The Offical Website of the PJSTA

Posted on August 11, 2014 by thepjsta

Mike Mulgrew plays tough guy in defense of Common Core

We have written at length on this blog about the failure by our parent unions to adequeately represent the rank and file membership. We will be addressing this issue in depth at our conference day this year and over the coming months, along with providing a potential solution. Nowhere, however, was the disconnect between our leadership and our members more glaring than at this summer’s AFT Convention.

You will recall that in May the PJSTA Representative Council unanimously passed a resolution to oppose the Common Core State Standards. Well many teachers headed to this year’s convention with the same idea in mind. However the resolution brought to the floor of the convention was a resolution that essentially asked the AFT to continue their support of the Common Core. Below is video taken by MORE’s incomparable Norm Scott. The video shows supporters of the Common Core and opponents of it. Watch for yourself…

First of all seeing members of the New York delegation fight in favor of the Common Core is absolutely nauseating. It is exhibit A of how out of touch our leadership is with the membership. Secondly, the performance by UFT President Michael Mulgrew was reprehensible. To have a representative of teachers stand up and say they are going to “punch you in the face and push you in the dirt” if you try to take away the Common Core is beyond unthinkable. It flies in the face of everything we try to represent as educators. Finally, only mere months ago, then candidate Karen Magee ran for NYSUT President as being “Against Common Core” yet there she was on this video shamelessly supporting the resolution in support of the CCSS. If you read this blog regularly you know that I am not surprised by Magee openly lying to membership. Still, it’s important for our membership to see her flip flop on the issue.

The above video showed one very interesting thing. The three people who spoke in favor of the CCSS (Mulgrew, Leroy Barr, Magee) are all union “leaders” but spend no actual time in the classroom. The people who spoke against the CCSS (Timothy Meegan, Pia Payne-Shannon) are both people who spend their time in the classroom teaching. It’s a connection that can not be ignored. If we are going to take back the direction of our parent unions, it must come from the in the classroom, rank and file teachers.

The ICEUFT Blog and NYC Educator blog both wrote about Magee’s flip flop back in July.

You can read about Mulgrew’s tough guy act here (NYC Educator), here (Ed Notes), here (Perdido Street School), along with here, here, and here (all Fred Klonsky).

And finally a reminder of Magee’s campaign promises…

Leave a Comment

Posted on August 8, 2014 by thepjsta

And We’re Back!

There is always some sort of shift in my head once we hit August. My brain goes from vacation mode back into school mode. Like many teachers I start to plan for the coming school year, excited about the idea of a clean slate to start September with, yet not too thrilled with knowing the frantic pace that will come with going back to work.

Anyway, we are back from a bit of a summer hiatus, ready to report out on all things impacting education and labor. Quite a bit has transpired this summer and we will be bringing you updates on that. Additionally we face another year in which our profession will be under attacks and the very existence of public education will ride on the level of activism that our members are willing to take.

Just a reminder that the first day of school will be September 2nd. We will be meeting for our PJSTA General Membership Meeting at Majestic Gardens in Rocky Point from 8:30-11:30 AM. Following that will be the district’s portion of the day.

As I shared with exec board and rep council in June, we are seeking writers who are interested in publishing occasional pieces here at thepjsta.org. If you are interested please contact me via email at thepjsta@gmail.com or by getting in touch with me at Terryville.

I will leave you for today with a video of this speech by the Chicago Teachers Union’s Michelle Gunderson. She plead for delegates to reject a resolution that pledged that the AFT will continue to support the promise of the Common Core standards. On the backs of NYSUT and UFT leadership the resolution passed, despite passionate pleas from rank and file members.

Leave a Comment

Posted on June 12, 2014 by thepjsta

Karen Lewis on the Vergara Ruling

Leave a Comment

Posted on June 11, 2014 by thepjsta

Yes, the Vergara Verdict Can Happen in NY Too

Shortly after a verdict in the Vergara v. California case was handed down, stripping the state’s teachers of their tenure protections, I received a flurry of text messages from colleagues asking me whether or not this could happen in New York State as well. My answer to them was YES. Yes, New York’s teachers can lose their tenure rights as well. In fact not only can it happen here, but it is likely to happen, barring a massive and militant mobilization of teachers across the Empire State.

The reason that it can happen here is because groups that are financially backed by billionaires typically get whatever they want in the United States when there is little or no resistance. While the movement in our state against the Common Core and high stakes testing has been impressive, it didn’t really gain any traction until parents got behind it. If New York teachers are going to beat back the coming attacks on tenure rights that not only protect our jobs, but allow us to advocate for our students, we are going to have to be willing to become activists. I don’t mean upping your VOTE-COPE contributions by a dollar or two per pay check or sending out a fax or a letter a handful of times per year to a representative. I mean a militant mobilization of our state’s teachers. A movement in which teachers unite, get informed, take to the streets and fight tooth and nail for the job protections that we have and for the schools that our students and communities deserve. We can no longer afford to sit on the sidelines while our profession is ransacked by billionaire fat cats who seek to make a dollar on the backs of our students and make the profession of teaching synonymous with that of a Wal-Mart associate.

