Unity Patronage Cult Plans Major Endorsement Without Consulting Membership

If you don't like it, you don't matter.

UFT took a poll a few months back, and declined to endorse in the Democratic mayoral primary. The results were “all over the place,” contended Unity. Of course they didn’t bother sharing the results with us, the lowly members, so we’re supposed to take their word for it. Now the primary is over, and Zohran Mamdani won conclusively.

No doubt Unity formed some committee somewhere, told the committee what they could and could not discuss, and said committee arrived at whatever conclusion Michael Mulgrew directed. I was pretty surprised to hear that these committees were prohibited, for example, from even asking about Intro 1096, which would protect Medicare for city retirees. This told me everything I needed to know about how democratic they actually were.

I can’t count the times I’ve heard some Unity hack get up on his hind legs, and tell the Delegate Assembly (DA) that, “The committee did all kinds of hard work, questioned all the candidates, and these are their conclusions. We must respect their conclusions. Therefore I call the question.”

This, in case it’s not clear enough, is yet another variation on Unity’s prime directive to membership, “Sit down and shut up.”

Mulgrew has scheduled two meetings next week that I’ve been asked to attend. Both, I assume, are to discuss a UFT mayoral endorsement. First, he has a meeting with retirees. He’s correctly assumed that Mamdani would be a hard sell for some. That’s a Town Hall, and if I recall correctly, it’s Monday.

Another thing Mulgrew has done here, which surprises me not at all, is he completely sidestepped elected Retired Teacher Chapter Leader Bennett Fischer. After all, Bennett isn’t Unity, so Mulgrew has no respect for him (let alone anyone who voted for him). Of course if he were Unity, that would mean he’d have taken and oath to support whatever, so he’d still merit no consideration. Then, on Tuesday, there’s a Delegate Assembly so Mulgrew can get his rubber stamp.

Then, on Tuesday, there’s a Delegate Assembly so Mulgrew can get his rubber stamp. I was going to attend the DA in person, but it’s hard for me to see why I should bother. Last month, I attended in person, sat right in front of Mulgrew, and vainly tried to ask questions. Evidently, though, I was invisible. So why should I spend all that time traveling when my chances of being recognized hover around nil?

These are funny times. Last year, at work, a member kind of pulled me to the side and described issues with a supervisor. I spent a class period with this member discussing said issues. This was unusual because I was no longer chapter leader, but I don’t mind advising people when I can.

This year, that very same member was quite angry I endorsed and ran with Amy Arundell. Amy, the member claimed, was antisemitic. I’ve likely mentioned my theory on antisemitism 2.0—anyone who suggest atrocities are being committed in Gaza must be antisemitic. Unlike many who perceive this new form of antisemitism, I didn’t grow up in a Jewish community. I got to experience blatant antisemitism up close and personal. I know it when I see it, and Amy Arundell doesn’t remotely qualify.

The woman who succeeded me as chapter leader happens to be Muslim. It was not easy for me to find someone crazy enough to want that job. She was, hands down, the best person for the job. I’ve known her for years, and I trust her absolutely. Of course, if you’re Islamophobic, you may not wish to approach her. You might, in fact, approach me instead. And I now know why that member, the one who no longer likes me, approached me for help. It’s likely that member is about to become even more upset.

It appears UFT Unity is about to endorse Zohran Mamdani for Mayor of New York City. Honestly, I don’t disagree. I think he’s the best candidate by far. I’m tired of living in a country where people go broke and die because they haven’t got health care. I’m also tired of my union leadership battling to dump me into an inferior for-profit “Medicare Advantage” plan.

They say Zohran is a socialist. As far as I can tell, real Medicare is socialist too. I’m pretty disgusted with people who condemn the guy for being a socialist. I’m pretty tired of living in a country that panders to the wealthy and screws the poor and middle class. Nothing typifies this more than the big ugly bill that passed Congress last week—socialism for the wealthy and everyone else can go to hell.

Some Democrats refuse to endorse Zohran. My congresswoman, Laura Gillen, won’t endorse him. I actually worked to help get her elected when she ran against some MAGA yutz. Tom Suozzi, another nearby Democratic rep, is the same. They are all in a tizzy over radical socialism. Or perhaps they’re pandering to proponents of antisemitism 2.0. Maybe it’s both.

It’s ironic. When people like me hesitate to support, say, Joe Biden, their line is, “Vote blue no matter who.” I voted for Biden, but I knew he wouldn’t support universal health care, something we sorely need. I knew he wouldn’t shift the tax burden to the ultra-rich, another thing we need. And honestly, I hated the education record of the Obama administration he was part of—Race to the Top, charter schools, teachers being judged by test scores, Common Core, and other reformy nonsense.

I drew the line right at Biden—I would grudgingly vote for him but go no lower. I would not have voted for Michael Bloomberg under any circumstance. I loved watching Elizabeth Warren eviscerate him. I would also not have voted for Corey Booker, who came up on Walmart money and is as reformy as the day is long. I deemed Biden disingenuous in his one on one debate with Bernie, but voted for him anyway.

Now, though, that there’s a candidate who supports my loony radical ideas—taxing the rich, getting rid of mayoral control, helping out people who have to work for a living, it’s no longer, “Vote blue no matter who.” It’s “Get rid of this crazy socialist and settle for a lowlife creep like Cuomo or Adams.”

I’m so tired of this hypocrisy. Another thing I’m tired of, though, is performative democracy. That’s when we pretend to be democratic but really are not. What can you say when you read articles stating the UFT is about to endorse Mamdani and membership hasn’t been consulted? If we have a democratic process, why do NY Post reporters know before we do?

This is gonna be a hard sell for Michael Mulgrew and Unity. They know it, too, which is why they’re doing the Town Hall. After all, they were at least tacitly approving all the crap about Amy being antisemitic. Some of them had no qualms about saying it out loud. or even writing about it. It was curious because those very same people never noticed it when Amy was part of the cult. Go figure.

Doubtless Mulgrew and his Very Smart People have worked out some elaborate explanation to show they are Not Guilty of antisemitism 2.0. The thing is, though, like True Believers in Unity, True Believers in antisemitism 2.0 have their minds made up and will not be persuaded otherwise.

I don’t live in New York City. If I did, I’d have voted for Zohran for sure. I liked him, and I liked Lander. I kind of liked what’s-her-name until she turned around and endorsed Cuomo. Cuomo, like Bloomberg, makes me want to vomit. Call me madcap, but I find it tough to tolerate people who hate me and everything I stand for.

Unity desperately wants to remain relevant somehow in the big world of mayoral endorsements. The fact is they haven’t made a difference at all since David Dinkins ran 35 years ago.

Again, don’t get me wrong—I don’t object to endorsing Mamdani.

I object that this decision has been presented to membership, to the press, in a neat little package, and that rank and file played no part in it whatsoever.

But we elected a cult, and that’s how cults are.