Nov 2, 2006 4:46 PM
Corporate CEOs may float off in their golden parachutes when they retire. Not so UFTers, who remain active and involved in their union.
A retiree group of former chapter leaders and delegates, for example, is working as mentors with hundreds of new chapter leaders and others to help build and strengthen chapter solidarity.
“We’re old-time unionists,” said Nick Schkrutz, a teacher for 34 years and chapter leader for 10. “People like us — who hit the pavement, faced losing jobs and lost money in strikes — we’re the institutional memory that’s not there anymore. So we want to help make chapters as strong as possible.”
As a result of demographic shifts in recent years, the creation of hundreds of new schools, and chapter leader elections last spring, there are many new chapter leaders this year.
The retirees, with hundreds of years of collective experience, are passing on their savvy and skills to this new cadre of school leaders as well as other chapter leaders who want assistance.
“Who helped me when I was new? Experienced teachers,” said David Kaufman, who retired this June after serving over 24 years as chapter leader at MS 135 in the Bronx. “There was a reservoir of years and years of experience in most schools.”
By contrast, Kaufman noted, he now serves as a mentor at a new school with 12 teachers, only one of whom is tenured.
The group — the Organizing Committee, co-chaired by Jeffrey Zahler, senior assistant to the president, and former vice president and retiree Michael Shulman — began its work two years ago and works in teams of two.
Organizers are kept up-to-date on issues like licensing changes and new contract provisions at local meetings with district representatives and at whole-group meetings at union headquarters.
“Every school is different,” said Gene Mann, who served as chapter leader at two high schools that won Trachtenberg awards for outstanding UFT chapters. “It’s great to be part of this educational process and I’m very pleased with our ability to raise the level of union consciousness.”
The goal, said Mann, is “to get the union flag flying in every single city public school.”
Do you want assistance or advice running your chapter?
Call your district representative, who will put you in touch with a team of mentors from the Organizing Committee.