Randi Weingarten and other protestors were arrested and hauled off in handcuffs while demonstrating against school closings in Philadelphia. Neither the Mayor nor the School Reform Commission was willing to meet with Weingarten.
After her release from custody, said the article in the Huffington Post,
“Weingarten said she sees the school closure plan as siphoning money away from public schools, since the plan doesn’t touch charter schools. “This was really a plan to eliminate public education,” Weingarten said. “This is not about how to fix public schools, but to close them — not how to stabilize but to destabilize public schooling.”
“Weingarten called the closings immoral. “When the powers that be ignore you and dismiss you, then you don’t have any choice but try to resort to civil disobedience to try to confront an immoral act,” she said.
“So she joined parents and union activists to form a group of 19 people who blocked the entrance to the meeting. She said she intentionally told Philly teachers not to join, lest they lose their teaching certification, and discouraged parents who are undocumented immigrants from participating.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Randi Weingarten is my hero of the day. How many reformers have got arrested for what they believe in? Probably zero.
“How many reformers have got arrested for what they believe in?”
“Reformers” don’t get arrested as often as they should, considering that so many believe in systematic fraud as a way of doing public business. You inspired me to Google for “charter operator arrested” (without the quotes).
Hmm. Here’s a Pennsylvania hit:
“…such as a Midland cyber that was raided by the FBI; a Philadelphia charter school operator whose founder and aides were arrested for stealing funds; and a Harrisburg cyber school that was shut down by ”
http://www.pennlive.com/editorials/index.ssf/2012/10/gov_corbett_must_step_up_for_c.html
I also found examples from Brooklyn, Houston, and Miami, but the comment filter won’t let me link more than one. You have to skim each story and make sure the combination of terms isn’t just accidental.
Randi, I take it all back. Well, most of it, anyway. Welcome to the struggle; we are proud of you.
I wish you wouldn’t say ‘reformers’
Ed attackers?
Eddeformers?
Corporate reformers?
Greed-driven, vainglorious ghouls?
Sorry. I heard the Seattle Times referred to them as “the so-called education-reform movement”. Greed-driven, vainglorious ghouls works too.
TC, it is wonderful news that the Seattle Times referred to the privatizers as “so-called reformers.” That means the mask is slipping. The wolf in sheep’s clothing is losing his cover.
I have to admit, I did not think Randi had it in her. Maybe she has had a change of heart?
I agree and I couldn’t be happier to see this. Sorry to see that she/we have to actually resort to this and be hauled off to jail…but this means a lot to me. Thanks, Randi!
Thank you
Forgive me for being suspicious, but when is the next election for union head? I hope this event represents a genuine change: that she has realized there is no go along to get along with a movement that plans to destroy you.
Yes, the AFT is a representative body, and there are elections.
I think the deadline to get delegate petitions in for the upcoming UFT election in NYC was today. It’s very complicated, though, and hard for working teachers to break through. Weingarten’s Unity Caucus has an administrative lock, as they did in Chicago before Karen Lewis defeated them.
I’m in Massachusetts, and my district is NEA, so I’m not directly involved. I tried last night to post a link to election coverage on EdNotes Online, but it didn’t go through.
I wonder if the question of union elections is off-limits here (as it is everywhere, it seems)? It shouldn’t be. I’m going to try to post the URL of MoreCaususNYC’s election page:
http://morecaucusnyc.org/uft-elections-13/
If Randi has finally realized she has to take a position against corporate reform to keep power, that’s one function of democracy. I can only welcome it.
The attack on Philly schools is so viscerally revolting, I can believe she is truly moved to oppose it. If she moves decisively enough to burn her bridges to a lucrative position in the Corporate reform apparatus, I’ll even believe her.
Well said, chemtchr. I just hope she’s not grandstanding to get another term. I mentioned this to some of my colleagues and all I got was eyes rolling. Skeptical.
Possibly Bill and Eli bailed her out and they all went out to lunch and had a good laugh…end of story. Goodnight
Hard to tell where Randi Weingarten falls on the spectrum of reformers these days. She played an integral role in persuading the Newark, NJ teachers to accept one of the worst anti-union contracts in the history of NJ education ever with full bore acceptance of non-evidence based teacher evaluation schemes and merit pay bonuses based on classroom performance (one component of which is student achievement). Jersey Jazzman – one of Diane’s favorite bloggers – had plenty to say about this at the time. And, by the way, much of the funding for these bonuses – if they ever materialize – will be coming from the $100 million that Zuckerberg gave to the Newark Public Schools, which so far has been used primarily to fund consultants, surveys and reports.
My trust of her is zilch.
Waiting at the end of the check out counters for the spouse, I start flipping through the display of Dr. Suess books … Randi is JUST a Star Bellied Sneetch style go along get along-er.
Ya know how for decades the righties used “Abortion!!” and “Gay Marriage!” to fire up their droolers to get elected, and then the righties would turn around and rip off the droolers on all things financial? I’m NOT seeing much difference between those righties and the Randis and the Cory Bookers.
rmm.
p.s. RIP T.G.
Here is a picture of her being taken out…https://sites.google.com/site/jamesfrancisjack/writings/1E29V.gif?attredirects=0
Wish she would have taken the same action here in NYC when communities and teachers were fighting to keep their schools from closing.
What about Detroit? They rolled over and died.
And a few days ago the NYC DoE voted to close 20 more schools and our union head who took over when Randi left didn’t even bother to show up for the protest.
Civil disobedience to protest . . . school closings. Are the school closings illegal? No. Immoral, quite possibly, but not illegal. Were “whites only” lunch counters in the South illegal? Yes. Immoral? Yes. Do these school closings deprive students of an education? No. So, Randi is protesting the closing of schools . . . because . . . it will mean fewer union jobs. Well, I suppose that’s a legitimate cause. But is it? Do teachers have a right to jobs? No. Do employees in the public sector have a legal right to organize? At present, yes. Do public employees have a moral right to organize to bargain collectively? Probably not, since with compliant politicians, the unions are in effect bargaining with themselves. When we look at the whole mess philosophically, we see that Randi’s civil disobedience is NOT in a cause of justice but in a cause of interest, possibly even personal interest, as one commenter has suggested. When are the next union elections? Well, if Rand Paul can filibuster for the sake of his personal presidential career launch, I suppose Randi Weingarten can get publicity her way too.
