"You have reached the promised land,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew said, congratulating 650 cheering new retirees at the union’s luncheon in their honor at the New York Hilton in midtown Manhattan on Nov. 26.
“You had hope and passion to change children’s lives,” he said, “and you did.”
Now, Mulgrew urged, it’s time to devote some of that energy to the Retired Teachers Chapter — “the best retiree chapter on the planet” — in 2020 campaigns to turn out New Yorkers for the Census and to vote.
Mulgrew recounted all the ways the retiree chapter has proven to be the UFT’s daytime army in achieving victories over the years. Citing the big Census campaign the union plans for the spring, he pledged: “We will get this done together.”
“D.C. doesn’t want New York City counted, but we’re not going to let that happen,” Mulgrew said. “We’ll be campaigning hard not to lose a congressional seat.”
The RTC got the ball rolling even before Mulgrew spoke. Millie Glaberman and Joyce Magnus, RTC Executive Board members and the retiree political action coordinators in Manhattan and Staten Island, respectively, signed up new retirees for political action as they made their way into the ballroom. They called on the new retirees to “Make a Difference: Give, Advocate, Volunteer.”
“We had a great response with about 250 signups,” said Glaberman.
As she turned in her political action signup card, Betty Blau, a special education teacher for 28 years at August Martin HS in Queens, explained, “I want to keep abreast of what we can do to stay strong and united, and I’m grateful that I feel so secure, supported and safe in retirement.”
Katherine Lewis, a speech teacher for 40 years, said she wants to be “a voice for teachers.” She remembered the debacle with the Special Education Student Information System and how hard her chapter leader, Mindy Karten Bornemann, “fought tooth and nail for relief from SESIS.”
Bright blue balloons floated above chairs throughout the ballroom in honor of those retirees who had served as chapter leaders, including Rebecca Ovadia. A chapter leader for 15 of the 20 years she taught reading at PS/MS 183 in Far Rockaway, Queens, Ovadia already has transferred that activism to retirement. She began the morning at 7 a.m. observing a school consultation committee at work as part of her commitment to mentoring chapter leaders.
RTC Chapter Leader Tom Murphy reminded members to stay true to their social conscience, “to sign up for COPE and to stay in touch.” He joked about the UFT member who, 15 years after retirement, still has lunch during fifth period, and he told retirees “to remember the good that you did.”
Joseph Ross, who taught English for 27 years at Manhattan Comprehensive Night and Day HS, said he felt “privileged” to have worked with a different student population of 17- to 21-year-olds, oversized and undercredited, many with adult responsibilities. “There is nothing more special than graduation day when the students everyone gave up on receive their high school diplomas,” he said.
“Have a good old time,” Mulgrew told the celebrants, “but remember that we need you. This chapter is special and unique … shaped by political activism and committed to protecting and improving retiree benefits.”
