I got to give Mike Mulgrew credit for one thing. This passion he is showing to get his way with taking away the rights (and eventually the lives) of retired teachers shows that he can be passionate about something. That he can fight for something when he decides to. That in he does have a set. 

It would sure have been swell if Mulgrew showed the same passion for the last fifteen years as teacher upon teacher has been unceremoniously been dumped on and shat upon. Teachers hit up with trumped up letters to the file, accusations, hearings, and terminations while Mulgrew was silent.

However, Mulgrew is making a mess of this push to Mulgrewcare and he's going to take as many retirees down with him. Either to his level or to their graves. 

But I have been meaning for some time to share what's on my mind about Mulgrewcare. Not to the level of the experts, such as Jonathan, Arthur, James, and Norm. All four of them deal into the nitty gritty as well as numbers and background that I can only dream of doing. 

So just some pertinent thoughts from me concerning this healthcare mess. Let's see if he makes any big purchases in the future. 

1. Why is Mulgrewcare being created from the top down? Why not have all the ducks in a row and then present it to the retirees? Have a list of all the providers, hospitals, pharmacies, et. al. show what's available and at the very least retirees, and future retirees, can see there is a plan (mind you. I am not in favor of Mulgrewcare). 

2. To add on the above, would it not be advantageous to also let retirees know where other than Florida and the Northeast where coverage would be provided? What happens if a retiree moves to California or Montana? Will there still be coverage available? 

A 68 year old family member of mine moved from California to  the middle of nowhere Maine last year. He's on Medicare Advantage. For some reason his policy is still being written out of California. Sadly, he lacks common sense and is having trouble find doctors in Maine to treat his maladies. 

3. To save money why not extend HIP coverage to all employees under 30? Or under 30 and single? Or employees with less than five years in the system? 

Rookies in the NFL and NBA used to get huge contracts until there was a rookie wage scale negotiated. There is precedence. 

4. Combine all the welfare plans into one. Yes, the number of patronage jobs will be affected but I'm sure there are savings to be found. 

5. Look look for savings. For instance, did you know that if an NYPD cop gets injured off the job, be it playing football with the guys, ice skating, heart attack, whatever, that that cop will be paid IN FULL. Yeah, paid in full until healthy and returns to the job. Is this fair? Why can't teachers have this? Sanitation workers? FIX THIS NOW!

6. Demand that Mayor Adams opens the books to the unions. Let's see for sure if the city is hurting.

7. I have heard the uniformed services are against Mulgrewcare. Why have their union leaders been silent thus far? Patrick Lynch has a big mouth and opinion about everything and anything. Why has he been so silent on this?

And last but not least, what is in this for Mulgrew? 

I am really getting tired of this shit with the retro pay. How can such a simple thing

be so fucked up? 

I was suspended in 2015 when the first payment went out. Of course I found out that suspended meant technically "on leave" so I was to get nothing. In 2016 there was to be no retro pay for anyone, some type of religious and/or spiritual retro leap year. For 2017, I was all excited because I was told that since I did not get retro in 2015 my retro check would be doubled. This info coming from several within the UFT. Nope. I just got 12 1/2%. Same in 2018, but my check was short by $700 or so because the DOE claimed they overpaid me the previous year. I did a payroll grievance and never really saw definitive proof. This year, well, we know how we are getting fucked for 2020. And this is not supposed to be my last payment. I still have a payment next year.

My 2018 Per Session retro check never came. Why you ask? Because even though I got a per session retro check the previous year, when I called per session payroll they shared with me that I had not worked per session between 2009-2014. But, I implored the crazy person I was talking to, if this were true how then did I get per session last year? On the day of the grievance, they realized they were wrong (I really wish there were a faceplam emoji on this dang blogger).

But enough of me.

So now it has come to this. Something so simple to handle became a shitstorm. Every union in the city got a lump sum retro check except the UFT. Of course, that is how the universe is supposed to work. Other unions get over on the city we take it up the ass day after fucking day. 

But why do we have to give back in this time of need? What about the NYPD? 

Did you know that each and every non-disability retired member of the NYPD, and the FDNY receives a Christmas bonus of $12k? Why, you ask? 

Let's go to Staten Island Live and find out...

The payment emerged from an agreement made between union and city leaders in 1968 at a time when the city was trying to increase its investment return of pension funds by diversifying portfolios.

