Archives For NYSUT elections

 

The NY United Teachers union is comprised of more than 1,200 local unions across NY State. This year the Movement of Rank-and-file Educators (MORE) ran six candidates for the Board of Directors. NYSUT Elections have been uncontested since 1979. The six candidates pooled their speaking time at the NYSUT Representative Assembly convention and were represented by Lauren Cohen and Mike Schirtzer. Behind them were James Eterno, Julie Cavanaugh, Francesco Portelos, Jia Lee from MORE and our union sister from Port Jefferson Teachers Association Beth Dimino.

Today, our six MORE candidates for NYSUT Board of Directors will contend for votes at the the NYSUT Representative Assembly.  They are Julie CavanaghLauren CohenJames EternoJia LeeFrancesco Portelos, and Mike Schirtzer

We are also supporting Arthur Goldstein for Executive Vice President and Beth Dimino for At Large Director.

New, Positive & Independent Leadership for NYSUT

  • A Strong Rank & File Member Driven Union That Will Take Action in Defense of Our Educators and Students
  • Repeal The Common Core Standards
  • Teacher Autonomy Without High-Stakes Testing
  • Evaluation Based on Collaboration, Not Measured by Test Scores and Cookie-Cutter Rubrics

Continue Reading…

Arthur Goldstein is a UFT Chapter Leader of Francis Lewis High School in Queens and is running for Executive Vice President of NYSUT, with MORE’s support.

Beth Dimino is the president of the Port Jefferson Station Teachers Association and is running for NYSUT Board of Directors, also endorsed by MORE.

 

IANNUZZI ANSWERS MORE-GOLDSTEIN-DIMINO CALL FOR NYSUT DEBATE; MULGEW IS SILENT

Commentary by James Eterno

Jamaica High School Chapter Leader/

2010 ICE/TJC UFT Presidential Candidate

 

The email below was sent to NYSUT President and Stronger Together leader Dick Iannuzzi, UFT President Michael Mulgrew and Revive NYSUT from several of the candidates running for office in the first ever contested NYSUT election. We are asking for a debate or some kind of open forum in New York City before the April 5 election. As you can see, President Iannuzzi has responded. We are still waiting to hear back from President Mulgrew.

I never received an answer when I asked for a presidential candidate forum before the UFT election in 2010. MORE caucus didn’t get a reply when we requested a debate between Mulgrew and MORE’s Julie Cavanagh before the 2013 UFT election. Would anyone be surprised if we don’t hear back from our UFT President now?

Yes, we understand President Mulgrew is a very busy person but when something as important as the leadership of our city or state union is at stake, don’t you think we at least deserve a response?

The lack of a reply now is especially baffling since there have been numerous candidate forums all over NYS the last few weeks ahead of the NYSUT election. I reported on one such forum that took place on Long Island a couple of weeks back.

Why is Mulgrew, and the NYC Unity Caucus he leads, so afraid of open discussion? Perhaps the fact that members of his caucus are obligated to support caucus positions in public and union forums means the leadership does not feel the need to discuss anything. I have reported repeatedly on President Mulgrew stifling dissent at UFT Delegate Assemblies.

We can only hope reports are right and some of the NYC Unity people are willing to open up their minds and vote their conscience.

Our letter to Iannuzzi, President Mulgrew, Stronger Together and Revive NYSUT:

Dear Brothers Iannuzzi and Mulgrew,

We are NYSUT members, teachers, UFT Chapter Leaders and Delegates, and many of us are members of the MORE caucus (Movement of Rank and File Educators) in the UFT which received over 5,000 votes in our first run for local office in 2013. Our caucus received over 40% from high school teachers. We are running to represent New York City educators from the UFT as NYSUT Board of Directors and Executive VP.

We write to you today concerned that districts all over our state are holding forums with candidates from their respective districts and those running for officer positions.

In the spirit of democracy and transparency we are requesting a forum at a neutral Manhattan location open to all UFT and NYSUT members, including NYSUT delegates from the UFT and the media. We believe the members of Stronger Together, Revive, and our independent slate of eight members ought to be able to express our vision for state union leadership to our members.

