We need to stop placing all the blame on Unity and the UFT for the contract that we now have to live
under. The UFT can't foist a contract such as it did upon us in a vacuum. It needs a partner in it's shenanigans.

That partner is us, the teachers of NYC. We are the enablers that allow the UFT/Unity to not only give us poor contract after poor contract, but we enable UFT/Unity to continue to time and time again to throw us under the bus, whether it is putting up a fight for our contractual rights, to the lack of being treated professionally by Tweed. UFT/Unity can't do what it is not doing without our acquiescence.

One of the BEST people I have have known in the DOE shared two stories on her Facebook timeline yesterday;

One who was provisionally out of the loop for two months thought the contract was wonderful because she said with a smile,"Once all of the retirees leave, there will be lots of open positions for ATRs"....and she needed the $1000 dollars to go on a trip this summer. 

What this person fails to understand is that a virus, like in Stephen King's "The Stand," can wipe out every non-ATR teacher in DOE and not one ATR will be hired permanently in a school. Anyway, after taxes your $1k bribe will be about $600.

The other statement shows the folly of allowing retired members of the union the right to vote in UFT/Unity elections;

The other was literally gloating to me, ecstatic to be retiring, couldn't care less about my feelings or that we had to remain and work under the new contract because he said that he had, suffered and 'paid his dues'

Yes, you paid your dues. You are entitled to what you have earned and the right to enjoy and well rested and lengthy retirement. But remember this. You are able to retire today and able to enjoy your pension and all that comes with it thanks to other UFT members before you. Especially in 1968 and 1975. 

But these are just two examples. I'm sure there are more. It's all apathy and ignorance, ignorance and apathy. Sy Syms used to say, "An educated consumer is our best customer."An educated and informed teacher is a mortal enemy to UFT/Unity.

If we are buying an air conditioner we will research the brands and the prices. We will buy Consumer Reports, speak to friends, read reviews online, and shop for the best price.

We will even do the same for a restaurant or a hotel. Research, check Trip Advisor, Yelp, Google.

But when it comes to our jobs, we do none of that. We stay ignorant. We stay apathetic. WE ARE EDUCATORS. We are supposed to teach out students how to think, how to question, but when it comes time for us to do it when it concerns our livelihoods and our future, We just get stupid. We get what we deserve.

UFT/Unity will not change, or rather conform, to our wishes until the ignorance and the apathy is no more. You must be involved and knowledgeable about our union. You need to go to chapter meetings. Vote in UFT/Unity elections. You need to ask questions. You need to stop thinking that it "Won't affect me," because guess what, it just might one day. And when and if it does you will be kicking yourself for not knowing what you got yourself into.

The Crack Team is down in the dumps. Sadly, the contract that the UFT negotiated for the teachers of New York was passed by a 3-1 margin. Instead of cursing the result The Crack Team decided to do something about it.

We thought that rather than once again writing about why this contract was not good yet again,  it would be better to show how actual teachers would be affected by it. It was decided that a contingent of The Crack Team would travel into the future to see just how this contract has either helped or hurt teachers. We did not have any plutonium for our Flux Capacitor so we decided on another method of time travel as seen in the Star Trek episode, "City on the Edge of Forever." Luckily for us, Steve of The Crack Team has been to a Star Trek convention had purchased the schematics for the Guardian of Forever for $10,000. We thought he was foolish, but imagine our surprise when we found out it worked. Don't believe we built one? Here's the finished product awaiting the two members of The Crack Team to enter.

At about 7:30 PM EDT Crack Team members Jim and Spock entered the Guardian for Forever and returned just a few minutes later at 7:34 PM EDT.

Their report; 

UFT Headquarters, Executive Offices June 4, 2014:
We witnessed Mike Mulgrew and LeRoy Barr are sitting around a conference table with their feet up with Carmen Farina. All are smoking cigars which they had lit with $100 bills laughing and saying, "Gee, they'll vote for anything."

Outside a School in District 11, May 24, 2017:
Met with ATR Kevin Smith. Kevin informed us that he is now on his second 50 day assignment. He was at another school in District 11 when on day 51 he was asked to leave for problematic behavior. Apparently, he had left the toilet seat up in the staff bathroom for the 2nd time. He had already received a counseling memo for leaving it up once before. He is concerned. He told us he is not taking anymore chances. He now pees sitting down.

At 51 Chambers St, 3020-a hearing, February 5, 2017:
We chatted with Steve Smith, a 24 year teacher before his hearing. He is an ATR and is facing the 1 day, expedited, not full due process, 3020-a hearing. Steve got removed from his first assignment because the principal found a 22 year old newbie to fill his position. The principal waited until day 51 to find him problematic, claiming that he had been late, even though the lateness was due to his crossing the Tappan Zee Bridge and there was a jumper and traffic was stopped for 3 hours. Steve even sent video from mid-span and of the jumper falling to the Hudson just to cover his butt.

The second time, he was replaced because the principal wanted to give his position to her old college pal and Steve just happened to be in the way. The principal claimed that Steve was yelling at the students even though he was in a cafeteria of full of 300 students and he was just talking loud. 