Wait, there is more. A report by the non-partisan Citizens Budget Commission says these so called bonuses weaken the pension plans of of all city employees. In fact CBC Vice President Maria Doulis says...

“Phasing out or eliminating the VSF should be part of the mayor and City Council’s agenda in Albany next year,”

Think how much money the city can save? Yet, the rank and file cop will never have his or her "perks" cut. Because God forbid someone says something or does something bad against the cops. Mind you, I am not denouncing police nor for defunding the police. I'm just pointing out unfairness/

But if a FDNY or NYPD member retires in their mid 40's they can be collection for over forty years. Can't the NYPD or FDNY share the pain? Of course not, their union presidents would go batshit crazy!!!!!!

NYPD officers also receive almost $1k a year, $980 in uniform allowance. For a few shirts and pants? And black Skechers? Every uniform cop? Or is this every cop, including detectives? What about a cop that is a house mouse? He or she is never getting the uniform dirty. Can't that be reduced during this time of need? Our Teacher's Choice money is always fucked with. Why not fuck with NYPD's uniform allowance? Aren't materials for our students just as important as nice looking uniforms for cops? Besides a lot of cops still live with their mommies so mom can clean and press the uniforms to keep it looking nice. Mommy can clean the donut stains.

NYPD officers also receive $2k in January and July for holiday pay. Why not not give it out this January and this past July? Can't the cops of New York City take one for the team? 

Cops are still getting their overtime? Heck, guess what? In a few short weeks NYPD will be on 12 hour shifts. Every day. Where is our overtime?

But as I was writing this just about 10 minutes ago at 6:01 PM EDT I found that the UFT and the city reached agreement. 50% in October, 50% in July, no layoffs, 3% raise in May.

 Back to our regularly scheduled program.

If De Blasio really wished to save money within the DOE? Stop with the waste. Stop with elementary schools with enrollment under 500 students have multiple AP's. Across the board 20% pay cuts for all non union sycophantic wastes of human life that work at Tweed. Two coaches or whatever they are called per school. There are too many schools that are top heavy with positions filled by those that suckle at the sphincter of the principal. Shit the school I am at has 2 principals, about 4 or 5 useless coaches as well as a useless UFT center person. Go figure.

Time for the De Blasio to grow a set of balls with the NYPD. Make cuts to their perks. Not permanent of course, but temporary. Teachers are just as important, but in a different way, than cops. At least we don't kill people of color. 

And while we are at it. Where the frig is my pay for giving up my spring vacation? I figure that is about $4500 I am missing out on. Yeah, I know. The cops gave up their days off and vacations in July when they went to 12 shifts, 7 days a week. But they were getting OVERTIME. It helps.

Lastly, my dad used to tell me that no one can take advantage of you unless you give them permission. Think about it. We and the UFT keep getting fucked. We give the UFT permission. The UFT gives De Blasio permission. Time we do the fucking.

Last week I stopped at Stew Leonard's in Yonkers to pick up a few things for dinner. There
was about a 30-45 minute line to get in. A few minutes after I got on the line Stew Leonard's employee shouted, "All essential workers (first responders, health care workers, etc..) can go enter." I turned and asked, "What about teachers?" She said to go on ahead.

But thanks to the this New York Times article from April 21, some might be thinking we are no appreciative of what we have, think we are complaining too much, or both.

Off course the Times has to begin the article with snark.

According to the Times, teachers... work under meticulously negotiated contracts that detail their work hours and break times, and the rules for how they engage with administrators — contracts that now seem all but irrelevant with students and teachers confined to their homes.

Uh, yeah. We do. There is a reason we do. Just like First Responders do, just like MTA workers do, just most healthcare workers do (At least in New York City owned hospitals), even nurses in private hospitals. Sanitation workers are unionized, highway workers as well. But of course the Times must make it out to seem that only the teachers are hiding behind a collectively bargained contract. 

Irrelevant? So the contract goes out the window because we are working from home? We are therefore not entitled to a 50 minute lunch? A six hour and fifty minute day? A prep? Sick days? 

Administrators must not follow rules? Mustn't supervisors in NYPD follow rules? FDNY? Any other essential workers that work under a CBA (For those that aren't aware the C in CBA stands for COLLECTIVE which is an adjective meaning "done by people acting as a group.") The UFT collectively enters into a contract with another party, the City of New York."

 But some of these teachers are working longer hours without being compensated. According to the Times...Unions in some of America’s largest school districts have called for restrictions on the number of hours and days that teachers would be required to work from home during the pandemic.