Umm, yeah, so she may have an interest, but there is a greater cause here. The transformation of public education into a private and/or private sector modeled entities will change the face of education, for the worse, I am sure. It will increase inequity in the provision of education and move away from best educational practices for the student to best educational practices to draw in revenue or create profit.
So you may be right that she is grandstanding, but this is moral crusade. And, make no mistake, some children will be deprived of an education, while others will just see their education watered down.
This aggressively ignorant assertion needs to be retired:
“Do public employees have a moral right to organize to bargain collectively? Probably not, since with compliant politicians, the unions are in effect bargaining with themselves.”
The compliant politicians are paid by finance capital, which is engaged in an acrimonious ideological assault on the moral standing of all people who actually work, whether in the public or private sector.
As a teacher, I feel a moral right and duty to stand up for the value of our work and for the people who actually do it. I can’t figure out who Mr. Underhill thinks he is, but he’s living on a planet inside his own inflated head..
Underhill only asks himself questions he thinks he has the answer to. Why isn’t the right to collective bargaining a moral right? How else will the people who actually do the work have a voice? Randi Weingarten is usually pretty mealy-mouthed, but more teachers need to stand up to the powerful interests behind the Charter School, union busting, students as consumers, phony sympathy movement.
It’s interesting . . . I asked the President of AFT Connecticut, Ms. Melodie Peters, about where our union has been. Why has our union not stood up and emulated Chicago, Garfield High, and Randi Weingarten? Her initial response was that I had initially said “he” instead of “her” when referring to Randi. Melodie never answered any of my questions, instead, making personal aspersions against me. She did say that individual union members should limit their contacts with the union to their local presidents, implying that she felt much too important to talk seriously with us. Her arrogance was quite astounding!
Anyway, I still call on AFT-CT to stand up and lead the fight against the so-called reformers, who have made our state one of the epicenters of their fraud and corruption.
From her bio it doesn’t appear she was ever a teacher. See here:
Melodie Peters, longtime community activist, labor leader, and former state senator, is President of AFT Connecticut, AFL-CIO. Prior to her election as President, Melodie served 20 years as AFT Connecticut vice president, joining the AFT Connecticut Executive Committee in 1985, and was re-elected as a vice president every two years until her election as First Vice President. Melodie also served as President of the Thames Labor Coalition, the New London Central Labor Council (AFL-CIO), and is currently a Vice President of the Connecticut State AFL-CIO.
Melodie began her career as a nurse, working first in Massachusetts and then in Connecticut, providing direct clinical care to patients in in-patient psychiatric, emergency room, and medical/surgical nursing. Elected to the Connecticut General Assembly in 1993, Melodie served as the 20th District’s State Senator for six two-year terms until resigning in 2005 to attend to a family member’s illness.
http://aftct.org/content/melodie-peters-0
What really got to me was her arrogance; she made it clear that she did not want to hear anyone from the “rank and file” disagreeing with her. I will be happy to provide email copies of her commenst to me should any of you want to see them. They are quite unbelievable!
And see here. Union negotiators earning as much as our Governor…Dannel probably thinks he should make more as he spends us into oblivion.
Melodie Peters, AFT, $128,722
Kevin Murphy, Council 4, $126,673
Leo Canty, AFT, $125,663
Peter Thor, Council 4, $118,233
Teresa Merisotis, AFT, $117,841
Patricia Walters, AFT , $115,891
Robert Ceritelli, AFT, $115,782
Eric Bailey, AFT, $115,186
http://www.raisinghale.com/2011/05/09/two-union-negotiators-earn-as-much-as-malloy/
The only “compliant politicians” I see much anyone are those bought and paid for by the edu-Vandals who are looting and pillaging public schools. Your arguments about union power represent a time twenty years ago; the CEA and AFT seem rather neutered these days.
“…we see that Randi’s civil disobedience is NOT in a cause of justice but in a cause of interest, possibly even personal interest…”
Your innuendos are akin to gossip.
Everything you write, Harlan, begins with the premise that teachers are more interested in preserving their jobs than in the education of the teachers. That most teachers are not hard working.
You’re wrong on both counts. Simple as that. Are there deadbeats? Yes. Where are there NOT deadbeats? The vast majority of teachers I’ve worked with put in LONG hours and we do it for the kids AND to keep our jobs.
Harlan says he is a teacher. I wonder if he would consider himself a deadbeat or a worker.
Correct a typo:
“…education of the STUDENTS…”
not:
“…education of the teachers…”
Early mornings do not bring out the best in me, sorry to say. (Though education of the teachers is important, as well).
Actually, segregated lunch counters in the South were perfectly legal. Thus the importance of being arrested to draw attention to it. And regardless of Weingarten’s political aims within her union, the closing of schools WILL deprive students of free public education. It will deprive them of quality education. How can 40 1st graders in a classroom possibly work? What is your background in education Mr. Harlan? I am curious.
Love the new pix…Santa!
I wrote the follow just last night on the page about Oprah and the TFA teachers at the Blackboard Wars school in New Orleans:
Did anyone else notice that in the OWN webpage bio for Steve Barr, it refers to Barr’s expansion of Green Dot charters and says this, “Green Dot New York, a school founded by Randi Weingarten and Steve Barr.”
http://www.oprah.com/own-blackboard-wars/Blackboard-Wars-Steve-Barr
Randi Weingarten is in the business of founding charter schools? She has written a foreward to a book that supports VAM; she speaks positively about TFA because, she said, they are union members, too (right, in districts where they have no other choice); she travels across the country with Arne Duncan; and on top of all the other hoops people have to go through in their formal preparation to become teachers, including taking state tests, the Praxis, etc., she wants teachers to be required to take a bar exam.
Why on earth do teachers continue to vote for her to be their union president? She is playing for the other team, folks!
————
Update: Being willing to risk going to jail in order to stand up against school closings is good and very admirable. But if Randi wants to redeem herself, there is a lot more that she has to do to demonstrate to educators that she is truly on the side of community-based education reform and not the corporate-sponsored education “reform” supported by Duncan, Gates and other supporters of VAM, privatization, charters, TFA, etc.
I generally agree with you (see below), but the UFT has started its own charter school in NY and has worked with Green Dot so that teachers there will be union members. Those are probably positive things, they are definitely things the unions should be looking at.
We have some charter schools with unionized teachers and TFAers working in public schools are required to join the union here. However, I don’t think that either siphoning off public funds to charters in cash-strapped districts (that close neighborhood schools to save money) running a two tiered school system or employing under-trained TFAers are healthy for schools, children, career teachers or communities.
As a teacher in NYC, I and many of my colleagues were and still are very skeptical of Randi’s methods. We knew, pretty much two decades ago, that we were in a war, yet our leader(s) seemed to be intent on appeasing our attackers instead of fighting. And it just got worse, and worse, and worse…with little change in the union leadership’s stance.
What could have been done differently? I don’t know, and maybe that’s the problem. We are the union. Not just Randi. Our opponents are loaded with money and political influence. A very tough fight.
Your points, TeacherEd, are good and valid.
Randi makes some good statements, but she has encouraged contracts in DC, Baltimore and Newark that have eviscerated the unions.
It is difficult for me to understand what she thinks she has accomplished in allowing pay-for-performance to be part of these contracts. I had hoped originally that, since she was a smart lawyer, that the effects would be positive, but she has been out classed at the bargaining table.
Great that she has been willing to be arrested, but
her work on union contracts, not great.
Randi is a “smart lawyer” (maybe) but she is definitely not a teacher.
You are almost right. She was only a teacher for a year, at Clara Barton HS in Brooklyn. I also taught at Clara Barton for a year — I did not know her, but we did teach some of the same students. The teaching stint was seen by most people as a prerequisite to rising higher in the UFT/AFT.
I heard she taught only 6 months, but whatever it was, it’s not the amount of years she has claimed. On another note, it bothers me that so much attention is being given to Randi whose only desire is to keep Unity in power. I wish this blog would also highlight Julie Cavanagh who is running for UFT president against the Unity caucus. Unlike Unity and Randi, she is against high-stakes testing, merit pay, school closings, charters and everything Randi and Unity have put forth in other horrible contracts.
Just like the new dictator of Venezuela who did his initial stint as a bus driver in order to qualify for union office.
I thought you all would get a kick out of this article.
The Orlando Sentinel’s education blog reports on a story stating that FL charter schools outperform public schools on the state test. However, it balances things out in the title of the story.
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_education_edblog/2013/03/charter-schools-outpace-traditional-schools-doe-report-shows-also-enroll-fewer-poor-kids-kids-learning-english-or-kids-with-disabilities.html
Finally and Brava! This is what we need to get the ball rolling. Civil disobedience and public demonstrations are the only tools left to us on this fight.
The cop is wearing a bike helmet as he arrests Randi.. Demonstrates the absurdity of the reform movement. It’s time for a national day of teacher protests.. Time to take to the sidewalks in front of our schools before and after school. It’s time to make a statement from coast to coast.
Let’s hope this starts a movement . I’m proud to be a public school teacher, and proud some one like Randi is on our side
Randi was my union leader in NYC, and I never felt she was on “our side”. She allowed our schools to close and took away excessing rights. Is this the union leader you want??? Or is someone like Karen Lewis? I really believe this is all for show.
What’s next?
Go Randi!!!! KC
I have posted some unfavorable remarks about Weingarten here and elsewhere comparing her to Neville Chamberlain. This does much to regain my approval. Perhaps she has finally been pushed beyond the line of compromise and appeasement as edu-predation escalates.
Or is she up for re-election? Is she forever the head of the AFT?
Glad that others see the validity of comparing her to Chamberlain. Had the AFT fought the so-called reformers from the start, it’s very possible we’d have the public on our side. Instead their vile propaganda has convinced the public of two big lies: public schools schools are failing, because of lazy teachers.
FYI: Donor-CEO intrigue creates chaos at Maine charter
http://www.pressherald.com/news/maine-Baxter-Academy-top-exec-ousted-charter-school.html
The shape of things to come–Charter schools in financial and management chaos over personal intrigues, and no facility for the state or parents to impose adult behavior. What happens next is anyone’s guess, but just think of the public money lost if the school goes under and the children have to return to the public schools under emergency conditions.
Diane, I truly hope you’ll consider posting this very accurate point of view that I respectfully submit to you and your readers:
Randi Weingarten blows with the wind, and has been extremely instrumental in getting some of this reform actualized. In delegate meetings when she was with the UFT, she stated, “I still think it was a good idea to help get mayoral control over the schools!”
Weingarten, who has always opposed merit pay, was instrumental in materializing merit pay for Newark, only it’s not actually called “merit pay” there. She also volunteered her downtown UFT headquarters several years ago to house Obama campaign workers, knowing full well what he and Arne Duncan were about.
She featured Bill Gates as a key note speaker. One of her main executives, David Sherman, left the UFT to be on the board of Teachscape, another creation of Gates.
I’m glad she was arrested due to civil obedience. But the direction she’s taken her constituents, who she clearly does not listen to, warrants a “constituent’s” arrest of Ms. Weingarten, and for a much longer sentence.
Anyone reading this blog: Do NOT be fooled by Weingarten’s theatrics. I academically challenge ANYONE reading this blog to research Randi Weingarten’s record on education reform. . .. ANYONE, including, you, Diane.
I do not intend this challenge as a bout of hostility, but as a path to seek the truth and exercise critical thinking.
Yes, it is a good thing that Ms. Weingarten protested the school closings in Philadelphia, but looked upon holistically, I am positing that she is inconsistent, unreliable, has too many facets to her politics, and did not run either of her unions democratically.
I understand how one would want the clout and power she has amassed over the years . .. how one might want these elements in their advocacy organization. But Randi Weingarten is far too flip-floppy. I would caution anyone who puts real credence into her intentions and politiics.
