Why Do We Have a Union?
A young UFT delegate asked me that question while she was watching UFT President Michael Mulgrew shut down Jamaica High School's James Eterno, for my money the most knowledgeable and resourceful chapter leader anywhere. Eterno, after listening for over an hour about the marvels and wonders of the new contract, attempted to give the other side.
We have a union so that demagogues like Michael Bloomberg cannot do to you what Michael Mulgrew did to Eterno. Without a union, you wouldn't be reading this right now, as anyone who spoke counter to the great and mysterious Bloomberg would be sacked without a second thought. This was what Bloomberg was aiming for when he pushed a bill to end LIFO for NYC teachers only. Fortunately, our esteemed governor decided he could fire teachers effectively enough via junk science VAM.
We have a union so your supervisor can't push you to do nonsensical petty nonsense, even if she's from the Leadership Academy. If you don't feel like sleeping with her, that ought not to jeopardize your position. If you don't feel like washing her car or getting her dry cleaning, that too ought not to be problematic.
We have a union so that callow and untrained supervisors can't just walk all over you. In your school, you ought to have a chapter leader who knows the rules, or who can at least find out what the rules are, and make sure school leadership follows them. You ought not to get a letter in your file about bulletin boards, or about something that happened 22 years ago, for example.
We have a union so that reformy leaders face not only you, but tens of thousands of your brother and sister UFT members when they wish to enact pointless reforms. When they introduce their unproven and/ or failed nonsense, they at least have to get us to agree to it. They don't like steps like that, which is why NYC Educator: Why Do We Have a Union?:
We have a union so that demagogues like Michael Bloomberg cannot do to you what Michael Mulgrew did to Eterno. Without a union, you wouldn't be reading this right now, as anyone who spoke counter to the great and mysterious Bloomberg would be sacked without a second thought. This was what Bloomberg was aiming for when he pushed a bill to end LIFO for NYC teachers only. Fortunately, our esteemed governor decided he could fire teachers effectively enough via junk science VAM.
We have a union so that callow and untrained supervisors can't just walk all over you. In your school, you ought to have a chapter leader who knows the rules, or who can at least find out what the rules are, and make sure school leadership follows them. You ought not to get a letter in your file about bulletin boards, or about something that happened 22 years ago, for example.
We have a union so that reformy leaders face not only you, but tens of thousands of your brother and sister UFT members when they wish to enact pointless reforms. When they introduce their unproven and/ or failed nonsense, they at least have to get us to agree to it. They don't like steps like that, which is why NYC Educator: Why Do We Have a Union?: