Unity Still Shutting Out Elected RTC Reps
As they hint at a new era, they continue to dissemble, and fail to consult with us.
If you’re a retiree, you are at the crest of a movement. You are a leader of our United Federation of Teachers. You are a role model, and you have blazed a trail for our in-service brothers and sisters. Even Unity knows this, and they responded to it yesterday.
It’s nice that Michael Mulgrew’s Unity Patronage Cult has finally seen the writing on the wall. Of course, this has taken years. The fact is this has been the position of our chapter for some time, and Unity has worked assiduously to deny and suppress it. Right up to the day of the election, they thought they could continue to bamboozle us.
I’ve written about the RTC meetings where outgoing CL Murphy shut out questions, where he magnanimously allowed one question about health care, and where he blanketed us with much off-topic blather. There have been no votes or motions there since I’ve been attending. For years, the UFT Facebook Retiree group was a haven for Unity supporters with blinders on, a magical place where no one was upset about being sold out.
Retirees have now had our say. We’ve overwhelmingly chosen Retiree Advocate to represent us. At the last meeting, Mulgrew reached out to Chapter Leader-elect Bennett Fischer, and said he wanted to meet. I happen to know Bennett has been calling all week and has heard, thus far, crickets.
This could change today, tomorrow, or the next day. However, Mulgrew has seen fit to make an announcement on Advantage, on a Sunday, without consulting us. If he’d asked me first, I’d have told him his position changes little, considering pending court cases. I’d have told him to also announce that he’d make sure the State Legislature passed the bill guaranteeing us continued real Medicare. Last I heard, most legislators were for the bill, but it didn’t go up for a vote because “unions” opposed it.
Mulgrew and his army of sycophants now know exactly where our union stands on health care. In fact, while retirees received a letter, in-service members received another. In both, Mulgrew blamed the city’s intransigence for all issues. To be charitable, this is not accurate.
As far as retirees, Mulgrew has been consistently defending Advantage. In fact, he did so just a few weeks ago in his campaign leaflet for Murphy. Clearly, retirees found it unpersuasive. Now, he’s also blaming the city for lack of progress in a new plan for in-service members. It was, in fact, Mulgrew who initiated massive health cuts, including an in-service plan that’s 10% cheaper for Eric Adams.
How do you save money? PSC thinks it’s by offering tiered care, charging more for some providers than others. This could result in exploding co-pays, beyond the outlandish level they’re at already. Or it could result in premiums. While Mulgrew says he’ll go to war over premiums, there’d be no need for it if he were not in the business of giving away our health benefits in exchange for contracts that don’t even meet cost of living.
Mulgrew is in a weak position, flailing around to cover his tracks, essentially battling for his survival. Will he follow this by denying our elected members access to union email and control over the retiree newsletter and social media? Right now, I’d put odds right at 50/50.
Unity hobbled the chapter leadership of Melissa Williams, causing her to step down. They’ve thus far denied para rep Migda Rodriguez the not only time and compensation for her elected position, but also a UFT email. Meanwhile, Unity members not only use their UFT email for caucus politics, but brazenly send such messages to Daniel Alicea over at The Wire, evidently in response to the piece I wrote yesterday. Clearly they don’t differentiate between UFT and caucus business.
I can tell you with absolute certainty that if we are denied what the RTC voted for, we will create alternate means of communicating with membership. We will not step down. We will not give up. We will put out a newsletter with or without their support. If we do it ourselves, the whole world will know they’ve shut us out.
Of course it’s entirely possible that they shut us out only for the week (not to mention the three years preceding it). Maybe they’ll see the light. However, very recent history suggests Unity must be dragged kicking and screaming to the light.
We’re up for whatever.
We are the new leaders of our union. Next year, rank and file will join us. We are ready to serve, and we are prepared.
I’m telling you right here, right now—Unity’s days of manipulating our union and disregarding our voices are numbered.
Let's blow the whistle on our corporate vrappla union leadership Arthur!
I saw Mulgrew on NY 1, doing what he does best,Taking Credit that is NOT due have m,,
Randi Weingarten is very concerned about the preservation of democracy. What about democracy in the AFT’s largest local?
Shouldn’t she be made aware of this situation
so she can address it?