Angry teachers boo Klein at protest
Sep 28, 2005 3:11 PM
Angry members react to Chancellor Klein’s arrival at the Manhattan Community Education Council meeting at PS 75.
A hail of boos and chants of “Shame on You!” rained down on Chancellor Joel Klein on Sept. 27 as he headed into a parent council meeting at PS 75 in Manhattan.
The chancellor, a tight grin on his face, scurried past the crowd of more than 100 angry teachers on his way into the building.
The protest outside the Upper West Side elementary school was the first in a series of actions the UFT has planned for the next few weeks in its attempt to prod the city to agree to a fair contract.
The city and the UFT held formal bargaining sessions on Sept. 26 and 27 after the union made a full-court press to demand that the city return to the table and accept the independent fact-finders’ report as a basis for further discussions.
The mayor raised expectations on Sept. 26 when he said that a deal could be reached within two weeks based on the fact-finders’ non-binding recommendations. It was the first time since the release of the report on Sept. 12 that Bloomberg endorsed its findings.
UFT President Randi Weingarten, however, told reporters covering the protest that there was a gulf between the mayor’s remarks and the actions of his negotiating team.
“The mayor says one thing publicly and yet privately at the bargaining table, his negotiators asked for something substantially different,” Weingarten said. “All we are asking to do is negotiate a fair contract with some common-sense solutions.”
Burned twice before by Bloomberg’s predictions that a contract was imminent, teachers at the protest were skeptical that he was prepared to close the deal this time.
“He’s had more than two years and has shown no interest in reaching a fair contract,” said Suzette Freedman, a 3rd-grade teacher at PS 75. “I understand that he wants to win re-election. I think that’s what is motivating him to act as if he wants to work with us. I don’t think he’s dealing in good faith.”
Contract talks resume on Thursday, Sept. 29.
“We will find out then if the mayor is serious about getting to a contract,” said Weingarten.
