I am or was agnostic about parental leave. Kind of the way how I feel about inter league play in MLB. If the Yankees never played the Reds (except in the World Series) again I couldn't care less. I mean heck, my wife is 55. Her child bearing days are over. But we have it and I am happy for those who plan to take advantage of it. I would have much rather have had family leave, but let's take it step by step.

My biggest concern about parental leave was how much it would cost me and others in my past their child bearing years cohort. Having the contract extended another 73 days plus full salary for six weeks is not bad. Look at what DC 37 gave up for family leave. Yes, DC 37 will get up to 10 weeks, but only up to 55% of their salary. Plus, they will have .13% deducted from each pay check.

Having said that, we got the better deal and it could have been worse if it were not for Mulgrew.

A very very good source has shared with The Crack Team here at SBSB that the city was originally demanding a deduction from our check of .5%. After confirming with my 17 year old son, .5% is more than .13%. Mulgrew held his ground that there would be no deduction.

Plus, the timing of the announcement last week was no coincidence. Mayor De Blasio was about to fly down to Texas to show solidarity with the parents and children being separated but he was about to be shamed by the UFT for showing more concern for the children down in Texas than the unborn children of NYC teachers.

I'll give credit where credit is due. Let's hope this holding firm is a pattern in the upcoming contract negotiations.

So the Janus ruling is in (Read the ruling in it's entirety here). I'm going to continue to pay my dues and pay them proudly.

Yes, there are plenty of things I can list and discuss about how I don't feel the UFT has been there for me or for many. I have major disagreements. But, I believe in unionism, I believe in the members of the union, and I believe that only it's members can affect change.

I empathize with those who wish to withhold dues now that Janus is in. These people have every right to feel left out and angry. But cutting your nose off to spite your face is not the way to go about it.

The way to fix the union is to be more involved. To speak up more in meetings, to speak up more to the leaders, to have more knowledge of what goes on about you. We are only as strong as our weakest link. To those who wish to stop paying dues, you will damage those who remain members of the UFT. As with parental leave does not benefit all members, those that will not ever benefit from it are accepting of it for it will benefit other members of the rank and file. The time to stick together is more important now than ever.

Having said that, what will one lose if you leave the UFT? The UFT was good enough to publish what will happen on it's website today.

No Free Legal Services

There you go. Get called into SCI or OSI. You get nada. Bupkus. No lawyer, no UFT rep. You are on your own. Same goes with if you are called into a discipline meeting with the principal. You are left to your own devices. Good luck!

Free counseling

Free or discounted training or professional development

An attorney during 3020-a employee discipline procedures

There you go. Yes, NYSUT lawyers can be hit or miss but I believe that if you are not proactive in your defense whether or not you use NYSUT or private attorney you are destined to be screwed. Go out and spend unless you hire Jordan Harlow your are looking at spending $10-15k for your 3020-a.  

Member discounts through the UFT, NYSUT and AFT

Who gives a shit? Discounts for the Brooklyn Nets? Big deal.

And you will not be able to participate in union elections, contract ratification votes or votes about school-based options.

There you go. You are a nothing. Zero. A ghost. Want to be part of change you can't and should not. 

In my opinion, anyone that opts out (And I have mentioned this before) should get nothing. No rights to the pay scale, no health benefits, a big fat nothing. Negotiate as an individual for your own salary, hours, time off, health benefits, working conditions, lunch, prep, everything! Better, each Chapter Leader should hand out a list of who has paid in and out and distribute the list hang on UFT bulletin board in each and every school.

Those who benefit from what I and others who are members are nothing but moochers and freeloaders and worse, rats.

Yes, you do have a right to be angry at the UFT, but now is the time to grow a set, roll up your sleeves and stop making excuses at sitting around and not being active in the UFT.

It's June 20. The school year is about over. What's happening in the world of the NYCDOE?

We got family leave. I will write more about this tomorrow. ATRs are getting the rating sheets in. Some are not very happy. I had to counsel one very pissed off ATR the last few days. The Open Market is out but as we know it's a scam. Regularly assigned teachers are find out whether or not they are ineffective, developing, effective, or highly effective. Teachers are being denied tenure or having their probation extended. Teachers city wide are taking copious amounts of anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications. ATRs are concerned if the next contract will be their end. Teachers are facing abusive principals. Teachers see incompetent and crooked principals get away with everything. The list can go on and on and on and on.