That's because some of these teachers, many in fact, are working longer hours. All the time from home while juggling taking care of their own children.

Maybe they just want to be compensated for their extra time, or what is known as OVERTIME. NYPD cops are still afforded OVERTIME, In fact the plan is if 5k cops call in sick NYPD will go to 12 hour shifts which will include OVERTIME. Does the Times have issues with other public service employees taking advantage of the fruits of OVERTIME?

Is it possible that teachers, due to our CBA also wish for relief from supervisors that break the agreed CBA, go against agreements negotiated by the UFT and the chancellor?

From yesterday's UFT Delegate Assembly (courtesy of Arthur Goldstein) during the Q&A...

Q.How much work can principals mandate, now being told to record voice over PowerPoint. Pushing us to be onscreen as much as possible. In Kindergarten.
A--If they're mandating you be live, go to operational complaint form. Chancellor not requiring it. Why are they changing things all of a sudden? Perhaps being directed. I will check what's going on in your district. If this goes to my consultation with chancellor, will be inconvenient for AP

That's just an example.

Of course the Times has this; New York City has seen perhaps the most drastic display of unions pushing back against the new expectations placed on teachers.

Yeah, because we have been shat upon for too long and we don't trust those making decisions even though the teachers of NYC put together remote learning for 1.1 million students in 3 days.  

Think it's easy for us? How does one think it is for an average 7 year old? How does one think it is for any child old whose only escape from their home is that time spent in school? How does one think it is for four school aged children under one roof with only one laptop or just an iPad or iPhone? We know. We feel it. 

We push back because we are not generally supervised by competency or even have a background in education. I'll guarantee that any cop is supervised by someone who has been a cop and has more than 3 years of service. I will also say the same that one can't become a health care professional with only 50 hours of training. And I know if I walk into McDonald's tomorrow morning that the manager has experience working for McDonald's.

But the Times went full snark with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced that spring break, scheduled to begin in early April, would be canceled for schools across the state. (Many other places did the opposite, keeping or even extending their breaks.)

PBA President Pat Lynch and SBA Ed Mullins are dicks, but both are dicks that support their members.

Doesn't matter if it is yet again another NYPD cop or sergeant that indiscriminately kills a person of color. Pat and Ed are always there.

Doesn't matter if an NYPD cop or sergeant commits heinous acts whilst off duty forgetting that as an NYPD police officer you are sworn to uphold the law 24/7. Pat and Ed are there.

Doesn't matter if an NYPD cop or sergeant lives in NYCHA housing whilst a member of the service and having the taxpayers support their living expenses. Both Pat and Ed will be there.

An NYPD cop or sergeant want nice cushy easy house gig. Both Pat and Ed will be supportive.

If a NYPD cop or sergeant makes vile anti-Semitic comments? Both Pat and Ed will be supportive

We had a mayor (Bloomberg) and chancellor (Klein and Walcott) that shat upon the teachers and the UFT blaming us for the ills of the New York City. But never NYPD.

But in those rare instances that Bloomberg spoke out against the NYPD Lynch and Mullins were never silent.

But whilst teachers and the UFT is shat upon now to a lesser extent, where is Mike Mulgrew and the megaphone that he is supposed to have?

Teachers fined $5k because of a 3020-a show trial? Mike is silent.

Principals abusing teachers? Mike is silent.

Principals abusing and ignoring a legally bound contract? Mike is silent.

Teachers needing emotional support? Mike is nowhere to be found.

Now I am not saying that Pat Lynch nor Ed Mullins support most of the behavior I cited, but at the very least. The very least. They are supportive and vocal in support of their members.

It's  time Mike looks to Pat Lynch and Ed Mullins how on to support members.

I know I haven't blogged much this month and there are reasons I don't wish to get into right now. One reason is I have had a bad case of writer's block. Still have it so I am just going to not worry about form in this blog post just worry about emptying my mind of my thoughts. Streaming my consciousness so to speak.

I support the police. I have come across a lot of cops that are jerks and a lot that are good people. That is the same in all walks of life. Some people suck, some don't.

What happened in Bed-Stuy was completely FUBAR. BUT! De Blasio did not egg the protestors on nor is he anti-cop. But he has every right to inform his son of the perils he faces. He is a father first and a mayor second.