We look forward to hearing your response as soon as possible and working together to plan this event!

Best regards,
Julie Cavanagh

Teacher/UFT Chapter Leader P.S.15

Lauren Cohen
Teacher/UFT Delegate P.S. 321

Beth Dimino

Teacher/President of Port Jefferson Station Teachers Association

James Eterno

Teacher/UFT Chapter Leader Jamaica High School

Arthur Goldstein

Teacher/ UFT Chapter Leader Francis Lewis High School

Jia Lee
Teacher/UFT Chapter Leader The Earth School

Francesco Portelos

Teacher/UFT Chapter Leader I.S. 49

 

Mike Schirtzer

Teacher/UFT Chapter Leader Leon M. Goldstein High School

 

The response from President Iannuzzi:

Dear MORE Caucus Candidates and others:

Thank you for reaching out with your concerns and proposal.

NYSUT is committed to running a transparent and open election in accordance with the law and is willing to collaborate in any way that would provide opportunity for the voices of all statewide candidates to be heard consistent with not violating the law. As the head of the Stronger Together slate, I can assure you that this is our position as well.

I am forwarding your email to NYSUT’s General Counsel and Elections Committee for their input. I am asking Counsel to communicate directly with you and to copy me with their response.

In solidarity,

Dick Iannuzzi

President Mulgrew’s Response:

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nysut-logo

MORE CAUCUS OF UFT TO CHALLENGE CURRENT UFT LEADERSHIP IN STATEWIDE UNION ELECTIONS

RANK AND FILE EDUCATORS WILL BRING REAL CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE TO UNION POSITIONS

New York – The Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE), the Social Justice Caucus of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), best known for opposing UFT’s President Michael Mulgrew and his Unity caucus in the 2013 UFT elections will now offer a positive alternative for leadership in the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) officer elections. This is unprecedented- never before has the Unity caucus or a sitting UFT president been challenged in NYSUT elections.

MORE is running in this election against the Unity Caucus because, according to candidate special education elementary teacher Julie Cavanagh,

 
“…Rather than collaborating with those who seek to destroy us, we must harness our collective power and stand with parents and youth to end destructive education policies and fight for the economic, racial, and social justice our teachers, students, and society need and deserve.”

In a break from his union’s leadership, MORE candidate and high school teacher Mike Schirtzer calls for an immediate repeal of the Common Core State Standards,

“Teachers did not develop it, nor does it have the best interests of our students at heart.”

The standards have been supported by the current union leadership despite they way they force classroom teachers to do ever-increasing amounts of test preparation at the expense of real instruction. Students are bored with the the constant “drilling”, which deprives them of an authentic, engaging education.

MORE is challenging for statewide union office in order to initiate a change in direction, towards standards developed by pedagogical experts and field tested before implementation. MORE candidate and elementary school teacher Lauren Cohen adds,

“The Common Core is fundamentally undemocratic – not only in its implementation but in its conception. Handing teachers rigid, scripted curricula benefits corporate interests while neglecting students’ need for a developmentally-appropriate and well-rounded education.”

Public school parent, teacher, and MORE candidate Jia Lee explains that she is running for this position because,

“Our union leadership has allowed for the high-stakes use of invalid standardized tests, putting an entire generation of youth, educators, and schools at risk, and has promoted a culture of fear. It is time for democratic policies that respect the diverse needs of New York’s public schools.”

Our union leadership has done precious little to stop the over-reliance on testing, even though a plethora of research proves that measuring students only on test scores does not provide a complete picture of what a child has learned. Mike Schirtzer reiterated,

“The Unity caucus strategy has been political lobbying; they have not mobilized the UFT membership, even as schools are closed, high stakes tests proliferate, and student data is sold to the highest bidder. “

MORE believes our union must stand up in defense of our students. Reducing class size, funding the arts, offering a wide array of after-school programs, and providing full social-emotional and medical services for families would be the type of reform that would truly move our schools forward. Addressing poverty, racism, sexism, and other issues that our children face every day is what real union leadership is about.

