Wednesday, May 14th, 2014
6:30-8:30 P.M.
Nuyorican Poets Cafe
236 E. Third St.
New York, New York
$10 at the door, proceeds to benefit MORE
Many thanks to Laurel for donating the proceeds from this reading to MORE!
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by Harris Lirtzman, former deputy New York State comptroller from 2003 to 2007 and also a New York City special education teacher who was fired for blowing the whistle in 2011.
Few people attempt to explore the intricacies of the City’s budget and the operations of the Department of Education. Fewer people return to tell the story. But any teacher in the City school system who wants to improve student achievement, push back against corporate education reform and be compensated fairly for the impossible working conditions in most City schools must look bravely at inscrutable rows and columns of numbers in the City’s $72.7 billion projected budget. A lucky teacher can find someone to do the dirty deed for him or her. I volunteer.
Last fall, soon-to-be ex-mayor Bloomberg issued his “Financial Plan, FY 2013-2017” as required by State law but also as a parting gift for the new mayor, hoping to lock him or her into a set of budget parameters for upcoming labor negotiations that would continue Bloomberg’s war on teachers. But his plan may have backfired because when it’s closely reviewed, together with other budget reports issued last month by former City Comptroller John Liu and the City’s Independent Budget Office, it looks like there may be room for mayor-elect de Blasio to negotiate a contract with the UFT in good faith.
Surprised?
Despite Bloomberg’s repeated assertions of doom-and-gloom about the City’s financial situation after he leaves, his own plan indicates that there are likely to be more revenues over the next few years for labor contracts than Bloomberg would like to admit:
- Wall Street profits were $23.9 billion in FY 2013 and are projected to be $13.4 billion in FY 2014 and stocks are at record levels. Continue Reading…
One exciting and quick way to support MORE’s work is by asking your school’s UFT chapter to vote on endorsing our petition for a moratorium on the new “Advance” teacher evaluation system.
We’re all fed up with “Advance,” and all the teachers I’ve talked to wish the UFT was doing more to oppose this system and stand up for a better one. My chapter was so excited to hear about this way of pushing the UFT to act that they suggested voting to endorsing this petition right after I showed it to them in our union meeting.
I wanted to make sure everyone had time to read up and consider their options before a vote though, so I sent them an informational e-mail, and we scheduled a secret-ballot vote for the next week. Teachers cast simple paper ballots, they were counted by an impartial committee, and then my chapter leader and I composed a letter like the one below.
Voila!
It only took about 30 minutes, and my chapter is excited about their involvement in our fight to build a stronger union and a better evaluation system.
You can also take a vote to endorse at your next chapter meeting.
We will present the petitions and chapter endorsements at the November 20th delegate assembly, when we raise a resolution calling for a full repeal of this flawed evaluation scheme that was imposed on us.
Let us know your chapter endorsed our petition by emailing us at [email protected]
Date (school name) UFT Chapter On (date) we, the UFT chapter of (insert school name here), voted to formally endorse MORE caucus’s Petition for a Moratorium on the “Advance” Teacher Evaluation System. The chapter endorses this proposal and encourages our leadership to act quickly in the face of actions that jeopardize our profession and our students’ quality of learning. Fraternally, (name) Chapter Leader (name) Chapter Delegatesubmitted by Megan Moskop- Teacher/ UFT Delegate at M.S. 324- Patria Mirabal
Win Back Wednesdays, modeled after Fight Back Fridays, are school/community level collective days of action that meet schools where they are in terms of their ability to educate, organize and mobilize. MORE believes a strong union is rank-and-file led and in the power of our collective action.
Whether or not your children took the state tests, please join a rally in front of Tweed on FRIDAY 4/26 at 4pm to protest the ways that high-stakes testing is robbing our children of a decent education! BRING THE KIDS!
RALLY
CLEANING UP the MESS of HIGH STAKES TESTING and
Putting Back the ‘PUBLIC’ in Public Education
Our children are NOT a test score!
WHEN: Friday, April 26 at 4 pm*
WHERE: TWEED NYC Department of Education
52 Chambers Street (4, 5, 6 to Brooklyn Bridge. N, R to City Hall. J to Chambers Street)
WHO: Families, Teachers, Children and Supporters of Educational Justice
WHY: Because private schools already said “NO!” to high stakes testing!
Because WE demand 180 days of learning!
Because schools should foster a love for life long learning.
Because positive relationships between schools and families are at the core of learning.
BRING SIGNS with YOUR VISION and DEMANDS for the SCHOOLS
we want OUR CHILDREN to be in.
Bring Mops, Brooms, Scrub brushes,
Buckets and cleaning supplies to Mop UP the MESS!
Bring #2 Pencils for us to transform them into a new vision of Public Education
JOIN Change The Stakes (www.changethestakes.org) and Time Out From Testing (www.timeoutfromtesting.org)
*Rain Date: Tuesday, April 30 @ 4 pm
Like this on facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/events/121996241329636/?notif_t=plan_edited
Jullie Cavanagh Speech at “The Schools New York’s Children Deserve” from Grassroots Education Movement on Vimeo.
Sunday April 14th 2013
The MORE caucus has requested several times, through several means that there be an open debate between our UFT presidential candidate Julie Cavanagh and Michael Mulgrew who represents the Unity/New Action caucuses. Repeatedly Mulgrew and his caucuses have ignored our invitations.
This constant denial to debate should be of concern to all our union brothers and sisters, as well as the communities we serve.
In order for our union to remain open and democratic all UFT members should be encouraged to cast ballots in the union elections and provided forums that would give them meaningful insight into the very different visions for leadership of our union. It is our firm conviction that as in any democratic election the voters must hear from candidates they are asked to choose from so they can make an informed decision.
The UFT is one of the largest local educators’ union in the country, is the controlling force of national union AFT, and the decisions of our union leadership affects the daily lives of millions of children and their parents around the city and the nation. The leadership of this union directly impacts educational policies through-out the country, therefore this is a vital election and it is in everyone’s best interest if the two candidates engage in a debate.
Mr. Mulgrew speaks once a month to only the delegates and chapter leaders of the UFT, MORE has called for a debate that can be viewed by all our UFT members through-out the city. In the true spirit of fairness and and solidarity we call on Michael Mulgrew to join Julie Cavanagh in a debate moderated by an independent third party moderator that can be live-streamed via the Internet, so that members can ask questions of both candidates.
We anxiously await His reply.