Ismaaiyl Brinsley was mentally ill! Should we blame JD Salinger for the death of John Lennnon? Should Robert DeNiro and Martin Scorsese be blamed for John Hinckley shooting Ronald Reagan?

What is happening across New York City right now is crazy. It is insane. And it is being fueled by the wingnut Right and the New York Post.

Eric Garner should be alive right now. Watching the video one wonders why 4 cops could not take Garner down in a way other than he was. Garner was not a danger to anyone. A NYPD inspector once told me that best cop is one who does not let a situation get out of hand. Garner's situation got out of hand.

Four cops could not control the situation and Garner at the same time? Why go for the neck? Take him down low. If that had happened we would not be having all this tsuris right now.

That being said the blind, unadulterated, kissing of the police officers by the New York Post and the wingnut Right is getting pretty disgusting. Worse, they seem to be poo-pooing the way African-Americans feel and react to the perception (And if it is their perception then something must be real. To those of the Right and the Post, deal with it!) of racist behaviors by cops while at the same time championing education of the civil rights issue of all time.

But God forbid if a teacher so much as did something wrong and the Post and the wingnut Right (And crazy Governor Andy in Albany) would be calling for that teacher's keyster.

Or worse, what would they say if that teacher had been charged in the past with misconduct in several past instances, like... Officer Pantaleo? 

...was the subject of two civil rights lawsuits in 2013 where plaintiffs accused Pantaleo of falsely arresting them and abusing them. In one of the cases, Pantaleo and other officers ordered two black men to strip naked on the street for a search and the charges against the men were dismissed.

Where there is smoke there is usually fire. Speaking of fire how long will it take to terminate Officer Pantaelo? Faster than a teacher? Will the Post and the wingnuts of the Right be calling for a speedier process to fire cops? To keep bad cops off the job? To do away with due process? A way to better evaluate cops? To be sure that cops that are hired are from the highest 1/3 of their college class?

Nope.

Oh, but the argument always will be that it is all about the children. But what about Eric Garner's children? What about the children of all the unarmed African-American's shot by the police? Are they not affected? Aren't all the African-American children not affected by NYPD in some sort of negative way?

Yet we aren't not hearing about charter precincts or busting up the NYCPBA or the monopoly that the NYPD has over policing or more stringent and punitive measures to evaluate cops and other inane stuff that we as teachers have been subject to for the last 12 years.

It ain't going to happen for several reasons. One, the rank and file of the NYPD is mostly male. Two, no one is afraid of the UFT and Mike Mulgrew. And third, they just haven't gotten to the uniformed services yet, but they will when they are done with us.

Oh one more thing. Can Sharpton just go very far away? Please?

I have been away for a week. Went on a little baseball road trip with the family.

So a lot has happened in the last week. The UFT not only supported Rev. Al's march in Staten Island, but was paying for buses to transport marchers to Staten Island.

Oh, and the UFT soon hid it's support on Facebook by deleting the posts in support of the march after several hundred pissed off comments.

Firstly, what happened in Staten Island was wrong. Do I think that people of color are treated differently by than others my some NYPD officers? Yes. Does this effect the way the community interacts with NYPD? Yes. Should the UFT have supported this march? No way.

The UFT showed it's hypocrisy in supporting the march for the act of one police officer. We as teachers are broad brushed day in and day out by the acts of a very few. We are railed against, beaten down and left on an island without any support. By making this march about the UFT's involvement we have put the 99% of officers of the NYPD who do the right thing in the shoes we don't like being forced to wear by outsiders.

At a time when we as teachers and a union need all the support and backing we can get to show a lack of support to our union brethren is not right. Yes, it's been said that the NYCPBA has done squat for us, well someone has to step up and do squat first, why not the UFT?

And, how can we support anything the Rev. Al is leading? Let's not forget his Wall Street Journal article he co-wrote with Joel Klein. Or his traveling roadshow with Newt Gingrich and Arne Duncan. Or what he truly feels about charters. And lest we forget some of the silly things Rev. Al has said in the past. Or the tax evasion, being an FBI informant, or Steven Pagones.

The UFT could have showed it's support for the community in other ways than endorsing this march.

We as teachers could have been asked or encouraged to go out into that Staten Island community and found common cause with the citizens. We as teachers have been subject to heavy handed tactics by Tweed and worse, SCI. We, both teachers and the Staten Island community have been affected by the last 20 years in this city of a top down, heavy handed, oligarchy, near police state by our elected officials and those at 1 Police Plaza.

