Friday, June 13, 2014

NYC Educator: The Amazing Disappearing Mr. Astorino

NYC Educator: The Amazing Disappearing Mr. Astorino:



The Amazing Disappearing Mr. Astorino

A few months ago, I went to an anti-testing demonstration at Comsewogue High School. One of the speakers was gubernatorial hopeful Rob Astorino. Astorino spoke forcefully against Common Core, to the overwhelming approval of the crowd. Cuomo was awful. He was dancing around the truth. He supported this awful testing program. Who needs someone like Andrew Cuomo?

And no one really disagreed. Only while Astorino was ridiculing Cuomo for dancing around the issues, he somehow forgot that he himself opposed a woman's right to choose. His enthusiastic support for charter schools somehow never made its way into his speech that day.

It also slipped his mind that he opposed gay marriage. That was fortunate, because many in the crowd could have suffered a distinct slip in enthusiasm had they known that. In fact, it's pretty well-known that the Tea Party shares pretty much the same sentiments, and they wouldn't be likely to make much headway in NY without wearing a fairly convincing mask.

But there's even more reason to be wary of the slippery GOP candidate. Astorino opposes the Triborough Amendment, and wrote an op-ed in the NY Post explaining why. Astorino, like many tabloid writers, maintains that collectively bargained step increases are in fact raises, and wants an end to them while contracts are being negotiated. He claims working people have zero incentive to come to the bargaining table. Ask UFT teachers who waited over five years for a raise and then voted for delays and givebacks whether or not that's so.

He further claims having municipalities hold up the terms they've negotiated is a drag on the economy. Astorino also rails against retroactive NYC Educator: The Amazing Disappearing Mr. Astorino: