I have known Randi Weingarten for about 15 years. When I met her, she was president of the UFT in New York City. Over the years, we have shared many important life events, including birthdays, weddings, and funerals.
Randi and I first wrote an article together in 2004. It was a protest against the autocratic way that Michael Bloomberg was running the NYC public schools. The title of the article in the New York Times was “Public Schools, Minus the Public.”
At that time, Randi took a risk joining with me because I was known as an outspoken conservative. But she recognized that I was undergoing a fundamental rethinking of my views. Because I continued to write op-eds and continued to support teachers against the efforts to destroy their professional status, the UFT honored me in 2005 with its prestigious John Dewey award.
Understand that I was still active at the Hoover Institution and the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, both leading centers of rightwing thought. I was indeed in transition, in what I eventually understood as a life-changing intellectual crisis. I was trying to define and redefine my perspective on issues I had studied for decades.
Randi must have known I would come through this period of introspection and self-doubt. And I did.
The books I wrote during these years were studiously nonpartisan: “The Language Police,” which criticized censorship of tests and textbooks by both the right and the left (2003); “The English Reader,” an anthology I compiled with my son Michael; “Edspeak,” a glossary of education jargon and buzzwords.
Then in 2010, I published “The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education,” and fully renounced my conservative alliances, beliefs, and allegiances. Randi gave a book party for me at AFT headquarters in D.C.
The next year, when she invited Bill Gates to speak in Seattle, she also invited me, but I had a previous commitment to speak to legislators in Boston.
She invited me to speak at the AFT convention again in 2012, and I did and received a wonderful reception from the delegates in Detroit.
We don’t agree about every issue. We disagree about the Common Core. She thinks it has great potential, and I am skeptical about its consequences and oppose the undemocratic way in which it was stealthily imposed. Friends can disagree and still be friends.
But our agreements are far larger than our disagreements. Randi was the first one to alert me years ago to the total inappropriateness of the business model in education. She is a lawyer, and she is very smart. Randi was first, in my memory, to talk about “reform fatigue.” She is courageous. When the big “Waiting for Superman” propaganda blitz was unleashed in the fall of 2010, Randi was treated as Public Enemy #1 by the privateers, and she slugged it out with them on national television again and again. That took guts.
Recently, we co-authored a letter to Secretary Duncan urging him to intervene to stop the destruction of public education in Philadelphia.
I have read many comments on the blog that are critical of Randi. I let readers have their say, but this I believe. It serves no purpose for those of us opposed to teacher-bashing and corporate reform to fight among ourselves. We must stand together so that we will one day prevail over those who want to destroy public education and the teaching profession. We can’t win if we are divided. I will do nothing to help those who pursue a strategy of divide and conquer. They want us to fight among ourselves. I won’t help them.
Today, American public education faces an existential threat to its very existence. We all need to work together, argue when we must, but maintain our basic unity against the truly radical, truly reactionary threat of privatization. As a nation, as a democracy, we cannot afford to lose this essential democratizing institution.
Let us join forces, stand together, debate strategy and tactics, but remain united. If we are united, we will win. And make no mistake. I am convinced that we will win.
Thank you.
I know I ask a lot of questions on this blog that more research and reading could help. I read every minute I get but I have three children, chickens, a husband and a dog so I find it easier to ask sometimes.
I am reading old, out-dated books on education from the 90s to try and get a better sense of where we have come from since 1978. I really like hearing about how we have arrived where we are from those who were teachers during it.
So my question is: what reform efforts were attempted prior to 2002 other than the changes resulting from Sputnik and integration? I keep reading about “reform” from books in the 90s but cannot get a sense of what that reform was.
Also, can it be assumed that the DOE is a major problem?
Really curious what people think on these points, based on what they have seen while teachers (during the time I was still in public school as a student).
Charter schools, vouchers, merit pay using VAM assessments, national standards, tenure reform, LIFO reform — Gerald Bracey used to write an annual “report on the condition of education,” and he likely describes a lot of this.
Ok. Thank you.
I did not know these issues were old ones. I will look him up.
I am reading a book by Seymour Sarason, from 1990, trying to immerse myself in that decade from a teacher perspective (I graduated high school in 1991).
Thanks for responding to me, a mommy artist type. I appreciate it.
Also: DOE. Problem or solution?
I defer to others on that, but the general consensus on this blog is “big problem.”
Look at seminal moments in history, such as the manufactured crisis of “A Nation at Risk” in 1983, Milton Friedman’s neo-liberal urgings to privatize public education, implementing Shock Doctrine: Disaster Capitalism, such as in New Orleans, and three eras of education reform in Chicago, since that’s the home of the business model in education and the leaders who are employing it nationally, Paul Vallas and Arne Duncan. (Yes, DoE policies are a huge problem.)
Read Pauline Lipman, such as this: http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/09/11/must-teachers-and-school-officials-be-foes/a-battle-between-education-and-business-goals
“I did not know these issues were old ones.”
Older than you think.
“Our educational system is not a public service, but an instrument of special privilege; its purpose is not to further the welfare of mankind, but merely to keep America capitalist.”
Upton Sinclair in his book on the American educational system (pg. 18) entitled “The Goose Step” which was written in 1923.
You can get a sense of those promoting the national agenda by reading their history in Chicago here, “Trends in Chicago’s Schools Across Three Eras of Reform” http://ccsr.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/publications/Trends_CPS_Full_Report.pdf
Read- Left Back, A Century of Battles Over School Reform, by Diane Ravitch. I’m reading it now. It is fascinating and timeless. The issues, themes, and rhetoric of reform that we hear today are not new – many of the same conversations have taken place over the last 100 plus years.
Thanks for the book Diane and thanks for the recommendation Robert Shepherd.
Great. I wish a LOT more people would read this amazing book!
The best source of all is the work by Lois Weiner. You can Google her name and find numerous articles she has written about this subject and how it ties into the movement worldwide to privatize public education. It’s very, very scary stuff.
Unfortunately, Randi Weingarten has not been an effective leader of labor, and has all too often, much like President Obama, caved to the corporate right, much to the detriment of those she pretends to lead.
I watched in horror an appearance she made on one of the first EDUCATION NATION offerings by NBC, along with Arne Duncan and Michelle Rhee, and though there were no doubt editorial decisions that presented Weingarten in less than an effective light, her own performance when given the spotlight was less than articulate and simply ineffective at combating the abject lies presented by both Rhee and Duncan.
I realize that Rhee and Duncan represent a corporate right tyranny that is monumental to overcome given the power and cash that fuels their corruption…
But ‘standing firm’ not only includes followers, but also leaders who must be sensitive to those they pretend to lead.
I am not a teacher, and unlike most teachers, I live quite comfortably. The only dog I have in this race is that I am concerned about America’s withering democracy, and the corporate right’s acts to erode what is left of it, including their intended destruction of American public education.
In my opinion, and ONLY in my opinion, based merely on casual, but informed, observations of a variety of events involving Weingarten, she seems all too willing to throw those she leads under the proverbial bus toward an end that far too often benefits the corporate right instead of those who so desperately need her help.
I wish this was not the case, and I hope soon that I am profoundly wrong.
It’s hard to trust these “leaders”. They engage in double speak and play both sides.
See Arne’s statements here in reference to Philly. He creates the chaos and then feigns concern for the aftermath.
How can he think anyone would believe anything he says. And he is preaching US about “what’s right for students”:
“There’s no excuse for a public school system anywhere in the U.S. to be in this situation in the 21st century,” Duncan said in a statement last Wednesday. “Philadelphia’s children didn’t create these problems or ask for them.”
He said, “The bottom line is that doing what’s right for Philadelphia students will not only benefit the city—but the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the country.”
http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/07/08/philadelphia-school-district-financial-crisis
Check out this excerpt re: Vallas.
The “diverse provider model” is a euphemism for privatization of schools and services.
“It is no coincidence that the Philadelphia School District is facing a plight similar to that of the Chicago public schools, with mass school closings, teacher layoffs, and budget shortfalls,”
Perhaps, that’s because Philadelphia’s superintendent, Paul Vallas, was in Chicago prior to Philadelphia. In Chicago, he enacted similar reforms as those in Philadelphia.
“In Philadelphia, he was known for what is variously called the ‘contracting regime’ and the ‘diverse provider model,’ as he ushered in an era of private companies contracting to run various school services as well as schools,” Conner said.
The privatization of public education is an increasingly problematic issue for school districts.
I feel this even from state leadership–our state sup does not seem to care about anything but defending Race to the Top.
I am glad someone who is not a teacher also sees this lack of leadership.
I can see that a leader might see flip flopping (or abandoning a course of action) as weak, but wise leadership admits when we are off course. I am yearning to see that!
I agree wholeheartedly with your first sentence, Joanna!
Randi W. may be a fine friend but a union of members of a profession under assault deserves a stronger leader:
For , her position on merit pay appears to be an example of her “caving to the right,” as the below article from Gotham Schools indicates:
Hinting at education platform, GOP’s Joe Lhota backs merit pay | GothamSchools
Joe Lhota wants to bring performance-based pay for teachers to New York City finally and he thinks he can convince a union that’s long been opposed to the idea.
Making his debut on education in a forum hosted by the New York Daily News last night, Lhota said he would seek to replicate Newark’s new merit pay system if he became mayor.
[…]
There’s a road map for it,” Lhota said. “[Randi Weingarten] was integrally involved in Newark with Governor Christie in determining how the merit pay would work.”
“Seeing Randi at the table … was a true sea change for teachers and their unions, that they’re willing to go the extra step to make merit pay happen,” he added
Pressed to explain how he’d achieve a compensation system that’s based on performance, since the United Federation of Teachers has always opposed individual merit pay initiatives, Lhota, a Republican, said he wouldn’t have to start from scratch. On stage and in the interview, he repeatedly referenced Newark’s landmark teacher contract passed by the city’s union last year and praised the role that former UFT president Randi Weingarten, now president of the American Federation of Teachers, played in getting the deal done.
http://gothamschools.org/2013/02/27/gops-joe-lhota-backs-merit-pay-in-first-hint-of-education-platform/
I don’t think merit pay was simply “caving to the right.” It was a calculated deal made in exchange for a retroactive pension enhancement deal. The UFT signed on to merit pay, and Bloomberg agreed to lobby Albany for 25/55. Students first!
I’m sure I an not the only one to see and fear that Ms. Weingarten’s positions on merit pay lite in Newark and her “moderate” stance on Come-On Core are serving to blunt “radical” teachers who see these as the two prongs of the serpents tongue.
I thing Jersey Jazzman and his readers see this:
Jersey Jazzman: The Summer of Our Discontent
“I will be anxious to see what you have to say in a couple of years when the massive firings caused by VAM decimate the NEA and AFT rank and file, leaving no one to doubt the motives of leadership.
CCSS testing is a tsunami heading towards us that no one seems prepared accept. Every day more reports are released telling us that the CCSS assessments are going to result in massive drops in scores which means teachers being rated ineffective. Period.”
http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-summer-of-our-discontent.html
She might be a nice person to know in real life, but she clearly is a plant.
Your good buddy Randi is a sellout. As a soon to be former member of TFT going on 5 years now I have NEVER received a ballot to vote for President of the AFT and would never have voted for her.
We need a union president who won’t hang out and take pictures with the likes of Bloomberg, or invite Bill Gates to speak at the nation convention and then mock the teachers who walked out.
Diane, I thought you were over believing the “reform” crowd is motivated by an actual desire to make things better, but apparently you are not. Randi is just the mirror image of Michelle Rhee.
I thought this comment too intemperate, until I Googled ‘Randi Weingarten newark merit pay;” this commenter revealed damning evidence of a compromised leader:
Chris Christie, Randi Weingarten (and Bradley Cooper) on new Newark teachers contract
Randi Weingarten has been affiliated with the Broad Foundation for over ten years. She joined with Michelle Rhee, who is on the board of the Broad Foundation, to promote merit pay in D.C when Rhee was Chancellor. In its 2009 annual report, the Broad foundation said,
“Teacher unions have always been a formidable voice in public education. We decided at the onset of our work to invest in smart, progressive labor leaders like Randi Weingarten, head of the United Federation of Teachers in New York City for more than a decade and now president of the American Federation
of Teachers (AFT). We partnered with Weingarten to fund two union-run charter schools in Brooklyn and to fund New York City’s first incentive-based compensation program for schools, as well as the AFT’s Innovation Fund. We had previously helped advance pay for performance programs in Denver and
Houston, but we were particularly encouraged to see New York City embrace the plan.”
Page 11
http://www.broadfoundation.org/asset/101-2009.10%2…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2012/11/16/chris-christie-randi-weingarten-and-bradley-cooper-on-new-newark-teachers-contract/
The working link to the Broad Foundation quote:
Click to access 101-2009.10%20annual%20report.pdf
What quote are you referring to?
Yeah, as philaken asked, please clarify what quote you mean.
Re: what quote are you referring to-
A quote from a comment of mine still in moderation:
Randi Weingarten has been affiliated with the Broad Foundation for over ten years. She joined with Michelle Rhee, who is on the board of the Broad Foundation, to promote merit pay in D.C when Rhee was Chancellor. In its 2009 annual report, the Broad foundation said,
“Teacher unions have always been a formidable voice in public education. We decided at the onset of our work to invest in smart, progressive labor leaders like Randi Weingarten, head of the United Federation of Teachers in New York City for more than a decade and now president of the American Federation
of Teachers (AFT). We partnered with Weingarten to fund two union-run charter schools in Brooklyn and to fund New York City’s first incentive-based compensation program for schools, as well as the AFT’s Innovation Fund. We had previously helped advance pay for performance programs in Denver and
Houston, but we were particularly encouraged to see New York City embrace the plan.”
Page 11
Thank you Rangoon78.
For a full report on the Broad Foundation see “Who is Eli Broad and why is he trying to destroy public education?” See the later part of the article “The Broad Foundation and the unions” for the context of this quote.
http://www.defendpubliceducation.net/
“But our agreements are far larger than our disagreements.”
Once again you give us a window into your thinking. It is powerful stuff indeed to watch you lead by example. And that example is exactly what I need to see. I spend a lot of time separating myself from those who do not think as I do. I would sometimes be better served looking for common ground. Thank you.
Yes– we have to.
Synergy is the ultimate goal of highly influential people according to Covey. We have to build bridges, without giving up principles. I don’t see corporate reform as having children first as its principle.
I was just at my school this morning. I went to pick up my personal amplifier that I use during year so I could use it. There was the school. And while things are still teetering on OK in NC, the threat of things I hear of around the country casts a pall on things. After retrieving the amp, I got in my car and sobbed the 15 mile drive home.
Then I got some juice and a snack. I read a few Psalms and I prayed. Then I went upstairs and printed the paperwork to become unaffiliated from the Democratic Party (I will remain an independent until I figure out who is really pulling for public schools). Then I emailed a former congressman and current lobbyist’s wife (with whom I have golfed) and asked her to put me in touch with her husband (whose name is in a plaque at my school for having served on the school board when my school was built).
Now I will feed my chickens, take my children to a picnic and begin waiting for my opportunity to tell NC what is happening around the country and to figure out how to be sure parents know there will be a school near them where their child is welcome, despite any learning drawbacks, where screen time is limited and testing is diagnostic and where an atmosphere of respect prevails.
I agree with Diane. We will win this.
First Grade Teacher:
Are you a NYC teacher?? Did Randi sell out your contract to Bloomberg? Did she agree to VAM in your city?? Did she sell out your teachers and turn them into ATRs? What common ground are you speaking about. Randi only does an about face when it suits her purposes. The last thing she cares about are the rank and file.
No to all your questions. My comment is a personal reflection. A reminder to seek common ground in my own educational circles before I outright dismiss an opposing idea or argument. I’ve been so mad for so long with the injustices and lies perpetrated upon teachers and their students that sometimes I forget to listen to my opposition and in the not-listening I might miss an opportunity to open the door of reason, even just a crack.
On that I agree. But Randi has made that impossible when she installed new rules for the Delegate Assembly meetings. And, any one in UNITY, must sign an oath that they will not disagree with the UNITY platform. I do not consider that an “open door” policy. We went from having the most democratic of unions to one where voices are stifled.
In ’05 she put forth the worst contract, but because it came with a raise, it got voted in. The givebacks were HUGE. For instance, we lost the right to grieve a letter in our file. She also gave up excessing seniority. If you become an ATR, you are considered a bad teacher and no principal will hire you. Many experienced and good teachers do not have a full time classroom and instead are sent to different schools on a weekly basis. This year it’s monthly. And they were also observed!! It’s like being observed on your first day at a new school. These students go through a teacher a week. These observations are setting the ATRs up for failure and firings. They have begged the union for their own chapter, but have been turned down.
When an opening does arrive, it goes to a recent college grad.
Randi is not someone I can respect. As a friend once said, “It’s not what she says, it’s what she does.” And what she does is go around the country convincing teachers to vote for a contract that includes merit pay and a high percentage of VAM.
schoolgal, I had a conversation with Randi about the “raise” in the 2005 contract. Most of the raise was just pay for more hours worked. After I pointed out the bold headline touting the “pay increase” in the UFT paper was misleading because in fact it wasn’t a raise just pay for additional hours worked she responded by repeating what the headline stated and that it didn’t say “raise”. So there it is. Parsing words with the members. I would’ve thought that would me more appropriate for an adversary. Oops! That’s us!
She came to my school to try to sell the ’05 contract. Luckily the majority of the teachers voted it down because we recognized “the spin”. Unfortunately, others just saw the money. BLOOD MONEY. You never vote away your rights for extra money. Newark did that and now they see the error of their ways, but it’s too late. Any ATR that voted for the ’05 contract does not have my sympathy either. All these teachers that are voting the money for givebacks will most likely not have a job in the next 3-5 years. VAM will destroy them. Excellent new teachers are being denied tenure. Who will want to pursue a career in teaching with these swords hanging over you??
I think this blog along with Badass Teachers Assoc. should coordinate efforts to get Karen Lewis to run for UFT or AFT president next time around. Or maybe the NEA!
Not this post, but the comments. I noticed many BATS are unaware of the facts. If you want to educate them, pick one of the comments and post it. Then see what flies. I would tend to guess the BATS who agree with Diane are either naïve of Randi’s record or are part of UNITY.
Michael Brocoum
i support your idea…..problem is the NYC UFT delegates are bought and owned by
Weingarten/Mulgrew. How is this roadblock overcome?
I’d love to get my hands on the UFT’s email list. Can someone hack UFT site to get the list? (kidding…). Massive email campaign to help educate teachers on the real facts of RW and Unity Caucus of the UFT as exposed on this thread would be great. Maybe retirees such as myself who support changing of the guard would be willing to visit schools. Or maybe raise some money and place an ad in the NY Times. Must be some way of getting into contact with the vast majority of teachers who aren’t involved for one reason or another.
Sounds like she left a lot of damage in her wake. The union is the one thing right now that offers protection when I choose to speak out. I can’t imagine being betrayed by the institution that is supposed to have my back.
I have had the experience of being lied to by individuals in positions of power. Some lies were conscious, others of omission, and some just lies of ignorance towing the reform rhetoric line of the day. The lies impacted how I did my job. The lies stop when the individuals move on, as they always do. I am left with a little more savvy, a healthy skepticism, ready to “find common ground” with the replacement individuals. But I am also watchful and ready to stand my ground. Once bitten…..
Well, I hope you will never be bitten or stung. But when people warn you about a wasp, believe them. When our leaders embrace the reforms and approve evaluations that are not fair and balanced, that’s your job on the line. Weingarten could have embraced PAR over VAM, but didn’t.
Schoolgal,
Your comments about Randi coming to your school to sell the 2005 contract are brilliant. You are RIGHT on the mark. You’re an intelligent and powerful woman, if I may say so . . . .
One never sells job rights in exchange for more money. Money comes and goes, but it is autonomy in teaching that stabilizes the education process, and VAM will continue to destroy and destabilize it as such.
Why thank you Robert. I am blinded by my brilliance 🙂
Now I have to worry about the UFT and Randi endorsing Thompson. I can’t imagine Tisch working as his campaign manager without getting something in return. Weiner has the same temperament as Rahm. Quinn is a sellout. After the primary, I am changing my registration to Independent.
Schoolgal,
I am compelled to wear my sunglasses as I write this to you.
You are once again right!
We have indeed a very spooky gallery of pervs and peeves who are running for mayor, and none of them, save potentially for DeBlasio, are going to do anything real for teachers or working class people.
New York City has become one big guarded and gated box store, a veritable franchise of luxury, plutocracy, bureaucracy, and granite counter top apartments that come complete with perky botoxed realtors. Manhattan especially is a playground for the rich, and over one third of apartments are owned but not even occupied year round, as they went from habitations for middle class people to pied a terres for the yacht and jet set. About the only thing left is the free Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Bloomberg, with Weingarten’s help and blessing, has been the King Midas of New York, turning everything into gold, but gold is metallic, unfeeling, and conveys no warmth or grit. This once great city is no longer the diverse and sometimes quirky metropolis that offered something for everyone, resident and visitor alike. Bloomberg’s 12 years have fed caviar to developers while toilet brushing bidets and wiping the floor with unions and working class people.
It is not the New York I grew up with . . . .
Diane, your blog emphasized educator unity and I agree that too many teachers find reasons for not staying on the same page. Where I work, I watched admin. divide teachers with privileges and bonuses. Those same teachers willingly accepted positions that gave them the spotlight: “Miss Rose is our year book advisor and our school won the state year book for the third time.” Miss Rose would sit quietly while other teachers were berated by admin. for not having consistent success in the classroom. Miss Rose’s only prep was year book, okaay?
Because our principal was known for being a womanizer, many female teachers would offer him Christmas gifts in months other than December. What happened at that school caused a great divide.
Many teachers feared, and still do, upsetting admin. or the district. I listened to my friends’ objections to striking against having no contract, no salary increases and etc. ” I have children and mortgage…I can’t afford to strike” some veteran teachers making over six figures never discussed actively protesting. And besides many of these teachers were tight with admin.
I believe I cannot afford to fight with my peers and friends. Though they may be scared of the power looming over our heads as a constant reminder of who is signing our pay checks, that fact alone should keep every teacher velcroed, side by side. I read Upton Sinclairs’ novel The Jungle years ago and still remember how money conquered and divided the workers. Please, let’s not let that happen to us. We work too (expletive ) hard for other people’s children, and more importantly for our country. Lets stay on the same page. Thank you.
Zee, where the heck are “veteran teachers making six figures”?!
California
The only place I know of where teachers are earning six figure incomes is at New Trier High School in Winnetka, IL. Would love to hear about other places.
They don’t quite make six figures in Ontario but they do pretty well.
“In 2012, the average teacher salary in Ontario was $83,500, and the highest paid earned $95,000. Until Queen’s Park imposed a new contract, teachers were also guaranteed 20 sick days a year, which could be carried over each year, bankable up to 200 days. Most teachers cashed them in at retirement. The province would cut them a cheque for the value of their banked days, to a maximum of $46,000. Almost everyone got the maximum.”
1 Canadian dollar = approx. 1 US dollar
http://www.torontolife.com/informer/columns/2013/04/23/jan-wong-strike-out/
In NYC, after completing 22 years with 30 credits above your Masters.
Dr. Ravitch, thank you: knowing as I did your affiliation with Hoover and Fordham, as well as the Bush administration, I have been skeptical of your alliances and intentions and, frankly, unwilling to read your books. I’m neither seek out nor avoid ideas and arguments that oppose my own, but in this ideological environment, one gets plenty of that without having to go looking for it. The opposition, at the moment, appears to own the argument–as well as the assets to push the argument loudly and prominently. I hear plenty of it passively.
I consider Jane Jacobs’ “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” one of the most important books (and a perfect companion piece, if anyone is interested, to Robert Caro’s “The Power Broker”) I’ve encountered in a lifetime of reading. So your title’s homage to Ms Jacobs book caused me to put “The Death and Life or the Great American School System” on my to read list. I also enjoyed a conspectus of “The Language Police” you published in a magazine somewhere, though I forget now where that was.
Your point here, however, is well taken: God knows I have worked with a sufficient number of administrators who perceived as their office the denigration and division of their subordinates. This isn’t only demoralizing, it’s exhausting, and pointlessly counterproductive. I haven’t always agreed with Randi Weingarten (or her successor, for that matter), but again, your point is well taken.
If there is one thing educators can assent to, it seems to me, it is this: to paraphrase John Dewey, it is the teacher’s task to provide his or her charges with meaningful experiences. As a classroom teacher myself, I try to keep this in view at all times.
Indeed, pedagogy is my area of interest, and even in the best of circumstances (i.e., in which sensible policy is formulated and executed), I am only passingly interested in policy issues. So thank you, again, for your ongoing attention to and exposition of our current, benighted, policy arena.
With all due respect, Diane, as a NYC public school teacher who has had to live under the consequences of her leadership, local and national, I must disagree with you about Randi Weingarten.
In 2002, the UFT under Randi’s leadership agreed to mayoral control of the schools, a policy it maintains to this day. Mayoral control has been the primary vehicle for destabilizing, taking over and privatizing public education in NYC, and has provided a national media stage for the untruths and deceptions based upon it. Towards that end, Weingarten frequently appeared at dog and pony shows where Bloomberg/Klein’s spurious test scores were touted to the public.
In 2005, Weingarten negotiated a contract that eliminated seniority transfers, whereby
excessed teachers or teachers at closing/reorganizing schools were guaranteed positions at other schools based on seniority. It was that contract – which also eliminated teacher’s right to grieve letters to their personnel files – that led directly to the epidemic of school closings in recent years, since Bloomberg and his DOE apparatchiks could now close a school and compel teachers to re-apply for their jobs, and which has led to an army of senior teachers, many of them racial and ethnic minorities, being professionally destroyed.
The destruction of the neighborhood public school, one of the primary objectives of so-called education reform, was enabled and accelerated by this.
In 2009, Weingarten said and did nothing while Bloomberg used his fortune to overturn a term limits law that had twice been approved by NYC voters. Later that year, she convened a union governance committee, on which I served, to develop alternatives to mayoral dictatorship of the schools, which was scheduled to either sunset or be re-authorized that year. While I and others developed a minority plan that involved much greater community involvement in the running of the schools, the leadership-approved plan would have been a marked improvement over what we have now.
But it was not to be, because Randi Weingarten, without consulting what is nominally the Union’s highest body, its Delegate Assenmbly, casually threw out that plan and unilaterally endorsed the re-authorization of mayoral dictaorship of the schools virtually unchanged. She actually had the nerve to publicly state at the time that mayoral control had brought stability to the schools.
Shortly after, she and her protege Michael Mulgrew sat on their hands and made no endorsement in the mayoral election, allowing Bloomberg to be re-elected when he was vulnerable to defeat. I assume they thought that by shutting up, they’d get a contract for us. But Bloomberg correctly read their weakness, and four years later we still
have no contract, despite her protege’s having enshrined VAM, Common Corporate Standards and evaluation checklists in state law. Her protege and vizier in NYC, despite his faux tough guy persona, got nothing for those concessions.
Dozens and dozens of schools have been closed since then, affecting thousands of children and teachers.
I could go on and on: her coziness with Eli Broad, AFT-sponsored seminars on for-profit opportunities in education at the Aspen Institute, helicoptering in to cities and negotiating contracts, as in Newark, that use the pseudo science of VAM in teacher evaluations, doing nothing while politically-connected charter operators cannibalize public school facilities, egging on her own apparatchiks to boo teachers who opposed having Bill Gates as the keynote speaker at the 2010 AFT convention, while Gates returned the favor the following week by attacking our pensions.
Sure, Randi will write a letter, or get special treatment when arrested at a ritualistic, photo op demonstration protesting policies that she has enabled. Alll of that is misdirection and political triangulation, permitting her to point to a few chosen sound bites when overwhelmed teachers look to her for support.
It’s obviously not my place to question your personal friendships, Diane, but Randi Weingarten is no friend of teachers, and has been at the center of virtually every catastrophe that has befallen us and public education in the past fifteen-plus years.
She is part of the problem, and there will be no effective opposition to the hostile takeover of the public schools until she and her disastrous policies are repudiated by working teachers.
BRAVO!!!
Spot on!
Thanks for this input Michael.
“She is part of the problem” is the general consensus of NYC teachers when discussions on the duplicitous leadership of the UFT come up.
Beautifully said. That she signed on and agreed to the frst reorganization in 2002 brought us all into their clutches. It has been downhill since then as she or Mulgrew went along for photo-ops in support of Mayor Mike. She is no friend to NYC teachers Diane. And agreeing to the third term did it for me. I have a long memory and I vote.
Would like to post your response to Dianne on Badass Teachers Association, if you haven’t already. And I’d like to send to some teachers who still support RW. Do I have permission?
Sorry for the late response, Michael.
Yes, pease go ahead and distribute this wherever you think it might have an effect.
Well, it’s hard to disagree with a single word you’ve written here. And thanks.
Good luck on your joint letter to Duncan!
Let us know if you have more luck than others have.
He and his Boss have so far answered to no one on this issue.
Well read here…Arne is pretending to care and act as if his policies and his actions have not led to this chaos….that’s why I linked it above. Similar to the doublespeak we get from union “leaders”:
http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/07/08/philadelphia-school-district-financial-crisis
Masterpiece.
Yes, teachers need to stand together with each other, and with students, parents and communities, too. It’s incumbent upon union leadership to stand with their constituents as well.
Duncan’s aim is to remove democracy from education, as indicated by what he said in 2009, “At the end of my tenure, if only seven mayors are in control, I think I will have failed.” With Chicago as the model that propelled his own career, non-educator Duncan is talking about having many more mayors who appoint business oriented non-educator CEOs to run school districts and having no elected school boards.
Eliminating the voice of citizens is a goal of corporations and neo-liberal politicians from both sides of the aisle, and this is a very serious concern for those in the working class. Our only real hope of winning any battles against monied interests who wield a grossly disproportionate amount of power for their numbers is the majority rule of a one person one vote democracy, from locally elected school boards on up. If Randi can’t take a stand for democracy in education, then she does not represent the best interests of teachers, children, families and communities –of our country.
Diane, Please talk to your friend about supporting democracy.
Are mayors not elected officials?
I’m an educator and when it came to voting for mayor over the past 18 years of mayoral control over education in my city, I always forgot that I was voting for the leader of our schools. I suspect that those who are not educators are even more inclined to forget this when they vote. Bundling is an effective marketing strategy.
In my state the legislature along with the governor have significant control over educational policy, especially funding levels. Is that undemocratic?
On the other hand, I would also suspect that those who are not educators are not even aware of when local school board elections are happening, much less who the candidates are their positions.
How could they not be? I don’t understand the question.
