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UFTers stand tall in Albany for kids

by Michael Hirsch

Mar 18, 2010 12:18 PM

1,200 members tell legislators to do what’s right with budget

[For additional photos go to the “Stand Tall in Albany” gallery]

It was his first lobbying trip as a teacher, but not his first as a parent. Guy De Baere, a lab specialist at LaGuardia HS in Manhattan, frequently trekked to the state capital, making the case for his daughter’s education and advocating for better funding for the schools. This time, he was joining more than 1,200 UFT colleagues and supporters in Albany on the union’s Lobby Day, March 9, to tell state legislators what his award-winning high school needs.

“And it needs a lot,” he said on the bus trip upstate. He planned to give state elected officials an earful. “I want to put a human face on the consequences of the planned austerity measures; the disaster of charging kids for MetroCards, the impact cuts will have on schools and families,” he said. “Each year we’re asked to do more with less — much less.”

First-time and veteran UFT lobbyists met in the Albany Crowne-Plaza’s sprawling ballroom, where speakers laid out the perspective that state legislators had to hear if they were to reduce the proposed $500-600 million cut to New York City schools as they labor to close a $9.2 billion state spending gap.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew stressed the importance of breaking the current budget deadlock in Albany. No state budget would be a real problem for New York City, he said, because the city would have to craft its budget without knowing how much state aid it could count on.

Mulgrew then set the tone for lobbyists to adopt.

“You spent a long time on the bus, and you’ll spend a long time going back, so you’re not going to go into a lawmaker’s office and say, ‘Well, the schools are underfunded.’ They know that,” Mulgrew said. “So don’t go in nice and easy. Stand tall and hold your own. Because this is our day. Tell them you’re here for the children, and we expect them to do the right thing.”

Paul Egan, the UFT director of legislation and political action, advised the lobbyists that they should acknowledge the state’s dire budget plight while suggesting at least four proactive ways for the state to move forward:

• Redirect STAR property tax rebates away from the state’s wealthiest homeowners and directly into education;
• Impose a 15 cent environmental tax on plastic bags, which not only would raise state dollars, but stem the use of plastic, which damages the environment;
• Reduce the number of consultants and jobs contracted out because state workers can do those jobs more cheaply and often better; and
• Refinance the Tobacco Settlement Bonds at today’s historically low interest rates.

Egan informed listeners that “if they want more, we’ve got plenty more.”

In a show of support for the union, leaders of both state houses attended the ballroom meeting, including Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver of Manhattan, Senate Majority Leader John Sampson of Brooklyn, Assembly Education Committee Chair Cathy Nolan of Queens and Senate Education Committee Chair Suzie Oppenheimer of Westchester.

The four legislative leaders agreed that some education funding would have to be cut, but they pledged to advocate for adequate school funding, to seek ways to increase revenues and to pass legislation, sponsored by Sampson and Silver, that would bar charter schools from cherry-picking students and oblige them to educate the same kids as district schools do in their neighborhood, including English language learners and special needs children.

“We have troubles, but we also have friends,” said NYSUT Executive Vice President Andy Pallotta, formerly the UFT’s District 10 representative, after hearing from the leadership.

Yet despite leadership pledges, not every legislator would be amenable to the union’s proposals, Pallotta cautioned. “Some, like Sampson, are eagles,” he said. “Others, though, are like chickens. Today, you’re going to meet with a lot of chickens, too.”