Those Wacky UFT Bosses and Their Zany Antics

How they scam retirees, paraprofessionals, and every working member

It’s been a busy week for UFT Unity. Last week I went to the retiree chapter meeting, and I read the Unity handout. It said that Retiree Advocate, the opposition caucus I’m running with, was a one-issue party. That’s not true, of course. However, they neglected to mention the one issue they claim is our only issue. This is telling.

The issue they obliquly refer to, of course, is their wholesale sellout of our medical coverage. This began with retirees, when Mulgrew and his thugs unilaterally moved to make all city retirees part of a Medicare Advantage plan. Instead of having our doctors make decisions based on our health needs, Mulgrew and Unity think Aetna should make decisions based on their bottom line.

In just about every column I write, I need to mention that Mulgrew gave one billion of the 1.8 billion stabilization fund back to the city in exchange for a contract that negotiated sub-inflation raises. I need to mention that Mulgrew promised the city 600 million a year in health savings, forever, in exchange for a three-year contract that hovered around inflation. This has been catastrophic for NYC employees, and a public relations nightmare for Unity bosses.

This, of course, is why their handout failed to mention the issue they claim to be the only one we embrace. They’re so terrified of it that they can’t even mention it, let alone give details. And of course, they did not waste a single word defending their outlandish position.

Another thing I have frequently mentioned is Unity’s opposition to the NY Health Act, which would solve not only our health issues, but also those of all NY residents. This is in direct opposition to multiple resolutions of the UFT Delegate Assembly, which is supposed to be the highest rule-making body we have. Of course, Mike Mulgrew and his Unity patronage cult do and say whatever. Our needs mean nothing.

One entity that would suffer from the NY Health Act could be the UFT Welfare Fund, whose administrative role might be drastically reduced. We already know that establishing one central fund for all city employees could save the city a whole lot of money without touching member coverage. Why is Mulgrew so protective of the fund? For one thing, there are plum patronage gigs attached to it.

They spend roughly, two million dollars a year in compensation for patronage employees. One million of that is “related expenses,” whatever they are, with Michael Mulgrew personally responsible for 338,430 bucks in 2022 (and who knows how much in 2023), in addition to his exorbitant salary and whatever he pulls in for Whatever It Is he does for NYSUT and AFT. It’s right here, if you scroll down.

This is money that could be directed elsewhere. If the Welfare Fund were to go away or be consolidated, Unity might have to spend even more of our dues money to retain its hold on the patronage cult. That, evidently, is more important than the actual health and welfare of duespayers.

Not only that, but it appears the Welfare Fund was sitting on 842 million in total assets, with only 43 million in liabilities. It shows revenue of 440 million, with expenses of 350 million. As far as I can tell, that extra 90 million is not being used to improve the health and welfare of UFT members. That is what it’s there for, supposedly. I’m not an expert on finance, but it’s pretty clear that Unity would rather protect its jobs, its perks, and its big fat piggy bank, than support those of us who pay their salaries.

Let’s go to another issue—its abysmal treatment of paraprofessionals. For one thing, Unity thinks paraprofessionals are too stupid to select their own representatives. That’s why elected members of the Unity Patronage Cult have offices and jobs. That’s why Migda Rodriguez, an elected non-Unity member, is working full-time as a paraprofessional, with no office, no time off, no UFT job, and not even a UFT email.

How stupid does UFT Unity think paraprofessionals are? Last week, they butchered a resolution at Executive Board. Paraprofessionals should demand change, but not “meaningfully.” They doubled down at the Delegate Assembly, saying paras already have it pretty good, and shouldn’t bother negotiating for a living wage.

However, Unity has not totally neglected the paras. Last weekend, they gave them a fancy party. And their Unity leader has now given them a handbook. Who needs a living wage when you have a party and a handbook?

Now if you’re a rank and file teacher, or counselor, or whatever, you may be sitting there thinking, well, at least they don’t think I’m stupid. Alas, you’re mistaken. Mulgrew is now working on replacing Emblem/ GHI with something 10% cheaper. He and his 200K per annum Welfare Fund patronage employees will tell you all day it will be as good or better. The fact that there’s been no decision or detail forthcoming suggest that, in all these months, they’ve been unable to achieve anything like it.

If you’re a high school teacher, remember that you are not allowed to select your own vice president. After Michael Shulman won that office back in the 80s, Unity changed the rules. Now, all teachers select all vice presidents. This is tantamount to having Texas and Oklahoma help New York select a governor. It’s blatantly undemocratic.

That said, the Unity Patronage Cult deems high school teachers too stupid to select their own VP. They change the rules as they see fit. They unilaterally changed the rules for paraprofessional elections when their candidates didn’t all win. They just required UFT ID numbers for RTC nominations, after Retiree Advocate spent months gathering signatures.

UFT Unity believes in patronage and perpetuating itself. There’s abundant evidence it does not value democracy. There’s abundant evidence it does not value our health or health care.

They need to go. Don’t forget to vote in your chapter election this May.