the word came down that they were being placed.
ReplyDeleteThe union could solve a whole lot of problems by making a deal to get rid of the whole lot of you. But the leadership has stuck by you, you poisonous little dwarf. You wouldn't last five minutes in a real job, always crying and whining about your PTSD. If you were half a man, you'd be ashamed to write all that stuff about how weepy and teary you are whenever anyone calls you down to the office. But, I'll bet you fancy yourself Cagney/Bogart/Eastwood all rolled into one. Phooey. A pox on you and all your snivellling ilk.
Ugly indeed. You should be grateful the UFT hasn't taken you and dumped you right into the East River so you can sink back to the muck and mire whence you rose.
9:21
DeleteI am an EWPS (Newark version of ATR). I have been placed for a year back in the school I was unceremoniously thrown out of in June. Yes, I am old, but I am not stupid. I see many young teachers so terrified of administrators that when told to jump, their only question is, "How high?" You have no idea what we have been through and people with attitudes like yours do not make our lives easier. Most of us can remember back to the days when teachers were considered thinking human beings and we were allowed to practice our craft.
Abigail Shure
Chaz,
ReplyDeleteHow do you feel about about Mulgrew's pulling the plug on his proposed Truth Commission ... without explanation?
Maybe our guys on the Executive Committee could start one up.
Unity Hack
ReplyDeleteYou must be an education deformer, StudentsFirst, E4E. or a suck-up on the Unity payroll, stealing money from real teachers to pay your bloated salary.
Your description of ATRs is shameful and inaccurate and is something that I would expect from Joel Klein or Michell Rhee not a representative of the union.
You are proving my point how disconnected the union leadership is. Thanks for validating my post.
Hey Philip, what ever happened to that felony conviction out in Jersey for harassing that AP? You said it would be overturned. Was It? I suppose she is sue-ing you for damages now. How's the civil suit Going?
ReplyDeleteCOPE refusal is our best defense against an ineffective union that is so removed from the needs of its membership.
ReplyDeletehey anon 9 21
ReplyDeleteYou make me sick you paid troll. How much did students first pay you to post your ridiculous response needy post?? Probably about a buck as you are probably one of those charter school teachers who teach in TOXIC neighborhoods with shit and the stench of crap still remaining from the goon bloomberg days. No doubt you drive a south korean car and bring a brown bag to school everyday for your lunch probably consisting of peanut butter and jelly on stale bread. Finally, I envision you as one of those charter school jerks who rant and complain and then go out and protest - on school time - how your silly little charter schools need more suport. No doubt you work at a charter school in the toxic, filthy streets of the bronx or some other shit borough, filled with dopey charter school teachers making 30k and working till 7pm and then don't forget your saturday duty - no pay of course. Get yourself a real job troll and stay away from the real educators who have made this country great but now goon trolls like you roam the streets.
Mulgrew really is a weird union leader. I mean I do not want to bash Mulgrew here but it seems as though this guy is really not cut out for the job he has. The same way certain teachers are just not meant to teach, it certainly seems as though the job of UFT Leader is not meant for Mr. Mulgrew to occupy. The interesting thing though is that once these people like Mulgrew get into office, it appears that its very hard to get them out of office. I know Mulgrew has had to deal with many different issues including Bloomberg, the reformies, the press, the billionaires and such but Mulgrew just seems to be out of touch and this has been posted many times by Chaz. Far too many UFT members are complaining about how Mulgrew NEVER answers emails and the notion of how he is encouraging staff members to participate in social media yet Mulgrew has no presence on social media in addition to NEVER answering emails. I cannot help to think about how different things actually could be such as:
ReplyDelete1. The ATR situation - a strong leader would have never let this happen and Ok it did but to let the ATR crisis continue for the amount of time it has - 10 years or so - is a crying shame and I cannot help to think that if I was in Mulgrews shoes I would be meeting with Farina and saying "hey carmen, lets get these educators into the schools as we are paying them and they really are some of the finest educators NYC has but it seems as though Mulgrew does nothing and does not communicate to ATRs either.
2. Fair student funding - I know Chaz blogs about this daily but the truth be told this funding formula has now put the best teachers on the side lines while chirpy no nothing newbies walk the halls of NYC schools looking stunned and lost simply because they never had a mentor or anything of the such.
3. ATR field assasins - This is a crime that is being committed and the courts would throw the key away at anyone who thinks other. Sending outsiders into a school to observe an ATR teacher in a classroom filled with students they do not know, school they do not know and is lots of cases a subject they do not know as they are observed in subjects that they do not teach!! Mulgrew lets this continue to happen without any remorse or communicative notion to the members about the situation. Simply put, shameful.
4. Guidance counselors and social workers are also included in the ATR pool. Mulgrew allows guidance counselors and social workers to become non existent rotating from school to school with no real positive impact on the students because they are rotated OUT of schools on a weekly/semi basis! NYC has some of the most needy students in the world desperate for social emotional help, guidance and real life counseling to help them transform into real human beings productive in society but Mulgrew has hundreds of social workers and guidance counselors "rotating' from school to school not working with students and delegated to office duties at a school such as answering phones or filing. An ATR guidance counselor told me the school she was at pulled her out of a computer lab doing college applications to the general office to answer phones. Unacceptable Mr. Mulgrew and really a mystery why Mulgrew allows this to go on without any communication to the social emotional workers in the system. Don';t forget to throw in the fact that Mulgrew allows ATR APs as well to exist!!!