Why has education been so able to go down the proverbial toilet? Because the citizenry is isolated from being heard (Hence, network offices 2 hours away by subway) which has enabled education to be controlled by a few of those 1 percenters who do not care one iota about those of color. The UFT missed it's chance. This is what the UFT should be marching about.

I don't begrudge Rev. Al having this march. It is his right and plenty do believe in him. I don't.

Nor do I condone those that live in their mommy's basements, drink Pabst, read about Che Guevara and Eugene Debs or bathe in months ending in Y. These people are immature and ignorant.

What bothers me and The Crack Team is Randi marching right next to Rev. Al and wearing a AFT shirt and Mulgrews involvement and thinking he knows what is best for the rank and file.

If Randi and Mikey want to march with Rev. Al, fine. Don't do it on my dime, The Crack Team's dime, or any other members dime.

It's time they start listening to the membership.

I should write this post as if it were a Twilight Zone episode.

Imagine if you will a young, attractive, white female, first year teacher who unravels a string of corruption at her school and is sent without warning or knowing why to the Rubber Room. Soon she is terminated whilst the principal that she exposed for financial improprieties and other not nice stuff is removed from her school and promoted. Meanwhile this young lady enters the Kafkaesque world of the NYCDOE in which up is down, good is bad, and insane is sane.

Not knowing why she has been fired she hires hot shot attorney and commences a letter writing campaign only asking to explain to her why she has been terminated. Soon this campaign reaches the desk of Det. Barney Fife of the 84th precinct in Brooklyn. She is arrested and soon enters the Twilight Zone.

Nah.....

Again, this post comes to you from the files of the "You Can't Make This Shit Up," department.

I am talking of course that yet another educator was arrested and booked for daring to speak their mind as the New York Post reported this past Sunday.

Yes, add Lydia Howrilka to the list of teachers arrested by the 84th Precinct to the list, albeit small and exclusive thus far, of educators arrested for just speaking up.

What innocuous act did Lydia perform that got her locked up for over 14 hours and send to Central Booking in Brooklyn on March 4, 2014? She just sent an email asking for clarification as to why she was discontinued and asking if the issues can be resolved by getting together and talking like adults.

The Crack Team has obtained a copy of the dastardly email that Lydia sent and this is the first time anywhere that it will be published. We here at SBSB suggest that women hold onto your significant others and be sure to not let children read the email.

Had enough? Yes, it is quite horrific. When read at first several members of The Crack Team wretched all over the SBSB newsroom floor and crawled into fetal positions due to the horror that they read.

But seriously, a harmless young lady sends a harmless email to her former principal Arisleyda Urena and she spends 14 hours in police custody? Doesn't the NYPD have better things to do and more importantly, why aren't the detectives that arrested Lydia, as well as Francesco Portelos checking with the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office first?

Will the arrest and subsequent declining to prosecute curtail these arrests or is this just the tip of the iceberg and we can expect more arrests of whistle blowers and those that speak out? Would Francesco and Lydia have been arrested by any other detective and/or precinct or is this the act of some rouge detectives with some close relationship with the NYCDOE?

This needs to be looked into post haste. The Internal Affairs Bureau of the NYPD must be notified as well as the Civilian Complaint Review Board and of course our pals at SCI.

I believe, and I hope I am right, that these arrests were authorized by the lawyers without the knowledge of either Farina or de Blasio. I think the lawyers know that there days of running roughshod and trampling the rights of teachers are coming to an end and they are now just shooting wildly as they know they will soon be not as relevant as they used to be.

The numb nut lawyers by having Francesco and Lydia arrested did the opposite of what they had intended.

I just thought of the irony of this post. Today is April Fool's Day and the arrest of Francesco Portelos along with the reading of the complaint and arrest report should be a joke. In a way it is, but not really.

Both the NYPD and the NYCDOE should stop sniffing their own farts and stop thinking they live in some gilded tower in which they believe they hold sway above humanity.

Be warned. While reading the complaint and arrest report try to not have any liquids in your mouth. You will laugh so hard you are bound to spray all over your computer and/or device screen.

Mr White of the DOE, and no this is not a pseudonym, felt in fear for his safety.  Perhaps Francesco was to unleash dozens of cute kittens upon the IT department of the DOE? What, Francesco was threatening him with Orzo? Notice the Greek reference? This is because the arresting officer, Barney Fife, er I meant, Detective Warren was under the impression that Francesco was Hispanic.