Cosmic is criticizing mayoral control because it eliminates the voice of citizens in education. As long as mayors are elected it would seem that citizens do have a voice.
What if citizens do voice themselves and the mayor does not listen? Then what? What if that occurs for 12 years?
12 years is a long mayoral term. Can I assume that the mayor was reelected twice?
Mayoral control and no appointed school board results in a dictatorship of the executive branch without checks and balances. That’s precisely what is wanted by neo-liberals in order to advance the agenda to privatize education.
They are elected officials but they cannot be given unilateral control of schools. Public schools need to be insulated from political and financial vicissitudes to function properly.
This is the beginning of an interesting point, but I don’t think that it will be an argument in favor of democratically elected school board? Cosmic and others seem to be arguing in favor of more political involvement in schools, not less.
Sorry, I meant to say mayor control and no ELECTED school board, not no appointed school board. In my city, the mayor appoints all school board members, who are his cronies and they have rubber stamped everything he’s ever wanted.
We’ve had mayoral control under a mayor who was in place for 22 years. The mayor who followed him is no better, so you can be sure that concerned citizens are now making sure to point out that a vote for the mayor is a vote against public education, as well as seeking candidates not tied to corporate funding and neo-liberal policies.
TE:
Our mayor was in for three terms. He and the city council, overturned the two term limit, which was put into place by referendum vote many years ago.
Mayoral control without a proper system of democratic checks and balances will never be a good thing.
Elections don’t count as a democratic check on mayoral power?
I don’t think Jim is saying that. Mayoral appointed school boards are much more likely to be “political” than elected school boards.
Could you flesh that out a bit? It is not obvious to me that a board appointed by a politician would be much more political than a board made up of politicians.
Since my city has NEVER had an elected school board, my only experience with them is when my family lived in the suburbs and, as president of the PTA, the community put my mom’s name up for the school board and she was elected. My mom was on the board for several terms and most people on the board were parents of children in the schools, not politicians.
Having children in the school is an interesting way to distinguish politicians from non-politicians.
Since I was an adult when this happened, I was able to get to know the parents on the board. They had careers and day jobs. They were not politicians. They were people who cared about their community. Very few pursued other elected positions after leaving the school board.
TE:
Elections do count in getting the mayor elected, without doubt.
But there are many issues that arise once he was in office, and those issues were not addressed democratically because there was not a system of checks and balances in place that would make the process fair and efficient.
You would prefer a direct democracy rather than a representative one? Certainly a defensible position. But if anything other than a direct democracy does not count as a democracy, having an elected school board is no more democratic than mayoral control.
Geeze, TE. What does it take for you to hear people who have been living under mayoral control for decades when they tell you that, with mayor appointed school boards and mayor appointed non-educator (or Broad trained) superintendents, they have been living in a dictatorship? There are no checks and balances on executive powers without elected school boards, which is why non-educators like Vallas and Duncan are so used to being top-down dictators and why Rhee famously said when she was DC chancellor, “This is not a democracy.”
I would say that they lost the election.
TE:
” . .. they lost the election.”
Can you please teach me how to think as simplistically as you? I might be better off emotionally.
I live in a state where I disagree with almost everything that the state government does. My disagreement does not mean that these policies are undemocratic. It means that people who share my views lost the election. Elections have consequences as someone once said.
To say that mayoral control is undemocratic is to cheapen the term “undemocratic”. Why not say the policy was stupid, poorly thought out, self surving, whatever you want, but the mayor was elected, reelected, and reelected again. Ask my students from China, Mongolia, Zimbabwe, and Afghanistan if the city of New York is not a democracy.
The mayor literally bought his 3rd term in office. We took a vote years ago and voted for term limits. But Bloomberg wanted another term and used his influence to override the people of NYC.
Mayoral Control—That’s exactly what is it–CONTROL. He fired his first group of representatives because he wanted the vote to go his way. They felt differently. So now he has his friends on the panel, and he has the majority of the votes. And every time there is a public meeting over some issue, the die is cast before anyone can speak on the issue. However, when you turn your back on the communities and stick a knife into the heart of the voters, that’s not a democracy.
No doubt the people of NYC, seeing their desire for term limits ignored, refused to elect this mayor to a third term.
Again, he spent multi millions on the campaign. And the Dems did very little to counter act. The UFT did not endorse either. Funny, now they are endorsing the candidate they turned their back on 4 years ago. He won by a slight margin. Of course his poll numbers are going down, so people are recognizing the error of their vote.
You are not living in a city where Democratic machine politics is so entrenched that there has not been a Republican mayor in over 80 years. I am not a Republican, but I empathize with people who don’t support machine politics because I too feel like I’ve never had any real choices when I’ve voted for city officials.
Not having the ability to vote for an elected school board because the mayor has been given complete control over appointing the board short changes the people’s right to democracy in this city, plain and simple.
It has been almost 50 years since my state voted for a democrat for president, the last democrat to be in the senate from my state was during the Hoover administration. Political life in the plains is fairly one sided as well.
Not to mention all the dead people who have historically gotten to vote in Chi-Town, as long as they are registered Democrats.
That’s why I’ve never wanted to move to a red state. I don’t envy you. I totally disagree with their ideologies. But at least you know what you’re in for, because those are people who let you know who you’re up against.
It has become very different with Democrats, because of the neo-liberal, “New Democrat” right-wing (supposedly) “centrist” factions who’ve taken control of the party. Democrats tend to talk out of both sides of their mouth today, so it can be challenging to know what you’re really getting. But generally they have turned on the working class, despite being heavily funded by unions, and stand by their corporate backers. I think as a whole they are GOP lite because they’ve become more like how Republicans used to be.
Diane,
I would hope that Randi will learn something from you, LOTS….but, it does not appear so. It is not just ideology, it is also the character and predictable actions one judges people by. Even if one changes after time, there are still ‘common core characteristics’ of decency and consistency one displays along the way. This is the 800-lbs guerrilla in the Union Hall.
I have friends who do not agree with my positions on many topics, but I do not represent thousands of union members and their livelihood. The record stands. As Maya Angelou states: When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.
Please keep blogging, writing, and speaking for our kids! That support, among many others, is questionable when we get upset with Randi. It’s KIDS! Always about our KIDS! Teachers are about KIDS! To continue to be about KIDS, we need support and protection! Not tugging at our rugs and the kids’ rugs from under us at every opportunity and FOR PROFIT.
Here’s hoping that Ms. Weingarten will come to her senses about the Common Core.
Oddly, everything that is good about the Common Core in ELA is not in the standards themselves but in the ancillary framework that surrounds those standards–the emphasis on significant texts, on close reading of those texts, on doing skills instruction on an as-needed basis in order to illuminate particular passages, on evidence-based analysis and discussion that precedes and supplies the warrant for LATER higher-order thinking (e.g., synthesis, evaluation etc). The general framework of the Common Core in ELA recognizes that in order to think, one must first have something that matters to think about, and that’s a major step forward.
But, and this is a big one . . .
that framework could be adopted nationwide without also adopting the actual standards, which are EXTREMELY PROBLEMATIC for all the reasons discussed so frequently on this blog and elsewhere by thoughtful educators. Unfortunately, the critique of the standards themselves (as opposed to the general framework that surrounds them) is almost entirely ignored in defenses of the Common Core in ELA such as those made by Ms. Weingarten and others. Those defenses always go back to the framework, not to the standards themselves, but the two are and should be separable.
correction: “are separable and should be separated.”
In fact, the ELA standards, as written, undermine the general framework in which those standards are embedded, making the whole enterprise self defeating.
Diane,
I am compelled to very respectfully disagree with you.
However, I trust your direction and vision more than Randi’s. I will not stand in the way of your partnering with her because obviously, this is something you feel very strongly about. I will not contribute to “in fighting” as you put it.
And I will never doubt your intentions in fighting back against this horrible reform movement the way it’s being done now. NEVER!
You are absolutely right about being stronger as united vs. divided front.
But I must say that as a public school teacher who worked in NY CIty under Randi’s administration, there were disastrous and compromising moves that showed far more compliance and bad deal cutting than advocacy for teachers.
The mere removal of a right for a teacher to grieve letters, one of Randi’s inappropriate deals, was a major eviceration of teachers’ autonomy and rights. This was a game changer that dovetailed perfectly with Bloomberg’s comprehensive approach to eroding rights, breaking down current contracts, and stalling future ones.
Weingarten, while she will claim that mayoral control was a “done deal” before it was ever brought to the media, was still a major leader who could have spoken up. Some will say that she was not instrumental in securing mayoral control; some will claim otherwise. At the very least, she was not confrontational or oppositional about it either.
There are also far too numerous examples of her partnering with the reformers . . . accepting money from the Gates foundation is one such example.
I do understand your strategy – if it is that – to have her in our court, given her position.
I will proceed to join forces with you and support you and my colleagues, families, and students on this blog and in this entire pushback movement.
And in the same breath, I cannot say, with all my professional heart, that Randi has been a positive force for teachers.
Yet, you are ultimately and powerfully right in delivering the message that we MUST remain unwaveringly united and focused. There is more growth and chance for change with discomfort and risk taking than not.
United we stand . . . . . however much the discomfort. I hope others will see it this way also.
Thank you always for your effective and inspiring leadership.
Robert,
The head of the UFT was always given veto power over mayoral control over the NYC schools. Giuliani attempted to gain control, but by being his own worst enemy, failed to win that prize. A colleague of mine was personally told by the Speaker of the state assembly that a bill he wrote providing a watered-down version of mayoral control was opposed by Weingarten in 2002, with her favoring the legislation giving the mayor dictatorial power over the schools.
Randi has publicly stated that agreeing to mayoral control was the only way for the system to receive needed funds and for teachers to get raises. It’s is another of her falsehoods, since the raises we received were based on selling off important contractual protections (such as seniority transfers).
Now there’s virtually nothing left to sell off, and teachers face a new evaluation system that has been created to drive them out of the field and create a temporary work force.
But what does the leadership care? The dues of probationary teachers, many of whom will never receive what now passes for tenure, are the same as those of senior teachers.
The leadership will continue to receive its multiple salaries and double pensions, at least until some fifth columnist group like Educators for Excellence – funded by Randi’s pal Bill Gates – feels that it can start a decertification campaign. After all, NYC teachers are so demoralized that only 18% of them voted in the recent elections; a majority of the voters were retirees, an utter disgrace.
Michael,
I cannot agree with you more. The situation is catastrophic to say the least. I have been teaching in Westchester County for the past 11 years because the city schools were declining in working conditions. And I worked in some of the best schools in Queens for District 24.
I DO NOT trust Randi and never will again.
I do trust Diane’s leadership move and am willing to take a tong term chance with it. I am not putting Diane up on a pedestal by any means, nor do I view my lens on her as a star struck celebrity- obsessed fan. I do not see Diane as the panacea or ultimate factor in pushback, but we all are collectively, in a philosphic and pragmatic manner of speaking, the cause of change. I am not a dewey eyed optimist, but I proceed optimism with realism and caution and very hard work as a behind the scenes activist myself.
I see the long term as needing to be very united and growing in numbers, as the map in NPE shows. Yet, you are right in your facts and frustration. “Right” is an understatement.
Please try and look beyond the anger and look at what we are all trying to do now. I view the Weingarten years as “abusive parenting” and now that we’re all grown up, we have to deal with the damage and become once again healed and empowered.
A broken bone heals to become twice strong the bone it once was.
Michael, I can’t tell you how much I respect your writings on Weingarten . . . and they are the G-rated version! Hold onto your feelings about her; they are justified.
But don’t by any means throw out the baby with the bathwater for the greater, longer term cause.
Robert Rendo & Michael Fiorillo: I agree.
However, on the specific matter at hand, who would folks prefer has Randi Weingarten’s ear: Diane Ravitch or ArneRhee&Co?
Based on their words and actions, I select the owner of this blog.
Just my dos centavitos worth…
You’re not so Krazy, TA!
Thank you.
I would choose Ravitch also and basically trust her leadership and reproach of the ed deformers. BUT we are not out from under Randi. She is as powerful as ever. She has helped to procure some very bad contracts around the country as the President of the AFT as well as the disatrous ones here in NY. She has a stong finger, still , in NYC’s pie and she makes sure she keep Mulgrew in line. She is not our friend. Friends strenghten each other. They don’t stab you in the back looking for their moment in the lime light. as Randi does by courting some of the major ed deformers. A friends fight alongside you for what is right. She is not “in our court.” Damage is still being done and Weingarten, unfortunately, is a mahor player in the cause.
Pat, I agree with all your points.
Robert,
I would hope you would be “dewey” eyed in the sense that you recognize the importance of what Dewey had to say about education. I doubt that you are dewy eyed in regards to Diane’s defense of RW but at the same time it’s hard to trust someone when she (RW) has already stabbed you in the back.
This comment is interesting in what it doesn’t say: “who would folks prefer has Randi Weingarten’s ear: Diane Ravitch or ArneRhee&Co?” Randi as head of the AFT should be leading the fight. Why should Diane have to compete for Randi’s ear over ArneRhee? The very nature of the question is a condemning one.
I too trust Diane who along with people like Leonie Haimson, a parent not a teacher, have led the fight that our supposed union leaders have abdicated.
Robert,
If what I wrote suggests or could be construed as opposition to the union, I apologize for being unclear: I bring these matters up out of my belief in the importance of the union.
My opposition to her actions doesn’t prevent me from respecting Randi’s intelligence and hard work, but to adapt Mark Twain, I support my union always, and the union leadership when it deserves it.
Duane Swacker,
I am (John) Dewey eyed by all means. That was a great line! May I borrow it from time to time?
It is hard to trust Weingarten, so I don’t. She not only stabs people in the back, but then one of her classic moves is to instantly dress up as Clara Barton and come with what looks like a first aid kit to her wounded in the field. When you’re bleeding to death, you’ll take even the illusion of comfort.
Now that I’ve been healed for quite some time, I distance myself from Weingarten. But I am also strong enough to use Diane as a buffer. I trust Diane, and I have to have faith within reason that she and 99% of her readers will gain more and more traction in the pushback movement.
Believe me Duane when I say I am among the most cynical and carmudgeonly . . .
But too much infighting is toxic and counterproductive. I am sure the French Revolution, the American Revolution, etc. all had factions within. It won’t be the first time and not the last. It is just human nature.
I can cite a few dozen “Randi” grievances, but I’d rather put my efforts into collaborating with my fellowman in pushing back against the great deform. I do and will continue to aid those who want to reinvent the UFT, AFT, and NEA to be what they should be and need to be.
Remember that when we change something within ourselves, we will have already changed something about the world.
Michael Fiorillo,
“My opposition to her actions doesn’t prevent me from respecting Randi’s intelligence and hard work, but to adapt Mark Twain, I support my union always, and the union leadership when it deserves it.”
I cannot agree with you more.
I support unions when unions behave like unions. Having gone back and forth to Europe for the past fifteen years and having some ties with French (I speak it), I can attest to the fact that nowhere in Northern or Western Europe would an education union leader ever gone anywhere near the direction Weingarten did. There would, in general, be strikes there if such Broad and Gates-like reform were to progress. There are already teacher strikes in Northern England because this reform movement, which is global as Lois Weiner would say, has crept more into the ever bifurcating Great Britain. Michael Bllomberg, who owns a very tony flat in the heart of London, has indeed spread his tentacles to the British ruling elite. It has been easier for him to do so there because of no language barrier.