But where there should have been leadership, a light to guide the rank and file by, to grab the bull buy the proverbial testicles has once again taken an opportunity to miss the opportunity.

MORE again stretches a triple into a single.

At tonight's Delegate Assembly MORE is bringing up a resolution (in which none of the above, nor anything that was not mentioned that would be 100% beneficial to the rank and file) matters one iota to putting food on a teacher's table, putting a teacher's children through college, or just having a teacher not dread going to school in the morning.

What is this resolution? It's all about the upcoming New York State gubernatorial election y in September. More so, in my opinion, it is more to get Howie Hawkins name out there.

Look, I think Andrew Cuomo is a complete putz. As for Cynthia Nixon, I want more information. I think she is a stalking horse and put in there by De Blasio to piss off and pull Cuomo to the left. But Hawkins? He's turning into Lyndon LaRouche or Gus Hall. Just running for the sake of running. Besides, his policies are fantasy land.

It really needs to be realized that a teeny, tiny, percentage of the rank and file has true Socialist inclinations. Most have nice egalitarian lives and those are fine. Then there are the Evangelical Socialists that are completely out of touch with reality and seek out young impressionable teachers that still live on mommy and daddy's dime to convert. I get it with these kids. They move to New York City Brooklyn, they are own their own for the first time, they want to save the world. But they are missing the bigger picture.

Any UFT caucus must do right for the ENTIRE rank and file, not just their little corner of the DOE world. MORE in essence has become a top down organization just like the UFT and it's agenda now only benefits a select few.

I was cordially invited to attend a function, an party, or whatever the heck one wants to call it, at the Hard Rock Cafe at Yankee Stadium, this past Tuesday. The reason? Our UFT President Mike Mulgrew was their to speak to the teachers of districts 7 and 9. In retrospect it seems that the invitations were for CL's and their few select favorites. I felt like Cinderella crashing the ball. But it was nice that the person from within the UFT who extended me the invitation thought of me

As usual, it's good to see one's union dues put to good use.

The Hard Rock was closed to the public for a few hours and had about two dozen staff on hand. We were served sliders, which compared to White Castle, were just plain gross. Teeny tiny pieces of chicken served on a teeny tiny waffle with some syrup, and some kind of egg roll. Oh, and there was a nacho bar with all the fixins. The nachos came in several colors. It was nice. I mixed the sour cream and guacamole together for a nacho dip.

Mulgrew came out and started his spiel. I didn't take notes, I should have, but I am just going to free wheel from memory Mulgrew's remarks in bold and mine in italics.

"Janus...very bad. Next their going to come after our collective bargaining rights.  Look how bad they have it in Wisconsin."

Yeah, very bad. But as for our collective bargaining rights, this Janus decision might backfire. Read here. I'm going to say it again. You have every right to be angry with union. But leaving union will not help it will only hurt in long run. Best way to change is from within. 

"For the first time we have a Chancellor that is not from within and knows no one. This is good for us."

Wait, Joel Klein was from outside the DOE and look how well that turned out. 

"The chancellor wanted to meet with negotiating team in his office. Told him his office is not big enough for our 400 member team!"

So these 400 members actually have a say? I was under the impression it is only 10 people who decide. 

"We can't negotiate how schools spend their money. If schools have 42 classes they should have 42 teachers."

Right there is telling us to forget about fair student funding. 

"When I was chapter leader I complained to my principal. I soon was observed 18 times!"

I guess that is worse than Mulgrew negotiating up for us to 4 observations.

"Observations are being used to punish."

Really? He just figured that out?

Updated 5/27/18 10:48 PM:

I almost forgot. This got me laughing....

Mulgrew says: "...And in Albany they are about to pass law that does away with evaluations being tied to testing..."

Obviously he didn't read NYC Public School Parents blog!

In between all his points, his highlights, the blind were cheering and whooping it up. Maybe I see things with another set of eyes, but this was to much of a revival meeting for me. Might has well have had it in a tent and have some gospel singers there.

No mention of ATRs, Open Market fraud, fraud in general, teachers suffering, fair student funding, class size, 3020-a, grievances. Basically the shit everyone cares most about.

He did bring up parental leave. He's all for that. Has yet to say how it will be paid for. Or if there will be givebacks.

I'll give Mulgrew credit for one thing. He didn't cut and run after he finished. He stayed around and mingled. I got to meet him and he said "I finally get to meet you."

I should have bought him a beer.Gotten him drunk.