We do find out that Francesco has an MO (Modus Operandi). He asks question and send emails. EEEEEEEEK!!!!!!!! OOOOOOH, scary stuff.

Remember, the giveaway that Francesco's post was satirical was that the password to the payroll portal is; "KittensRCute."

Anyway, why spoil the reading? Go ahead, sit back and relax and read.

Nelson Mandela. Eugene Debs. Mahatma Gandhi. Andrei Sakharov. Ho Chi Minh. Bobby Sands.
Pussy Riot. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

These political prisoners are now joined by a new name. Francesco Portelos.

On February 25, 2014, Francesco wrote a post on his blog; "How to 'Hack' the DOE Payroll Portal and Give Yourself a Raise." When you read this, and you will be laughing your tushy off,  you will come to the realization that a brain damaged monkey would come to the conclusion that Francesco's post was tongue in cheek, sarcastic, and satirical.

Sadly, the folks at the DOE and the NYPD are not as smart as the aforementioned brain damaged monkey.

On Monday, March 10, 2014, at 10 AM EDT Francesco was forced to turn himself in to the detectives at the 84th precinct in Brooklyn which so happens to be the local precinct for our friends at 65 Court St. Thus begun Francesco's odyssey.

Francesco spent the next 13 hours in the holding cell in the precinct with having nothing but a bag of Doritios (Dependable sources have shared with The Crack Team it was nacho cheese flavor) for sustenance. He was then shackled with other prisoners and bussed to Central Booking on Schermerhorn Street and spent the next 20 hours locked up in a cell.

A cell in which he was put was filled with crack addicts, child molesters, and mean people. Twenty hours of just cheese sandwiches. Twenty hours before he saw a judge. Thirty hours of holding it in.

When he went before the judge, Francesco came across the first adult in almost 2 days; the assistant district attorney, who saw it was all bullshit and dropped the charges.

Is this what has become of the DOE? It now imprisons teachers who speak their minds? We expected something like this under Uncle Mike and Sock Puppet Klein, but now?

The Crack Team has come up with a theory. It could be that the 7,000,000,908,000,344 lawyers know that their days, and their hold on power, are coming to an end with the millions of dollars spent soon diverted to the students. Can this be an example of their last hurrah?

When The Crack Team reads and hears about what legal at the DOE is capable of, what they do, they think of The Rainmaker. To paraphrase Rudy Baylor;

 We're just wonderin'... do they even remember when they first sold out? 

Whatever became of the rule of law? Upholding the United States Constitution?  The Bill of Rights?

Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press

 This is not open to debate. There are no gray areas.  Francesco had his right abrogated. Worse, he was violated.

And not just with his rights being stripped away. He was charged with a misdemeanor;

S 195.00  Official misconduct.   A public servant is guilty of official misconduct when, with intent to obtain a benefit or deprive another person of a benefit:   1. He commits an act relating to his office but constituting an unauthorized exercise of his official functions, knowing that such act is unauthorized; or   2. He knowingly refrains from performing a duty which is imposed upon him by law or is clearly inherent in the nature of his office.

Why did Francesco spend 33 hours away from his family? Why could he have not received a desk appearance ticket at the precinct?  The only reason one can assume is that someone wanted to send a message and intimidate him.

Francesco has two little boys and they were without their daddy for almost 2 days. Was this fair to them? Was it fair for the angst his wife had to go through? God forbid, what if Francesco was violently assaulted? Does anyone in the DOE have a conscience anymore?

Two things have been on The Crack Team's mind. Why did the NYPD so easily do the bidding of the DOE, and who out there actually thought they could intimidate Francesco?

The persecution of teachers must end.

Oh, and be sure to read Francesco's more detailed account of his 33 hours on his blog!

I have been reading MORE's demands for the new contract and find most of it pretty logical and to the point. But one thing is lacking.

Where is the demand supporting teachers with mental health and substance abuse issues?

We live in a country that;

Major Depression Disorder affects approximately 14.8 million American adults, or about 6.7 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year.

Anxiety Disorder affects approximately 40 million American adults ages 18 and older, or about 18.1 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have an anxiety disorder.

Dysthymic Disorder affects approximately 1.5 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year.1, This figure translates to about 3.3 million American adults.

Panic Disorder affects approximately 6 million American adults ages 18 and older, or about 2.7 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have panic disorder.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder affects approximately 7.7 million American adults age 18 and older, or about 3.5 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have PTSD.