But, at 49 and as I’m stuck here in the states, I have to deal with what’s handed to us proactively. I have used my opprobrium towards Weingarten to further causes that address reinventing the UFT. I have not used it to distance myself from Diane or her readers.
I hear you loud and clear. Please, Michael, keep on writing!!!
Michael Fiorillo,
Read you mail. I have to say that what Jonathan Lessuck wrote about Diane is pure garbage. Insulting and full of lies to say the least.
ANYONE who agees with Mr. Lessuck should bow out now, please get out of out way, and let us do what needs to be done.
I am outraged that anyone would think that about Diane, although everyone is entitled to their free speech.
I for one will have nothing to do with someone like Jonathan Lessuck.
Right on! The Democratic Party also has this problem. In 2008 and in 2012 and we won despite the issues that split various sub groups of the party.
What did we win? Neither party represents us. Both represent the 1%.
We? Under randi Weingarten , the NEA endorsed Obama’s re-election before any other union more than a full year before the election. And ‘we’ won!
From the NY Times in January 2013:
Union Membership Drops Despite Job Growth – NYTimes.com
The long decline in the number of American workers belonging to labor unions accelerated sharply last year, according to data reported on Wednesday, sending the unionization rate to its lowest level in close to a century.
Speaking about the nation as a whole, [Barry T. Hirsch, a labor economist at Georgia State University] said: “I am really surprised that the drop in unionization was as large as it is in a single year, and it was particularly big in the public sector.”
These numbers are very discouraging for labor unions,” said Gary N. Chaison, a professor of industrial relations at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. “It’s a time for unions to stop being clever about excuses for why membership is declining, and it’s time to figure out how to devise appeals to the workers out there.”
Labor unions have boasted of their political successes in helping re-elect President Obama and in helping Democrats pick up seats in Congress.
Speaking about the nation as a whole, [Barry T. Hirsch, a labor economist at Georgia State University] said: “I am really surprised that the drop in unionization was as large as it is in a single year, and it was particularly big in the public sector.”Union Membership Drops Despite Job Growth – NYTimes.com
The long decline in the number of American workers belonging to labor unions accelerated sharply last year, according to data reported on Wednesday, sending the unionization rate to its lowest level in close to a century.
Speaking about the nation as a whole, [Barry T. Hirsch, a labor economist at Georgia State University] said: “I am really surprised that the drop in unionization was as large as it is in a single year, and it was particularly big in the public sector.”
These numbers are very discouraging for labor unions,” said Gary N. Chaison, a professor of industrial relations at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. “It’s a time for unions to stop being clever about excuses for why membership is declining, and it’s time to figure out how to devise appeals to the workers out there.”
Labor unions have boasted of their political successes in helping re-elect President Obama and in helping Democrats pick up seats in Congress.
Success as measured by whom?
Oops sorry. Wrong union:
AFT Endorsed President Obama for Re-Election on February 7, 2012 3:40 PM
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/teacherbeat/2012/02/aft_endorses_obama_for_2012.html
But legitimate critique is not “fighting” and it is necessary to the overall project of developing sound research/scholarship and saving public schools. The road to good intentions is littered with accommodationist efforts…and so there is a long history of debate and critique about processes….and as the debate continues….the subordinate pay with their lives. So I appreciate that you value your friendship…but we are in a war for children’s lives…and deep and tough challenges must remain part of the exchange….I do not support disrespect…but I do support holding Randi accountable for the power she has to speak and set policies…especially when they do not represent those she purports to speak for…”Common Core” is nothing but a money making scheme…if there was any ever doubt about that see:
http://allthingsd.com/20130619/apple-wins-30-million-ipad-contract-from-la-unified-school-district/?mod=fb
I hope your friend comes to see the error of her ways and comes down on the right side of things here…I can’t think of better friend for her on this issue
Diane, I can’t thank you enough for your blog helping teachers get a voice to educate each other and anyone else willing to listen in the fight against the corporate reformers profit driven efforts that are destroying public education. That said I must respectfully disagree with your post about Randi Weingarten.
I was a teacher in NYC throughout her tenure as UFT President. Here are the reasons I do not agree with your post.
The 2005 contract removing seniority transfer rights and creation of the ATR pool for excessed teachers.
Agreeing with (not sure here if union agreement was required) individualized school budgets that provided principals the incentive to replace veteran teachers with lower cost beginners. That combined with the loss of seniority transfer rights gave Bloomberg/Klein the ammunition to publicly humiliate veteran teachers by claiming they were unwanted because they were bad teachers. Thankfully the public wasn’t fooled, but it was the enabling of the intent that matters.
Reopening the 2005 ratified contract for more negotiations in order to accommodate Klein’s desire to have different schedules at different schools. When put to a vote by teachers the only option was to vote “yes”. There was no “no” option. So either you voted yes or didn’t vote at all effectively guaranteeing approval of Klein’s plan.
Shortly after the 2005 contract was negotiated I had a phone-texting dialog with Randi regarding the pay increases in the new contract. I disputed the UFT’s headline claim boldly touting the pay increases because it was matched with an increase in working hours. When I questioned Randi about it she stated that the headline didn’t say “raise” but “pay increase”! So here the membership was encouraged to believe that they got a raise but in fact didn’t. Shouldn’t union leadership be parsing words for its adversaries and not the membership it should be fighting for?
The Washington D.C. contract Randi negotiated with Michelle Rhee allowing Rhee the right to fire teachers. At the end of that year I recall about 240 teachers were fired by Rhee because they were “ineffective”. After Rhee’s departure I think most of these teachers were found to have been fired without adequate cause and were rehired.
Contract negotiated in New Jersey, I forget which city (Newark, Jersey City) so unpopular that most of the union leadership were replaced after elections while the union president kept his position by a mere 9 votes out of close to 1000 votes. I believe this had to do with VAM.
Lastly, I’ll repeat something I stated once before on this blog. Rod Paige (he of Texas miracle and teacher union are terrorists fame) and Arne Duncan publicly praise Randi Weingarten while blasting the unions she leads! How can that be? It appears they see Randi as an ally heading organizations they see as adversaries! That begs the question as to what occurs behind the scenes and whose side is she really on. Does Randi Weingarten see Paige and Duncan as allies? Scary thought. And let’s not forget her relations with Gates and Broad.
I think the people in the trenches have good reason to oppose the leadership of Randi Weingarten.
Friendship is a very powerful force.
This is a message for Randi Weingarten, who I know is reading every comment on this post:
I sincerely hope that you appreciate your friend’s willingness to stick her neck out for you as you continue to play to the middle. Diane is a good friend to you, and for that, I commend her.
I have publicly asked, and others have, as well, that you publicly post detailed demographic information regarding AFT membership, including the number of teacher members in each state, and that you publicly release the complete AFT survey results, original queston by question, with a complete listing of categories from among which respondents could choose, as well as the number of responses per category.
This blog would be an excellent venue for publicizing these results.
I have read and written about your AFT survey results Power Point slides in which you (and Hart) present partial, hidden, and confusing information (especially slide 3). I know that you have been on Twitter both defending Hart’s reputation and insisting that teacers not only support CCSS but that teachers helped design it. I just finished wriitng 10,000 words on the development of and push for CCSS, and frankly, I know better. The teacher role is token at best and arguably nonexistent.
Post the complete survey results, Randi. I am asking yet again.
Thank you, Mercedes! Well put.
You’re a treasure, Mercedes, keep it up.
Diane,
I appreciate your sentiment. I worked in NYC while Randi was UFT pres and she was a bulldog who fought for education, children and education. However, I truly, indeed desperately, feel that signing off on using student assessments, for whatever percentage, in teacher evaluations was a horrific mistake at too many levels to list here.
We are a weaker union because of it. My colleagues fear for their jobs because they are quite certain that VAM introduces randomness into the process and, thus, invalidates it. Especially in high needs districts, teachers feel as if they are in a no win situation, thus the cheating scandals in DC and Atlanta, and the formation of the Testing Security Unit here in NY at a cost of 1 million dollars a year.
The AFT has taken money from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The more we learn, the more we see Bill Gates as one of the triumvirate of the reform movement: Duncan, Gates and Coleman.
We are afraid that Vladimir Lenin was right when he said, “The functionaries of our political organizations and trade unions are corrupted — or rather tend to be corrupted — by the conditions of capitalism and betray a tendency to become bureaucrats, i.e., privileged persons divorced from the people and standing above the people.”
Too many teachers are afraid to raise their voices. Signing off on VAM has weakened us.
Respectfully,
Michael
“…education, children and teachers.” Whoops.
I’m a member of the AFT, and have never voted for Randi (or anyone else). I asked my local union leader how the elections are handled and got some vague answer about delegates who were chosen to attend a conference in NY. How are the delegates chosen? I never found out.
Can anyone with knowledge illuminate me? How often are the elections for president of the AFT, and how could one affect those elections? The rank and file evidently don’t get to vote, so how can they influence the election?
And when is the next one?
Ron Poirier: Every UFT local in NYS and throughout the US has a specific number of delegates. New York City’s UFT as the largest local in the country has the greatest number of delegates. In fact, the number of delegates from NYC is greater than the total delegates of all other locals combined,
The NYC delegates are hand picked Unity Party (Weingarten/Mulgrew) sworn representatives.
The sheer numbers of NYC delegates, coupled with their allegiance to the Unity Party insured that Weingarten would be elected no matter how many other locals voted against her.
The elections are set up in this manner to control the outcome.
Thanks for the explanation about how AFT voting works. So Randi is not a president who was democratically elected by the popular vote of rank and file teachers across the nation. That sounds even worse than the electoral college.
Weingarten changed the selection procedure for District Representatives. District Representatives are the liasons between the union and the chapter leaders, the representatives elected within each school. The District Representatives are responsible for getting the union voice to each of the chapter leaders. This happens through monthly meetings and hopefully ongoing emails.
Weingarten opted to appoint the district representatives herself, as opposed to the previous process. The district representatives were traditionally elected by the chapter leaders of each district. Weingarten locked in allegiance to her power by curtailing this free election process. Obviously, Mulgrew has continued this policy of appointment.
Most members are unaware of the behind the scenes consolidation of power. Members are usually unaware of the double salary and double pension, the gold ring that so many chapter leaders hope to catch for themselves. The base salary is the DOE salary. This is reimbursed to the DOE by the UFT. On top of the salary comes the golden ring, the additional $50,000. bonus that the full time reps receive. Refer to the ICE UFT blog for complete details, All of this, including the salaries are, of course, paid by our union dues, probably the highest in the nation. Please note that Westchester districts with much higher salaries have dues that are just a tad more than half what the NYC dues are.
Joining forces with Weingarten is a losing proposition. We have already lost so much with her as the driving force behind the union. Look to Karen Lewis and CTU for inspiration!
And, UNITY is hitting hard against chapter leaders from MORE and ICE. They even work with the principals to remove these teachers. This is absolute power and not justice.
Schoolgal, Yes, my District Rep attempts to belittle and demean my actions, in front of my staff and other chapter leaders at our monthly chapter leader meetings. A few years ago she actually asked me if I was a member of ICE.
It would be in every member’s interest to attend a Delegate Assembly to see how they are run, and how important votes are implemented. Implemented is the right word, because it is certainly not a democratic process.
Schoolgal, Yes, my District Rep attempts to belittle and demean my actions, in front of my staff and other chapter leaders at our monthly chapter leader meetings. A few years ago she actually asked if I was a member of ICE.
It would be in every member’s interest to attend a Delegate Assembly to see how they are run, and how important votes are implemented. Implemented is the right word, because it is certainly not a democratic process.
It sounds like you’re saying that there is NOTHING I can do to influence whether or not Randi is elected, because she has set things up in such a way they she could literally have a public meeting where she calls us all idiots and fools, laughs at us, flips us off, and moons us — and she’d still get elected because it’s her hand-picked “friends” who really get to vote. Is that about right?
Why are there so many NYC delegates? Is it because there are more NYC AFT members than anywhere else? What is a RI teacher to do — just stand there cap in hand waiting for NYC delegates to break ranks?
Why am I paying for this?
Why are you paying? Because you have no choice! The 1977 amendment to the Taylor Law in NYS required every teacher to pay union dues whether or not they joined the union. Great for the union leaders, bad for its members. I think the union would behave very differently if its survival was not guaranteed by the state. Which of course brings be to the issue of loyalty. Union leaders are loyal to the GUARANTOR of the source of its income.
Ron Poirier
There are, I believe, about 80,000 UFT members in the NYC AFT local. This accounts for the very high number of delegates from NYC.
Our dues are around 1200 dollars per year, for a teacher. Paraprofessionals pay less, social workers, and psychologists more. That’s a lotta bucks for the Unity Caucus to work with, plus the COPE money that they collect. It would be interesting to compare the cost of dues for AFT and NEA members around the country, taking salary into consideration as well.
Ask any rank and file NYC teacher if their union is responsive to their needs. Ask if they can count on the union if they have a problem. Ask if the union has their back. You will get a resounding NO WAY!
Dues are the same for all members I believe. So it’s in the UFT’s interest to help get rid of the vets and replace with newbies 2 for 1 so gov’t gets more teachers at same cost while union doubles its dues. Makes you wonder.
Correct me if I’m wrong about any of the following:
* Rank and file teachers do not vote in the election for AFT president, delegates do.
* Because of the number of AFT members in NYC, NYC has more delegates than all of the other AFT chapters combined
* At least in NYC, the delegates are not elected, they are hand picked Unity Party sworn representatives (essentially chosen by Weingarten and/or Mulgrew)
* The previous facts combined mean that Weingarten essentially has her position as President of the AFT until she chooses to leave the position. There is no way for her to lose her position to a challenger since so many of the people allowed to vote were basically chosen by her.
Is this true?
Is Randi the President of the AFT, or would it be more accurate to say that she is the Queen?
Ron, the answer to your question is yes. Maybe Mike Fiorillo wants to confirm this.
There is, I believe, the greatist density of delegates for the AFT who come out of NYC public schools, and they are (the vast majority) of the Unity Caucus. NYC employs somewhere between 75,000 and 80,000 teachers, so the amount of representation reflects this large population and the large number of schools that are (still) public and participate in the closed shop union.
These delegates pledge their allegiance to Randi’s directives. They are not truly independent leaders. They receive a union salary and pension separate from their teacher salary and pension.
All bought, paid for, and gift wrapped . . . .
As always, Michael Fiorillo goes straight to the heart of the matter with eloquence and clarity.
Randi Weingarten’s greatest concern is promoting herself, not representing the members of the AFT, nor prior to that, the members of the UFT. Michael Mulgrew is her cabana boy. This, in spite of, his bravado, blustery, oft sarcastic and abrasive tone, the latter, certainly recognizable to members who have attended Delegate Assemblies.
Randi Weingarten would like to be the US Secretary of Education. She has wheeled and dealed herself into every niche where she sees opportunity. Randi does what is best for Randi. (Let’s not forget the “fabulous” negotiation she arranged for members to “get back” the two days before Labor Day, given up in the last contract. That “fabulous” fix lowered the interest rate on NYC Teacher’s Retirement System accounts by 1 1/4%. This represents a hefty lifetime giveback in exchange for two extra vacation days each year. The raw deals have come one after the other: as previously mentioned, the right to grieve letters to the file, was a profound game changer. There is no longer a dialogue between administration and staff, thanks to the Weingarten driven givebacks. Weingarten established the system of appointing only District Representatives and others who have sworn allegiance to her Unity party. She removed all possibility of dissent within the levels of the UFT that has contact with the rank and file outside of the chapter leader within the school. They are kept in line with a double salary and the future promise of a double pension.