I am not a supporter of the current Israeli government. I believe they have done nothing but damage any solution to a peaceful solution to the Occupied Territories. I am sickened at the governments actions at the Gaza border last week.

I do not like white Christian males who think they know what is best for Israel. They, in my opinion, are anti-Semites and the craziest ones want to stir the shit so the "End Times" will come faster.

I really have no place for the Hasidim nor any ultra-Conservative Jews as well. I see what is happening in towns and school districts just across the river from me in Kiryas Joel, New Square , and the East Ramapo school district. And let's not forget the yeshivas across New York State and New York City.


I'm not the greatest Jew in the world. I just go to services on the High Holidays, I don't keep kosher, and my wife was the first and last Jewish woman I dated. But I had a bar mitzvah, we do Passover (though I eat leavened bread during the eight days), my son had a bar mitzvah as well as a briss. I am proud to be a Jew. When my son met former Yankee Ron Blomberg about 10 years ago Blomberg told him, "Always be a proud Jew!"

Is it any coincidence that of my two favorite bands, Rush and Van Halen, their lead singers, Geddy Lee and David Lee Roth are of the tribe?

But I will not sit idly by when outside agitators and a self hating Jew decided to bash Israel. It takes two sides to tango and it will be nice for once for the outside agitators to take a deep long look at what the Arabs and Palestinians have done all these years.

On March 22 just after the new Steering took place we received this request to vote on for MORE support....

Proposal for MORE. 

This is from Michael Letwin of Labor for Palestine who helped organize another national mobilization effort for Labor for Standing Rock, which is how some coordinated our presence. 

He is a former president of a local upstate.

Michael Letwin must be a self hating Jew. Whatever he did for Standing Rock (Which I fully supported their right not to have a pipeline through their land) pales in comparison to this.

The above email came at his request...

Subject: Urgent request for endorsements: Boycott study abroad in Israel! Sign here to take the pledge.

Greetings XXXXXXXX. Would you and/or MORE like to endorse the statement below? If so, please click here.

Solidarity!

Michael

What Michael wanted MORE to endorse was a cultural and academic boycott of Israel, to join in on the BDS of Israel.

And people wonder about MORE? About it's motivations? What the fuck was the purpose of this other than to test the new members of Steering?

Why when teachers across New York City are under enormous pressure and being led about by a clueless union does a BOYCOTT of Israel become a priority?

There are Jews on Steering, what is this brought to Steering? Yes, two of them kind of fall into the Letwin category of Jew, but nonetheless, we are told bombarded time after time to be sensitive to others...

a. Assume good intentions.

g. Respect all viewpoints, perspectives and social identities.

Again, some rules are for all, some rules are for others. But there are no rules for what one can say or do concerning Jews or Israel. Big deal, MORE thinks, so we offend a few Jews.

Jews, and this is my honest opinion, are tolerated at MORE, those that are  the 1st or 2nd generations Jews who are part of MORE. As long as we keep our mouths quiet and go along. The Jews that are loved are the ones who sold their soul along time ago, like the special little boy. Nothing better than the Judenrat of the Ghettoes.

Little does MORE realize that the real socialists are the Zionists. The Zionists who created something out of nothing in Israel. The Zionists who put their people first and not their leaders. MORE wants to keep on laying blame on the Jews and Israel, look at how the other countries and peoples of the mid east have pissed on and used Palestine for years. Take a look at how Israel pulled out of Gaza left the Palestinians everything, the farms, the greenhouses, etc... to have a full blown economy and society and it was all pissed away by them.

Want Israel off the land? Look across the Jordan River. The entire Kingdom of Jordan was part of the Palestine province during the Ottoman Empire. Why does not MORE start a boycott of Jordan? Think Jordan has treated Palestinians any better?

Want Israel to support the Right of Return? Does MORE support those that were left their homes and property behind in 1959-1960 when Socialist Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba? Aint' going to happen Will MORE support any Native American that makes a claim at their mommy and daddy's door for their land back? Ain't going to never happen.

I think this was a micro-agression on MORE's part and MORE should take sensitivity training.

It's has become sad watching MORE turn into a caricature of itself as it slowly, but surely, sinks into the depths of collective desperation as it turns into Manor Farm.

Rules aren't made for breaking at MORE, rules are made now by a select few for a select few. If those are of the "approved" than the latest whimsical rule they need not worry. They are amongst the anointed, the privileged (for now) and need not worry about banishment.