Unfortunately, Unity caucus is stubbornly clinging to obsolete tactics that have resulted in the nearly unopposed corporate takeover of our schools. NYSUT and UFT must fight to allow working educators, students, and their parents, to determine educational policy. Policy should no longer be determined by those who seek to profit financially from our public education.MORE is challenging Unity in order to offer a slate of candidates that truly represents classroom teachers. Any policies the MORE candidates negotiate will affect them directly, because they are in the classroom each school day. That is not the case for the small clique of high-ranking Unity grandees currently dictating UFT policy.

Each new bureaucratic diktat, from Common Core to the cookie-cutter Danielson rubric to High Stakes testing, has resulted in less time for grading, lesson planning, and collaboration with administrators, parents, and colleagues. These failed policies have buried teachers under mounds of useless paperwork that do not positively impact our students. A new NYSUT leadership that includes the MORE slate will mobilize rank and file educators in the five boroughs and locals from around the state to take back our schools. Education policy should never be dictated in corporate boardrooms or political back rooms. It should be created with the input of the real experts- working teachers and parents.

The elections will take place April 5th, 2014 at the NYSUT representative assembly held at the New York Midtown Hilton. Local union presidents and delegates from around New York state will converge at this convention to cast their ballots and determine the statewide union’s direction. MORE is running an independent slate of six candidates for Board of Directors At-Large representing UFT members; Julie Cavanagh, James Eterno, Jia Lee, Mike Schirtzer, Lauren Cohen, and Francesco Portelos. They have also endorsed the candidacy of Arthur Goldstein for NYSUT Executive Vice President and Beth Dimino, President of the Port Jefferson Station Teachers Association, for a Director At-Large for Suffolk. Only elected delegates from last year’s UFT election may vote in the NYSUT election, not rank and file members. MORE represents thousands of UFT members (including over 40% of the high school teachers who voted in the 2013 elections). UFT’s undemocratic rules do not allow for proportional representation, therefore all the NYC delegates at NYSUT convention are from the Unity caucus. These are at-large positions, meaning that any NYSUT delegate may vote for us, including those not from the UFT.

 
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAMORE is running a slate of six candidates in the upcoming NYSUT elections for the Board of Directors. NYSUT is our state union that all UFT members belong to. The following statement is part of a series that will feature all six nominee’s election statements.
Only delegates elected in local union elections may vote in the NYSUT elections, not rank and file members. In the UFT’s case, all 800 NYSUT delegates are from the Unity caucus, even though MORE represents over 15% of working educators and over 40% of high school teachers based on the 2013 UFT elections results. The Unity caucus votes as a block, because each delegate must sign an oath to vote in UFT, NYSUT, and AFT assemblies as the caucus tells them to. We are running for “at-large” positions which means although we represent the UFT members of NYC, any NYSUT delegate from around the state may vote for these positions. The election is held at the April 5th NYSUT convention.
Please join us on March 8th at our general meeting to discuss and April 5th at the Midtown NY Hilton to distribute fliers for our campaign- more information will follow.

I am with the Movement of Rank and File Educators.  We’re running to uncage the sleeping tiger—the 600,000 strong NYSUT membership—to save our union and public education, a daunting task.

One side, backed by the UFT leadership’s Unity Caucus, pledges to “engage the Governor to address your concerns . . . hopefully to win him over.”  They want a seat at the table. We don’t need a seat at Cuomo’s table when our members and our students are being served up for dinner!

Instead, we must rebuild NYSUT for real grassroots union action. Vote James Eterno to help uncage the NYSUT tiger.