Look to Karen Lewis if you want someone who has taught far longer than Weingarten in the classroom and who has LISTENED and acted upon her constituents.
It is time for teachers across the country to protest corporate reform. United we stand. We NEED to draw national public attention to this issue immediately. We are the union and we therefore are responsible to protect the kids, the profession and the future of America. What are we waiting for?
I agree emphatically with you! We cannot wait any longer. But, our union leadership does not want to do so. See my comments about my discussion with Melodie Peters, President of AFT-CT. Se madde it clear that she wants to conduct business as usual, no matter how many students, teachers, and schools are affected.
I wish Randi was my president (I am an NEA member.) She is a hero and her telling the Philly teachers and undocumented parents not to join made my day!
Forget Randi – she is, at best, rather slippery as to where her true allegiance lies. What the NEA (or any large, national union) needs is Karen Lewis. What happened (and is still happening) in Chicago needs to go national.
I’m not impressed. But then again, Randi is rightfully concerned about teachers. It’s unreasonable for me to think she’s on the side of students.
That job has supposedly been taken on by NY Governor Andrew Cuomo, our self-proclaimed students’ lobbyist who is has done NOTHING to protect students’ privacy. His long-gone education secretary who came to NY from the NGA (where he wrote the CCSS) got the job done. NY has CCSS.
And Cuomo sure doesn’t speak out on the SLI. Then again, neither does Randi.
However both CCSS & SLI affect teachers & I have doubt the long-term goal is to replace teachers with online learning. All I read about is MOOC’s. I don’t hear Randi talking about the Khan Academy.
Randi could be doing a lot more for education than get arrested.
I think we need a new acronym for the standards…..the S should leave as the states did not develop them and they had no choice in accepting them IF they wanted the waiver and it now looks like the waiver is the kiss of death. It will cost much more than you will ever receive.
Should the first C stand for corporate not common.
So now it looks like: Corporate National Standards, CNS.
We are in bad shape. Shame on Obama. I don’t like being political, however the growth in education entrepreneurship is under his watch. Ah… but the economy will thrive & that’s what this is about. The RTTT was to stimulate the economy.
I would go as far as to say it’s misuse of public funds.
I also don’t think it’s a great idea giving children electronics. We’ve yet to learn the effects on our bodies. Ergonomics, radiation exposure. I can’t imagine working on a tablet or computer is beneficial to children’s physical well-being.
Yes, I agree. My seventh graders give up easily when they cannot navigate through a software program. We are designing book blogs and as soon as they can’t figure something out they give up and call for help.
We also want to build compassion, honesty and trust for your peers to reduce bullying but we isolate them behind devices preparing for tests.
I wish there was a way to insert pictures, but see this….it isn’t even our future…it is now:
http://imgace.com/pic/2012/11/einstein-quote-on-fear-of-generation-of-idiots/
I have been discussing this issue with Melodie Peters, AFT Connecticut president. The only response I have gotten is a snippy reply that Randi is a woman after I had said that we now have three examples to emulate: “his” in Philadelphia, Chicago, and Garfield High. I have received no other reply from her. It may have to do with the fact that Ms. Peters is not a teacher and has no real understanding of the situations in the classroom as a result of the reform policies we are trying to fight.
I met Melodie for the first time last weekend at an AFT/State Legislator breakfast in Waterford, CT. The legislators seemed genuinely interested in hearing about the schools; Melodie seemed interested in avoiding controversy and in using politics to solve our problems. Unfortunately, we are past the point of effective political action. Melodie is unwilling to even discuss this point with me.
God Bless Randi Weingarten for her action. We need more examples of her kind of leadership.
If Weingarten is so concerned about teachers and public education, where has she been while the Philadelphia school system has been hollowed out? That’s easy: she’s been busy “collaborating” (her word, not mine) with Bill Gates and Eli Broad.
If she’s so concerned about teachers and public education, why did she twice support mayoral control – the second time unilaterally going against the recommendations of her own governance committee- of the schools in NYC, the primary vehicle for destabilizing, closing and privatizing them?
If she supports teachers and the public schools, why does the AFT offer workshops on for-profit educational opportunities for the oligarchs at the Aspen Institute?
If she supports teachers and the public schools, why is she on the advisory group of Gates’/Murdoch’s inBloom, inc., which will consolidate confidential student data and offer it to for-profit companies, without privacy guarantees?
If she supports teachers, why does she helicopter in to cities and negotiate contracts with merit pay, and evaluation systems that institutionalize high stakes testing and pseudo-science?
Ms. Weingarten is a very intelligent and clever woman, but as a trade unionist, she’s a fraud. Her arrest yesterday was political optics, a stunt intended to misdirect the membership from looking at how she has misled teachers over the past fifteen years.
Strategic PR and sound bites aside, in the struggle of teachers and supporters of public education against the hostile takeover of the public schools, she is on the wrong side.
You’re 100% correct. I’m glad you said it.
Perfectly put, Michael. I wrote similart things to this post, but for some reason, my comments are not showing up. . . . It probable has something to do with me internet set up more than it being edited out.
Did Weingarten really think nonw of this would catch up with her. . . that no one has been looking?
She isn’t qualified to head a union. She’s an attorney by trade, not a teacher. And we all know, or should know, she has ties with the “reformers” from way back. Kind of like Obama, she’s a fraud.
Please see this pix….this says it all. Diane, I wish I could upload pictures. I don’t know how. It is a sign outside of a middle school….congrats to the principal and teachers.
Linda, amazing pic!
Thanks – I needed that!
Busy snow day…please watch if you have time:
Stand up. The day the teachers said no.
She needs to be kicked out of AFT for being an obvious mole, a tool, for the reformers.
I can’t believe she hasn’t been thrown out there. She’s not even qualified for the job in the first place.
Yes, six months as a full-time classroom teacher; even TFAers do better than that.
She must have been fired to not last longer.
Randi trying to deflect attention away from the fact she going to be accused of violating DC Teachers civil rights and failing to represent!! She created Michelle Rhee!! When this truth comes out I hope she resigns!!
