“We must all hang together or most assuredly we’ll hang separately,”

“We must all hang together or most assuredly we’ll hang separately,” Benjamin Franklin 

Less than a month into the Trump-Elon regency and the attack on public education and labor unions is just beginning. 

Utah is the third state to bar public employees from collective bargaining, and we expect a Trump attempt. perhaps through a presidential mandate. 

The National Labor Relations Board, whose members were fired, is no longer functioning. 
The NY Times reports, 

The Utah law, coupled with the Trump administration’s recent firings at the National Labor Relations Board, has caused concern, 

“So private sector workers in this country now have no enforceable right to engage in collective bargaining,” 

“And if you start adding on top of that, states taking away the rights of the public sector workers to engage in collective bargaining, you get to a point where that’s an incredibly serious threat to the labor movement,”

The Department of Education from time to time send letters that begin “Dear Colleague,” The Eduwonk substack writes, … the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Education released a “Dear Colleague” letter on DEI and federal funding. For the uninitiated, “Dear Colleague” letters are often not as collegial and friendly as they sound. This one is more “F you colleague.” 

The letter to State Boards of Education orders the Boards to eliminate all references to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and threatens the withholding of federal funds.

The Department of Education is warning state education agencies they may lose federal funding if they do not remove DEI policies and programs to comply with the department’s interpretation of federal law.

A letter from the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights was sent to the departments of education in all 50 states, according to the Department of Government Efficiency.

“Institutions that fail to comply with federal civil rights law may, consistent with applicable law, face potential loss of federal funding,” acting assistant secretary for civil rights Craig Trainor writes in the letter. The message warns that “the department will vigorously enforce the law” to schools and state educational agencies receiving funding and that it will start taking measures “to assess compliance” in no more than 14 days.

The NYS Department of Education is strongly committed to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies as well Culturally Relevant Sustaining Education   

The CR-S Framework creates student-centered learning environments that affirm racial, linguistic, and cultural identities; prepare students for rigor and independent learning; develop students’ abilities to connect across lines of difference; elevate historically marginalized voices; and empower students as agents of positive social change.

NYS receives $1.5 Billion in federal funding.

How will New York State respond?

The State will work with teacher unions, legislators and advocacy organizations to collaborate on an effective response.

For decades the UFT has worked with parents and public school advocacy groups building coalitions. On the political front the UFT has endorsed electeds and far more importantly developed relationships.  The chair of the Assembly Education Committee is a retired NYC teacher, the chair of the City Council Education Committee is a teacher and an active UFT member.  A key legislator who steered the Class Size Reduction bill through the legislature is the parent of two public school students.

The opposition caucuses in the upcoming union leadership election is calling for “preparations for a strike,”  “working with Republicans as well as Democrats,” “breaking away from the Municipal  Labor Coalition,” all suicidal ideas, ideas leading to the destruction of the union as well as public education (and jobs!).  

If the United Auto Workers go on strike cars don’t get made, the automakers pay for the cost of the contract by raising prices, we teach children, we are the link to a better life, we would consider a strike only under the most dire circumstances, and, our current opponent is not in City Hall or Albany: who are we striking against?

Time and time again the union, led by Shanker, Feldman, Weingarten and Mulgrew has nimbly navigated the murky hallways of Albany and City Hall. from the best teacher pensions in the nation, to averting city bankruptcy to the recent class size reduction law.  

When former mayor Bloomberg decided to change the law to lay off excess teachers and eliminate tenure Mulgrew rallied unions across the state and when Bloomberg attempted to force the union to give back contractual gains Mulgrew simply said we’ll wait for the next mayor. While Taylor Law has onerous penalties for going on strike it also keeps the terms and conditions in place until the subsequent contract is ratified. 

It’s been less than a month, Trump is just getting started and public education and teacher unions are in his sights. Randi Weingarten is leading the teacher union fight back across the nation, in New York City the opposition caucuses refuse to collaborate, they have become unknowing Trump allies, maybe even quislings. 

Voter turnout in New York City elections is paltry, in the upcoming June 24th primaries to select mayoral candidates, maybe 25% of registered voters will participate, and union elections are not different. We’re all busy, too many are, sadly, turned off by politics and/or just too busy to vote.

The UFT election is too important to ignore, get out your phone and tap in a reminder, ballots will be mailed May 1, it’s easy, just put an “x” in the Unity box. There are no do-overs. Your job, the future of your students all hinge on Weingarten and Mulgrew, the Unity team, working with other unions, with parents, and advocates fighting the fight.