I agree, we do need to band together. The key is to forge these bonds with those who share our goals and vision, not with the enemy.
I asked teachers of the “Badass Teachers Assoc.” to answer a question on whether or not they support Common Core. Of course it was not a scientific and random survey. Plus the members of this group I think would be predisposed to object to anything that comes from “education reformers”. Still, the results were eye popping. 113 for CC and 582 against. Quite a few were opposed even though they support the basic idea (who wouldn’t?) because of the way it is being used. Many said they initially supported it but changed their minds after seeing it used to rate & punish the educational community. I believe that if the Randi Weingarten/AFT survey asked the same questions within the context of real world usage the results would be very different.
You’re friends, that’s great. We all have friends we disagree with.
It’s important though to remember how strong this blog is, and it was your silence amongst bloggers’ responses in past weeks, bloggers disappointed in Randi, which fueled confirmation that those bloggers’ beliefs were well founded.
Now you are not silent about that. I think everyone knew you were friends but to say we should now work together is a hard pill to swallow.
If times are getting tough, then I can’t see this helping.
I have been critical, in general, of national, state, and local teacher’s unions.
My reasons are based on consideration of the following question:
Where were the various teacher’s union’s management public voice when the teacher corps was being scapegoated as the causal factor in poor student acheivement?
Now that the reform rhee-toric is being challenged by groundswell support, the union leaders are finally speaking up to power.
As much as I respect your contributions Diane, I cannot endorse Randi Weingarten.
This is one of my favorite posts. I know a lot of readers criticize Randi, but I believe she is doing the right thing and trying to navigate a highly complicated position. If the folks don’t like it, then she’ll get voted out the next election. That’s democracy. Also, these reformers need to hear counter opinions, and if all they see are angry people who like to yell, I don’t think it’ll be as beneficial. (But I do think there needs to be many angry people who yell too. We need both – those willing to fight like those in Chicago did, and those who try to engage like Randi and selectively fight on issues.)
But I do think some of these corporate reforms can reform. I may be too hopeful, but I think there are signs of it. (Ex: The TFA folks organizing an anti-TFA group. SFER being challenged by SUPE.)
I’m not a union member so those who know better please correct me if I’m wrong, but from what I’ve read, a primary complaint of AFT members is that the rank and file don’t get to vote for who is president. Apparently, only the top union officials get a say in that.
Other than Karen Lewis. I do not recall a teacher’s union president ever losing an election. In NYC all the recent presidents have been installed PRIOR to an election by the outgoing president about one year before the next union elections. That is not democracy. An incumbent in the UFT Unity Caucus has proven to be impossible to beat. Voter turnout among active teachers last election was 18%. That’s not support. That is apathy and resignation.
Educator,
NO, she will not get voted out.
This is by no means a fair process. I am not saying it should be easy, but it warrants fairness, and it has none.
You really need to understand the legal voting mechanisms among delegates of the AFT and the Unity Party. In theory, you are right, in practice, you don’t have enough information to make an informed conclusion . . . .
I see. Wasn’t aware that’s how the AFT elections, or “elections” went. I know in our local that’s how it runs, but we’re way smaller so maybe it’s easier to hold actual elections for the officers and get a vast majority of the teachers to vote.
Randi has big structural problems with what she believes in and has done. She has not protected teachers, she has too tight of relationships with the enemy as she has graduated from their academies. She has not been what I call a leader. It seems that all of them are compromised. Karen Lewis and her group is the only teachers group, union, that I trust and for good reason as they are doing the right thing for the profession and the individuals including students, parents, teachers and community together. Imagine that back to basics. Basics are where it is at as if you do not have them you have nothing and no foundation for anything else. The only reason to trust Diane at all is that she actually thought about what she was promoting and must have said to herself “What the hell am I doing?” Then she for the first time actually started to think and analyze outside of the ideological box. Now you have a monster who is self created through the forge of reality. Lucky for us the monster is on our side. If not for her blog there might not be Badass Teachers and many of these discussions instead of being private are now public for all to see and think about. The only question about Badass Teachers is that one of the founders comes from Fordham. That is always questionable. Except for CTU is there a large union really for the teachers? If so, who is it? After the last elections N.Y., Chicago and UTLA were supposed to join. You can see that CTU is on their own. Who owns them now as if we do not know. The real problem is that the teachers whose unions they are supposed to be owned by have let this happen. They had better become professionals again or there will be no profession soon. That is the goal by the other guys.
George B, I promise I am no monster. Also bear in mind that Mark NAISON is a professor of African American studies at Fordham University and that is a fine university. Were you confusing it with the rightwing Fordham Foundation?
It is important to observe what one has done, not what we think one might do. We will all have differences but so many grow from what ever their past was. We are a nation that pre judges way to much. Take ideas from where they are today, not where we think they might go.
Go Rams!
FLERP!,
And now you’re into the STL RAMs. Man I thought you were better than that.
No, Duane, he means the Fordham Unversity Rams.
George, I understand what you’re saying, but don’t you think “monster” is the wrong word?
Perhaps “powerful force”, “game changer”, “a major American voice in the public eye”, but “monster” is, I must say, harsh and inaccurate.
Diane has been tireless and selfless in her efforts. I would imagine that financially, she is comfortable and has no personal self-gain in pushing back against corporate reforms in education. She could just as well not say or do anything and live a comfortable tony life. If any personal gain, it’s her conscience . . . .
She chooses to be an almost 24/7 activist, and at 75, I see it as vibrant, energetic, and effective but not the same as when you’re 35. Yet, she has years of wisdom and understands the concept of “power” and how it gets generated, sustained, and used.
But I agree with the notion that our unions must become like the CTU.
I loathe Randi Weingarten. I cannot see myself parting with Diane becuase of her association with her. It’s a strange dichotomoy. I just hope for two things as this chicken and camel relationship continues:
1. That Randi reforms her thinking to be mostly or all like Diane’s.
2. That Diane does not change her thinking to be like Randi’s.
I trust the latter, and am hoping for the former as well. . . .
An informed and experienced force. . . whose leadership can help fight back the reform juggernaut, perhaps.
As for Randi, NC is non-union. This is the part where readers like me are truly students on this blog and appreciate the comments people make.
Correction:
When I said “at 75”, I was referring to Diane and not myself . . . . Darn this wordpress for not having edit features!
There will always be disagreements among those who share a passion. Randi and Diane are as good as it gets.
Now I will do my part and push hard for Individualized schools like the one I did as a traditional public school in Milwaukee in ’95. Whether they be charter, choice, private or public, the one who is first to take kids from where they are will be the leader. The rest will falter.
The reality is this can be accomplished right now even in the hostile environment caused by the reformers. We must show change that allows students to succeed on an even playing field and for teachers to take back their profession. Remember, every thing we did in 95 fit into the current failed system (well almost everything :-))
To understand it completely simply read our books Quashing the Rhetoric of Reform and Saving Students from a Shattered System. Quashing tells the story of how we took the challenge. This can be done today. Saving is a how to.
See how your school can become individualized under the radar. Show that public has a better idea. Until then, public will continue to close.
I can appreciate the fact that Ms. Weingarten is your friend, but it is she who caved in to Bloomberg & Klein and their disastrous policies. I told her PERSONALLY on two occasions that Everyday Math and Impact Math were simply awful and would, in time, wreck the Math skills of students from the ground up. I pleaded for her to make an issue of it. I’m still waiting. Meantime, what I predicted has sadly come to pass. As far as her skills in negotiating contracts, our last contract got us an increase in exchange for longer hours, which again, I pointed out to her personally that you need not be a Math teacher to know that more work for more pay is not really a raise at all. She said she’d been chastised for that by every group of teachers she met. So forgive me if I think she’s about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. I can do without her help.
Randi Weingarten should resign, end of story!. Oh, and I want my union dues back.
Ms. Lyle,
I would think that Madame Debarge agrees with you . . .
“Today, American public education faces an existential threat to its very existence. We all need to work together, argue when we must, but maintain our basic unity against the truly radical, truly reactionary threat of privatization. As a nation, as a democracy, we cannot afford to lose this essential democratizing institution.” With this I wholeheartedly agree. I think that the important missing piece of the argument is a well rendered description of what constitutes sound educational practices in the context of a democratic society. Indeed, the tests are an abomination and the consequences for educators and students incredibly high, the loss of autonomy, the loss of a right to succeed and retain one’s individuality. But I am concerned with the lack of discussion of the truly viable alternative to what exists now and I have no doubt that an alternative is necessary and that alternative may mean alternative ways for teachers to conduct themselves. Thus, the urge to defend teachers cannot allow those arguing for better conditions for teaching to ignore the role of teachers in creating and perpetuating the current system. If teachers are teaching under rules and regulations that prevent them from teaching well, then teachers must do something (everything) to change those conditions. If there are teachers who act to prevent necessary change or who do nothing to change the conditions of their work, then they are complicit in undermining the quality of education students receive.
I do not wish to argue about who is to blame, but I will argue that those who wish to improve the quality of education students receive consider what needs to be done to achieve such goal. One thing that has to be done is to define proper goals for instruction and it seems as though those goals are not being defined by teachers or their students. Getting a “good job” and becoming a competent worker, one who advances the cause of American competitiveness in the global economy, is what the current agenda is about. Little is said about goals such as effective participation as a citizen of a participatory democracy or the ability to challenge authorities who proscribe goals that are not the goals they would set for themselves or their own children. Few people want to be obedient workers who take what they are offered even if the offer is an absurd offer, a job that makes one miserable and pays little but is “the only job available.”
Citizens need to take on the forces that oppress them and education does need to help individuals to be able to fend for themselves, to participate in the creation of rules and policies that affect their lives. As Dewey says, people must participate in creating and regulating the institutions that govern their lives for, if they do not, then people have no good reason to give up bits and pieces of their freedom. People, as Dewey argues, in a democratic society give into rules because they believe them to be good and proper in that they allow all to live as free people amongst other free people.
If teachers feel bound by the rules, object to the rules but are not heard by the rule makers, then teachers have an obligation as citizens and as teachers of citizens to do whatever is necessary to make themselves heard. Sometimes this necessitates making trouble for oneself, causing oneself discomfort, putting things at risk, but if teachers are unwilling to do this, to grumble while doing someone else’s bidding, then they are poor role models for citizens of a democracy, a form of government that is revolutionary in regard to its coming into being and its being properly sustained. If teachers are teaching students to be good girls and boys because it is good to be good rather than right to be good because what is good is right, then they are being horribly mis-taught.
I wish Randi Weingarten was a better friend to the teachers she represents. As for the reason for this blog post, I have to wonder if something is happening within the AFT. I certainly hope so. And I hope it will lead to her ouster. Otherwise why another Praise Randi post.
Diane,
You are not a teacher in the NYC school system. You were not stabbed in the back by our leader Ms. Weingarten. And as a member of both the AFT and UFT, I am not going to be put in a corner like Baby and told to shut up. Frankly, I found that line in your post regarding “infighting” disingenuous. Thankfully, when I was a UFT rep, there were no oaths to sign in blood that would suppress my free speech. Yet Randi makes Unity members sign such an oath that clearly says you may not disagree with her. In any other country, that would be a dictatorship. (Read NYC Educator and EdNotes for more on this.) The UFT was once a democracy. Now it’s a joke.
Are we fighting among ourselves????? Hell NO!! Randi is part of the corporate takeover you want us to fight. The NYS/NYC teacher evaluations that rely on VAM were rubberstamped by your good friend.
I notice you kept out of the recent UFT elections. And I have not seen any posts about Karen Lewis either recently. Hmmmmmm…..
Schoolgal, Thank you for expressing this so clearly. As a non Unity Chapter Leader, I have been ostracized, denigrated, and treated with disdain by my Queens district rep because she knows that I don’t agree with the Union Party line.
It is disgusting to see what Unity thinks the members will swallow if you put out refreshments. I am quite sure the new evaluation system ain’t going down that easy, even if you put out a plate of chewy cookies.
We are wondering how many members retired this month.
Has anyone else read this dreck by Michael Reagan? I am outraged. Another reason why we need to stick together to fight these jackasses!
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/michael/reagan.php3#.Ud3XnNR5mSM
Michael Reagan’s logic:
A girl from Haiti got on a witness stand and spoke in dialect. Therefore, public education in the United States has failed and needs to be replaced by a for-profit system.
QED
Wow. Perhaps Mr. Reagan should give up the radio host and Republican strategist gigs and start teaching symbolic logic courses at MIT.
There is no logic in this article at all, merely the inflammatory, insulting, and degrading opinion of yet another “expert” on education. It must be the humidity, but this article is really annoying me, more so than any of the other diatribes I’ve read recently.
Lehrer, which article are you referring to?
Diane, it’s the article by Michael Reagan, for which I provided a link above. Sorry for any confusion.
Lehrer,
How can we best address Mr. Reagan? I too read his dung and am appalled. And Mr. Reagan should know that Haitian Creole is a legitimate language. It is a variation of French. It is in its own right an official, standardized language.
I wouldn’t know where to begin on this one, Robert. I’m appalled that he thought it would be acceptable for distribution. I’m surprised there hasn’t been an outpouring of outrage over it, but I’m not too sure how long it has been out there.
YUP, Robert. Reagan sheds much more light on himself in this piece than he does on his subject, doesn’t he?
Of course, I should have written “A girl from Haiti got on a witness stand and spoke in a dialect not that spoken by Mr. Reagan.” My post was written in haste. As English teachers know, having studied language, we all speak one or more dialects, all dialects are sophisticated, and all are extremely expressive. I’ve never encountered one that didn’t have expressive possibilities missing in other dialects of the same language. It’s an understatement to say that Mr. Reagan shows himself to have an insufficient appreciation of this. But that’s not the point I wanted to make. I, too, was disgusted by Mr. Reagan’s attitude, but it was his breathtaking illogic that I chose, instead, to comment on.
Robert, I agree with all your points.
Haitian Creole’s grammar is rule-governed like any other language. I am wondering if we can excerpt these posts to Mr. Racist Reagan . . .
The Reagan piece is simply disgusting.
It IS disgusting, but I would expect no less from this son of Ronald Reagan.
Every time I hear complaints about students not knowing about subjects that are not tested, like oral language, cursive and history, it harkens back to HIS FATHER and the GOP call for “back to basics.” So as reading and math became the focus of standardized tests, the curriculum was narrowed. And more of the same (MOTS) has not done much to improve skills in those two areas either. It’s difficult to imagine how motivating schooling that focuses primarily on just two subjects year after year could be for students either. But that’s what politicians demanded and if there are issues, they are the ones who are culpable, not the educators who know better but who are the last people politicians think to ask about education policies.
We don’t punish the son unto the seventh generation anymore! : )
Ron Reagan and Patti Davis are both very different characters from their brother Michael.
I judge a leader by how willing he or she is to help the “little guy.” I can state from personal experience that when we were in need of Ms. Weingarten’s assistance with the organization of a local in Texas, she ignored our requests for help with issues that concerned fiduciary improprieties and malfeasance. Ben Franklin wrote that “A true great man will neither trample on a worm, nor sneak to an emperor.” She has done both.
