We Are Down But Not Out

Unity wins again, but by the lowest margin in their history.

That’s Norm, Steve, Christina, me, and Nat. We hung all day at UFT HQ. We knew, more or less, what the results would be. Yet we hung and waited for them. It was quite a slog, as you’ll see if you get through my notes.

There’s a brighter side, though. Unity took 54%, a conclusive win for sure. If we can manage to unite the factions that opposed them, and I believe we can, they’ll have a lot less to grin about. Notable is they took the retiree vote this time. We cannot allow that to stand.

I’m hearing the new plan for in-service and non-Medicare retirees will pop up very shortly—perhaps next week. Michael Mulgrew is gonna have some ‘splainin to do, and given the way he did it with retirees, I fully expect much of the same. Below are the results, and the notes I took while waiting.

Election Results—Uncertified and unofficial 201791 ballots mailed. 58318 registered. 413 voided ballots and empty envelopes. 57905 valid ballots. 1946 ballots still being tabulated, not ready yet, individuals.

55959 slate votes. Unity 30219 54% ABC 17874 32% Arise 7866 14%

Division elementary ABC 2897 Arise 1241 Unity 5967

Functional ABC 3889 Arise 1305 Unity 7158

HS ABC 1472 Arise 1769 Unity 1985

MS ABC 619 Arise 520 Unity 1536

Retirees ABC 8997 Arise 3031 Unity 13573

Numbers will shift. This will be certified by GES.

1:49 Carl Cambria announced we would get divisional breakdown within the hour. Will get vote totals soon

At today’s ballot count, there seemed to be larger screens than they used to have at the AAA. In spite of that, things went by pretty quickly and I could barely decipher what was on them. The commonality is that once again, it was about as exciting as watching paint dry. We watched, though.

Shortly thereafter, we watched as all the computers were packed up and most of the company left. We watched as the chairs were packed up. Then we sat, literally for hours, as people tabulated the results. One thoughtful employee put on vacation videos. It was a very American kind of thing, in that we no longer spoke to one another once the videos began.

Then they showed a food video, which upset us quite a bit. By then, we were all starving. In response to our objections, they went with a karaoke video called I Want it That Way, by the Backstreet Boys. The most I listen to them is never, so this was new to me. Next was Oops I Did it Again, by Britney Spears, which I somehow heard before. Only the ABC chorus, above, sang, as everyone else studied their phones.

“The karaoke will continue until morale improves,” announced Steve. I never realized just how out of touch I was with pop music until song after song I’d never heard before played as everyone in ABC sang but me.

If you liked it then you should’ve put a ring on it, sang someone.

Regardless, the election is over, and Unity Caucus has once again prevailed. Congratulations to them.

Once again, the overwhelming majority of UFT members have shown they could not care less who leads the union. Perhaps that’s because voting entails not only making a choice, inserting a ballot into a sleeve, and then an envelope, but also traveling to a mailbox and inserting said envelope within.

We’ve known for decades that this was too much for most members. However, massive apathy serves the Unity Caucus very well. Therefore, while they claim to have been studying the prospect of electronic voting for over a decade, they have yet to come to a conclusion. A Unity big shot told a friend of mind it would be problematic with the Department of Labor.

Of course that’s not true. PSC, the college professors union, has had a hybrid program for years. You can mail or vote online. AAA, who we dumped, has the capacity to do that. Our current company, I’m told, does not. (For all I know, that was a factor in Unity’s selection of this new company.)*

I have absolute confidence Unity will continue to study online voting. They will do so with at least the same fervor they’ve devoted all these years.

Meanwhile, nothing has changed and nothing will change. We’re in for another three years of Michael Mulgrew pontificating to the UFT Delegate Assembly. There will be more 90 minute President’s Reports, and as little member participation as possible. No wonder there’s apathy. Doubtless we’ll hear again that anyone who disagrees with Mulgrew’s Word does not believe in democracy.

Union leaders are an odd breed. You’d think they’d have some sort of ideological center. You’d think they’d be striving to improve working conditions for members. Yet shortly there will be a new health plan for city workers. It will save ten percent for Eric Frigging Adams. Is there anyone, besides Michael Mulgrew, who believes it will be as good or better than what we have now?

And yet, during the election, no one seemed to know. We followed Unity like lemmings off a cliff. They led us with an appeal to fear. Only we have a plan, they said. Uh oh. This means no one else does. We couldn’t possibly risk that! Who knew the plan was to diminish our health care? I mean, aside from me, my readers, and anyone paying attention to “union interference” from Marianne Pizzitola?

I’m watching a series on Hulu called A Thousand Blows. It has some great actors and so far, I really like it. I was watching it on my phone on the way to the voting count at 52 Broadway. There’s a character I really like who runs a gang of female thieves.

She was speaking to a character who was idealistic and pursuing political goals she deemed irrelevant. Concerned with her friend getting too involved with his causes, she said, “We are ordinary, decent criminals and we thrive on neglect.”

That’s an interesting concept. As a thief, she’s both smart and successful. Perhaps the secret to success is staying anonymous. It certainly works for the Unity Caucus. Do you know who they are?

Just In case you don’t, they’re the people who will be running our union for the next three years. They’re the people who will very shortly announce a new health plan for all UFT members who aren’t on Medicare. And they saved this announcement until right after the election. How cynical is that? How manipulative is that? And is that the plan, the one that only they have? To degrade our health care?

I’m afraid it is. So next week, or next month, or whenever the plan makes its entrance, there will be buyer’s remorse. However, there will be three full years for UFT members to forget about it. What will happen in the meantime?

It’s really impossible to say. I’ve met great people in ABC, and we haven’t given up on the notion of A Better Contract with the city, or one with our union. We haven’t given up on a member-driven union.

Someone needs to wake up the sleeping majority. We didn’t manage this time, but we haven’t given up. And neither should you.

*Correction—I’m told the company we used does have the capacity to run an election electronically, so it’s only the Unity Caucus standing between us and actual participation in our elections.