I am Proud to Be a Member of Unity
There are almost 200,000 UFT members, active teachers, paraprofessionals, school secretaries, speech therapists, nurses, unionized charter schools, etc., and retired teachers. When teachers retire they are no longer covered by the collective bargaining agreement the UFT actively supports retirees, they vote in union elections, have their own chapter within the union and retirees participate in…
Why Are We So Contentious? Lessons from Madison and Hamilton
“AMONG the numerous advantages promised by a well constructed Union, none deserves to be more accurately developed than its tendency to break and control the violence of faction. The friend of popular governments never finds himself so much alarmed for their character and fate, as when he contemplates their propensity to this dangerous vice. He…
Is the Mayor Planning to Defund the Affinity District Partner Organizations?
The NYS budget cycle is April 1 to March 31, if the governor/legislatures fail to reach an agreement the legislature passes a “continuing resolution” to keep the state solvent, meaning the ability to pay bills and pay state employees. Cuomo prided himself on timely budgets, each of Governor Hochel’s budgets has been late and this…
A Primer: Who Manages Our Pensions? How Does the System Work?
In the last Constitutional Convention, in 1938, the phase “…public employee pensions may not be diminished or impaired,” was added to the State Constitution. Changing the constitution requires votes in both houses of the state legislatures in two consecutive sessions followed by a statewide referendum of voters. In other words our pensions are secured by the…
Don’t Worry, Public Employee Pensions are Guaranteed and Safe
After July first, nineteen hundred forty, membership in any pension or retirement system of the state or of a civil division thereof shall be a contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired. (New. Adopted by Constitutional Convention of 1938 and approved by vote of the people November 8, 1938.) The…
Islamabad, Albany and the Art of the Deal
There two sets of negotiations in progress, the Iran/USA mediated by Pakistan and in Albany the NYS budget is two weeks late with no end in sight. Every week the legislators return to Albany to pass a “continuing resolution” to keep the state solvent. Years ago I served on the UFT Negotiating Team, the union…
Why is Education So Damned Fad Prone?
I’m imagining a get together, Elle Bisgaard-Church, Z’s Chief of Staff, the same position she held in Albany, a close friend, a confidant, a keeper of the SDP Torch, meeting with the inner circle in the backroom of a bar in the Commie Corridor. “We can’t let the Z v Tisch tension derail us, how…
The Race to a NYS Budget (with sharp elbows!)
The 26-27 State Budget is due today, the legislatures passed “continuing resolutions” to keep the state afloat and the members left for the Easter/Passover break, leaving a number of contentious issues unresolved. The governor continues to push for the authority to override local zoning regulations to build more “affordable” housing, suburban legislators pushing back. The…
A Civics Primer: Fixing Tier 6
“No one’s life, liberty or property are safe while the NYS legislature is in session,” Judge Gideon Tucker With the signing of the Declaration of Independence the thirteen colonies became self governing states and each set about writing their own constitutions and governing structures The constitutions and structures varied widely from state to state. New Hampshire…
Do You Want the Recipe for the Secret Sauce?
Why was Socrates sentenced to death by the rulers of Athens? Socrates was viewed as a threat to Athenian society because his relentless questioning challenged traditional religious beliefs, political structures, and democratic authority. By making influential figures appear foolish and encouraging young people to think critically, he was accused of impiety and corrupting the youth,…
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Ed in the Apple: Blogging on the Intersection of Education and Politics Title 