Brian Cohen
  • Making the Grade Blog
  • About Me
  • Tutoring
  • Press
  • Resources to Share

UFT Elections are happening NOW

4/19/2022

0 Comments

 
Not everyone realizes it but unions involve regular elections to determine who will lead our group of workers for the upcoming x years. My union, the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), has an election happening right now in which all current members as well as retirees are allowed to vote for the caucus they want to be in power. There are two groups vying for control: the Unity Caucus, run by the current leadership who has been in power for decades, and the United for Change (UfC) caucus, which is a conglomeration of other groups that banded together because they disagree with how the UFT has been run during that time. 

I find myself on the side of the underdog in this election because I have experienced firsthand how undemocratic the Unity caucus can be. When I was a UFT Delegate for my building I regularly attended the Delegate Assemblies, monthly meetings that lead to decisions for the UFT in general. Ideally, there is time for a president's report, some other reports, then periods for questions as well as motions for the group to vote on. What regularly happens, however, is that the presidential report lasts over an hour and instead of having a lot of time to debate and discuss policies (for example, if the UFT should endorse certain candidates for elections) we have to rush at the end to vote on smaller proposals. 

I once made a motion that turned into a proposal to restrict the amount of time the president's report could take. Ironically, there was about 3 minutes of debate on this proposal and it was shot down immediately without due consideration. I found that to be quite undemocratic for a union that prides itself on its members' voices.

I also struggled with the decision the UFT made when the Unity leadership agreed to extend our previous contract by a few months in order to pay for paid parental leave a few years ago. Since this involved such a massive change to our contract, I would think it would make sense to bring the issue up for a vote by the entire membership. Instead, Unity made decisions behind closed doors that meant our raises were significantly delayed. People may have been expecting a bump in November but then it was delayed until February. 

Overall, I think the Unity caucus has done a so-so job at protecting our rights and working conditions. I think the UfC caucus will be more transparent and allow more rank-and-file engagement, so I have supported them and am running on their slate as a convention delegate. It is not anything glamorous but it means I want them to win.

I hope you will read more about what each side believes. Even if Unity says they "do the work" that is because no one else has been allowed to - they have made sure of that. 

​Thanks for reading.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Author

    I am a math teacher in the New York Department of Education. I infuse technology and real-world problems into my curriculum in order to prepare my students for the future. I would love for people across the country to recognize we teachers can't do it alone. If you don't believe me, come visit my classroom!

    Picture

    Contact Me

    Picture

    Email Updates

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Archives

    March 2022
    September 2021
    August 2021
    September 2020
    August 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.