It's Time for New Blood in the UFT

And it's as simple as ABC.

I’ve been a UFT member since 1984. I didn’t begin raising my voice in our union until 2005. I was horrified by the contract that year. It was the first time I started speaking out, and it was the first time Unity members told me, basically, to sit down and shut up. I’ve been hearing variations on that theme for most of the last twenty years.

It’s their culture, and it’s our Achilles’ heel. Our leadership follows whatever Michael Mulgrew says, and his leadership is the sort that, if you used it in your classroom, you’d find yourself up on charges. He’s abusive to those who question him, saying they don’t believe in democracy, even as he filibusters the DA for 90 minutes at a stretch to ensure actual member business simply doesn’t happen.

Amy Arundell has always taken a different approach. Even as we vehemently disagreed, she kept an ongoing respectful dialogue with me. That dialogue always included reaching out to help me, as chapter leader, along with any member in need. Because I wrote a lot, people would write me, and Amy would help anyone, from any borough, or at the very least, direct them to someone who would.

When members came to me and said this person or that at UFT did not help, I’d call Amy. She’d say call this person, or reach out herself, and I never got a second complaint. That’s what union can be. I always knew it. As chapter leader, I helped everyone. I didn’t care what their politics were. I didn’t care whether they voted for me.

In fact, there were two people I recall who, before I was CL, I particularly did not like. After I was elected, I walked up to both of them, said, “I know we’ve had our differences, but if you get in trouble, I will do my very best to help you.” As it happens, I represented both of them many, many times.

But that’s what you do as union. You are a support team. You help.

Amy Arundell is the best person to know if you need help, and she’s the best person for UFT President.

For example, my current union leadership won’t help me retain my health care. When elected, Amy will. Instead of lobbying to block legislation to help us, Amy will direct UFT employees to support it. (In our ABC surveys, absolutely no one requested inferior health care.)

Meanwhile, we’re fortunate that Marianne Pizzitola and NYC Retirees work to preserve our health care. Because she actually does the job we pay Michael Mulgrew to do, the Unity Caucus ridicules and vilifies Marianne.

That’s not right. It’s part and parcel of a twisted, sick culture. We need to rid ourselves of that culture entirely. It’s not our job to provide patronage gigs. It’s the job of UFT employees to help and support us.

I was pretty horrified, the other day, to read a comment from a working UFT District Representative that casually quipped about deadly disease. He presumed it to be afflicting a fellow union member, a friend of mine, and for my money, showed no regard for human life.

Shouldn’t regard for human life be a prerequisite for a union job?

Evidently not, if you’re Unity Caucus. Distasteful though this was, it wasn’t unique. There was their use of ageist stereotypes, and their consequent applauding their use, so I should know better than to be surprised. Perhaps they’ll do the same thing they did last time—have the guy tell the Unity-dominated Executive Board he knows people with deadly diseases and is nice to them. Then they can all applaud and everything will be fine.

Except it won’t—not really.

This speaks to the culture of Unity, amplified to a large extent in their sudden embrace of social media. They clearly think they’re better than us, that they can say anything that comes into their heads, and that it’s our duty to nod and say, “Please, sir, may I have another?”

I don’t suppose that kind of talk gets much pushback under the Unity Regime at 52 Broadway. The arrogance, in a some of them, is palpable. They have no tolerance for dissent. They freely libel me and my friends, and seem right at home doing it.

Unity members come at me of Facebook, in my comments section, and elsewhere with fact-free tirades and expect me to slither away in shame. They’re not at all accustomed to pushback. They can’t, for example, produce valid counter-arguments. This is a terrible quality in a group that’s supposed to be negotiating for us, and this is precisely why we surrender member health care for contracts that don’t even approach cost of living.

UFT Unity has been making remarkable, spectacular blunders, for decades now, and it’s well beyond their expiration date. The only way to enforce that is to get out and vote.

Take that ballot off of your refrigerator right now!

Unity has been in power for 60 years. They’ve become sloppy and careless. They know it too. They sorely miscalculated by selling out the retirees, assuming we’d put up with whatever. It’s not a union’s job to put up with whatever. It’s a union’s job to stand up. We’re now in the bizarre position of having to stand up against our ostensible leadership.

When the OT/PT chapter voted down the last contract, they could have made, at the very least, some minor improvements. It’s their frigging job to renegotiate contracts that don’t pass. Instead, they gave them the same old thing, said take it or leave it, and essentially did the city’s job for them.

Michael Mulgrew just made a short video, and that’s remarkable in itself. He is clearly feeling the heat. One of the first things he says is, “I don’t care if it’s an election.” The fact he’s even standing there says otherwise. Then, rather than face the fact he sold out retirees and is in the process of selling out everyone else, he claims his opponents are supporting the NY Health Act.

First of all, ABC takes no position on NYHA, so he’s lying. Second, he argues it would take the control out of his hands. I’ve been donating for years to NYC Retirees precisely to take control out of his hands. Mulgrew also cries about how we work with outsiders, but Michael, what the hell do you expect us to do when you work against us?

Please, please take our health care out of Mulgrew’s hands!

Michael Mulgrew makes terrible, boneheaded deals that hurt city workers. I wouldn’t trust him to guard my number two pencil, let alone negotiate my health care.

Members no longer trust Unity.

That’s why I’m getting email about the UFT election. People are concerned because the ballots aren’t coming on time. They’re concerned because the so-called “secrecy sleeve” is not sealed, and therefore not secret. They’re concerned because the vote count is taking place at 52 Broadway rather than a neutral site. They’re concerned because voting is taking place at UFT HQ and events, invariably dominated by Unity.

On Friday I called RTC Chapter Leader Bennett Fischer and told him we needed clarification about replacement ballots. Would requesting one void your first one? He said he would check it out. While he didn’t reply to me directly, someone sent me a message from him. (If Unity were “doing the work,” I wouldn’t need to call Bennett.)

Basically, Bennett said If you request another ballot, your first is not disqualified. Either ballot will work. However, if you mail in two ballots, the one postmarked last will disqualify the first. Simply mail in the first one you get. I’ve asked a UFT official I respect for an email to membership clarifying this, and we’ll see what happens. I hope that helps.

Like many of my colleagues, I’m also concerned we dropped the venerable American Arbitration Association for GES, whoever they are. What I heard was that AAA sent out the wrong Unity flyer during the last election cycle, and therefore we dropped them.

It appears Unity has little tolerance for mistakes unless they themselves make them.

Spread ageist memes at the DA? No problem. We applaud you for it. Make disrespectful, borderline psychopathic remarks about sick union members? No biggie. Sell out Medicare-eligible retirees to fund a sub-standard contract? Just another day at the office. Tell vicious lies about the group that actually protects our health care? Hey, let’s pass a resolution about that. Libel anyone who opposes us? Sure, let’s do it.

I’ve had just about enough of this nonsense, and it’s on us to fix it. How?

Vote for ABC.

Confused how? Just follow my instructions below. Pay special attention to the cogent commentary of my canine companion, newly added, whose remarks are translated for you in this new and improved two-minute video.

And Happy Mother’s Day, all!