I think, really, that Weingarten is not the point of the story and rather than considering her motives we should be looking at the larger picture. School closings are taking place at such a level that people are resorting to civil disobedience to try to be heard. Public education is systematically being dismantled in this country, and nothing seems to be halting the progress of those bent on destroying it. Students and communities of color and low socioeconomic status are paying a higher price. We are destroying one of the basic rights that has defined us as a nation.
You are absolutely right, Ellen, but that’s all the more reason not to let misleaders like Weingarten push their way to the head of the march and divert it in their interests.
Well put!
Agreed. The more I read, the more I understand everyone’s anger. I feel the same way about the deal cutting that has taken place in my state on the west coast. I have no arguments with what everyone is saying. Just concerns about the bigger picture and feeling pretty beaten.
But she has been allowed – look at the discussion. Everyone is talking about her, not the issues. If everyone ignored her, and focused on the real issue, wouldn’t we get further? This is classic conquer and divide. And the corporate interests are winning.
There are three stories here:
1) Closing of schools and privatization
2) resorting to civil disobedience
3) Randi Weingarten’s role in the 2 above.
You are absolutely right that the first issue is the most important.
The second is an event that shows some hope.
But the third is vitally important.
I do not want to dump on Randi. She was the UFT president when
we got a pretty good contract (in monetary terms) in 2007/8.
I used to think she was playing a waiting game until Bloomberg was out, never thinking that he would be there for 3 terms.
But under her leadership the UFT endorsed George Pataki when Carl McCall — a true friend of teachers — was running.
Her role in the DC and Baltimore contracts was such a huge strategic blunder that one wonders if it was an act of betrayal. We can make a list of things. She definitely thinks she is smarter than the rank and file she represents, but she has, at best, been too smart for her own good.
The unions have not played their cards right. These changes are not popular except among neoliberal circles and hedge-fund managers. The unions could have played a much more active role.
Take a look at
HOSTILE TAKEOVER: ANTIUNIONISM AND THENEOLIBERAL POLITICS OF URBAN SCHOOLREFORM IN NEW YORK
Noel Anderson
http://www.academia.edu/187054/Hostile_Takeover
And at what cost was that contract??? I voted NO because of the givebacks. But I understand why people voted for the money–same thing happened in Newark despite the warnings. I also voted NO to the ’05 contract. Has your job improved under the new contract? Or, are you finding yourself inundated with useless paperwork and a higher class size??
She in fact was the headline of this post and not the school closings. Again, she had done very little about other cities losing their public schools and in fact she supported the move here in NYC. We are not playing divide and conquer by pointing out her support for the reform movement. It’s the truth and should be pointed out. Look how she turned her back on the Chicago strike and their school closings and she took her sweet time in supporting Garfield teachers–and only through a watered-down statement. She supports Common Core, VAM and charters. Our union has to change if we are to protect public schools for all.
As for what happened in Philly. This story did not just happen. It has been reported in all the Ed blogs and Ed Facebook pages for over 6 months. Randi should have been there when the news first hit organizing. I don’t know if you are a NYC teacher, but when she ran our union, she mobilized a rally against Bloomberg. People signed up for it because we were angry. Then out of the clear blue she canceled it. Her “deals” with Bloomberg are notorious. And this whole thing with Mulgrew fighting the eval plan is also a sham because now it’s going to the legislature and he will claim he fought it when in fact he approved the NYS deal. He also approved Pearson taking over NYS teacher certification. And the only thing Randi is pushing is a “Bar Exam” for all teachers. Wonder who will get that contract???
No, I am not a NYC teacher, and I get what everyone is saying. I have some of the same issues with the elected leadership in my west coast state. BUT – it comes down to the same point for me. WE are the union. WE need to vote differently – or act independently. Or both. Same thing with our elected officials in government. I was simply trying to comment on the fact that the thread is discussing Weingarten and her motivations instead of the real issue which is what is happening in education. Even if everything negative being said about her and her motivations is 100% true – so what? What really matters is the inexorable march across this nation to DESTROY public education. Weingarten is a distraction. It is a war against education, and we are losing. We need to re-focus and accept that democracy is not working. Can we still survive? I am not sure.
I understand your point, ellen. The problems are widespread and encompass a larger sphere than just that of education
Yet; it would seem that Randi has used her very considerable power that comes from being head of the AFT(and, previously, the UFT in NYC) as a means of furthering an agenda that’s not in the best interests of her constituency. That’s a serious charge and, imo, deserves serious scrutiny.
One ought to consider nation wide strikes in every public school for one month to bring acute attention to these destructive reforms. If it means alienating the general public from teachers, well, that’s already been mostly accomplished by the corporate media/reformers. If we are “going down”, we may as well do so with an enormous but peaceful revolt and with dignity.
We teachers – perhaps not our unions so much – are on the side of parents and children. We’re on the side of social, fiscal, and cognitive justice AND democracy at large.
STRIKE!
I would love to see a Day of Action from every single teacher across the country. Even if we used a Saturday to protest, we should do it as a unit. Again, I love what the teachers in Hawaii are doing ON THEIR OWN after years of givebacks from their own union.
The Taylor Law holds us back in NYC. It’s illegal for a city or state employee to go on strike. Every day out, you lose two day’s pay.
The flip side to that is that the Taylor law also states that administration must bargain in good faith. That certainly hasn’t happened in years.
For the role of the Broad Foundation in all of this (including Randi Weingarten’s history with the Broad Foundation) see this article:
http://www.defendpubliceducation.net/
Good Lord. Thank you for that. I had no idea Weingarten was so closely connected to the enemy.
Think about RTTT & teacher evaluations.
How can someone who represents teachers think it’s OK to evaluate teachers using students’ test scores? It a double blow. To students, since I do not think the purpose of testing kids is to evaluate teachers. And of course, the repercussions for teachers.
Why was that agreed to? For money that will never reach the classroom?
I knew NY teachers wouldn’t agree with RTTT teachers evaluations & I was shocked when the nod was given.
It’s easy to get arrested. I wouldn’t do it for any reason.
Do you think children should think it’s OK to be arrested if it’s civil disobedience?