PS 451 Bronx, May 4, 2016:
We sat down with Dawn Smith, a 4th grade teacher. Dawn, a 20 year veteran, shared with us that for years she was used as the model teacher when visitors, Quality Reviews, etc... went on in the school. She applied to for the model teacher position hoping that the extra cash could help her son get into a decent college. She was disappointed when she found out that the principal chose to send the name of the school's art teacher in for the position. Apparently the art teacher had been living in the principal's colon for some time and the principal wished to show her thanks. 

MS 777 Brooklyn, May 22, 2016
Teachers are discussing the results of the UFT election. They can't believe it. Mulgrew is reelected and receives 99.99% of the vote.

UFT Headquarters, February 22, 2017
Teachers are still inundated with paper work. The union, which in 2014 agreed to find ways to reduce paperwork, has been fact finding since September 30, 2014. A finding has been imminent now for over 2 years.

UFT Headquarters, June 1, 2018
With the historic 8 year contract coming to an end, new mayor Eva Moskowitz tells the UFT that the city can't afford to pay the last two installments of retro and will like to stretch the payments out to 2035. Mulgrew quickly responds with, "Sure, whatever you want! We just want a seat at the table"

A PROSE school, Upper East Side May 11, 2018:
Without union protection, this PROSE school, "The Excellent Academy for Scholarly Scholars," the teachers must report to work at 6 AM and leave at 9 PM. Teacher's that speak up against administration have no union protection and are taken out back and summarily executed with their lifeless heads chopped off and put on a spike in front of the school as a message to other teachers as to what can happen to them.

Shiva Call, Monsey NY, Home of Ida Rabinowitz, February 7, 2017:
Mrs Rabinowitz' husband, Morris, who jumped off the Tappan Zee Bridge the other day, just buried her husband the day before. He was distraught for several reasons. One, his paycheck was now being deducted 10% for health care and he was getting less bang for his health care buck. His old psychiatrist was no longer on the plan and he had to go see a psych at the closest joint UFT/NYC funded health center in Middletown NY.  His new psychiatrist was a 26 year old affiliated with "Psychiatrists For America" and had only 5 weeks training. Worse yet, the anti-depressants he was on were no longer covered and he had to settle for generic anti-depressants that were manufactured and mailed from Kazakhstan. 

President Mulgrew was gracious enough to pay a shiva call. When Mrs Rabinowitz asked Mulgrew if as a widow, will she be getting the remaining payments of her husband's retro Mulgrew responded, "Ain't happening!" He soon turned and left for the buffet table, helped himself to some bagels, smoked salmon, creamed herring, and whitefish salad and headed out the door.

So there you have it. The intrepid time time travel of The Crack Team showing the rank and file what the future holds.

The future can be changed. But it is up to US, not UNITY, of anyone else to change it. So let's do it.

My son had a baseball tournament upstate this weekend and while enjoying the free pre-made, formerly frozen free breakfast at the Quality Inn of Fishkill yesterday morning I decided against Poughkeepsie Journal in favor of my Sunday true and tried Daily News.
reading the

After reading the sports section I turned to the op-ed page to read El Presidenté Mulgrew's fascinating story on how teacher's, but in his reality the UFT, are the real reformers. As I was reading, my wife said that she had never seen someone's jaw actually hit the table before.

I am not going to rehash or add my two cents. It's been done. Others have done it. I shan't. But just two thoughts.

One, we wouldn't be in this predicament if in 2002 we had some cojones and didn't cave into the pressure of mayoral control. Yes, the money seemed great at the time, but that was the beginning.

Secondly, the final nail was put in the coffin in 2005. So, please, spare us the "I found religion" spiel now. It is too late. WE, THE TEACHERS, THE RANK AND FILE, THE FRONT LINE, have been bullied, beaten, abused, and bruised up too long. So forgive us if we are not buying the hard sell. Forgive us if we say we heard this all before. It's too late. You can't be the tough guy on the playground now when the bully is nowhere to be found. The time to be the tough guy to fight for us and unions came and went. WHY SHOULD WE TRUST THE UFT?

We need Gene Hackman.


In the 1972 movie "The Poseidon Adventure," Gene Hackman played Rev. Frank Scott. When the ship capsized, Hackman, along with others were trapped in the ballroom. Hackman, with the help of Ernest Borgnine, rigged a Christmas tree too lead others the the galley which was now on the ceiling. Soon others followed. From atop Hackman implored others to follow them, that this was the only way to safety.

But it was not to be. A lackey, a sycophant, a yeoman of the ship told Hackman that he is in charge and the others will stay in the ballroom to await rescue. He ordered Hackman to come back, but Hackman knew better. He knew he had to go to the bow of the ship, where the steel is the thinnest, to be rescued.

The yeoman said no and that those with him shall remain. Hackman gave up trying and just as he walked away the sea burst into the ballroom. Suddenly hundreds of people were attempting to climb up the Christmas tree at once only for the tree to come crashing down under the weight of too many people. They all drowned.

Raise you hand if you get the point. OK.

You have a choice. Vote for and accept this contract and when the time comes for your raises, your retro, and if you become an ATR that Christmas tree won't be there to hold all your weight.

Or follow Gene Hackman and have your career back. Have a voice in the union back.

The yeoman is all the UFT lackeys on Twitter, Facebook, in your schools, and in emails attempting to frighten you, to not question the direction of the union, and wants all to be sheep.

Gene Hackman is a man looking out for others and not for him. Willing to listen to others. Willing to sacrifice himself.

Gene Hackman is what we deserve.