You have recently received several handouts from the New
Action caucus touting their opposition credentials. While I support many, if
not all, of the goals set out in these handouts, I found it disingenuous that
they failed to make clear their ties to Unity, the caucus that has controlled
the UFT for over half a century.
In fact, New Action has an ongoing partnership with Unity.
New Action cross-endorses the Unity presidential candidate, and in return,
Unity cross-endorses ten New Action members for the UFT Executive Board.
Opposition has its place. To my mind, though, New Action’s position is
tantamount to the Democrats endorsing GW Bush, or the GOP endorsing Barack
Obama.
A vote for New Action is a vote for President Mulgrew. If
you feel the direction of our union is going the right way, I suggest you vote
for Unity Caucus rather than emboldening a false opposition designed to divert
and mislead you.
There is in fact only one opposition party on your ballot.
That party is MORE, and its presidential candidate is Julie Cavanagh. MORE has
modeled itself after the Chicago CORE caucus that recently took over and stood
up to Mayor Rahm Emanuel. If you feel it’s time for a change, I suggest you
choose MORE.
Regretfully, President Mulgrew has declined to debate Ms.
Cavanagh. Therefore, if you wish to become familiar with her, I suggest you
view her documentary film, The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman.
The film is very informative, and I’ve participated in several panel
discussions about it near my home. You may now view it online at this address:
Please don’t throw away your vote, as most UFT members do.
Your ballot should arrive any day, and your choices are Michael Mulgrew on the
Unity or New Action lines, or Julie Cavanagh on MORE.
One more thing—vote either
for an entire slate, or for
individual candidates. If you do both, your ballot will be invalid.
Best regards,
Arthur Goldstein, UFT Chapter Leader
Francis Lewis High School
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