Mulgrew and Minions Mislead

CSA Is No Fun Either.

Now sure, I give our UFT bosses a hard time every now and then. After all, Mulgrew told the DA last night that one of the reasons he opposed the NY Health Act, which would improve health care for not only members, but all New Yorkers, was to protect the Welfare Fund. This UFT boondoggle would be largely redundant if we were to receive the same care from the state. Clearly the patronage mill that keeps Mulgrew and his stooges in power, despite their abysmal performance, would be imperiled if it were to disappear.

Mulgrew also said NYHA might “gut” our benefits, though recent changes not only guarantee they will be preserved, but also that we will shoulder no more than 20% of expenses, leaving the other 80 to our employers. This should be a great relief to public employees concerned about premiums. UFT Unity appears to be prioritizing their patronage mill not only more highly than the health of all its members, but also the health of every single human in NY State (!).

Now perhaps I focus too frequently on our “leadership,” so let’s focus on our supervisors just a bit. Full disclosure—I worked in Francis Lewis High School over thirty years and had excellent supervision most of that time. I had really bad supervision before, but the (now dead) UFT transfer plan worked very well for me.

I understand many have had vastly different experiences. I was chapter leader for 12 years and noticed that not all APs were remotely as good as mine. There were two in particular, and complaints about them monopolized my time for years. I was very happy when they both left. (I like to flatter myself that I played some small part in their departure, but I probably didn’t.)

I’ve heard from two chapter leaders that CSA is telling its members how to circumvent the contractual regulation that we teach no more than three classes, or four assignments of any kind, in a row. A standard period is usually 40-45 minutes. By making 2 classes 90 minutes long, and one 45 minutes, they can assign teachers to effectively go five in a row.

Now when I use the word “effectively,” I mean in essence. I don’t mean to say the classes will be as effective as they might if the teacher weren’t being abused like that. I don’t suppose I have to tell readers that teaching can be really draining, physically and emotionally, and that going for hours with no break at all will hurt not only the teacher, but the students as well.

It appears that CSA leadership values convenience for its members over not only our personal well-being, but also over the education of our students. An exhausted teacher is not likely to serve kids as well as one who’s had a chance to reflect and recover. I’ve actually seen administrators characterize a double-period class as one prep, failing to consider it takes twice as much time to plan a double period (and I’ve planned many). It’s shocking what people not doing the job can’t be bothered considering.

In our building, when teachers get four classes in a row, they simply grieve and their programs are fixed. Our admin would try not to give teachers more than two preps, but didn’t always succeed. Yet our math AP managed to do it always, which suggested to me that it could be done.

I won’t fault APs for not being 100% mathematically adept. Certainly I’m not either. However, an AP who’s too lazy to figure out how to give teachers the contractual minimum is probably in the wrong position. Alas, some people become APs to “get out of the classroom.” Anyone who’s incapable of teaching, or simply prefers not to bother with it, is highly unlikely to be successful leading teachers.

It is no less than disgraceful that CSA leadership would encourage such counter-productive behavior. With the exception of those too lazy to do their jobs adequately, it serves no one.

As I said, I may utter an unflattering word about UFT bosses now and then. Still, they never instructed us in ways to slither out of doing our actual jobs. As chapter leader, it was my job to enforce the contract for everyone. It didn’t matter whether I liked the people I represented. It didn’t matter whether I agreed with every agreement between the city and the union. I did the best I could to rep everyone and enforce the contract.

But I didn’t instruct members on how they could do the bare minimum no matter what. By actively engaging in circumventing reasonable work rules, CSA is promoting cynicism in teachers, and further encouraging others to drop the profession entirely.

They should rethink this directive. Teachers who love their jobs will go the extra mile. When my AP asked me to teach Spanish one semester, I helped out. In fact, several times, I taught four (not five) in a row to help out. When I’m treated well, I’ll voluntarily reciprocate.

Making teachers hate their jobs helps no one. Someone needs to get that memo to CSA big shots.