To be fair, she is not a man. However, I agree with you. And Ben Franklin would not approve of Weingarten’s comportment or the excuses her freinds make. Because of this woman and her kind, the plutocrats have had their way with teachers’ lives, we are losing our careers , our Homes, , our hope EVERYTHING . What students are being put through is and it will cost them ieven more unless we out the brakes on sooner than later, so there is not an excuse for this nor for pretending its a misunderstanding Maybe if her house was in foreclosure and she had skid row to look forward to because her income was cut off by lies and greed when a her union failed to defend her, , Ms, Ravitch would be less tolerant of poor manners and bad ethics.
Randi took care of Randi, no more no less…increases in salary for longer hours is not a raise…she’s done nothing for the little guy and will never have my respect.
A lot of well thought out statements of various positions. I don’t want to burst peoples’ bubbles BUT. It all comes down to this: In any conflict, it is the one that is LEAST invested, in any issue, that has the upper-hand and thereby usually wins. Think about it!
I understand Diane’s point on not fighting amongst ourselves but there is an inherent contradiction. How would Karen Lewis and CORE in Chicago view this statement in 2010 when they did not do what Diane is suggesting– they did fight with the union leadership and won. How can we democratically challenge undemocratic unions that collaborate with the very people we need to fight and in fact hinder the ability of the largest block capable of fighting back if we are told not to “fight” amongst ourselves? In fact this line that is appearing in various blogs is the standard one we always see from people in power — it was used by Bush in the Iraq war — we all have to be united, etc and look where that thinking gets us. It has been used to damp down the voice of dissidents throughout history. Diane should demand that the UFT/AFT democratize BEFORE asking for a united front. The fact that people are willing to ignore the fundamental internal issue inside the largest union local in the nation is dangerous thinking. How do you unite when the UFT INCREASES the power of retirees to control a union. What does it mean when 52% of the voters in the last union election were retirees? That is a sign of a very weak union that Randi headed up for so long. Do we ever hold her and her successors accountable or continuously fall for the “we must be united” argument which is only used to keep them in power?
Well stated Norm!! With Randi it’s all about the control and power. That’s why she changed the rules. That’s why she made an offer New Action couldn’t refuse, because she knew they would win the election. We now have a union that uses the Borgia method of control. And unless we stand up to these injustices, we will never have leaders like Karen Lewis. It’s no wonder many teachers don’t even attend union meetings. Randi is like the principal who puts teachers “in their place”. No voice, no respect, no nothing. And when she does “write a letter” or “join a protest”, it’s theatrics. She accepts the donations of people like Gates, but like in politics, it comes with a cost. She is supposed to work for us, not herself.
Again — how do I vote in the AFT election? I’ve asked my local union leaders and gotten vague answers about delegates going to NY. What can I do? Does anyone know?
Where can I learn how the AFT election system works? If the only option available to me is to petition my local leaders, can anyone help me create a set of bullet points that I can send along to my leadership regarding Randi W. and why they might not want to vote for her next time around? It sounds like such a list must already exist somewhere.
I feel like there isn’t a lot of transparency regarding how the AFT election system works.
Ron,
As a rank and file teacher, you can’t vote in AFT national elections. That is only done by delegates elected on the local level. To have direct rank and file elections of national officers – something very, very few unions permit, by the way – would require re-writing the union by-laws.
With the UFT in NYC being the tail that wags the AFT dog in Washington, in practice that means that only loyalty oath-signing members of Unity Caucus become delegates. It is no accident that, with the exception of a brief caretaker administration after the death of Sandy Feldman, every AFT leader has sprung from Unity Caucus leadership in NYC.
Under Albert Shanker, that meant support for the Vietnam War until the bitter end, and support for the coup that killed Salvador Allende in Chile and ushered in the neoliberal era in 1973. Under Randi Weingarten, that means nominally (though empty and meaningless) support for more liberal politics, but also co-managing teachers as their profession is de-professionalized and de-skilled, and as public education is re-configured into a vehicle for corporate profits and explicit social engineering.
This is the same Unity Caucus leadership that was elected in April with 52% of the votes coming from retirees, and only 18% from working teachers. This is the same Unity Caucus leadership that the year before passed an amendment to the by-laws giving increased weight to the retiree vote.
And this is the same Unity Caucus leadership that boasts about its “collaboration” with Bill Gates, Eli Broad, Michael Bloomberg, John King, Andrew Cuomo, and others members of the Overclass and their political brokers.
There is, however, hope for change. The Unity Caucus mentality of collaboration with those who would destroy us is being challenged by teachers who see what is happening to them, their schools and their communities, and refuse to cooperate with their own destruction. Chicago, DC and Newark show that teachers are perhaps waking up to the epochal struggle, or in the absence of struggle, the demise, that faces them.
Michael,
However, if we follow Diane’s advice, these groups will never see the light of day. Newark only woke up after they realized Randi sold them a bridge when she told them to approve the contract. That’s what happened in DC and Chicago. But NYC for some reason has not reached that point. Instead teachers refuse to get involved with the union. And if this keeps up, E4E will have their way.
Looking forward to Diane’s next I LOVE RANDI piece. They seem to come out every few months. But the comment section against Randi seems to be growing. Maybe that’s the point of these posts. To bring forth the truth since Diane herself isn’t in a position to do it. I certainly hope so.
“Maybe that’s the point of these posts. To bring forth the truth since Diane herself isn’t in a position to do it.”
That is an interesting theory. I know I would not have learned half of the negative things I have learned about Randi if Diane had never written anything supporting her. Ha!
School gal,
I did not offer anyone advice about what to do on contract issues.
My position on key issues is clear:
I think VAM is junk science and that teachers should not be evaluated by the rise or fall of test scores.
I support testing only for diagnostic purposes, not for rewards or punishments for teachers, principals, or schools.
I oppose merit pay.
I support teacher tenure.
As I said in my post, Randi is my friend but there are issues where we do not agree. She doesn’t check with me, and I don’t check with her.
Do you support testing for awards or punishment of students? I am thinking of teacher created final exams in high school that in part determine grades, class standing, scholarship opportunities, etc..
I ask because I noticed that students were left out of your list.
Diane,
Let’s be clear here. Your post said “It serves no purpose for those of us opposed to teacher-bashing and corporate reform to fight among ourselves. We must stand together so that we will one day prevail over those who want to destroy public education and the teaching profession. We can’t win if we are divided. I will do nothing to help those who pursue a strategy of divide and conquer. They want us to fight among ourselves. I won’t help them.”
By “divide and conquer” I can only interpret this to mean we shouldn’t have anyone in opposition running against the Weingarten machine. That would include CORE (Karen Lewis), MORE (Julie Cavanaugh), and those in DC that ran against Unity and won, and now in Newark where the UNITY candidate won by a few votes. Infighting led to a stronger union in Chicago with a leader who is not afraid to stand up to Rahm. Randi on the other hand, embraced Klein and Bloomberg. Do you think without her stamp of approval we would have mayoral control now????
Randi represents one person–herself. She orchestrated her Philly appearance as well as orchestrated her moratorium letter on testing while at the same time publishing an article with the Gates Foundation. When she stands with Bloomberg and Klein, that’s okay because their form of destroying public ed meets with her approval. After all, she never fought against the school closings here in NYC.
Diane–she is not the hero!! The fact is if you walk into any NYC school and mention her name, daggers start flying. The real rank and file are not the same teachers you saw at the convention. Those are UNITY loyalists who run the show. Do you remember the standing ovation you got from your speech in front of an audience of TFAs?? You are the hero. You have the power. You know deep down who your friends are and who pretends to be your friend. You are the one teachers are turning to for help, not Randi. You are the one whose name brings in the audience.
And I too, as others here have proven, have a voice. She may be your friend, but when you praise her in posts, expect the truth to come out. If you find this counterproductive, what do you think the last 10 years have been like for NYC teachers?? We no longer have a strong union. We are afraid to lift our voices because we know our union stands with Bloomberg. That’s why we turn to you–to counter the effects and harm Weingarten has placed upon not just NYC teachers, but teachers all over the country when she convinces teachers to vote for a contract that will lead to the destruction of public schools.
Schoolgal,
You seem to think I was choosing sides between contending factions.
I was not.
I never intervene in internal union politics.
I never tell anyone which slate to vote for.
What I said was that we should stand together against a common threat to the future of the teaching profession and to the very existence of public education.
I believe that.
I know you do not take sides. My point is that infighting leads to better representation for teachers. Unity has a monopoly, and it will take some time for teachers to realize there are better options if we are to continue the fight against the Reformers. Randi is no longer that option. By asking as not to fight, is like asking us to stand in the corner and let the NEA and AFT leadership continue to endorse the Duncan agenda.
Diane,
We cannot stand with Weingarten because she has worked against us for years. The Unity caucus in NYC is a lie. This caucus is intrinsically tied to Weingarten.
Morale in the schools is unimaginably low. Many schools are without chapter leaders (elected union representation within each school building) because members do not want to take on this role for fear of retaliation by the principal. Members know that they cannot rely upon the union to stand behind them.
Weingarten turned her back on the members for her own professional gain and fame. She wants a seat at the table with the oligarchs. She cannot sit at our table and their table at the same time.
Either she’s with us or against us. This is a fence that cannot be straddled.
Did you dream that you would open floodgates by speaking about your friendship with Randi?
You are a beacon for us. Stand with us, but please do not ask that we stand with Weingarten. She has betrayed us.
Ron
Fleshing out Michael’s response a bit. Each local elects delegates to the AFT convention which takes place every even numbered year (next one in LA in July 2014). That is when the elections for AFT officers and Exec Bd takes place in a slate vote. Randi got around 90% of those votes last year I believe.
The UFT elects 800 delegates which is by far the major chunk that no other city comes close to — ie, Chicago the 3rd largest city sends no more than 150 I believe and LA being mixed NEA and AFT does not have a major presence. The UFT also controls a chunk of NYSUT which I believe with 600,000 members makes up 40% of the AFT.
The election of delegates in NYC is tied to the UFT officer and Exec Bd elections every 3 years (next March 2016). It is winner take all. Thus if Unity got 51% of the vote they still send 800 delegates, who infiltrate all committees and make sure to execute the agenda of the top – ie Randi. In the last election MORE got about 4500 votes and these people get no voice either in the AFT or the UFT Exec Bd (also mostly winner take all).
For those who are calling for Karen Lewis to challenge Randi that will not happen at this time. Randi can control things through the national version of Unity — Progressive caucus which is open to all — I joined both in 2010 and 2012. They run a slate which Karen Lewis has been on — the only way for Chicago to have an Ex bd member is to run with Randi. It isn’t that this is super important I believe for Karen but the AFT itself would be embar not to have Chicago on the ex bd. There is an alt slate running under the By Any Means Necessary banner (BAMN) but they have not resonated even with people opposed to Randi. There is also an AFT Peace and Justice Caucus that does not run but holds events. You don’t have to be a delegate to attend but if you do you are not allowed into committee meetings where the work gets done but are allowed on the floor and to attend other activities.
Then there’s the story of how Randi bought the major opposition caucus off a decade ago because she didn’t want to have anyone run against her hoping to get 100% of the vote. (She didn’t). But another time.
Norm, Schoolgal, and Michael Fiorillo,
Consider collaborating and putting out a COMPREHENSIVE website about the workings of the AFT and its satellite unions. You are masters at understanding this.
Knowledge is power.
Diane,
Knowing full well that the pushback outcomes are not dependent upon only your leadership (which will always stand as a critical component), I offer the following:
I wish Randi would feel substantially the same way you do.
Norm Scott is right to state that the unions need to democratize. Democratic they are not. This is a serious structural issue.
Still, I understand that you are independent of Randi, and she of you.
I accept that you do not agree with everything she does, nor does she with you. No one can literally dictate how someone should feel.
But as someone who is teaching/has taught under the UFT and now NYSUT/AFT, I can understand the objections so many readers have raised with regard to Randi.
The more teachers across the nation really educate themselves about how the Unity party dominates the AFT and how the system of delegates from NY City dominates this particular political landscape, the more people will understand how the union maintains its power to do so many of the things that are antithetical to the very points we and you stand for.
Maintaining your friendship with her has its benefits personally and politically, but it also carries great risk. I have no way of assessing the cost/benefit ratio for such a risk.
I am posing these thoughts as your colleague, an NBCT, and as a critical friend.
There is NO easy, right or wrong solution to this, but I definitely sense what outcomes the majority of us in this forum are looking for.
They are the same things you are seeking.
I will continue to advocate for the same things I have advocated for in many public forums and on this blog.
Randi and I will agree and disagree.
What I have written here is exactly the same things that I told the AFT National Convention in Detroit in 2012:
VAM is inaccurate and unstable. It is junk science.
Merit pay has never worked.
Tying teacher pay to test scores is wrong. It encourages teaching to the test, gaming the system, narrowing the curriculum, and cheating.
Teachers need tenure to protect academic freedom.
The delegates responded with a standing ovation.
I say the same wherever I go.
thank you, Norm, for writing my beliefs so well! Where was Randi when older teachers were harassed to force them into retirement, did Randi speak out when as head of the UFT and on the speakers’ platform during a UFT rally, police blocked freedom of assembly as people were herded in along and prohibited by police and wooded blockades from turning either right or left so that they might join friends ahead and behind?
Beyond the scope of political labels is the fact that teaching, as a profession, has been as one of the other comments here asserts, de-professionalized. Too many people are of the opinion that if you like kids and if you are of reasonable intelligence, you can teach. Couple this with the widespread misconception that teachers have it easy. Misunderstandings about teaching have become an impetus to put teachers on the hot seat and there are plenty of people jumping on the self-serving, self-righteous bandwagon to make sure we are working hard enough to justify making a living wage.
I would say that we have to take back the profession, but I confess that I don’t know how we do that. I would hope that union leadership could support the effort to promote teaching as not just noble, but a true profession. The teachers I know all have earned advanced degrees just as our counterparts in the business world have earned. Yet somehow we do not merit the same professional respect that doctors, lawyers, CPAs, MBAs do. That is something our union leaders have to address. I wouldn’t want someone who hadn’t been to med school second guessing a surgeon performing my appendectomy. Yet we, as a culture, allow politicians whose primary connections to education have been through the simple good fortune to sit in American classrooms to dictate our every move.
I think it helps to see teaching as a workplace with attendant hierarchies of salary and power.
I have long been of the opinion that the only logical solution is for teachers and teacher boards to implement the curriculum in the individual school buildings and for business managers to administer non-education matters such as security, food service, busing, energy, maintenance., etc.
While not a communist, I think using a collective mentality and starting from the classroom up instead of a top down mentality and viewpoint is the way to go in figuring out how to best serve our students and future Americans.
Why would anyone in their right mind collaborate with Bill Gates? He is up to very shady practices. Aside from being in the forefront of educational “reform” by way of developing the Common Core (why is he involved AT ALL?), he and his “Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation” are involved in all kinds of unusual activities. I question his motives as well as his goals. What type of student does he really want to create?
Google his name along with “eugenics” and you’ll see what I mean. Also Google his name with “Monsanto” – leader of genetically modified crops and creator of poisons, and you’ll see that he has a hand in just about everything. Anyone who sides with him in any way is not seeing the whole picture. If they do understand what he is about and still side with him, they DO NOT have my vote.
If you take even three minutes to google Bill Gates and Eugenics you will find clear evidence that Gates is NOT supporting eugenics. He does support birth control and vaccines and wiping out nasty diseases in the tropics — all of which are fine with me.
Not that I like him much — I think he is a greedy monopolist who got where he is largely because IBM made an incredibly stupid decision — ie he was lucky — and because he insisted on making a lot of money.
