Apr 24, 2008 8:08 PM
The UFT hosted a forum sponsored by the Education and Labor Collaborative on March 28 and 29 at the union’s Manhattan headquarters. UFT Vice President for Career and Technical Education High Schools Michael Mulgrew welcomed the group and also served on a panel along with academics and a representative of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Mulgrew presented a challenge to the group, which was “how to turn the tide of public opinion so that good wages with decent benefits and protected pension are admired, not attacked. The question is,” said Mulgrew, “how we are going to save the workers in the U.S. by changing the agenda and creating an environment that reminds the American people that unions have taken millions of working people out of poverty — and still do — throughout the world.” At the workshops, participants covered such topics as teachers and social class identity, the history of the labor movement, teachers as organizers and popular education for union organizers and teacher educators.