Why is the DSA Trying to Take Over the UFT?

“I’m not a member of any political party – I’m a democrat”

Will Rogers

We have a two party electoral system, Democrats and Republicans, within each party there are factions, and Madison in Federalist # 10 warned against factions, “who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion or of some, adverse to the rights of other citizens or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community.”The Social Democrats of America (DSA) is not a political party, it’s a “political not for profit organization” and DSA members run in Democratic primaries.

In the upcoming UFT elections  the opposition caucuses apparently have formed a coalition, including candidates announcing themselves as members/supporters of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA):

Is the DSA seeking to take over the leadership of the UFT? And, what are the core policies of the DSA?

Perhaps I should review the history of teacher unionism nationally and locally, 

From its earliest days teachers were divided into factions, by religion: the Catholic Teachers Association, the Jewish Teachers Association, by discipline: the Art Teachers Association, the Music Teacher Association, by division: the High School Teachers Association, and politics, the Teachers Guild and the Teachers Union (TU) were bitter enemies on the far left. Read Clarence Taylor, Reds at the Blackboard: Communism, Civil Rights and the NYC Teachers Union, (2011) and Jack Schierenbeck, UFT.org

At the height of the McCarthy period NYS passed the Feinberg Law, the law called for the dismissal of teachers who called for the overthrow of the government, or, had been, or were members of the communist party, the law was directed at members of the Teachers Union.  About 400 teachers were fired, the Supreme Court initially sustained the constitutionality of the law, 

In 1959 the High School Teacher Association supported evening high school teachers who refused to report to evening high school jobs, and, the Board of Education agreed to a raise.Elements of the Teachers Guild and the High School Teachers Association merged, and, in 1960 formed the United Federation of Teachers.

The membership was divided over whether to support the war in Vietnam, teachers who had fought in WW2 and in Korea, many of whom received financial aid under the GI Bill supported the war while younger teachers opposed the war. Eventually the union held a membership referendum: Should the union take a position or not, and if so, what position?  Members, in  a close election voted not to take a  position, if the position passed they would opposed the war.

 In 1967 the Union was on strike to two weeks and the following year the 40-day Oceanhill-Brownsville strike.  The former TU members opposed the war as well as the 68 strike, the former Guild member supported the war as well as the 68 strike.In spite of contending factions the union held to together under the leadership of Al Shanker, Read an excellent biography, Richard Kallenberg, Tough Liberal: Albert Shanker and the Battles Over Schools, Unions, Race and Democracy (2007)

The UFT leadership has navigated factions within the union and attacks from outside the  union. It has survived due to the character and strength of union leadership. 

After the sudden layoff of 15,000 teachers at the opening of school in 1975 the Delegate Assembly cried “We won’t come back until we all come back,” the city; however, was planning to declare bankruptcy placing the city under a bankruptcy judge who could have total control of all city finances and contracts, including the teachers contract, putting everything in the contract at risk as well as teacher pensions. While the NYS constitution prohibits the state from “diminishing” pensions the supremacy section of the US Constitution gives ultimate power to federal courts. The union rapidly settled the strike and loaned the city pension dollars to avert bankruptcy that was an hour away.

Over the last few years the UFT, passed a Class Size Reduction Law, over the vigorous opposition of the mayor, and, somehow convinced the legislative leadership NOT to a pass the state budget until the charter school cap was restored.

It is not surprising that the Democratic Socialists Of American (DSA) would be trying to seize the leadership of the union. What are the core policies of the DSA? See (DSAUSA.org)

*Total support of the Palestinians and total opposition to Israel

*Opposition to the Democratic Party – calling for a Workers slate

*Withdrawal from NATO

*Nationalization of Industrial America, and on and on.

The question is should the leadership of the UFT espouse these policies, espouse the policies of the DSA?

The policies espoused by the UFT should be policies emanating from the membership, the incredibly diverse membership, diverse by title, by race, by gender, by choice of partner, A friend of mine is an epidemiologist working for a US government agency to stem the epidemic outbreak of Ebola in Central Africa, looks like the entire agency has been disbanded by Trump, far more than a constitutional crisis. We facing the end of democracy as we know it, if there ever was a time for the UFT to come together, to fight together, it is now.  if we fail to hang together, as Benjamin Franklin said, we will all assuredly hang separately.