The evidence is pretty clear that even on his own terms and using his own yardsticks, every single one of his major “ideas” in the field of education has been a complete and utter failure: privatization, deprofessionalizing the teaching profession, charter schools, small schools, closing schools down, more corporate involvement in running the schools, you name it.
And, clearly, when the billionaires who run the corporate education movement say we should have computers instead of actual teachers running our classrooms, a reasonable person could conclude that they are very much interested in making lots of money. Especially since there is not much evidence that it helps.
(see http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/07/19/san_jose_state_suspends_udacity_online_classes_after_students_fail_final.html or http://slate.me/15RBsdv )
But, no, he has shown no actual, real sign of being into eugenics.
I appreciate that you disagree with Randi on the Common Core, as I do not agree with her. I also have issues with a number of her stances: The Bar exam for Teachers – Each state has its own certification requirements. Those certification requirements reflect state ecomomies, local economies and the Education Law of said state. To push for a bar exam implies that at some point salaries,benefits and seniority will be uniform throughout the nation. In New York it is a Masters Degree and each year new professional development. She has also stated that teachers want tough evaluations. In reality teachers want fair and meaningful evaluations. These type of statements helped get us to this testing frenzy. I am sure Randi is a bright woman, an excellent lawyer. Teaching is a profession, an excellent teacher has years of classroonm experience that makes them an excellent educator. Randi does not understand fully the impact of this reform in education. It is not based upon real experience,only conversation and observation.
Just about every single issue she is on the wrong side of it and backs privatizer talking points. Occasionally she throws in a bone or two about supporting public education, but it is very obvious what she is and who she really represents.
Unfortunately, your friend is an enemy of public education and a plant to boot.
Nobody with minimal experience as a teacher should have any business heading a union.
That’s true Susan. We get upset when people with no ed experience are now running school systems. Someone with 6 months of teaching and a law degree does not truly understand the job of a teacher.
Randi Weingarten is the Cory Booker of teachers’ unions.
She clearly was backed by privatizers to kill teachers’ unions from within.
The same conclusion can be drawn from the head of NEA.
It may be time to abandon the unions.
I can’t think of any beneficial reason to teachers for their purpose, at this time. We used to be able to count on them and I have received their assistance on several occasions. If teachers join for liability insurance only – one can get it much cheaper through other agencies.
Being part of a union now, with the history of selling us down the river, makes no sense. Unless we are massacistic. Everything we would need a union for are no longer being offered. Instead, the opposite is happening.
Randi Weingarten may be a friend of Diane, but she is no friend of teachers and is hurting our profession, schools and children at a huge scale. She also knows exactly what she is doing and defends it at every turn.
I respect Diane and I have no evidence to doubt her dedication to saving public education. She speaks the language of education and expresses the humanity so important to the decency and preservation of our most noble profession.
No thank you. Just because we disagree with leadership doesn’t mean we do not support our union. Nor do I have any interest in your company and anti union stance.
While it might be tempting for some teachers to imagine other uses for the money that now goes to union dues, the fact remains that unions are the ONLY institution in the country that exist to defend the rights of working people.
The worst, most corrupt union is still better than no union at all. Despite my criticisms of Randi – who, by the way, has always been accessible and respectful to me personally, and toward whom I harbor no personal animosity – and the UFT leadership, I have no illusions that my life would be better without the union, and nor should any other teacher.
Just as the public schools need to be taken back by the public and reformed in accordance with democratic principles, in the interest of Democracy itself, so too the unions must be democratized and re-energized. Those processes would occur together, and reinforce each other.
As for Diane posting about her friendship with Randi, why should anyone have a problem with it? Diane occasionally writes on the convergence of personal and political matters, and those are important discussions to have.
As for any inferences about her motivation, I take what she writes at face value, and am grateful for the platform her post gave opponents of Randi to educate teachers and AFT members in other parts of the country.
That this forum is so open and wide-ranging, and that the level of discussion and debate remain as high as they do – things that Diane has assiduously cultivated on this blog – guarantees that the truth will assert itself and be recognized among the readership.
Or ditch the teachers’ unions in favor of joining the Teamsters instead.
Let”s make this clear. Diane is also a friend of Julie Cavanagh who ran for President of the UFT against Mulgrew this year. Diane has been extremely supportive of many of the efforts related to the film we did responding to Waiting for Superman and has said wonderful things about Julie. That was when we were GEM (Grassroots Education Movement) not engaged in internal union politics (though Mulgrew’s people tried to brand us that way.) We don’t have a problem with her policy of not getting involved in internal union politics (and we do not expect her to).
I wish I could be as diverse in my friendships as Diane.
I should be more tolerant of other mindsets, but given the circumstances, I can be friends with Randi Weingarten as much as Tom and Jerry can with each other.
It’s like . . .
Oil and vinegar.
Marx and Ronald Reagan.
MacDonald’s and Gaston Acurio.
Chopin and Metallica.
Never . . . .
I assume that comment was directed at me. My original point (which I made during another pro-Randi piece a few months back) was that Julie had some very good op-ed pieces that didn’t make it here. Given her regard for Julie, I found it strange. Even if she didn’t mention the “campaign”, it would have been great national exposure for Julie.
Schoolgal, I know and admire Julie Cavanaugh. As I said before, I stay away from internal union battles.
And I am just saying I found it baffling that when you highlight other people’s writings, you never included her works. Just sayin’. Of course on some level it may have been due to your friendship with Randi not to give Julie a forum that would have giving her national exposure as a defender of teachers and students.
Schoolgal, I did not highlight anyone’s “works” during the NYC union election. Not Michael Mulgrew, not Julie.
Dianne, Some teachers at I met yesterday thought that Randi may have encouraged you to say something in her support. I can’t imagine that being the case but some are saying that.
Michael,
I never write anything because I was asked to do it. I have posted nearly 5,000 pieces in the past 15 months. They are all either what I believe or what I found interesting or what I hoped would provoke discussion. This one succeeded on every level.
I would go with 2 out of 3. Interesting??? Not too sure about that. It did however make our heads explode hence over 200 comments.
I think the comments were probably more interesting. They were highly informative. And for many it was a rude awakening into the workings of Randi Weingarten. And for that, it was worth scraping my scalp off the ceiling.
But I do remember some pieces by Goodman another Unity spokesperson. Fair enough. I hope you will consider highlighting Julie now that the election is over.
Provocative, you have been, Diane!
A+ . . . . . . .
Thank you, Norm Scott. I consider myself a friend of Julie Cavanaugh, Brian Jones, you, and the others who work on behalf of sane education policies in NYC and nationally. I appreciate your understanding that I avoid getting into the middle of union political battles. In the recent election, the most appalling fact was how few active teachers bothered to vote. The message of my post was not to say that no one dare criticize Randi nor to defend specific policies, but to affirm that we must not get so caught up in in-fighting that we lose the battle for public education. I can’t help but think of the scene from Monty Python’s “Life of Brian” when all the splinter groups become obsessed with fighting each other. It was good for the Romans.
Diane,
With every passing day I am more and more impressed with your brilliant political skills which get better and better. I fully understand the boundaries you can and cannot cross and support the decisions you make. I believe you have criticisms of Randi and union policy but there is no need for you to go there and in fact if you did you would be undermining the work you are doing which has led you to become the major spokesperson for teachers, their unions, their students etc. the kind of work we wish our unions were doing more of. But in fact they may be smart in letting you do the work given your background, which is driving ed deformers crazy.
In fact this post of yours may be the most brilliant yet and maybe the response might lead to some wake-up calls, though sadly the result will be more rhetoric.
it is our job to go after the AFT/UFT leadership from within and force changes, not yours. And shame on us if we do not make progress. Your support for the Chicago TU and Karen Lewis has been immense and I’m sure it MORE were every able to take power in NYC you would also be supportive. though of course my pessimistic self would warn you to be alert to the landing of aliens before that might happen.
Norm and Diane,
I salute you both. Thank you.
Norm, my feelings about this whole post do not change with wild shifts, but the values I take away form the pos are still evolving.
I can’t agree with you more. Thank you for a great comment.
The world of the internet: some is always interpreted as either none or all.
As you sow, so shall you reap.
In your cryptic world of thought, what exactly does that mean in this context? I’d like to understand you.
First, that Internet blogs are not well suited to finding common ground between individuals and second if you encourage this trend you should not be surprised that even your own calls for to unite and look for common ground will be rejected.
Wow, TE!
Thank you for clearing that up for me.
And thank you for your scientific and fact-based thinking. Thank goodness you’re not one of those creeps who poses emotionally charged judgements and passive aggressive ranting that no one really pays attention to and that just further attenuates credibility.
You’re the real thing!
An aside, I know, but thank you for your pitch perfect assessment of TE.
To Schoolgal and all others,
Yes, Schoolgal, you’re right once again: infighting does lead to better unions by all means. I think Diane is saying that she does not get involved with infighting.
But the delcaration that she is friends with Randi and all that has come with that friendship is something that I don’t judge, yet I am not sure why she feels the motivation to write about it and post it.
Why her friendship cannot remain solid without being articulated on her blog (of COURSE, she has the right to write anything she wants; it’s HER blog) is confusing to me.
I do not for one millisecond believe that posting it makes readers think that Diane is not on our side, on the right side, etc. Both women are clearly independent of each other.
But I do think the post and delcarations Diane made may confuse the momentum of the movement we are all collectively building. Her post does not render us “anti-Diane” but I feel it is confusing and perhaps distracting given her audience and their personal and first hand experience with Randi Weingarten and the Unity Caucus. These experiences are something Diane herself never has encountered directly. I say that with no resentment.
I don’t know if Diane actually considered weighing the interests of her audiences perceptions and the momentum thus built through her blog against her delcarations of friendship with Randi. I dont’ know if Diane sees it as being a problem, although the question might become “a problem for who?”.
I do not at all think that Diane is up to any bait abnd switch. She is the real thing and incapable of opportunism and deceit.
You know, I just feel that when you are fighting a war and your country is being bombed, and one of the other countries also being trampled upon decides in some way to cooperate with the enemy, you have to wonder if your country is put further at risk for prevailing against the enemy. In this metaphor, we – Diane included – are the country being trampled upon and the reformers are the enemy. Randi is the other country being trampled upon who has decided to cooperate.
The potential for confusion and weakened focus may not have been worth the post, I think.
Still, I am going back to focusing on the fight . . .
Read it again Ron. She is telling US not to get involved with infighting and telling US we have to stick together. I suppose that’s why Randi requires everyone in her Unity caucus in NY to sign an oath to that. Funny, but I find that oath as oppressing free speech. If they don’t abide and open up their mouths to the injustices, they will never be able to go to the AFT convention. That’s how she controls the votes that puts her in power. I think all AFT members should receive a ballot and vote for their own leadership. In fact this is right out the of Democrats “super delegates” that can override the selection of the presidential candidate no matter if the win the primaries that carry a % of delegate votes.
That’s proof again about how seriously damaged the democratic mechanisms of the AFT really are.
It’s a grave issue . . .
Attention Schoolgal and Michael Fiorillo:
Why not collaborate and put out a website that really explains electron-microscopically how the AFT works, how it’s put together, how it colors other state and local unions, how it sustains and maintains power, what its crucial components are and how they work. . . . really put out a crafted blog that will educate thousands, now that Randi has been national for quite some time.
Talk about powerful but probably not so many labor-intensive efforts that could make a difference. The first step to change is knowledge of what is going on.
I don’t have nearly enough knowledge as Mike, but I am willing to proofread and edit for clarity.
What do you think?
I meant “back to focusing on the fight against reformers” . . .
My dream is to have WordPress offer edit features. There are pros and cons when it comes to the psychology of a writer’s truth and intentions when putting out a message.
I thought about the editing issue when setting up discussion boards for my classes. One problem is that a poster might edit a comment for content after someone else has already commented on the post.
Perhaps a five minute grace period or allowing posters to edit their post if no one has commented or is currently commenting on it.
Really?
The thing is, we can do both. When Randi stands hand in hand with Gates and Duncan, sits on the board of some of the worst deformers in history, we lift our voices. We lift our voices, but they have been falling on deaf ears. That in no way curtails our efforts to fight these horrible reforms. CC is going to cost NYC over a billion dollars. Randi doesn’t seem to have a problem with that. Yet the mayor laid of school aides and when he doesn’t get his way, threatens to lay off teachers too. This is money that should go to the classrooms, not testing companies, not publishing companies, etc. Where is Randi’s outrage over this??? She is a strong supporter of using test scores as weapons against teachers and calls it “professionalism”. Way to go Randi!!!
When is a democracy not a democracy? When a union is involved.
A-h-h-h-h! Our resident grinch is back again in action.
Well, well, hello Harlan,
yes, hello, Harlan,
It’s so nice to have you back
where you (dont’) belong . . .
Thank you for your musical animadversions. It is true that I don’t belong on this union schill list, but I do belong on a list for those interested in better education for all.
I can think of a few other lists, but I don’t want to get in trouble.
Sending them telepathically to you now…..GO!
OUCH. Blubberakwsting. Stop. Stop. Whew. Thought I was being stung inside my brain by a gaddis fly.
Linda,
I have such a great one liner for HU’s response to you, but I am not posting it because Harlan has walked right into it, and it would not be a fair fight. And I don’t want to appeal to my inner Moliere when I know a barbed tongue can hurt more sometimes than the sword . . .
But you have to admit, it’s so much fun hearing from him and responding as such. Ah-h-h-h! That comic relief.
I think we may be on the same wavelength. I feel sad for him sometimes. 😦
He means well, but he is ill-informed and lacks our experience in the public school realm. He sort of reminds me of a character in a play I once saw who had the right intentions and whose naivete did him in.
I’ve given this matter some thought. I don’t know everything about Randi, but from what I’ve heard I don’t trust her. Even if I did trust her, though, the Unity Caucus setup seems very wrong to me. I don’t care who the AFT President is, they should not be in a position to perpetuate their own ascendancy by hand-picking a majority of the delegates who vote on whether or not they get to retain office.
In this, Randi IS less of a President and more of a Queen. I shall henceforth refer to her as Randi Weingarten, the Queen of the AFT.
I feel like I’ve spoken too much here already, but I want to sincerely thank the people who have helped me learn more about how the AFT elections work. If I could ask one more favor?
Could anyone tell me a theoretical way in which the incumbent AFT president (and I fear that I use the term loosely here) could lose her office? It seems to me that it would have to involve every delegate uniting behind a common opponent AND at least some of her hand-picked delegates breaking their oaths by voting against her.
Please correct me if I am wrong. I genuinely want to make sure I have a handle on this before I go explaining it to colleagues.
Clarification — “every delegate FROM OUTSIDE NYC”!
Ron, I hope there will be a million Ron Poirers out there who go back to their den of colleagues and discuss what they have learned about the AFT and how it really works. . . . To know is to do.
And one more thing, Ron.
You have NOT spoken too much already. There’s no such thing in this forum.
If anything, there has never have enough discussion on the way our education unions work, serve their members, and how students and families are affected by ensuing teaching conditions.
Well, thanks, Robert. Again, can you give a theoretical example of how she could lose her office? Would it really have to involve what I describe above?
Ron. Given the political realities which are too deep to go into here, this is pretty much an impossible task. And it is not the big battle. The battle is in the locals. But if you want more answers email me offlist: normsco@gmail.com. We can also talk if you want.
Ron,
PLEASE listen to Norm and also e-mail Michael Fiorillo. They are both THE experts on the mechanisms of how the local and AFT unions are put together and sustained. You would be fortunate to partner with both of them.
From what I understand, there would have to be enough locals from the most dense clusters of delegates (I think THE most dense once comes out of New York City Schools) who would be of a mindset different from Randi’s, and the problem is that her union and other more local unions reward and incentivize these delegates with separate slaries, stipends, and pensions. Those not in the Unity Part or who are opposed to it are given little facilitation in getting elected and are not given cushiony or profiteering union position jobs.
This is a basic intorduction into the answer of your question, but Norm and Mike are far more expert than me. You can e-mail me at artwork88@aol.com if you have any more commentary on the matter.
I’d like to learn a lot more myself. You also need to know that a lot of state and local unions take leadership guidelines and direction from the AFT to some extent even though they are called “independent”. . . there is an influence, while not mandated, that colors such unions.
Thank you, again, everyone. I have one more question for this forum, though.
As I understand it, Randi has somehow given herself the power to hand-pick the NYC delegates to the AFT convention that elects the executive board (including the president).
How was she able to do this if it goes against the constitution of the AFT?
I’m looking at the 2010 AFT constitution, Article VIII, Section I (Representation):
“Section 1. (a) Delegates and/or alternates to the convention from a local or retiree organization shall be elected by secret ballot.”
That seems pretty straightforward to me. How is she pulling this off?
Ron,
It sounds like your guesses are correct, but I believe one would need way more than just “some of her hand picked delgates” to break their oaths and vote against her.
Norm? Michael? If either cares to answer, I’d like to know also.
Like most one-party states, the UFT/Unity caucus as currently constituted is nearly impermeable to internal reform. It even has a captive fake opposition caucus, New Action, that it uses to divert and divide opposition energies.
It’s very ironic that much of the genealogy of the UFT goes back to struggles and competitions within the union between the Communist Party – represented back in the day by the Teacher’s Union – and more conservative elements represented by the Teacher’s Guild, which was ultimately chosen by the membership as its bargaining representative.
The irony is that the UFT/Unity Caucus, though led for years by true believer Cold Warriors such as Albert Shanker, in fact functions very similarly to the Communist Party of old. Internal discussions are held – although there’s very little policy debate in the UFT, even in the upper echelons – and once a decision is made, members are expected to promote the party line.
This plays out on the school level, where Chapter Leaders are expected to sell the issue of the day – currently, that would mean new evaluation procedures designed to effectively end tenure – to the rank and file, rather than educate and activate them.
The danger with this lack of internal democracy is the same as that faced by the Soviet Union: resistant to change, feedback and democracy, it becomes sclerotic, increasingly irrelevant to its members, and vulnerable to collapse. In this case that would likely mean decertification efforts by Randi’s pal Bill Gates-funded fifth columnist groups like Educators for Excellence.
Just what the so-called education reformers dream of at night.
Ron and Michael,
Michael is right. ICE is one such real opposition party.
I know someone personally, a colleague of mine when I worked in the city, whose union supervisor, a delegate (this person was a chapter leader for his school for several years) used to hound him to confirm whether or not he was a member of ICE. The delegate was aggressive, threatening, and abrasive in her communication style when trying to get this information out of my friend who declined to comment.
It is indeed a racket, a monopoly, and a veritably well oiled machine of corrosion and corruption.
You’ll learn MUCH more as you communicate with Norm and Michael.
All because the union’s survival is guaranteed by the Taylor Law Amendment of 1977 mandating agency fees that forced all teachers to pay union dues whether or not they joined. The leadership will not fight the hand that forces members to feed it. Result is lack of real support for teachers. If dues were allowed to stop today, tomorrow the union would be out of business. I am a very strong believer in a union of teachers. The UFT/AFT is a union of leaders living off teachers with a guaranteed income. I recall that there were 2 strikes occurring under the Taylor Law provisions requiring a loss of pay of 2 days for 1 day on strike. After the 1977 amendment there were no more strikes.
Important point, MB. My colleagues would stop paying dues today if they could. One big conversation that members do get involved with: Can you or can you not stop paying union dues. Which, of course, the answer is absolutely not.
We know what we need. Is it going to happen in the United States now?
I wouldn’t mind leaving COPE considering the types of candidates the UFT have been endorsing and the pols they have been folding to (Bloomberg and Cuomo). However in a million years I would never stop paying my dues. This is what the Republicans want. Divide and Conquer. Somehow your school needs to build up union support. It has been done at other schools. I always served food at my meetings. That was the draw. I used part of my stipend towards something the teachers needed. Find out what their gripes are and find a way to address it.
Michael Fiorillo,
Thank you always for shedding light . . .
Excellent, Michael Brocoum! You hit a nail on the head.
The simple answer Ron is that in UFT elections we have slates running repping each caucus. Randi/Mulgrew’s Unity Caucus picks its slate which includes the 800 (might be 700) delegates to the AFT and NYSUT conventions — all loyalists who promise to follow party discipline at the convention. They meet before they leave to cover the important issues Randi has passed down. Like last time they were focused on their testing resolution and marshalled their forces to push it through. Chicago came up with resolution calling for accountability on how much money is spend on testing and where it goes. A no brainer one would think. But while not openly opposing it, the Unity people tried to backstab it by shuffling it out of the main debates or amending it or tabling it for the 2014 convention. Clearly this was not on Randi’s agenda.
The other issue of note that I witnessed in Detroit was a Chicago resolution calling for a moratorium on school closings and the growth of charters, which again the Unity people tried to undercut with some of the more interesting points of debate. Why you might ask? Well that answer lies at the crux of the debate going on here. Is Randi a Manchurian candidate as some say? Is her ideology lined up to some extent with the ed deformers while also trying to keep up a union front? To find answers we might have to go all the way back to Al Shanker’s support for the 1983 A Nation At RIsk, the opening salvo in the ed deform wars which I liken to World War Z.
Norm,
Again, how is Randi able to hand-pick the delegates when this is in violation of the AFT constitution?
I’m looking at the 2010 AFT constitution, Article VIII, Section I (Representation):
“Section 1. (a) Delegates and/or alternates to the convention from a local or retiree organization shall be elected by secret ballot.”
I work in a state where Deborah Gist is Commissioner of Education, so I’m not unfamiliar with officials weaseling their way around to wording of the law — if Gist were in Weingarten’s position I imagine she might claim that “secret ballot” doesn’t necessarily mean that the rank and file get to vote, and it isn’t really stated who the ballot is secret from, so technically it COULD be that a hand-picked cadre of people gets to vote and their votes are kept secret from the rank and file… Is she arguing something similar to that?
RP, The chosen ones are Unity Caucus allegiant. To be selected to do even part time paid work at the UFT ie: after school phone representative, advocate for U ratings, retirement consultations, etc the member must demonstrate support for the “party” line.
Chapter Leaders, because elected within their own schools, are not necessarily Unity aligned. Yet, if they do not prove their support the odds of going beyond chapter leader within the UFT hierarchy are slim to none.
The delegates are selected from this very contained and controlled Unity allegiant club. This is the same select group that enjoys additional salary, and, if a full timer, UFT pension. The full timers usually receive a full $50,000. in addition to their DOE salary, cell phone, and an expense account. Our dues, of course, foot the bill.
Ron, when Norm says the big battles are in the local unions, he’s right.
When the molecules of a large structure change enough, then the molecular make-up of the whole structure changes substantially. The challenge is to get enough of those molecules to transform . . . .
Your loyalty is admirable. But as a long time member of the UFT, I respectfully disagree with you. Randi sold us out.
Randi is being attacked on the site/publication called Education next (mailed out of Harvard ). I sent in 3 email comments but could use some help….. (Education Next publicizes NCTQ and their headlines get picked up by UPI as “teachers are pricey” with a Cambridge headline…. this is how he distorts Randi’s words.
quote: “By Paul E. Peterson 07/17/2013
Does Weingarten think children should be taught to disagree with Thomas Jefferson’s defense of the rights of the accused: “Better one hundred guilty men go free than one innocent man be condemned.”
Does Weingarten believe children in school should be taught that juries should convict accused individuals even when they think there is reasonable doubt that a crime has been committed?
Why is Weingarten accusing Zimmerman of taking the law into his own hands after a jury of six women found that there was reasonable doubt that he was guilty? Why does she make this accusation without offering any evidence to support her claim?
This has been a teaching moment. We have learned that Weingarten plays politics with basic constitutional rights and liberties. Her ill-advised accusations contrast sharply with Attorney General Eric Holder’s sensible, responsible comments in the aftermath of the decision: “Separate and apart from the case that has drawn the nation’s attention, it’s time to question laws that senselessly expand the concept of self-defense.”
(by Paul E. Peterson at Education Next, Harvard U.)
What Peterson does not bother to point out is that Zimmerman clearly did take enforcing the law into his own hands. I was neither there, not on the jury, so I cannot say I would have found him guilty, There was reasonable doubt about his committing murder, but he was not found ‘innocent.’ He killed a teenage boy and ignored police directions to not pursue him. Maybe the law could not deal with a case in which he evidence was not clear enough, or maybe the prosecutors did quite a poor job, but he pursued an unarmed teenage boy while holding a gun and now the boy is dead.
We don’t know what happened in the struggle between the two of them, but while there may have been reasonable guilt as to murder or manslaughter, Zimmerman’s acts themselves were not reasonable or justifiable. He should have at least been convicted of reckless endangerment.
Brian: thanks for your post; I can understand everything you say …. I think about this kind of “stand your ground” in a high school and I worry. There has been social science research about what students perceive as “inadvertent” or “accidental” and what is intentional in terms of boundaries/property, or sharing public space “ground” within a school building.. Students think their “ground” is being invaded and it varies from region to region in the nation as to this perception of a boundary being crossed . It would be jungle law if we went to the extreme on “stand your ground”… I don’t think people in western states have the experience of “ground” when the states are so close together and the NH laws affect my shopping mall and streets in Massachusetts so it is a boundary issue every day… I don’t mean to get off the point here but I appreciate your comments and am pleased to read what you have to say because it is such an important issue. I believe that some people never read “games people play” and are unaware of the provocative “let’s you and him fight” . Social science research needs to be considered in the context of laws and reconsideration of social conventions that are not working out . I have been reading the book “Why Good Peopler are Divided by Politics and Religion” by Jonathan Haidt and it is quite illuminating; it applies to my understanding of why I am the only one in my complex with an Elizabeth Warren bumper sticker etc. and it helps me to understand why my neighbors say “stop reading those books by heretics” etc. It gives me a chuckle as opposed to all the worrying I do.
Reading these comments has been quite illuminating. Here in DC we just held our own union election – a month late due to the shenanigans of our the president, Nathan Saunders, who was very much supported by Randi. Saunders’ first action as president was to fire the member elected field representatives and replace them with his own people. When the Vice President at that time, Candi Peterson, tried to fight him on this she was duly “fired” by Saunders. Over $180,000 of our union money was used for the legal defense of this illegal firing. Randi continued to support Saunders.
When Randi was asked to bring AFT in to monitor the election due to a number of irregularities, she claimed that there were no irregularities that warranted further monitoring. This seems to be based on a discussion she had with Saunders since she did not actually come to DC or send anyone here to check things out. Among the things she would have discovered are the fact that Saunders pushed back the dates of the election without duly informing the members; that he did not allow the opposing slates real access to the member roles (they were given 15 minutes to go over the 4,000 member list); threatening members with arrest if they showed up to a scheduled debate between slates (a debate he agreed to and then backed out of at the last minute).
On other notes, Saunders was attempting to purchase a building for the WTU – without allowing members to vote whether we wanted our money used for this building. According to one very high source Saunders had told Kaya Henderson, the DC Schools Chancellor, that he wanted to leave a building with his name on it. You can make your own inference. Saunders is now contesting the recent election in which he lost. He lost this election despite constant manipulation of the system in order to give himself all possible advantages. It will be interesting to see if Randi continues to support him. If she does and if he wins many of us in DC are talking about opting out of the union or doing the Chicago thing.
Teachers need real support right now – not people who say one thing at rallies and in op-ed columns while doing the complete opposite when it comes to negotiating. If Randi takes money from Gates and Broad, if she is “touting” her collaboration with the Bloombergs and the other reformers, if she is saying one thing and doing another, then she is undermining all of us. There seems to be a sea change occurring right now. The Badass Teachers Association is catching that wave. Reform has had a number of years to work and is failing on almost all accounts. DC is a perfect example of this – 8 years of reform and no gains to speak of (unless you count the discredited cheating tests that Michelle Rhee uses to trumpet her “success”‘). As people wake up and begin to realize that the reform movement is about money, those people who allowed themselves to be co-opted by that movement for the sake of their own political well-being, will find themselves discredited. Personally I believe we are at war and I don’t want to be worrying about the person next to me in my foxhole.
I think that ‘not fighting amongst ourselves’ is a reason to support someone who takes positions that run counter to creating a teaching profession that has professional autonomy and is not run by corporate interests. She has taken an instrumental role in several contracts and her support for pay-for-performance is a bitter bill. Such a system is anathema to anyone who believes in a) high quality education run by professional educators, b) collective bargaining and c) the future of the middle class in this country. It is part of a plan to reduce the teacher to a hand-maiden, someone who checks on attendance and implements a digital platform designed by an outside source.
Randi was a teacher for only a very short time, at Clara Barton HS in Brooklyn back in 1995 and 1996. She was a lawyer first and she acts like a lawyer, except perhaps when it comes to the improprieties at the AFT and UFT.
Diane, I have enormous respect for almost everything you say, but if she’s your friend then perhaps your judgment is a bit clouded. Loyalty and forgiveness are part of friendship, but have no place in honest assessment of her public contributions and failings.
Perhaps the negative comments you’re referring to is there for a reason.
I was deeply concerned about the UFT’s failure to stand up for teachers, children, and public schools ever since Bloomberg first got into office, and when I saw Randi Weingarten publicly kiss him on the cheek, it was a sad day.
Until then I’d always thought of the UFT as an advocate for education.
No more, at least not under Randi Weingarten.
She has been an accomplice, willing or not, in Bloomberg’s war on children.
You can forgive her, I don’t.
I don’t live in your state so she never represented me as a union member…. I did want to observe that , in Massachusetts, I have very high hopes for Elizabeth Warren. She has kept her integrity through all of these battles (and , believe me, the local politics were quite brutal)…. I am hoping that E . Warren’s career trajectory will hold up over the long term …..
On a different theme, being a retired teacher (age 75) I know what happens to people in their careers — the first thing is you get co-opted to go along with the agenda…. for some who obtain positions (like mayors or “high level office”) they get captured by the ego needs for the spotlight…. others get pulled into actual corruption because of greed (or power needs)…..
I think the general person (like myself) gets “co-opted” to continue on a path rather than get “dumped” or “fired”…. if your career ends about age 50 or so you may find yourself in that group… in order to continue working until you are in your 60s or 70s, you either learn to hide from the powerful forces around you (isolate) or you make adjustments… It does become a realization that there are powerful forces beyond our control (no matter what your position) and to keep your place at the table you build alliances (varying; of different types) because you want your opinions to be heard…. when the political forces are sweeping changes it feels like all you can do is “tilt the coke machine” even though you know your money in the machine will probably not produce a bottle of coke…. now you could say I am old and that people won’t compromise their principles over a life time but we need some reality about what we can actually accomplish in a career — it does seem that more and more people (I am concerned for younger women here especially my nieces) are seeing their careers disintegrate around age 50…. these are personal comments not related to a specific individual other than myself in the last paragraph)