Just in case you work at the NYCDOE and your computer doesn't have speakers, here's what the mayor said about Weingarten at the roast:
“Like Christina Aguilera, she’s a superstar performer (cue small shimmy from the union prez), like Robert Moses, she’s literally changed the lives of 8 million New Yorkers, and, like Brad Pitt she really loves beautiful women.”
Oh, yeah - that's funny.
And then there was the merit pay joke the mayor made and "the big hug and kiss" he gave her:
Or how about this yuk yuk from the UFT’s Brooklyn Borough Representative Howard Schoor:
Schoor suggested that Weingarten abandon her life as a lesbian and marry Klein, noting the two have a lot in common, including: “kissing Bloomberg’s ass for the past six years.”
None of this is funny, of course, but it does go to show you just how chummy this "labor leader" is with the captains of industry, Wall Street types and politicians who see gutting union protections and Walmartizing public schools as a life's work.
In addition to Bloomberg, Quinn, Thompson and the rest of the elected political parasite class, Al Sharpton showed up looking spiffy (according to the Daily News) and Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary sang Happy Birthday to Dear Leader.
You'll note that the one guest not at the party was a working teacher.
Oh, I'm sure there were plenty of Unity/New Action apparatchiks there to play the dutiful role of working teachers who are devoted to Ms. Weingarten, but they're just paying back the extra pensions, no-show jobs and other patronage gifts Ms. Weingarten and the UFT leadership hand out to people who do their bidding.
As for real working teachers like you and me, we were only there in spirit - and in the money used to pay for the building, the electricity, the food and drink and the party favors.
Remember, we paid for this abomination with our hard-earned money that we give to these crooks every two weeks out of our checks.
At the end of the day, the joke is really on us.
UPDATE: As of 7:54 PM, the Weingarten party hasn't been mentioned on either Edwize or UFT.org. This is strange, since the UFT never misses a chance to tell us what Randi has been up to, so you'd have to think the leadership really doesn't want most rank-and-filers to know how they're spending our money.
I left this comment on Edwize's "Teacher News of the Day" post for December 5th to let them know how I feel:
Gee, how come the dues-funded soiree/birthday party/fund raiser for charter schools Randi threw for herself, the Mayor, the chancellor and a bunch of other dignitaries at UFT Headquarters didn’t make it to Teacher news of the Day or to the front page of UFT.org?I reprint the comment here because Leo Casey, fresh from his fake censorship battle with Mickey Mouse, will no doubt promptly censor my comment from the official UFT blog paid for by my dues money as a "personal attack."Usually you never miss a chance to tell us what Randi’s up to but strangely enough the hugs, kisses and yuk-yuks Randi enjoyed last night with the mayor and the rest of the political establishment at the building built and powered by rank-and -file dues money didn’t get a mention.
Could it be you don’t want the rank-and-file to know the party was held and partially funded by dues money?