5. Overall communication is poor to the members and 95 percent of members do not know Mulgrew, never heard from him nor do they get any type of feedback regarding status of ongoing issues. A strong leader communicates with the members often and with sincerity.
You cannot be a leader of an organization and not be in the forefront but rather the background!! Mulgrew is a leader from the background where he should be on the forefront.
The UFT denies grievances and does not enforce the contract in schools where they are abusive and dishonest principals as Dwarka.
ReplyDelete9:21,
ReplyDeletePlease tell them to place me. I triple dog dare you. I respect you for being truthful about the UFT's views on us. It's much better than the subtle nuances and the silent acquiescence that we're used to.
I've been teaching for almost 30 years, and Namita Dwarka of Bryant HS is the most deranged skank I've ever met.
ReplyDeleteShe's the Capt. Queeg of the NYCDOE.
Like I said all along, once the ATR's are placed, they will retire within 1 week. Numerous ATR's have told me this. It's not even a secret anymore. The goal of the ATR is not to be placed permanently. The DOE is so dumb, they don't even know that placing ATR's would actually get them to resign. Haaaaa!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDelete7:16,
ReplyDeleteStay in your mom's basement. Haaaaaa!!!!! Gulp!!! Etc, etc. You're a fucking moron.
7:55
ReplyDeleteOK, I am in my mom's basement with my secret plan to avoid paying taxes so this week I am again a rich teacher. Making big bank and packing my swimsuit for summer. Almost there! No nights and no weekends. Ever. This is a great gig. Stop complaining. All ATRs would quit if permanently placed. The earth is flat! Next week I am the Queen of England. I am a troll so feed me. Haaa!
It's 5:15 in the morning and since I have no life and went to bed at 8:30 on a Friday night, I'm actually posting something on Chaz's blog. My wife and I split up over a decade ago when she realized how cheap I was. I should've never got those bagels after 4pm when they were half price. Anyway, can't stay on that long, have to get my jeans ready for Monday and my sweat pants for the rest of week. Have a great day everyone. I know I will, I'm getting the breakfast special at McDonalds with my friends Jerry and Ira.
ReplyDeleteNow that made me laugh.
Deletehey 8:25 dont forget the early bird special.
ReplyDeleteyou cam meet a lot of retirees there and comensurate on your teaching carees
Hey Philip, what ever happened to that felony conviction out in Jersey for harassing that AP? You said it would be overturned. Was It? I suppose she is sue-ing you for damages now. How's the civil suit Going?
ReplyDeleteTo Anonymous 12:04 AM:
Glad you asked. My hardcore emails replying to the AP's prior smears in her $5 million libel suit, in emails to Norm Scott, Diane Ravitch et al., and in the New York Times were bound to annoy but harassment has a higher standard in NJ law--in this matter my emails would have to contain "offensively coarse language." In fact, no such evidence was submitted at trial and thus never mentioned in the Judge's decision. On this ground alone I should win the appeal coming up next Friday.
NB: I was charged with a "disorderly person's offense," not a felony. So minor is this charge that I was not arrested but merely summoned to answer Ms. Capra's "citizen's complaint."
FYI: On July 1, 2008, AP Theresa Capra filed a $5 million libel suit against me and the OSI team, but dropped it after receiving my email refutation the following July 30. I have invited Ms. Capra to sue me all over again, but she dares not--and for the same reason that
she resists a case-closing audit. Like the DOE, OSI, DOI, SCI, NYSED, and specifically Chancellor Farina, Commissioner Condon, and State Commissioner of Education Elia, Ms. Capra knows that I (and five other teachers) told the truth about her Regents tampering at Cobble Hill. Which is why I was never disciplined after SCI absurdly reported that my allegations amounted to a hoax!
Wow, this dude Phil Noble is no joke.
ReplyDeleteBetween his sad confessions and bizarre ATR notions, that lonely mom's basement guy is quite a hoot. Still laughing at that plaintive 'I'm a troll feed me' and the bagels and breakfast responses.
ReplyDeleteI think he's a Leadership Academy principal - he certainly has the mind set, experience and beliefs about ATRs.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to this year's UFT ATR meetings?
ReplyDeleteThere are none scheduled. I guess they don't want to hear our complaints and have to answer some very uncomfortable questions like the following:
ReplyDelete. Why are there field supervisors?
. Why can we be forced placed?
. Why don't we have a functional chapter?
. Why does the union refuse to fire an age discrimination lawsuit?
Just some concerns that I have.
Chaz, Great topic for your next post and something that should be brought up at the next executive board meeting.
ReplyDeleteAnd schools continue to show fake vacancies in order to rig the system.
ReplyDeleteCan anyone tell me when this new insanity of 'pd'and 'workshops ' taking place while classes are in session started? In 23 yrs I never saw it, now as an ATR Im constantly covering classroom teachers whose job is to be in the classroom taking off for anything they can think of. Kids are missing instruction in Regents classes by the boatload and its only October. And trips? How come I cant take trips? There's one I bet Amy cant amswer
ReplyDelete9:47,
ReplyDeleteOne she can't answer?! There are very few she can answer. Why isn't the UFT putting an end to all of this by filing a PERB complaint? We need real representation.