Wednesday, August 5, 2009

How to Fill Out Your UFT Contract Survey

In what I consider a disturbing turn of events, it appears that the blogger at Have a Gneiss Day has been "outed", if you will, by someone who commented on one of her posts. I don't know the circumstances or the content of the post, but as an anonymous blogger myself, I understand her concern.

The BloomKlein regime has instituted such a reign of terror that no one wants to have it known that they disagree with the system. Bloggers remain anonymous, and teachers are reluctant to file winnable grievances because of the fear of retribution. Worse still is the knowledge that the UFT is utterly useless and unwilling to stand up for the rights of teachers, including our most basic rights to free speech and academic expression. The proper response of a strong union to strong arm tactics would have been to push back twice as hard; our union under Randi Weingarten has rolled over on its back. Will Mulgrew be any different?

I propose we find out. I am sending back my UFT Contract Questionairre without filling it out, because I believe no one at the union reads them anyway. But I am going to do one thing: I am writing across the front cover, in red marker, two simple words:

PROTECT US

I urge you to do the same. Tell your friends and colleagues. Email this post to them. If the powers that be at the UFT HQ see enough of these, perhaps they will get the message.

11 comments:

17 (really 15) more years said...

Mr. Talk-Thank you for this post. I am overwhelmed thus far by the outpouring of support I have received. Through the sitemeter on my blog and a little bit of research, I am almost certain I know who made the comment. Sadly, freedom of speech does not exist in the Bloomklein regime, and I will sleep better at night knowing that the new blog will be protected.

I love the idea about the questionnaire- as I was completing it, I was shaking my head knowing all too well that NOBODY at the UFT is going to read my responses.

NYC Educator said...

I have to agree with 15 more years on this one, though I hope I'm wrong. I really wonder whether Ms. Weingarten's frequent, and particularly recent, kowtowing to the mayor was a quid pro quo. If so, the contract is already a done deal and this survey is a cynical exercise indeed.

Mr. Talk said...

NYC, I agree with you re the contract. Bloomberg wouldn't leave anything to chance in his bought and paid for third election bid. This questionnaire is as bogus as the survey on Klein that the UFT has asked us to complete for the last two years. What action has the UFT taken as a result of our input? Zero. Zilch. Nada.

It's a disgusting state of affairs when members feel that their union is dishonest and working against their best interests. How in the hell have we gotten to the state where teachers are afraid to say anything to anyone? Even Ms. Eyre's post today is a cautionary tale about the dangers of talking out loud in the teacher's cafeteria.

17 (if I may call you by your first number), I've read your blog and your comments for a long time, and all I can say is that it's a damn shame that you feel you have to bow out, but I understand 100% why you feel the need. I would do the same.

Miss Eyre said...

Thanks for your observation on my post. I think Schoolgal said it more strongly than I did: unfortunately, we have to watch what we say. I can, like Schoolgal, say that from personal experience, though I hesitate to elaborate because I could be identified by possible elaboration.

Anyway, I have no idea what to do with my survey. I might take a look at it tonight. Your idea is certainly a quick way to deal with it!

Mr. Talk said...

I've done my survey, and I'm sending it in tomorrow with the words "Protect Us!" emblazoned across the front. That is the primary function of a union, after all, is it not--to give workers more protection and security than they would have on their own?

What good will smaller class sizes do us, or a big pay increase, or anything else for that matter, if we are left unprotected? A five per cent increase turns into a 105% decrease if you lose your job or are forced to resign because the union won't protect you. And what good is a contract if the UFT won't enforce it via the grievance process?

The only thing I want from the next contract is for the UFT to start acting like the power brokers they could be, and once were. I want to know that I and my fellow teachers are going to make it to that 55/27 that we were promised

Chaz said...

What a sad state of affairs when teachers are afraid to fight for their rights because of DOE retaliation and UFT inaction.

17 is one of my favorite bloggers and as an Earth Science teacher, one of the smartest. I hope I am invited to her new blog.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately the "survey" has been bundled and put out with the trash, along with last week's newspapers, and it was carted off this morning. It's now merely recyclable, like UFT presidents.

ed notes online said...

AT- I added your comments to Ed Notes today and also see the analysis of the survey I put up produced by TJC.

Mr. Talk said...

Thanks, Norm. An interesting analysis by TJC, but my belief is that those surveys have almost no impact on negotiations. I seriously doubt that anyone reads them. If anyone does, our pleas are ignored anyway, because the last two contracts have been awful.

Anonymous said...

The 300 member negotiating committee has already met! They'll go through the responses. We should take this survey seriously. Don't worry. Mulgrew gets it. I urge everyone to take it seriously.

endmayoralcontrol said...

I don't believe for one second that anyone in the UFT cares what I have to say.