How Do You Get a Voice in AFT?

You VOTE out UFT Unity, of course.

Fred Klonsky has a great post about AFT elections. In it, he mentions the indirect nature of democracy that rules it, i.e., unions select delegates, and delegates vote for officers. Fred compares it to the Electoral College. Twice so far, in this century, Presidents who lost the popular vote ended up in office. In fact, these Presidents have pretty much shaped our current Supreme Court.

Thus, we have a Supreme Court most of us voted against. Is that the kind of democracy we need? Is it the kind we want in our union? David Selden wrote, in his book The Teacher Rebellion, that he tried to enact direct voting rights for our national leaders. That was blocked by Albert Shanker, who had other ideas.

During last week’s AFT Convention, Randi Weingarten, once again, was elected AFT President. Would you have voted for her? Do you even know who, if anyone, opposed her? I haven’t got a clue. And yet I pay dues to the national union. Do I deserve a voice? Do you?

Here’s the thing—UFT Unity has controlled our delegation since the union’s inception. Our policy on delegates to NYSUT, AFT and NEA is winner-take-all. Thus, no one except Unity has ever had a voice in our parent unions.

In terms of AFT delegations, the UFT is quite powerful. The UFT is the largest local in NYSUT, and NYSUT is the largest delegation in AFT. There may be a wag the dog effect, and that’s certainly why, so far, three consecutive UFT Presidents have moved up to become AFT Presidents. It would be tough to attribute that to coincidence.

Of course it didn’t hurt that NYSUT supported all of them. What would happen to AFT if NYSUT didn’t support them? Since it’s never happened, that’s tough to say. But I recall pretty distinctly what happened when Richard Iannuzzi, former NYSUT President, upset the apple cart and defied Michael Mulgrew.

If I recall correctly, it had something to do with UFT Unity’s Andy Pallotta, then Executive NYSUT VP, buying an entire table at a Cuomo fund-raiser or something. At that time, Cuomo was very pro-charter, and not very pro-public school. Iannuzzi cut off Pallotta’s line of credit, or reduced it, or something. Consequently, UFT Unity lost a whole lot of power over at NYSUT. A pro-Unity line including Pallotta was established, and opposed sitting NYSUT officers.

That year, I ran against Pallotta. It was exhausting but also fascinating to run all over the state, go to forums, sleep in hotels midway between wherever I was and Queens, and somehow make it back to school every day (except one). One thing that really stood out to me was that there was a spirit of camaraderie among NYSUT teachers in Long Island and elsewhere. They warmly welcomed James Eterno and me. Never before had I felt supported by working union activists. For me, it was revelatory, and I’ll come back to that.

The first time I debated Pallotta was on Long Island, and he honestly did not fare very well. After that, I went to several more, including one in which questions seemed catered to the pre-written talking point sheets all our opponents carried, another in which Pallotta’s side got to answer first, and then answer again after we spoke, and one in Newburgh, friendly territory for us, in which the other side didn’t even bother to show up.

I remember having the feeling that Randi Weingarten was everywhere, lurking behind every bush. I was always hearing things about her, seemingly from everyone. (I didn’t hear much about Mulgrew.) I also recall that, at the New York Hilton, our side, after losing, sat in a circle in a big room and Randi wanted to address us. No one in the room wanted to talk to her, so Iannuzzi, as our number one, went out and spoke with her.

That’s a long way of saying that UFT is the Big Dog in NYSUT, and wields massive influence over AFT as well. Randi doesn’t give paying gigs to Tom Murphy just for fun.

We in NYC are part of a very large local. That’s why we go to UFT when we have issues. Many or most NY locals rely on NYSUT for support services. That’s why a whole lot of Long Island teachers were upset to see their leadership, those who’d been supporting them for years, on the verge of being toppled for the unforgivable offense of defying Michael Mulgrew’s man in Albany.

I still remember the feeling of union support that washed over me when I met those Long Island teachers, along with others across the state. I didn’t need to be part of an elite, invitation-only caucus, and I didn’t need to sign a loyalty oath either. Eterno and I were welcomed as unionists who fought for public education. We didn’t need to wait for Michael Mulgrew or Unity Caucus members to tell us whether or not our opinions were okay.

I’m tired of watching smug, supercilious, self-satisfied figures talking at me when they’re supposed to represent me. This year is our chance to change that.

Next spring, we will vote the bastards out, and we will finally get a voice in our parent unions.