by special guest blogger Arwen E.
I received an e-mail from the UFT's Janella Hinds and Sterling
Roberson the other day.
It began:
"Dear Arwen,
Educator-driven unionism!"
It mentioned current contract negotiations next. (We've waited
for this awhile, but I understand fully that negotiating with Bloomberg would
have proven very difficult at best given his attitudes towards teachers:
hold their "feet to the fire").
The Hinds-Roberson e-mail continues:
"While we are engaged in this important work, it
is our philosophy as vice presidents of academic and career and technical high
schools that our union is BY and FOR every member. Only through dialogue,
collaboration and action will we be best able to advocate for what is best for
our students, schools and profession."
I wish I could agree that our union is "BY and
FOR every member," but I have learned that it is anything but that. It is largely "BY and FOR"
one point of view.
I have learned about the UFT-Unity Loyalty Oath and the
powerful purse strings attached. I have learned how this harms non-Unity as
well as Unity delegates from voicing their opinions or those of their
constituencies.
Due to the Unity Loyalty Oath, 800 members are expected
to vote the same way. Both Ms. Hinds and Mr. Roberson were elected as
NYSUT board members last week. I am sure they are deserving. Yet, I
wish that they had been able to win an election in which 800
delegates were not bound to vote the same way. Although the honors for
Hinds and Roberson seem well-deserved, the victory is shallow when the
democracy is a sham.
In the 2013 UFT elections, MORE gained as much as 40%
of the votes in high schools. Yet, their candidates were excluded from
participating in not only UFT high school leadership, but also NYSUT and AFT elections. This winner-take-all policy severely
mutes the voice of the people. Our Union policies are not "BY and FOR
every member."
From all that I can tell, Unity really takes very
little interest in the voices of teachers today. Less than 20% of current membership voted in the 2013
elections. Instead of trying to
encourage current members to vote, Unity succeeded in having the retiree vote
count for even more by changing the cap.
The UFT is one of the only Unions in the nation to allow their retirees
to vote. Unity recognized full well that retirees will more than likely vote
Unity. According to one retiree,
"I generally vote Unity...if I like the status quo." We are not living with the status quo
though. Teachers are under attack
as never before. The
public-education system of the United States risks extinction.
Last Thursday, there was a NYC protest against Andrew
Cuomo's policies favoring charter schools. I do not know why our Union turned a deaf ear. There are plenty of teachers waiting to
be mobilized. Teachers share so
many common interests with the parents who support public education. Yet, Unity was absent. By his own
admissions, Cuomo hates me by way of my profession, public schools, my union
and, indeed, all unions. Our Union
should be leading our defense, not refusing to ruffle the feathers of someone
who seeks to destroy us all!
I know there are plenty of highly intelligent Unity
delegates, but one can hardly know this when they are not allowed to exercise
their free speech outside of the Unity Caucus. They are forced to leave the caucus as drones directed to
vote as one. I have read and heard
so much of intelligence from opposition candidates. They have their own blogs and websites, with distinct points
of view and some good debates via the comment sections. Apparently, Unity is not tolerant of
the same. If you want your paycheck,
you might want to shut up and toe the line. It is sad.
I am aware that Mulgrew took a more conciliatory tone
at the last D.A. meeting and I am very thankful for it. I hope it is heartfelt and not a
Campaign of a Hundred Flowers. It
is my opinion that the people who think freely and question freely without fear
of repercussion, forming their own conclusions and supporting them logically
and passionately as their own, without being directly or indirectly paid to do
so, will always sound more intelligent than parrots.
Hinds and Roberson conclude their e-mail to me in the
following manner:
"It is vital that we have the difficult and honest conversations
necessary with one another and work together to ensure that we as educators are
driving the most important decisions that affect our schools, students and
profession. Only through asserting our collective voice on every level, from
school-level consultations to the national stage, will we protect and
strengthen the most important institution in America — public education.
"Thank you for the work you do."
In solidarity"
These are "difficult
and honest conversations," only I am afraid no one at Unity is listening
to me or, for that matter, to other voices. Unity's "collective voice" is not collective and
in many cases, on many important issues, sadly, it is silent.
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