10 Necessary Questions for Michael Mulgrew

"Moses showing the Ten Commandments,"
by Gustave Dore' (1865)

Moses brought down the tablets with the 10 commandments. Philip Nobile, admittedly a lesser luminary, merely has 10 questions to ask our UFT President, Michael Mulgrew.  

If the worst one could say about Michael Mulgrew is that once upon a time at Grady High School he fulfilled the adulterous fantasy of many teachers, then I’m not throwing the first stone. The boys of the Unity Caucus are famous for having a good time. Whether Mulgrew and Emma Camacho-Mendez did the lust and thrust in his shop several years ago is relatively small potatoes, even if there were evidence. But I would have preferred faster and more furious denial.

If the sex never happened at Grady, then Hochstadt’s grand conspiracy-blackmail-extortion theory wrapped in a suicidal lawsuit collapses. So why didn’t Mulgrew come out swinging in Sunday’s Post, at least to defend the honor of his good friend Ms. Camacho-Mendez? Instead, he told paid spokesman Dick Riley to say that Hochstadt’s “lawsuit was a catalog of absurd, false charges which we expect the court to dismiss."    

Bill Clinton proclaims, "I did not have sexual relations
with that woman."

Mulgrew’s Monday email to members was similarly bloodless in reference to “false and absurd claims of a wide-ranging conspiracy and personal misconduct, without stating any actual proof of either.” But why not a simple, case-closing statement: “I did not have sex with that Guidance Counselor at Grady.” Wouldn’t you rush to say that or its equivalent, if you were Mulgrew and you and your good friend were maliciously accused in the Post? Wouldn’t you have announced a libel suit against your greatest enemy in the press?

That’s what bothers me. Mulgrew is not acting like an innocent man. If he was spied in flagrante at Grady, it follows that there was a cover-up of some kind. So far, evidence goes in the other direction. The Daily News reported on Tuesday that “the city has confirmed Mulgrew was never removed from the classroom for any investigations during his teaching career, contrary to the lawsuit’s allegations. He also was never found to have committed wrongdoing by any investigators.”  Even Donald Herb, the retired custodian who supposedly saw the grappling lovers told the News that Mulgrew was a “good guy…We could tell he was a fighter back then. Now he's got some power and they're trying to take him down. That's all this is about." And Ivor Neuschotz, the former Grady Principal allegedly in the know, has kept silent.

Emma Camacho-Mendez's comment about
her alleged affair with Mulgrew was "clueless," says
Philip Nobile. 

Despite this cold trail, I’m leaning in the direction of the original sin---until Mulgrew and/or Camacho-Mendez convince me otherwise. The rumor is too widespread and robust to discount on Mulgrew’s tepid denial and Camacho-Mendez’s clueless comment in Sunday’s Post: “I have no comment on that. It’s the first I’ve heard of such an allegation. I have nothing to say to you.”   

The court of public opinion is not the same as the court of UFT opinion. Randi was compromised when she was in the closet and covered up Klein’s secret swiftboat campaign against her, only to be protected by Special Commissioner of Investigation Richard Condon who also covered up Klein smear operation at Tweed. That’s what Randi told me,  Michael Mendel, Jim Callaghan, and NYSUT lawyer Chris Callagy in 2008.  Mulgrew needs to come clean with members, to assure us that he is not compromised. 

Herewith are ten questions to set the record straight:

1. Did you have a romantic relationship with Camacho-Mendez when you were both at Grady? Have you had a romantic relationship with her at any time? 

2. Did you have sex with her within Grady? 

3. Comacho-Mendez told the Post that she had never heard the Grady rumor before; what about you? 

4. The rumor has surprisingly long legs despite lack of confirmation; did anything happen at Grady that might have started it? 

5. Granted the circumstances, the appearances, and your and Camacho-Mendez’s less-than-indignant denials, you can understand why some members like me are skeptical and want a detailed response to the Hochstadt suit, even though it lacks proof. Will you hold a press conference and answer questions? 

6. Will you sue Hochstadt, Betsy Combier, and the Post for reckless disregard of the truth? If not, why not? 

7. Norm Scott mocked Hochstadt’s grandiose claims while expressing contempt for Unity’s entrenched leadership: “The idea that the UFT had to be blackmailed to sell out the teaching corps is ludicrous when we know it is in their DNA to give away decades of hard won rights and pieces of the contract, whole chunks at a time. The interesting part of the charge was that Mulgrew took his supposed lady up the ladder with him to a juicy full-time patronage job at UFT headquarters. But really, does anyone expect people in power to function differently?”  Your response? 