I agree with Ellen’s concerns, however Randi is undermining her own actions being part of a reform in education that is going to be disastrous for children, their families & teachers.
Teacher data is going to live forever in the databases.
So Randi really is playing for the other team. The corporate “reformers” and are basically bankrolling her efforts in support of their agenda. This is no different from the way conservative Republicans infiltrated the Democratic party by bankrolling Cory Booker. No wonder you can’t tell what side anyone is really on anymore. The 1% have covered all angles so that every side is their side.
It’s almost unfathomable what a long list of individuals and groups are involved in this, too. I can’t even imagine the twisted logic these people use to justify to themselves that stealing from America’s children is right, when it’s really all about satisfying their own greed.
Well…that’s just beyond disgusting.
From all the comments and background information provided here, I would guess that one of the main problems may be that the fox is in the henhouse. Union leadership sounds like a potential Who’s Who list for the deformers. As far as I can tell, national leadership has done very little to distinguish themselves as champions for hardworking teachers or the continued viability of the public school system.
It’s been a problem. Now there are forums. Like here. I’m not anti-union. I’m an honorary lifetime member of NYSUT & feel honored. I’m not a teacher.
The problem isn’t unions. They’ve been driven off track.
You are right. The problem is not solely within the union. The way I see it, everyone has their hands deep inside the cooking jar and they can’t seem to get out of it. Continuously taking funds from education.
This would be funny if it wasn’t so pathetic:
My first reply on this thread praised Randi for her actions in Philly. Now, after reading the replies and links, I want to find out if we can impeach her.
I so hope she’s making a turnaround, similar to Diane’s. That would be huge…
A “turnaround”. That’s what she is trying to portray by being arrested, yet she never stood with the teachers of NYC when she supported mayoral control not once but twice and let Bloomberg and Klein destroy our public schools. She went on to do the same in Washington, DC., Colorado, Newark, etc. where she gives in to merit pay and VAM. She did nothing to really help the Chicago teachers because she wanted Karen Lewis to fail.
Instead, it would be great if members of the AFT showed some real courage and put Karen at the lead.
How does her appointment work? Is she up for reelection? Who gets to vote?
I really have to look into this Linda because I never received a ballot for any AFT elections, just my local one. I will ask Norm Scott of Ednotes Online.
Funny . . . I never received any ballots for AFT elections either. Hmmm……….
I’m in NYC, too. Her tenure here was a disaster. We had no voice.
schoolgal — “I really have to look into this Linda because I never received a ballot for any AFT elections, just my local one.”
I asked one of my union elders about this last week (I am an alternate rep in my building). As I understand it, there is an election every (two?) years, and ONLY the delegates we send are allowed to vote. So the rank-and-file never really get to vote. I stated it this way and was immediately corrected — “The delegates ARE the rank-and-file” — but I’m not sure that’s entirely accurate. I asked how I could tell who had voted for whom, and got a blank look. My guess is that if you want to make your voice heard on this you need to find out who your union’s voting delegates are and bend their ears.
I can tell you that most of the delegates from NYC are from Unity. They are also required to sign an oath pledging there total support for all Unity platforms. I do not consider this a Democracy, and I too will be voting MORE. The only problem is the lack of information about MORE. Btw, the NYC rank and file have no vote in the evaluatin system either. It’s all quite sad.
School Gal,
I agree with you 100%. Well put.
I personally would like Randi as an ally very much, but I’d also like to know that she can be trusted to reform her own deal cutter ways and be far more, mostly confrontational and – I’ll use the “O” word – oppositional.
Will she wake up to our realities as teachers and as a society, or will she plan accordingly as she has in the past? The UFT and AFT are basically a one party system, and they are anything but petition based or democratically designed and run. Just look at how they are set up and the mechanisms of how they operate.
Still, we must pull together as unions, even if that means we reinvent ourselves to shed the direction Ms. Weingarten has taken in too many instances. If she can really make room for us, I would love to have her embraced and included. But if she can’t, then she simply does not belong representing us any more.
We do indeed need a more Karen Lewis style of leadership.
Well we do know that the DNC contributed heavily to both the NEA and AFT. That led to the early endorsement by the NEA for Obama and the AFT followed. That in itself it not so bad, but what was worse that they both started to endorse elements of RTTT and the reform movement. And not one bad word was said about RTTT at either convention. While I loved Diane’s speech, I was upset with the omission of RTTT (and her long and glowing introduction of Randi). While she had the right to glow over Randi, I found it shocking she did not take on her well-known role of dissecting RTTT. That would have been a ground-breaking speech.
Randi IMHO is an opportunist. She also has been spreading her personal money to contribute to anti-reform causes which in turn usually means they will not write anything negative about her actions or give any space to Julie Cavanagh of MORE. But I find it questionable that Randi would protest school closings in Philly during a big union election year. Unity is up against MORE in NYC. They need to keep in power so they sent Mulgrew to Florida to entice the retirees vote. Diane’s piece of the recent vote to close 22 schools left out a very salient point–Mulgrew did not show up to that protest.
Julie’s interview on NYC’ WOR radio was terrific. But only one blog and one FB page wrote about it. Julie is trying to fight against VAM, charters, testing, and bring much needed services to communities as well. She knows teachers cannot be change agents unless poverty is also addressed.
But keeping UNITY in power will only intensify the reform agenda. And the only way to prove it is to look at past actions to determine future ones. Norm always says, “Don’t listen to what Randi says, look at what she does.” Maya Angelou says, “When a person shows you who they are the first time, believe it!!”
Unless we can get more people like Karen Lewis, the union will not be able to change within. And it really needs its soul cleansed.
In 2006, when I had written an article in the NY Teacher Paper about Randi Weingarten, I extolled her leadership virtues by examining her role in bringing city teacher salaries in line with those of the gentrified suburbs. But she also compromised tremendously in that “victory” by helping Michael Bloomberg secure mayoral control of the New York City public schools.
With regard to Ms. Weingarten, I’ve since then had a reversal of observatory fortune. Her rhetoric has remained acutely incongruent to her past and present actions. Randi Weingarten is, within her own drama-queen-to-no-longer-centrist spectrum, a substantial obstructionist to true educational reform.