Alcohol Abuse; 17.6 million people, or one in every 12 adults, suffer from alcohol abuse or dependence along with several million more who engage in risky drinking patterns that could lead to alcohol problems.  

So one has to figure that of almost 80,000 teachers in NYC, that statistically teachers skew towards the general population and fit the above numbers. 

Yet nothing is done. There is no help for teachers, for staff that are facing the above DISEASES. Yes, the above are diseases. The above are covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Yet, teachers and staff are left to go it alone. No support, no where to turn for help, and no one to admit it to. We can't even trust who we consider our "best friend" in our schools.

Yeah, we all know the old argument, "We can't let these people near our children." Then if so, any parent suffering with the above diseases should lose their parental rights, no? Or even better, why can the NYPD offer services to its own?

NYPD offers two services that The Crack Team know of. There is the Early Intervention Unit which offers peer intervention and support. For police officers suffering from the disease of alcohol abuse there is what is known as "The Farm," in which police officers are given the chance of rehab.

But, and please this is no attack against police officers, cops carry guns. Not just regular hand guns, but other weapons as well. A cop is your first line of defense or your first line at the criminal justice system. Do not cops carry the burden of "your life is in their hands?" Just as important as the jobs teachers do, and possibly even more so.

Yet we all the pressures over teachers over the last ten years, all the top down pressure put on them, the abuse, mental and physical, where can a teacher turn to? Where is our support system other than being told to "suck it up and deal with it?"

There are too many teachers swimming against the tide, too many teachers who feel isolated, to many teachers that are drowning inside, too many teachers that are crying for support, for a friend, for help starting the next day and nothing is being done.

Teachers are no super heroes. We have real feelings and real emotions. If you prick us, do we not bleed? Or are we supposed to keep our blood inside?

For the UFT and the DOE to work together on this would be groundbreaking. That's why The Crack Team is calling on the MORE caucus to lead the way in adding this onto its contract demands and to bring this up in the next DA.

We are our brothers and sisters keepers.

Geez, sorry for not blogging for a week. I was a single father last week and priorities took precedence.

I wanted to blog this past Friday about a seeming hypocrisy coming from not only Uncle Mike, but from the New York media, especially the Daily News.

On Thursday, the News reported that 17 police officers were disciplined for leaving disparaging comments on Facebook last year in regards to those that make up the crowd at your typical West Indian Day Parade.

Comments ran the gamut. From calling the revelers, "savages" and "animals," to the more crude, “Kill them all,” and our favorite here at SBSB;

"I say have the parade one more year and when they all gather drop a bomb and wipe them all out.”

We'll come back to that last comment in a moment, but first a few thoughts. Funny how the Daily News failed to mention the names or out any of the officers names that left such asinine remarks.

But, the Daily News had no problems in wishing and hoping that Christine Rubino will be fired and left holding the bag. In fact, let's take some of the Daily News' own words about Chrstine and change them around to reflect the outrage and horror that should be written about these cops.

You would think a cop who openly expresses loathing for the citizens they are supposed to protect and serve even to the point of wishing them dead is unfit for the NYPD.

 Not in New York, where rules, regulations, arbitrations and court decisions bar the NYPD  from bouncing virtually anyone short of an ax murderer nabbed with a bloody weapon.

 These were not jokes or momentary outbursts of exasperation after a tough day at the parade. These were expressions of a sneering attitude that is anathema to a healthy, productive police officer-citizen relationship. Would the cop we refuse to name go the extra mile to help a citizen of color in trouble? 

Yep, cops good, teachers bad. 

We here at SBSB call for the Daily News to name these police officers, none of which has been fired, but have been reprimanded with penalties; "Six cops were slapped with command disciplines and seven officers received lower levels of punishment, which included 'letters of instruction,'” Oh yeah, and 4 are facing departmental trials of misconduct. Hey, wait, is anyone blaming the PBA for this right of due process?

More appalling is why we do not know the name of the cop, his command, his entire personal history, that uttered these words on Facebook;

"I say have the parade one more year and when they all gather drop a bomb and wipe them all out.”

What a horrible time to be Governor Andy. Here he is in the middle of a fight over releasing teachers evaluations. On one side he has teachers (not including the UFT because they already caved) and on the other side he has New York City super villain Uncle Mike and his henchman Sock Puppet Dennis Walcott wanting to shame and humiliate teachers in their ques to to diabolically take over the world of education. What is a governor to do?

