Mulgrew Dodges Democracy

UFT Unity, yet again, fails to fight for member voice.

Michael Mulgrew, for a union leader, holds some pretty odd priorities. If I make fun of him on a blog, he’ll call his lawyers to threaten me. When rank and file is being deprived of their right to choose a trustee to look after their pensions, he shrugs his shoulders, says, “Oh well,” and lets the mayor and chancellor get back to doing Whatever It Is they do at Tweed.

Clearly, to Mulgrew, it’s more important for him to place his BFFs in position than to allow us to select representation.

In a way, that’s not surprising. For a decade now, Mulgrew has represented the city far better than he’s represented us. In 2014, he surrendered over half of our health stabilization fund to the city, in exchange for one of the worst contracts we’ve ever had. In 2018, he agreed to give the city 600 million a year from our health care, forever, in exchange for a three-year contract that hovered around cost of living.

What the hell kind of bargain is that?

Now Mulgrew and his MLC buddies have a top-secret plan to replace Emblem-GHI with something that will cost Mayor Eric Adams 10% less. How will they achieve this? PSC, a union looking out for membership (instead of the frigging mayor), has some ideas.

Mulgrew is the quintessential chapter leader who’s in bed with the principal (in his case Mayor Eric Adams), representing our bosses instead of us. He’s an absolute disgrace. He routinely lies to us about health care giveaways to the city, and he and his Unity army of paid toadies need to go.

Next week, May 8th, for the first time in decades, there is supposed to be an election for Trustee. Principals, for the most part, don’t seem to know this. That’s because the chancellor has failed to inform them, and Mulgrew can’t be bothered doing his job, compelling the chancellor to do his job.

And there’s even more principals don’t know. There is a possibility for discussion meetings, so members can actually decide why they want to vote for this or that person. There are very specific guidelines, below:

Discussion meetings. Upon petition of ten per centum of the contributors in any public school building, annex or college for a meeting for the discussion of the merits of the various candidates for teacher-member of the retirement board, the principal or person in charge of such public school building, annex or college, shall call such a meeting not more than five school days nor less than two school days, prior to the date of election in each year. After the principal or person in charge of such school building, annex or college or his or her authorized representative has called such meeting to order, the contributors present shall proceed to elect by plurality vote a chairperson and a secretary. The chairperson of such meeting shall be responsible for the conduct of the meeting.

Of course, if principals don’t even know there’s going to be an election, they’re certainly not going to inform members they have a right to inform themselves and debate their choices. Like many of my activist UFT colleagues, I expect this sort of blithering incompetence from Tweed. It’s what they do best. The check on Tweed, always, needs to be the United Federation of Teachers.

It is the job of our union leadership to amplify our voice. Because the UFT is run by Unity bosses, and not union leaders, our voice is at the very bottom of their dung heap of priorities. Michael Mulgrew is not doing his job, not going to court, not even making a fuss insisting that the chancellor do his job so principals can allow us to vote. That is why there’s a great likelihood that many, or even most union members will not even know there’s an election (if indeed there is one).

The low priority of democracy is a reason number one we are in dire need of new leadership.

We are supposed to have an election, and it is the chancellor’s responsibility to declare said election. When?

On the second Wednesday of May, or if the second Wednesday of May falls on a religious or other holiday or if for any reason the schools are closed on that day then on the first school day preceding the second Wednesday of May, in each year, the contributors in each school or annex shall meet in their respective school buildings at three o'clock in the afternoon, or if the administration conditions in any school or annex are such that the meeting ought to be held at some other hours, then at such hour in such school building as shall be designated by the superintendent of schools, after consultation with the principal or person in charge of such school.

Basically, that indicates next Wednesday. Mulgrew and his fellow thugs desperately wish to avoid democracy. That’s why they challenged every signature that Ben Morgenstern collected, although not well enough to have him removed from the ballot. This, evidently, is something the Unity Patronage Cult deems important. Having an actual election where are voices are heard? No biggie for them.

This is far from the first time Mulgrew sat on his hands and did nothing. For all his recent talk about Tier 6 reform, he did absolutely nothing to stop it when Cuomo pushed it through.

Ben Morgenroth is by far the most qualified candidate for trustee. Mulgrew rejects experience and appoints candidates based on loyalty to him, not membership. And even still, Mulgrew doesn’t want the members he ostensibly represents to have a choice. That’s disgraceful, and should be grounds for impeachment. (Of course, representing the city instead of us should be as well.)

At this point, I don’t see how an election can take place. There is simply not enough time to plan. The notion of meetings to discuss the candidates seems absolutely out of the question, and an election that will be accessible to most, or even much of rank and file seems a very remote possibility.

Even if there is, somehow, an election, the last minute nature of it will make it difficult to campaign and virtually impossible for opposition to reach rank and file. This is absolutely by design, and the Unity Patronage Cult is 100% culpable as they collect paychecks for purposefully doing nothing.

And that, my friends, is because Michael Mulgrew, who makes at least three times your salary, will simply not be bothered to do his frigging job. Make no mistake, it’s his job to protect our interests, not simply to make himself comfortable and dodge member voice when he deems it inconvenient.

They need to go, and chapter elections are coming. When Mulgrew tries to quash our voices, it’s our duty to exercise them.

Update—Though dated May 1st, the chancellor sent out the following memo this morning. This is grossly irresponsible, and does not allow for enough time to adequately arrange an election. The discussion meetings are clearly out of the question. Mulgrew’s people enabled and tolerated this, likely contributing toward it due to their wholly unnecessary protest of Morgenstern’s petitions. Mulgrew and his cult absolutely stressed quashing our choices, as opposed to enabling them.