8.  Randi came to your swift defense against Hochstadt, but you were silent last month when the Daily News, with the connivance of Walcott, smeared Eric Chasanoff  as a pervert teacher. Why did you let Eric twist in the wind? 

9. The 10-minute “open mike” at the start of Executive Committee meetings is the only chance that rank-and- file members have to confront you and your cabinet. But you allowed Secretary Michael Mendel to censor that small window of opportunity, forbidding dissenting members to speak more than once a term. Is this your idea of democratic process? 

10. One more thing: Are you sorry that you cynically killed the DA resolution to endorse Bill Thompson against Bloomberg, thus assuring four more years of teacher bashing?  

"Demagogic Rant" by Michael Mendel

Marjorie Stamberg sent us a report about the latest UFT Delegate Assembly meeting on Wednesday, November 9.  We excerpted the parts that are of particular relevance to ATR teachers and their supporters. 

[During question period], most of the questions revolved around the delegates’ concerns for the situation with the ATRs. Now, those who are not picked up by a school which agrees to provisionally pay for them, are going from week to week to a different school. This is tremendously stressful.

A delegate from Madison High School asked about the procedure for ATRs in D 75.

The UFT remembers with pride that Albert 

Shanker assisted Dr. Martin Luther King in his

struggle to gain voting rights for all Americans.

Too bad the UFT doesn't protect the voting

rights of ATR teachers, who are disenfranchised

from UFT elections. 

I again raised the issue of the disenfranchisement of ATRs, saying that there are over 1000 teachers who do not now have the right to vote in any union election because they are not assigned to a school and they do not have their own functional chapter election.

Megan Beherent, a delegate from the Roosevelt HS campus put up a motion: Resolution to Solve the ATR Crisis, for a vote at the next DA. This called for:

1) a job freeze in every license area where there are ATRs who could fill the position;

2) for ATRs to be able to certify in new license areas without loss of tenure; 

3) to audit the DOE hiring for age and race discrimination; 

 4) to restore the contractual right of excessed teachers to the closest vacancy in their license.

                    

UFT Secretary Michael Mendel

There was much support as the motion was  read. However UFT Secretary Mike Mendel opened up with a demagogic rant (my description), saying the points in the motion were not true and advising the delegates to vote it down, which happened.

(The points under dispute were subsequently argued in the hallway with Mendel, who then ceded that the contract did in fact specify excessing rights for teachers in closing schools, however, not to the “closest vacancy” but “within the district.” Mendel’s intervention was purposefully designed to “send a message” to the delegates who follow the lead of Unity Caucus to vote the motion down from appearing on next month's agenda, which they did.)

A motion put up by New Action Caucus reasserting “Dignity for all teachers” was passed. This proposed various support measures for the ATRs but did not address the systemic issue that the ATR pool will continue to grow as long as the DOE is on a school-closing campaign, and until the rights of seniority transfer and excessing transfer have been restored.

Photo credits: http://www.uft.org/files/imagecache/medium/migrated_media/news/teacher/union_history/nyt20100204_56b.jpg
                   http://www.uft.org/files/imagecache/small/photo/mmendel.jpg

The UFT's silence is deafening re: ATR representation

Philip Nobile, NYCATR's gadfly correspondent, recently canvassed twenty-two UFT representatives in Brooklyn with the following question:

If you were an ATR, would you prefer to have a chapter with a leader and delegate(s) looking out for your interests via regular borough chapter leader meetings and Delegate Assemblies, or not? Explain.

As you will see, the response was underwhelming.  Below is Nobile's follow-up email.

Dear colleagues:

This is your last chance to take part in a survey re an ATR chapter granting full, normal representation. The response so far has been surprising. Not because one of you actually took the survey seriously enough to reply (in the negative of course), but because the rest of you did not bother to render an opinion.

