NYC Educator: Bill Thompson Is Unacceptable for Working Teachers

NYC Educator: Bill Thompson Is Unacceptable for Working Teachers:

Bill Thompson Is Unacceptable for Working Teachers

by NYC Educator

It's more than a little depressing to read that AFT President Randi Weingarten has seen fit to endorse Bill Thompson for NYC Mayor. First of all, she's got enormous sway over the UFT. It's possible that UFT could go its own way, but I wouldn't bank on it. More to the point, we've got history with Thompson, and it's not good at all.

It's certainly true that UFT worked closely with Thompson before billionaire Bloomberg decided to buy that third term. In fact, I recall his saying things that could just as easily have come out of Weingarten's mouth. But Thompson must surely have been disappointed when, after all that happy camping, the UFT declined to select a candidate against Emperor Mike.

I recall being at a chapter leader training where I complained about that. A UFT rep told me that we could only sway the electorate about five points, and that Bloomberg was so far ahead this would have been futile. At another training session, after Bloomberg won by five points, a more senior UFT rep announced to a room full of chapter leaders that we could only have swayed the electorate about three points, and that this would have been futile. He added, however, that had Hitler been running, the UFT would have taken a principled stand against him.

This was a little bit shocking to me. I did not feel any compunction to wait for Hitler to run before taking a principled stand. It was obvious to me then, and even more obvious now, that Reformy Mike's cherished goal is to break our union and privatize education. In fact, my principled stand has an even lower standard. Mayoral