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DA approves major rally, petition drive

by Deidre McFadyen

Apr 12, 2007 4:31 PM

Weingarten calls May 9 demonstration ‘moment of truth’

The UFT delegate body voted unanimously on March 28 to join with the union’s coalition partners for a major citywide demonstration near City Hall on May 9 to “Put the Public Back in Public Education.”

“This is a moment of truth for us,” said UFT President Randi Weingarten, who motivated the resolution. “This is not about our contract because our contract is intact and our members’ rights are intact. This is about are we going to stand up for what we believe in or are we going to stand by as they totally dismantle the school system?”

She continued, “We have a lot of problems with the system as it exists — but without it, how do we create educational opportunity for all our children?”

The delegates also approved a citywide petition drive being organized by the coalition to “stop the reorganization” and “start the reforms that will improve our schools.”

Director of Staff Michael Mendel urged the delegates to ask everyone in their schools to sign the petition.

“Our intent is to hand these petitions in on the day of the rally,” Mendel said. “What a powerful statement that will make if we have thousands of signatures on petitions from UFT members, parents and community members.”

The UFT has made common cause with parent groups, civic groups and education advocates around a shared concern that Chancellor Klein’s latest reorganization — done without any involvement from parents, teachers and students — will further destabilize a system already seriously harmed by his Children First changes.

The other coalition members are the Working Families Party, the Coalition for Educational Justice, the Coalition of District 75 Parents, the Chancellor’s Parent Advisory Council, New Yorkers for Smaller Class Size, Time Out from Testing, the Urban Youth Collaborative and the New York Immigration Coalition. Many of those coalition members will be among the groups to receive this year’s John Dewey Award, the UFT’s highest honor.

The May 9 demonstration will build on a spirited gathering by educators, parents and students at St. Varten’s Cathedral on March 16.

“We have to be out in force on May 9 walking side by side with parents to say, ‘Put the public back in public education and stop this reorganization that allows Klein and Bloomberg to divest themselves of responsibility for our schools and puts it on the shoulders of principals and teachers,” Weingarten told the delegates.

Prior to the resounding vote in favor of the resolution, Gary Bryant, chapter leader of IS 52 in Washington Heights, called on members to participate in the demonstration.

“This is an important issue for all of us,” Bryant said. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you keep changing things, you don’t have continuity. This is counter-productive to the process of education.”

The delegates also passed the following resolutions at the March DA:

• to oppose an increase in Medicare Part B based on income (means testing);
• to support the New York School Library Association’s call for increased funding for library systems and school library material;
• to provide adequate facilities for dance educators, to use teachers certified in dance to teach dance classes whenever possible, and to provide qualified mentors to all first-year certified dance teachers;
• to urge the AFT and the AFL-CIO to seek legislation that would provide a federal tax credit for long-term care insurance premiums;
• to urge the Department of Education to develop a flexible time policy for educators who need flexible schedules to care for family members; and
• to recommend that the AFT make comprehensive health-care reform a legislative priority and that the AFT make the willingness of political candidates to support single-payer health care programs an important criterion in making political endorsements.