 
COHENMORE is running a slate of six candidates in the upcoming NYSUT elections for the Board of Directors. NYSUT is our state union that all UFT members belong to. The following statement is part of a series that will feature all six nominee’s election statements.
Only delegates elected in local union elections may vote in the NYSUT elections, not rank and file members. In the UFT’s case, all 800 NYSUT delegates are from the Unity caucus, even though MORE represents over 15% of working educators and over 40% of high school teachers based on the 2013 UFT elections results. The Unity caucus votes as a block, because each delegate must sign an oath to vote in UFT, NYSUT, and AFT assemblies as the caucus tells them to. We are running for “at-large” positions which means although we represent the UFT members of NYC, any NYSUT delegate from around the state may vote for these positions. The election is held at the April 5th NYSUT convention.
Please join us on March 8th at our general meeting to discuss and April 5th at the Midtown NY Hilton to distribute fliers for our campaign- more information will follow.

As a member of the MORE Caucus in NYC, I’ve noticed a stark disconnect between the rhetoric of our union leadership and the interests of working teachers. The Common Core is fundamentally undemocratic – not only in its implementation but in its conception. Handing teachers rigid, scripted curricula benefits corporate interests while neglecting students’ need for a developmentally-appropriate and well-rounded education. Teachers’ hands have been tied as the emphasis on testing and labeling harms the most vulnerable children. I am running for an At-Large Director position to advocate for teachers’ professional autonomy. Allow us to teach students, not standards.

 Francesco Portelos
MORE is running a slate of six candidates in the upcoming NYSUT elections for the Board of Directors. NYSUT is our state union that all UFT members belong to. The following statement is part of a series that will feature all six nominee’s election statements.
Only delegates elected in local union elections may vote in the NYSUT elections, not rank and file members. In the UFT’s case, all 800 NYSUT delegates are from the Unity caucus, even though MORE represents over 15% of working educators and over 40% of high school teachers based on the 2013 UFT elections results. The Unity caucus votes as a block, because each delegate must sign an oath to vote in UFT, NYSUT, and AFT assemblies as the caucus tells them to. We are running for “at-large” positions which means although we represent the UFT members of NYC, any NYSUT delegate from around the state may vote for these positions. The election is held at the April 5th NYSUT convention.
Please join us on March 8th at our general meeting to discuss and April 5th at the Midtown NY Hilton to distribute fliers for our campaign- more information will follow.

During my first years of teaching I missed almost every union meeting. “I’m a good teacher, why do I need the union?” I naively thought. After I raised concerns, I was targeted, removed from my teaching position, and exiled. I realized the importance of unions, and I ran and won the school chapter leader position from exile. As a member of the MORE Caucus in NYC, I have been mobilizing and supporting my school and other educators who read about my fight. My goal is to use my knowledge, leadership skills, and out-of-the-box thinking at the state level now.

 Jia Lee
MORE is running a slate of six candidates in the upcoming NYSUT elections for the Board of Directors. NYSUT is our state union that all UFT members belong to. The following statement is part of a series that will feature all six nominee’s election statements.
Only delegates elected in local union elections may vote in the NYSUT elections, not rank and file members. In the UFT’s case, all 800 NYSUT delegates are from the Unity caucus, even though MORE represents over 15% of working educators and over 40% of high school teachers based on the 2013 UFT elections results. The Unity caucus votes as a block, because each delegate must sign an oath to vote in UFT, NYSUT, and AFT assemblies as the caucus tells them to. We are running for “at-large” positions which means although we represent the UFT members of NYC, any NYSUT delegate from around the state may vote for these positions. The election is held at the April 5th NYSUT convention.
Please join us on March 8th at our general meeting to discuss and April 5th at the Midtown NY Hilton to distribute fliers for our campaign- more information will follow.

As a member of UFT’s MORE caucus, I am running for an At-Large Director position based on my firm belief that democratic engagement of our membership must be a top priority. Our leadership has been complicit with unresearched Race to the Top policies, diminishing our work to scripted curricula and directing incalculable resources away from enriching programs our schools need. The use of invalid standardized tests has put an entire generation of youth, educators, and schools at risk and has promoted a culture of fear. It is time for democratic policies that respect the diverse needs of New York’s public schools.

Mike Schirtzer - MORE Tshirt
MORE is running a slate of six candidates in the upcoming NYSUT elections for the Board of Directors. NYSUT is our state union that all UFT members belong to. The following statement is part of a series that will feature all six nominee’s election statements.