There was a glimmer of hope, a glimmer of maturity from Governor Andy for a brief second in yesterday's Daily News. Governor Andy in his best transliteration of Mario said;

“To those people I say, really? Disclose all the evaluations for public employees?” added Cuomo. “Then how come you’re only singling out teachers? Where’s the policeman’s evaluation? Where’s the fireman’s evaluation? Where's the evaluation of the mayor’s staff, and the governor’s staff and the [Assembly] speaker’s staff?”

Cuomo agrees — but said he’s trying to come up with a plan that balances the teachers’ rights to privacy and parents’ right to know.

A student goes up to a teacher in my school and says, "Me and my gang are going to kill you." What does the teacher do? Better yet, what should the teacher do? Notify Numb Nuts of the indiscretion? Of course not. Numb Nuts will talk to the boy in his condescending, patronizing voice to the boy and ultimately do nothing. Perhaps Dear Principal, John Deacon might be notified? No, John Deacon is too busy holding up in its bunker to care or do anything other than being useless. So what should this teacher do?

The teacher did the right, and now the only thing to do. The phone was picked up and 911 was called. We are done dealing with incompetent, lazy, hide their head in the sand administrators. From now on when a teacher is either touched, or threatened 911 will be called. This should also be done whenever Numb Nuts touches a student.

The cops came an awoke Dear Principal John Deacon from some useless endeavor it was involved in. Unfortunately NYPD instead of sending Sipowicz and Simone sent Toody and Muldoon instead. They informed all involved that there is nothing that they can do, and that another city agency can't investigate another city agency. Yeah, sure. And I am the queen of England.

Remember, see something, say something. Keep calling 911 and the light stays shining on the school, and hopefully Numb Nuts can be in a perp walk.

Calling OSI is a waste in regards to Numb Nuts continuing habit of assaulting students. I refuse to call it corporal punishment. It is assault. The report will get lost in the labyrinth of OSI.

Call 911. Simple as that. The next time you see a student assaulted or a student reports to a teacher of assault by Numb Nuts call 911. Let NYPD deal with this. Don't think for a moment that the administration will protect you and not call NYPD if the situation ever arises. By having NYPD involved, the parent will be called and best, there will not be the Nixonian cover-up.

FDNY Paramedics and NYPD paid a visit to the school yesterday. It seems that the Detroit Lions Kids trashed a classroom yesterday and the Dear Principal, John Deacon had him EDP'd (Emotionally Disturbed Person). He was take away in an ambulance to the hospital. I believe St Barnabas. But was it preventable?

The Detroit Lions Kid finished eating lunch at approximately 11:00 AM. After eating he, and selct other students go to the gym ostensibly to work on character building traits with a volunteer organization, City Year. City Year is part of AmericaCorps stuff or whatever. Bunch of kids (under 25) that are doing their liberal part to help.

Problem is there is no character building. Just kids in gym playing games, shooting baskets, jumping rope, etc...I do not believe there is any administrative nor pedagogical supervision and I am not sure if there must be. But at least with the bad weather it is better the students are in the gym than watching a movie for the 1000th time in the auditorium.

Now here comes the interesting part. I was not there, but I have spoken with several sources as to what transpired. When the period ended, which was 11:25 AM, The Detroit Lions Kid now coupled with The Dude, bolted from the gym. The supervising kid from City Year did the next logical step. She notified the supervising assistant principal for that lunch period. Can you guess who it was? YES! It was Numb Nuts! He took the call, and guess what? It became his responsibility! So naturally he took charge of the situation you ask. He looked for the students, notified others, and contacted the safety officer.

FDNY and NYPD showed up at the school around a little after noon. Announcements were being made for the principal to go to the room he was in about 12:00 PM. So even being conservative, I am going to say that that The Detroit Lions Kid was on the lam for thirty-five minutes. That is two thousand one hundred seconds!

• Two thousand one hundred seconds in which he was unsupervised.
• Two thousand one hundred seconds in which he could have gotten seriously injured.
• Two thousand one hundred seconds in which he could have injured someone else.
• Two thousand one hundred seconds in which he could have exited the school.
• Two thousand one hundred seconds is more than enough time to do your job correctly!

This a typical example of a complete lack of any responsibility and the way problems are dealt with at my school. Both by the principal, and the AP Numb Nuts. Closing your eyes and hoping the problem goes away does not mean you have dealt with nor solved the problem!