I’d like to remind everyone here that Weingarten, a teacher for 6 to 9 months in her whole 22 year career, paved the path for Bloomberg to control and damage the NYC public schools by demoralizing teachers with a test-obsessed, mostly data driven, and castigative professional culture. Not to mention, Bloomberg now runs an opaque process where no one gets to see too much of what goes on behind the scenes. The democratic components he has in place, like the Panel for Education, are little more than cosmetic democracy. His hiring of Cathy Black was a swift smack in the head to teachers, administrators, cognitive scientists, students, and parents. When I saw Weingarten speaking at a rally in New York City a few years ago, I was reminded that this was the very same figurehead who was completely behind mayoral control and instrumental to getting Bloomberg this post.
Bloomberg’s appointment as an education leader is a dot that can be directly connected to other dots of non-teaching occupations and unions. He’s a prominent powerbroker for the rich and an indifferent plutocrat whose policies weaken the middle and working classes.The contradiction of Ms. Weingarten’s cooperation with Mr. Bloomberg, sticks out like a sore, open blister.
I am also reminded of Weingarten’s successful move to feature Bill Gates as a key note speaker at the AFT convention this year. How can that NOT send the wrong message to us teachers, yet also, reveal Weingarten’s true “reformer-deformer” orientation? Gates is among the most anti-teacher and anti-teacher union plutocrats in the United States. Not to mention he is emotionally disconnected from the student-teacher bond and has no background in education. He has preached his cavalier and politicized acceptance of several self-dogmatized, bizzare precepts such as: 1) class size doesn’t matter; 2) the length of time it takes teachers to become adept and experienced is only 3 years); 3) there is a non-necessity of having a masters degree or higher to become a teacher; 4) there is a non-necessity of factoring in student poverty to teacher evaluation; 5) there is a need to innoculously replace, in part, real teachers and the human bond part with virtual learning.
Yet again, we turn to Ms. Weingarten, who cherry picked Mr. Gates to “inspire” us at one of the most visible and symbolic forums, the AFT convention.
Furthermore, there is the UFT debacle wherein Weingarten, and then later on, Michael Mulgrew, suppressed information regarding Iris Blige, the Medusa-inspired principal who was found guilty and fined by the DOE of giving directives to her assistant principals to issue “U” ratings to teachers without actually having them observed. The UFT deliberately chose not to pursue this case when one of the affected teachers was sent to a rubber room. The virtual absence of coverage, press conferences, rhetoric, and plain truthful advocacy is key to revealing Ms. Weingarten’s corruption and incompetence. And now we all get to relish those same branded hallmark qualities in her on a national level.
Finally, let’s also not forget that Michael Sherman, a former top level executive in the former Weingarten UFT, left his post to become a board member of Teachscape, another Gates product. Nor can we part with her recent facilitation of “pay for performance” (a euphemism for merit pay) contracts down in Newark public schools in New Jersey.
It is my succinct hope that the more people are keenly aware of Weingarten’s “All-About-Eve” style representation of teachers nationwide, the more there will be a movement to seriously and perhaps aggressively unseat her. She comes into scenarios pretending one thing and leaves with something to the contrary accomplished. It remains a critical goal to replace her with someone who will militantly stand for those who educate rather than for ideological, philosophical movements that are dressed up to imitate advocacy for teachers. But then again, Weingarten is a master at self-promotion. I can see her sparkling up her public image a little by dancing with the stars or showing up on a revival of “What’s My Line?” Yet, the real Weingarten couldn’t possibly stand up due to her own self serving denial and paralysis.
Ms. Weingarten can no longer shoot her allies, and then dress up like Clara Barton and nurse the fallens’ wounds in the fields. We are by now too informed, too infuriated, and too disenfranchised to not seek other types of leadership.
I,for one, will not be fooled by her manipulations of the public in her recent arrest. Fool us once, shame on you, fool us two hundred times more, shame on us . . . .
Robert, thanks for the information.
While I have not held as vehement position until now,
I have had suspicions and doubts.
It would help me — and many others, I think —
to know the sources for some of these accusations.
Certainly the UFT has done some weird things, including
endorsing George Pataki over Carl McCall in 2002.
But if you can point to places where such facts are
documented, it would help.
Read the Union’s paper, New York Teacher . . . read Education Notes Online . . . Read up on Weingarten’s statements at press conferences and public meetings within the UFT.
Sorry to sound and be naive, but what can we do to get Karen into that position? I have a lot of respect for her.
You are not naïve because you have been reading the comments and now your eyes are open. Many teachers believe the spin or are too afraid or apathetic to research the truth. I am not to sure how the election process works because I never got a ballot for the AFT national election. And Unity has a strong hold around the nation. So I too need to find out how Karen can get that position.
Please watch:
MORE UFT Campaign Commerical- NYC Teachers Educators Union
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=XusIasWTHrg&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DXusIasWTHrg
Ron,
You and your union elder are correct.
Unfortunately, the AFT, like most major unions in the US, does not have direct rank-and-file election of national officers. Instead, officers are elected by convention delegates at the bi-annual AFT convention. The most recent one was this past summer in Detroit.
It was at the infamous 2010 convention in Seattle where the keynote speaker was Ms. Weingarten’s partner and patron, Bill Gates. Weingarten’s AFT is a recipient of Gates and Broad Foundation money. (www.aft.org/newspubs/news/2011/07211innovation.cfm)
As the largest and most influential of all AFT locals, the UFT in New York City is the tail that wags the AFT dog; it’s not a coincidence that, with the exception of a caretaker administration after the death of Sandra Feldman, AFT presidents have come from the UFT for generations.
Because of this, UFT members who vote in next months election can have a real impact, not just on the direction of teaching and teacher unionism in NYC, but nationally.
For fifty-plus years, the UFT/AFT has been a one party state, controlled by the Unity Caucus, with empty, faux-democratic rituals that mask decision-making by a tiny group of people, whose policies have contributed to the dire situation faced by teachers and the public schools today.