I had hoped that the survey would counter the common belief that UFT reps are Unity zombies censoring all thoughts deviating from the President's office. Surely, some of you have reservations about Mulgrew's policy of denying hundreds and hundreds of ATRs, and maybe in the future thousands and thousands, the same union connection and support that non-ATRs take for granted. Remember, even suspect reassigned teachers, the lowest of the low, had elected liaisons and monthly meetings with Leroy Barr at 52 Broadway.

N.B.: The single rep who had the courtesy to answer the survey did not answer the direct question: If you were an ATR, would you prefer a chapter or not? Here is the response: "Don't make ATRs a permanent, separate group.  Does that mean you would have different rights--a different contract from classroom teachers? Remember what happened to the ed evaluators. It is not a good idea."

And my reply: "Thanks for your reply, and you need not continue the discussion.

But let me comment on your points:

(a) permanent, separate group: no more permanent than the former liaison arrangement with rubber roomers,no more separate than separate chapters in schools already.

(b) a different contract: same contract with ATR provisions maybe, that's up for discussion and ATRS should be part of it. It would be to UFT's benefit to get direct feedback from us, just as it did with rubber-roomers. 

If I understand you, you believe that ATRs are better off with a permanent and separate form of union representation from classroom teachers. Actually, what ATRs want is what all other members in good standing have--full representation. Why are we wrong?"

[P.S.  The Sunday deadline passed without further response from the reps.]

Photo credit: http://www.residencialhusares.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/gadfly.jpg

Is there strength in the UFT Unity Coalition?

NYCATR is proud to present the thoughts of E.M. Greenspan, a teacher who is now retired after 33 years of service.  Be careful; Mr. Greenspan holds no punches about the past, the present, or the future. 

Though I've been retired for 10 years now, let me comment on the terrible situation facing ATR's. This is a travesty and disgrace beyond belief.

ATRs,  I sympathize with you. How many of you have continued to believe the lies of Unity Caucus? How many of you continue to vote for these people each time there is an election? How many of you didn't even bother to vote in the elections?

Unity has been out of the classroom for too many years. They constantly win in landslides. There is little to no motivation for them to do anything for the membership. If they were made to teach under the conditions they have negotiated, they'd sing a different tune entirely. There must be term-limits for elected UFT officials. In addition, a proviso must be added that at the end of their respective terms, UFT elected officials must go back to the classroom and teach for at least 5 years.

Why aren't ATRs being used to lower class sizes? ATR's did not obtain Master's degrees and in many cases teach for over 15 years to be relegated to substitute status.

Remember how everyone was told to teach in their own subject area? Why are ATR's being put into subject areas they have little to no experience in? Why? It will be easier for principals to find fault with them and ultimately drive them out. I understand that after Oct. 7 ATR's can be moved around from school to school. This will make it easier for principals to unload you. This will lead to unhappiness and the Board's hope along with Unity's is that you will leave.

Since ATR's are being treated like substitutes, let them pay substitute dues to the union. Then, maybe the union would wake up and demand that ATR's be treated as professionals.

Whatever happened to the expedited grievance procedures? Does Unity ever win any concessions from the city anymore? Years ago, we couldn't wait for another contract. Now, we dread it. Unity has created this by giving up so much that we were on the picket lines for in 1968 and 1975. How dare Unity give up seniority transfers and bumping rights for excessed, disenfranchised teachers? This helped to create this mess. Did you vote "yes" on Unity Caucus contracts? As a result, everyone is now suffering.

Unity Caucus must be made to come back down to earth. They are NOT management. They are not the PERSONNEL directors at Tweed. They are a union for teachers. They are not the union for parents or disruptive brats. Why have they kept quiet about the restoring of the 600 school concept for such children? Sure, they're not in the classroom and don't have to deal with recalcitrant children. 

We need separate bargaining units for all members of the school system. School secretaries need their own bargaining and voting unit. They don't know about what a teacher goes through, but they're literally in the pocket of Unity before the votes are tabulated. Ditto for school psychologists, social workers and others. They deserve their benefits and rights; however, teachers need a totally separate bargaining unit.

We could lower class size by demanding that teachers be paid additional money for each child in their class above contractual limits.

When I taught, Unity would say: "In strength there is Unity." Could they really say that today? Methinks not. (They may have said that in Unity there is strength, but what a joke that statement is.)

Graphic credit:
 http://wpiqradio.com/RequestBreakfast/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/warning_retired_teacher_sticker-p217475594507454820qjcl_400.jpg