I Imagine a Representative UFT

Michael Mulgrew tells me to shut up.

Last night I went to the UFT Executive Board to support Amy Arundell. I was planning to speak, but I was told there were eight speakers. Our union allows only ten minutes for guest speakers, and I was allotted one minute and twenty seconds. I declined, but I will publish my comments at a later date.

It’s kind of remarkable that UFT is now protesting the two-minute time limit for public comments at PEP. Much as I don’t like the PEP, they have no limit on the number of speakers, and allow far more public comment than lowly UFT members get at union meetings.

Michael Mulgrew comes to Executive Board late, if at all, and leaves early, always. At first I wasn’t paying much attention to him, but after a minute or so, I began taking notes on my phone. I’m not great with typing on the phone, but he kept surprising me. He seems to say whatever he wants, whenever he wants, for as long as he wants.

Mulgrew was clearly not happy about all the pushback over Amy. He spoke of her removal as though it were none of our business. It’s a personnel matter, he said, and we don’t discuss personnel matters. He added, though, that it had nothing whatsoever to do with her political views. He suggested that anyone who said otherwise was a liar.

First, if you don’t discuss personnel matters, you don’t discuss personnel matters. Mulgrew broke this alleged rule with no awareness I could perceive. For the record, I don’t think Amy’s views were why she was removed. I think she was removed because she’s a quick-witted, highly perceptive woman with twice the brains of, for example, Michael Mulgrew. Perhaps his fragile ego could not come to terms with that.

I believe, however, that her political views, or some conversation related to them, was used as a rationale to move her. You see, it’s not your political views. It’s just that you keep mentioning them. Mulgrew doesn’t seem to play well with opinions contrary to his own. This was reinforced by his subsequent comments.

Mulgrew then started insulting his critics. He said they just can’t handle the facts. When a resolution comes up, he said, it’s official policy. Some people don’t like it, he said, and that’s too bad. The fact was that he, Michael Mulgrew, was elected to do the work the Delegate Assembly says to do.

The problem is that’s simply not true. The UFT Delegate Assembly voted to support the New York Health Act. It then reaffirmed that resolution, supporting universal health care. Michael Mulgrew and his Unity Caucus have decided they don’t want it. In fact, union opposition is one of the main reasons New Yorkers can still face bankruptcy for catastrophic medical emergency.

Mulgrew didn’t stop there, though. He suggested his critics produce “self-righteous crap.” He harped on how dishonest we were. He said we “spew lies.” He cited our “lack of empathy.” He then, to my great astonishment, spoke of how we support newcomers. Now it’s true we do that. (Well, it’s true I do that. I haven’t seem Mulgrew in an ESL classroom lately, and UFT utterly failed to help us correct Part 154 .) However, if I ever spoke to newcomers the way Michael Mulgrew spoke to us, I’d be up on charges for violating Chancellor’s Regulation A-421, prohibiting verbal abuse.

Mulgrew went on to explain that people like me make everything a conspiracy. I don’t know what is and is not a conspiracy. What I do know is that everyone in his UFT Unity Caucus has signed an oath agreeing to never, ever disagree with Mulgrew in public. I know that two of my friends were recently fired from UFT jobs for having the temerity to question the wisdom of our Great Leader.

Michael Mulgrew then went on to say criticism of his health care policy is “fairy tales.” Perhaps Mulgrew was unaware that a NY State Supreme Court judge ruled that his dumping retirees into an Advantage plan would cause “irreparable harm.” On the other hand, perhaps he simply can’t control his mouth when he’s angry. It’s a good thing he’s not in a classroom.

Mulgrew then told us he appreciates people coming here, and loves when they’re here. (Doubtless that’s why he provides us with only ten minutes to share during the meeting.) There’s always a but, though. I often recall a Shakespeare teacher I had in college who told us, “Whenever anyone says but, you may disregard whatever precedes it.” And here comes the important part:

Mulgrew then said if we didn’t agree, and attacked “each other,” we were just as guilty as the people who attack us from the outside. He repeatedly compared those of us who disagreed with him to our enemies. Who am I? Am I Eva Moskowitz? Michael Bloomberg?

Nonetheless, this rule doesn’t apply to Michael Mulgrew. He can attack any member he wishes. I know this because he, with our dues money, hired lawyers to threaten me with civil and criminal penalties. I know this because my old blog was blocked, and I strongly suspect UFT lawyers sent a cease and desist to Blogger to make that happen.

Mulgrew said we could debate, we could fight, but we couldn’t do what our enemies are doing to us. Frankly, I have no idea what our enemies are doing to us that Michael Mulgrew isn’t doing himself. He runs the DA so tightly that there is almost no time for actual member voice. He gets up in front of the AFT Convention and threatens to punch people for taking Common Core away from us. How many teachers want Common Core at all?

When Ibeth Mejia, Chapter Leader of beleaguered Aviation High School, elected HS Executive Board member, asked if Mulgrew could stay to listen to her, he said he couldn’t, and that he had to go to a meeting. Perhaps 15 minutes later, Jonathan Halabi and I saw Mulgrew coming up the alley next to 52 Broadway. (That must’ve been one very short meeting.)

Jonathan said, “Michael, you hurt the members in Queens. That was a bad move.” Mulgrew looked at us, his eyes wide, and scurried across Broadway without a word. You know, he doesn’t seem so tough when he hasn’t got that microphone.