This year the UFT leadership is being challenged by MORE, (the Movement of Rank and File Educators), which promises a positive alternative to Weingarten’s policies of “collaboration” with so-called reformers, which is having such catastrophic results for students, teachers and schools. (Full Disclosure: I am an officer candidate on the MORE slate next month)
If you’re a NYC teacher, vote for your students, communities and yourself next month: vote for MORE. (morecaucus.nyc.org)
Very informative, Mike! Thanks so much for sharing this. Perhaps Diane and groups like the Network for Public Education and SOS can help get the word out about MORE, the upcoming election, and the issues at hand, since happens in NYC is likely to impact many teachers across the nation. Good luck to you!
I think the word “collusion” is much more apropos than “collaboration” for describing the shell game and bait and switch tactics characteristic of these alliances between corporate “reformers” and union leadership.
Well according to the papers, Randi just donated a large sum to Diane’s new organization, and while I would love to see some positive posts about Julie Cavanagh and MORE on this blog, I am not sure that is going to happen. And it’s really sad on so many levels because Julie stands more with Diane’s beliefs than Randi. And Randi controls most of the chapter leaders who are of course spinning the Unity line. VAM is a good thing…merit pay is a good thing. They don’t tell you that the UFT’s own charter school is in serious trouble. Or that the AFT approved the NYState VAM deal.
“Collusion” is a preferable term, but “collaboration” is the word Randi likes to use.
It might date me, but when I was growing up, “collaboration” with one’s enemies had negative connotations. I think it had to do with some unpleasantness that occurred in Europe in the 1930’s and ’40’s …
I support MORE. Remaking, reinventing, and reinvigorating the union is critical for the long term survival of public education. We need far more embracement of parents for social, fiscal, and cognitive justice, and we also need a union that will be confrontational rather than deal cutting.
I was recently approached by someone who had fliers and info about MORE. She was very into it and I was (and still am) interested.
What was somewhat disturbing, though, was that she was very secretive about the whole thing. She’d stop talking when others walked by and only pulled out the fliers after she’d looked around to make sure nobody was around.
Why would that be?
That would depend upon your own chapter leader’s association with the Unity caucus. But if you are not afraid, perhaps you can help spread the word. Maybe even find a venue where a member of MORE can speak to your teachers???
I don’t see a reason to fear…but those might be my famous last words.
I’ve already sent out some emails. I’ll be spreading the word. Thanks.
gitapik,
The short answer is that there’s a lot of fear out there, fear that is being intentionally cultivated as a means of control (and sometimes just for the sick pleasure of wielding it). For a prime example, see Rhee, Michelle.
What you describe might have something to do with the school or the individual. Is the principal one of those who believes the school “belongs” to them (as the DOE’s Leadership Academy indoctrinates them to believe), and that there is no union contract in place? Is there a culture of intimidation in the school, with either no Chapter Leader or one who is in bed with the principal?
Is the Chapter Leader a vindictive member of Unity Caucus – in my personal experience, the majority of Unity officers, staffers and Chapter Leaders are not, but there are exceptions – who might be in a position to harm this person at a critical moment?
In Bloomberg’s DOE, it’s almost impossible to be too cynical or paranoid. It’s like observing Wall Street (which, unsurprisingly, is where the mayor comes from), where the most cynical view of human behavior is predictably shown to be naive.
People need to realize that things have devolved and deteriorated to such a point that putting down your head and trying to remain anonymous is no protection. Sometimes being open in your resistance provides more protection than anonymity (in terms of labor law, for whatever that’s worth, that is in fact true).
Fear is contagious. But so is courage.
Thanks, Michael. See above.
I have to admit that the last two days have been difficult. I got discouraged last night. Not fearful. Discouraged.
1) I was listening to NPR. They were talking about NJ Governor Christie’s town hall meeting in a predominantly democratic, African-American community.
He was promoting vouchers. There was a heckler. Chrisie’s major response was that the only thing that will improve education is competition. He kept saying that’s why the schools in that area of town (very poor) were suffering: no competition.
The crowd cheered. And clapped. Loudly.
What he’s leaving out is this: where is the money for the vouchers going to come from? The schools’ budget? If so: that puts the schools in an even worse predicament, in terms of “competing”.
They cheered.
2) I’ve been talking to my colleagues about the UNITY caucus and referring them to articles about Randi’s collusion with Broad, Gates, etc. Some people don’t even know who Randi is. None (NONE) of them have ever heard of the MORE caucus (I hadn’t until recently, myself). With only a month before the election, it’s going to be very difficult to convince anyone to vote for anybody outside of the standard line.
Sorry to be a dishrag…but it’s a bit disheartening. It just seems that almost 2 decades of media based propaganda have brainwashed the American public.
Can someone put together a list of things I can send along to my union delegates that might convince them to turn away from Weingarten when the election comes up? I’d really appreciate it — and I think we might want to make a point of mentioning a link to it in comments on this blog. At the VERY least, we can be reasonably sure that Diane will point out to Randi that a growing number of her constituency are starting to seriously look at ousting her.
A major concern to me are the politicians Weingarten and my local union have and still are supporting. They are the same people who support charters, Common Core and VAM. This is of greater concern to me. All across the USA public ed is under attack. Look at what happened to Nashville when the Bd refused to allow a charter. Not only did Rhee’s ex husband withhold funds to their public school, but now the legislature wants to be able to overrule school boards!!! Parents will be powerless as well. This is why I support PAA (Parents Across America). Last year they defeated Jeb Bush and the Parent Trigger Law in Florida and will work to do it again this year. Parents are also leading the fight against standardized testing in Texas. We need more parent groups because they are our only hope.
Here is a page that follows all the concerns you have put forth:
https://www.facebook.com/SUPPORTPUBLICSCHOOLS
And here is a movie I think you will like. Julie is one of the narrators. It was written and produced by NYC teachers and parents:
People want to forget how the Corporate reform movement grew! Michelle Rhee decided to fire highly qualified largely African American teachers. Randi Weingarten made a political decision not to represent them. They still havent been afforded due process!!!
Michelle Rhee said in public comments she fired more teachers because she didnt get pushback!!