As we know, I have been taken out the the proverbial woodshed and forced to search for my own switch for openly publishing in a quite neutral manor the "sacred parchment" and the "Dear John" get lost email. Let's not forget me publishing the "You Are to Go to Bed Without Supper Punishment" email as well.

Well, the shit done hit the fan again. I broke another rule and and received a punishment based on someone's whim. Here it is:




First off, The Crack Team only is part of this blog, not MORE. The Crack Team is a cross between the Jedi Council and the Kryptonian Council (The men who sentenced Zod, Ursa, and Non to the Phantom Zone). The Crack Team takes umbrage on its misrepresentation and demands an apology post-haste.

As for as the accusation that I claimed that MORE is acting like God, nothing can be further from the truth. What was written was...

"This is what MORE wants the rank and file to get behind eventually, akin to God handing down 15 10 Commandments to Moses at Mt Sinai."

At no time was did I mean the REAL God, but rather the God of Mel Brooks 1981 laugh fest, "History of the World Part 1." A very politically incorrect movie if I must say with one of the funniest song and dance numbers ever, The Inquisition ( I shall not comment further on this! wink wink nod nod!!) But sadly one person in MORE is seeing themselves as a type of deity (And no it's not that special little boy).

Again, private email? In landed in my email. It makes it mine. I chose to share it.

Now back to my violations. Yeah, I made a snarky comment to a female (OMG!!!!!!) aligned with Solidarity on the listserv. This female is part of Solidarity and trolls. But on April 6th I just typed "go away" in which I did get the warning according to the forum rules and suspended for 1 week for again saying, "Please. Go Away." Big whoop. But notice this. I am not running away from what I have said nor was punished for. MORE keeps on running from itself.


Yes, there is a rule that says one can't disseminate any emails on listservs without permission.

The MORE list should be a safe space where members can share comments and ideas without fear that words meant solely for a MORE audience be reprinted in a public forum. To that end, we ask that all participants on the list agree NOT to publish any email, email address, or comment posted to the MORE list without prior, written authorization of the author.

 Ask? Agree? I guess I was asked and didn't agree. Doesn't say you must. Big difference in a court of law.

But to follow the listserv rules...

1) Warn the person off-list (this should only be done if the violation is a minor, borderline, or grey area issue - clear and major violations need a public warning starting with the actions below so everyone is aware).

2) To notify the listserve that a post violates the norms.

3) To close a particular thread if there are rapid multiple violations.  Posting on a closed thread is a separate violation of the norms.

4) To move the entire listserve to moderated mode temporarily (for no more than 24 hours), and approve messages as they come through, 

5) On a second offense, remove a members posting privileges for 1 week

6) On a third offense, remove a members posting privilege for 1 month

Should I not be at level #6? In fact, not only am I banned now from the listservs I am now, yeah you guessed it, another extra-judicious whimsical ruling, off of steering. Darn!

This was planned from the get go. As soon as myself, John G. and Mike landed on Steering along with two other like minded members a "Beer Hall Putsch" was planned. What we have been witnessing is a coup. A non-violent coup, bit a coup nonetheless. In fact throwing the three of us off of steering shows that we are just being used the same as Marinus van der Lubbe.

Where is the Steering committee vote on my being kicked off of Steering? In fact, what has happened to Steering? As far as I know Steering hasn't met since April 14. There was supposed to be a Steering phone meeting May 6 but when I inquired I heard the chirping of crickets.

Again, MORE is making up it's rules as it goes along. Those who toe the party line are safe. Those who dare to question the direction of MORE, or worse, are part of MORE because the rank and file are deemed most important are blasted with frivolous and false accusations, have their character questioned, and are plotted against behind their backs.

The imbroglio that begat all this tyranny at the hands from MORE was launched by a favorite son who had the temerity to take a PRIVATE EMAIL to him from John G and publish it in the Steering listserv. Yeah, you're right. MORE does say...

We also ask that no direct email sent from another member of MORE be posted to the lists without the author's written permission.

For those that don't know John and Mike are the Tony and Barry that I had written about last week.

The three of us went into joining MORE's steering with an idea that our positions were not to be tolerated and we saw first hand the systematic wrath incurred upon us for daring to speak up and think different.

I can't blame them for this. Both have had their characters debased and their ethics questioned. I have come to know these two men better in the last 2 months and say without a doubt that if I was starting a baseball team based on having teachers backs that both John and Mike would be in my starting lineup.