The PJSTA membership was more active than ever this past year. We thank you for that. But it’s not enough. Every member will need to increase their involvement next year. We will need to raise our voice to a collective roar. The last stand of teaching as we know it may very well be coming. As Chicago Teacher Union attorney Matt Farmer said in their battle against ed deformers, “We will see you in the streets. You will hear our voice in your sleep!” That should be the credo for New York’s teachers moving forward. Don’t sit back and wait for NYSUT, the AFT, or the NEA to save you. The time has come to take back your profession.

A great place to start your journey as an activist is with a little summer reading. You can pick up a copy of Labor Notes’ How to Jump-Start Your Union: Lessons from the Chicago Teachers. It details the transformation of the Chicago Teachers Union and how their rank-and-file was mobilized and given a voice in the fight against corporate reformers in Chicago. Next fall the PJSTA will be hosting a book party based on this book. Details will follow in the coming months.

Diane Ravitch has the winners (hedge fund managers) and losers (students and teachers) of the Vergara case here.

Arthur Goldstein does not want a seat at the reformer table.

Reality-Based Educator says it’s only a matter of time before corporate backed reformers go after tenure laws in New York.

Leave a Comment

Posted on June 7, 2014 by thepjsta

Governor Cuomo Even Makes Lame Bets

Something fun for a Saturday morning…

Seeing Cuomo cheering for the Rangers makes me happy to be an Islanders fan. On that note, hockey blogger Greg Wyshynski writes about the “lamest governors’ bet ever.”

Via Puck Daddy…

Stanley Cup Final produces the lamest governors’ bet ever

By Greg WyshynskiJune 4, 2014 11:16 AMPuck Daddy

Political wagering is a longstanding tradition in championship series, as two elected officials ante up clichéd items that represent their respective cities or states. Which is usually great news for whoever plays Boston, because who doesn’t like lobster? Less so for opponents of New Jersey, because who likes landfills?

With the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings in the Stanley Cup Final, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York and Governor Jerry Brown of California announced their wager before Wednesday’s Game 1 and it’s amazingly … lame. From the Great State of New York, Andrew Cuomo wagers:

A hockey puck that he had imprinted last year to mark the “hat trick” of three on-time state budgets.

Yes, seriously, this is a thing that he wagered.

It’s possible he ran out of “CUOMO 2010” bumper stickers.

Spiedie marinade, which is used to create the spiedie sandwich, which is a thing eaten in upstate New York.

We know what you’re thinking: Pastrami on rye would be the quintessential New York sandwich. Ah, but you forget: This bet is atrocious.

This is what happens when you marry Sandra Lee instead of the Barefoot Contessa.

“Chicken wing sauce from Buffalo.”

You, know, Buffalo.

Home of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres.

A team THAT’S NOT [EXPLETIVE] PLAYING IN THE STANLEY CUP FINAL BUT OH WAIT THEIR RIVALS FROM MANHATTAN ARE.

I mean, he’s only the governor, why would he be hip to such nuance …

Finally, “a bottle of wine from the Finger Lakes,” which we’re sure Jerry Brown will use to wash his glass with after consuming something from Napa or Sonoma.

The Cuomo “Taste of New York” basket also includes Gianelli Hot Italian Sausage; Sammy and Annie Food’s Chicken Riggie Pasta Sauce Starter; Parker’s Pure New York Maple Syrup; America’s First Kettle Chip, Saratoga Chips, Saratoga County; Apples from Fishkill Farms; Red velvet cupcakes from Make My Cake; and oysters harvested off of Long Island’s shore.

Lest you believe Cuomo wagered the lamest stuff in this bet, we give you the Jerry Brown side of the wager:

“California: A History” by Kevin Starr. A book, in a hockey bet. There’s no chance Jerry Brown isn’t that house on Halloween that gives out carrot sticks and coloring books about the dangers of paganism.

“Lundberg Organic Brown Rice Cakes, Lightly Salted.”

Rice. Cakes.

Do you even have to pay postage on rice cakes?

If nothing else, we applaud Jerry Brown for choosing an item that’s the antithesis of many California stereotypes: Tasteless and of little substance. Oh, wait …

Said Cuomo in a press release:

“While 2014 is already a banner year for New York State hockey teams with Union College and Clarkson University as national college champions, the true icing on the cake would be a triumphant return of the Stanley Cup to the Empire State. Both the Rangers and the Kings have put forward spectacular championship runs and hockey enthusiasts from the East Coast to the West Coast can surely look forward to a hard fought series.

“However, given the tough, New York-resilient spirit with which the Rangers have advanced through the playoffs so far, I am wagering big on the Broadway Blueshirts with a Taste NY Basket of some of New York’s finest products. Together with one of New York’s biggest Rangers fans, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, we look forward to receiving the proceeds of Governor Brown’s wager.”

Jerry Brown did not provide a canned quote for the release, which is about as much effort as to be expected from someone who wagers rice cakes and a book in a sports bet.