benson — relationship of UFT to local dem politics is very different than it was in the days of local school district boards. Lots of political jockeying as to who got elected to those local school boards, and lots of school management and policy decisions were in the board’s oversight if not its hands. Those boards were also one of the ladders for political climbing. Those days are gone. Union is of course political and a major benefactor in many dem campaigns but I don’t see the kind of on the ground political party influence in school management/principal hiring types of issues. Direct mayoral control and the abolition of local district elected boards with real power has changed things a lot.
P.S. No apostrophe before a plural s. I learned that in public school from a union teacher (following a strike, no less). 😉
And if you lived in Connecticut you would have been told, as my boss and his wife were, to join the Republican party if you want to get anything done. And so what, if the unions are heavily democratic? What about all those humongous corporations now throwing pots of money into the elections (mainly for Republicans ). That is no different and not even the UFT can match that kind of money. Don’t kid yourself- this is not only a Democratic issue.
And who keeps talking about the rubber rooms–there is a procedure in the contract; hold hearings, resolve cases. The city had such a backlog of cases that they were paying teachers their salaries for doing nothing.
“as soon as the city funded enough positions for admin law judges to hold hearings and decide the cases of the rubber room teachers, voila! end of problem.”
RF’s post is a piece of cake.
First, yes I am aware that the principal’s have their own union, and THAT union told him that if he wanted to get the position, he had to become active in the democratic machine.
I want to hear someone on this board tell me with a straight face that the UFT is not HEAVILY invested in local democratic politics. What do you think we don’t see who is working the phones for the democrats come election time? As I said, my wife comes from a family of UFT teachers.
Furthermore, RF, your post is disingenuous. By your own words on this site, you have worked the system to get your daughter into certain schools. Gosh, things are just peachy keen for you. How nice. Try telling that to the 100’s of thousands of kids who go to school in barely functional facilities, you know, the ones you worked to have your duaghter avoid, stuck with teachers who should have ben fired years ago, if it were not for tenure.
All that corporate money, they know which way the wind blows. They gave big to Democrats last year, wouldn’t want to pay for a loser.
And if you lived on the blessed Long Island, land of the D’Amato family, you joined the Republican Party.
benson — relationship of UFT to local dem politics is very different than it was in the days of local school district boards. Lots of political jockeying as to who got elected to those local school boards, and lots of school management and policy decisions were in the board’s oversight if not its hands. Those boards were also one of the ladders for political climbing. Those days are gone. Union is of course political and a major benefactor in many dem campaigns but I don’t see the kind of on the ground political party influence in school management/principal hiring types of issues. Direct mayoral control and the abolition of local district elected boards with real power has changed things a lot.
P.S. No apostrophe before a plural s. I learned that in public school from a union teacher (following a strike, no less). 😉
And if you lived in Connecticut you would have been told, as my boss and his wife were, to join the Republican party if you want to get anything done. And so what, if the unions are heavily democratic? What about all those humongous corporations now throwing pots of money into the elections (mainly for Republicans ). That is no different and not even the UFT can match that kind of money. Don’t kid yourself- this is not only a Democratic issue.
And who gave these incompetent teachers tenure?
And who keeps talking about the rubber rooms–there is a procedure in the contract; hold hearings, resolve cases. The city had such a backlog of cases that they were paying teachers their salaries for doing nothing.
A contract is signed by both parties.
“as soon as the city funded enough positions for admin law judges to hold hearings and decide the cases of the rubber room teachers, voila! end of problem.”
It was fascinating how quickly that was resolved.
Every elected official in Albany is a pawn of the UFT to some degree or another.
RF’s post is a piece of cake.
First, yes I am aware that the principal’s have their own union, and THAT union told him that if he wanted to get the position, he had to become active in the democratic machine.
I want to hear someone on this board tell me with a straight face that the UFT is not HEAVILY invested in local democratic politics. What do you think we don’t see who is working the phones for the democrats come election time? As I said, my wife comes from a family of UFT teachers.
Furthermore, RF, your post is disingenuous. By your own words on this site, you have worked the system to get your daughter into certain schools. Gosh, things are just peachy keen for you. How nice. Try telling that to the 100’s of thousands of kids who go to school in barely functional facilities, you know, the ones you worked to have your duaghter avoid, stuck with teachers who should have ben fired years ago, if it were not for tenure.
wife whines, asks for massage, asks for steak, more massage, repeat till the period passes