But like Arthur Goldstein had finally gotten fed up with MORE so finally have John and Mike.

This here is their opus (Bold has been added by myself).


Why We Choose to Leave MORE
By John Giambalvo and Mike Schirtzer

We became involved with teacher unionism after a few years of working in the schools as a result of our classroom and school-level experiences where we saw public school teachers and students being cheated out of the resources needed to provide them with an adequate education. Sparked by the general lack of response from our union, the United Federation of Teachers, our involvement led us to join the Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE), an organization that we believed would respond to concerns of UFT members by allowing them, as well as members of their school community, a space to voice concerns about our schools within the political structures of our union and the Department of Education of the City of New York. 

We joined MORE during a time when few voices within the UFT represented the needs and interests of our colleagues. 

We joined under the premise that our union had the potential to be the most powerful vehicle of change for teachers, students and families in New York City and beyond. 
We joined MORE to create a more assertive union, where member voice was the greatest priority and, when heard, would lead it to action for the entire education community. 

We joined MORE to strengthen the UFT for the betterment of the teachers, students and families we serve. We were aware that the UFT apparatus, under the almost 60 year stewardship of the Unity Caucus, had developed more than a bit of sclerosis, had not been adequately serving the needs of its members, and that that power structure needed to be challenged from the ranks. We believed MORE offered the potential to engage in that challenge.

We joined MORE and were faced with working with people with many different political backgrounds and ideologies, including some differing from our views. We made concerted efforts to function collectively with other members of MORE to improve conditions in our schools. We learned the basics of their ideologies and did our best to find middle ground. We genuinely believed we were learning to struggle together in order to improve conditions, especially for those who were affected by hurtful policies on a daily basis.

We joined MORE to prioritize making connections with teachers throughout all five boroughs; to construct and devote our work towards an agenda that would have wide appeal to a majority of members of our union who have been shut out of influence. In order to be successful MORE would have to, not only offer a way forward by leading in a new direction, but do so by being responsive and interacting with UFT members in our own schools and beyond to transform a union that operated in an absolute top-down manner.

We have been disappointed.

Unfortunately, we’ve seen that MORE has been increasingly dominated by one group with a definite pre-formed unyielding ideology. We’ve come to understand over time that these voices do not represent the needs of most of our members, or even our students or parents. MORE has devolved into an organization that uses anti-democratic and secretive methods to push the agenda of this faction and marginalize, isolate and push vocal opponents out of the caucus.

There were many opportunities for the members of MORE to analyze the results of our work in order to determine the course of the group’s direction, but it has chosen not to do so. There were meetings with varying topics, causes endorsed, social media/blog data, and the results of the 2016 UFT election which provided data on voter turnout by division and district which clearly showed a much higher turnout in the Queens high schools (36.4% compared to 12.8% in the Bronx and 14.5 in Manhattan, boroughs where key leaders of the current leadership in MORE are based.)

Queens high school voter turnout was clearly the crucial difference in winning the high school seats but admitting that would be counter to the narrative being pushed.
This turnout was mainly due to the organizing efforts of two key MORE members. (Ed Note: Details and analysis of 2016 high school elections at http://iceuftblog.blogspot.com/2016/07/district-by-district-breakdown-shows_3.html?m=1). 

This should have been an important lesson for MORE about the kind of activism by some more members that reaches out and resonates with rank and file teachers. Yet, these people are the very people who are being pushed out of MORE. One of these people is the chapter leader of the largest high school in Queens with 300 UFT members and an elected UFT Executive Board member.

The other was a former chapter leader of a closed school who led a valiant battle to keep his school open but who was forced to become an ATR. One of the most respected voices in the UFT for almost 30 years who developed hundreds of contacts in schools all around the city, and served for a decade on the UFT Executive Board. He too is being forced out of MORE.

Along with one of us, two of the four MORE Executive Board elected high school representatives are being pushed out of MORE. What does this mean for MORE as an organization when it feels activists with this history and stature and the overwhelming support of their colleagues don’t belong? 

Instead of revisiting different petitions we advocated for or addressing the way we have utilized our positions on the UFT Executive Board to create voice for colleagues, the small group taking control of MORE chose to purposely ignore these results, criticized us, and attempted to micro-manage us over issues like class size and the defense of ATRS and rank and file UFT members over abusive principals because this work did not fit their preordained agendas. 

Attempts to build a large, robust organization, including the creation of newsletters produced for wide distribution, planning meetings with topics related to school-based issues, like the nuts and bolts of enforcing the contract or running for chapter leader, and attempts to compete in union elections (both at the chapter level and for citywide officers), have been met with obstruction, in-fighting, frustrating layers of bureaucracy and the gradual disappearance of democratic decision making. 

All this is a direct result of the group’s lack of democracy and failure to connect with members in our schools.

Predictably, instead of growing into a member driven movement, MORE has seen its numbers dwindle to levels rivaling our earliest beginnings in 2012. Instead of examining and discussing the reasons for the shrinking of MORE, such as the inability to develop a newsletter and distribution network or even a regular handout at the UFT Delegate Assembly, the constant excuse has been that all the problems in MORE have been due to some rude emails by a few people. 

In fact, dozens of people have abandoned MORE over the years due to the rigid ideological framework imposed in MORE. Their “solution” to the crisis in MORE has been to actively move to push out even more members who do not go along with their line, many of them older and experienced in union politics, obviously a threat to their ability to win over new and inexperienced teachers who enter MORE to their ideological line. Rather than engage in discussion, including historical reference and analysis, they want to promote their own political positions, positions that are rarely open to debate.

It is especially difficult for us to remain with a group that no longer honors the principles of democracy. There was a glaring lack of due process involved in our recent suspension from the MORE listserves and the caucus’ steering committee, which just happened to remove our ability to vote on crucial decisions concerning the direction they wanted to steer MORE in. There is no provision in the by-laws from suspension from steering.

This decision began as a disagreement over political process and the tone of some emails. The suspensions were decided without either of us being present. Just four people out of nine on the committee created, ex-post facto, new rules. Since MORE is on record as opposing suspensions and calling for restorative justice for students, calls for the use of restorative justice practices in lieu of suspension in our case were voted down.

As union members, social justice activists, and New York City public school teachers, we cannot compromise the principle of due process. We must expect from ourselves the rights we demand for our co-workers and our students.

The loss of trust in the people who made these decisions will be difficult to repair. The realization that a caucus dedicated to the principles of social and restorative justice but can no longer muster enough respect for basic due process portends a future for the group that is far too troubling for us to be part of. 

It is simply not acceptable to be involved with an organization that does not hold itself to the very values of democracy upon which it is premised and for which we have both worked. 
There are many good people in and around MORE and we are proud of our past work with them. But too many priorities have changed over time, both for the group and for ourselves. We seek out the serious work of helping to build a more robust union, one that can affect policy as it improves the conditions under which we teach and our students learn. We have concluded MORE as a caucus is not capable or willing to build this movement. In order to work with rank and file UFT members and other stakeholders, we feel it’s better we separate ourselves now. We are leaving the organization and disassociate our names from it. 

We still intend to spend time learning from our from past successes and failures in future endeavors we pursue.

There is a Janus decision on the horizon, a well financed effort by corporations and interest groups to undermine unions, and a relentless effort to privatize our schools by forcing out veteran UFT members and closing schools in our poorest neighborhoods, which harms our children of color and immigrant children. It is imperative that our union fights harder than ever against these forces. 

We are dedicated to defending members unfairly under attack, ensuring our children are provided a great public education in well resourced schools, fighting for racial integration of schools, defending immigrant, African-American, Latino, Muslim, and LGBTQ union members and students. We will continue our work in our chapters, Delegate Assemblies and Executive Board meetings to educate and activate union members, defend public education, demand due process for our students and colleagues, and advance the cause of labor unions for all workers.

In Solidarity,

Mike Schirtzer: UFT Executive Board, UFT Delegate, Social Studies Teacher
John Giambalvo: Social Studies teacher, Coordinator of Student Activities

======= John Giambalvo will is completing 18 years of service teaching social studies. He teaches in a Queens high school.

Mike Schirtzer, is a member of the UFT  Executive Board and a delegate from his school. He has been teaching social studies at Leon Goldstein HS in Brooklyn for 11 years

*=========
District 71 Manhattan High Schools: 683 votes= 14.5% of total HS turnout

District 72 Bronx High Schools: 594 votes=12.6%

District 73 Brooklyn High Schools: 729 votes=15.5%

District 76 Brooklyn-Staten Island High Schools: 984 votes=20.9%

District 77 Queens High Schools: 1712 votes=36.4%