The UFT wasn't the only union to pull the strings for Cuomo - other unions that threatened the WFP with destruction over the Cuomo endorsement included 1199 SEIU, HTC, the laborers, RWDSU, the Teamsters and TWU, the union that Cuomo just "negotiated" a contract agreement for.
And what did the unions get back in return for trying to ensure Cuomo doesn't have a third party candidate on his left calling him Republican-Lite all throughout the campaign and taking double digits in support from him come Election Day?
Empty promises, that's what:
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Working Families Party’s leadership have reached a tentative agreement that could give the incumbent Democrat the labor-backed organization’s ballot line, according to sources familiar with the agreement.Keep in mind Cuomo has wanted a Republican Senate throughout his tenure so he could push through his Wall Street-friendly policies, and while he may promise to back a full Democratic takeover of the state Senate as part of this deal, his priorities of having the Senate stay the place where he can push his Wall Street-friendly policies remain.
Under the terms of the agreement, Cuomo would support local control for a minimum wage increase — a proposal he has previously opposed — as well as back a full Democratic takeover of the state Senate.
An additional source on Friday evening added that the situation remains fluid, and Cuomo must convince the WFP’s state committee he is firmly behind a variety of issues, including fully funding the Campaign of Fiscal Equity agreement as well as other measures such as decriminalizing certain amounts of marijuana and backing the women’s agenda, a package of bills the governor first introduced in 2013.
Don't be surprised if he doesn't work all that hard to knock off Republican State Senators or push the Independent Democratic Caucus Dems back into the full Democratic fold.
And if the Senate doesn't turn, then the rest of that agenda he promised to push goes nowhere and Cuomo blames it on the State Senate he didn't do much to push toward full Democratic control.
In short, the unions and WFP got nothing politically out of this deal with Cuomo, though I would expect each of the unions involved will get something contractually out of Cuomo as payback.
For teachers, that means some lame change to APPR that will be in the end meaningless because Cuomo doesn't really want to make any changes to the system and still intends to run for president in 2016 or 2020 touting his education record and his APPR teacher evaluation system.
The union leadership sold you out, folks, and they sold out the Working Families Party as well and exposed their true priorities in the deal - maintaining their own power, privilege and access.
There will be some talk from Weingrew later on about how they refused to have their unions endorse Cuomo and in that way showed how they were standing up to Cuomo over his education policies.
That talk will be a snow job because the real sellout was done this week when the UFT leadership (with the total okay of the AFT leadership, to be sure) helped to engineer the WFP endorsement of one Wall Street-friendly Andrew M. Cuomo for a second term as governor.
All I can say is, let's see if we can get the Howie Hawkins/Brian Jones ticket into double digits this November.
And in two years, let's mount a challenge to Michael Mulgrew and the UFT leadership and try and put in some people who have the interests of their members at heart and not their own power, privilege and access.
Remember when Mulgarten's Revive NYSUT slate won election in April stating they were against Cuomo?! Hahahaha. Since then Mulgarten, Karen Magee, Andy Pallotta have been no shows at anti-Cuomo rallies and have told NYSUT photographers not to take pictures of any anti-Cuomo signs because they would not be published. If selling out your membership so blatantly for personal power gains weren't so sad it would be comical. But hey, as Karen Magee says, "We're a member driven union on the march!"
ReplyDeleteAnd the Orwellian thing about it was they were claiming Iannuzzi wasn't fighting Cuomo enough even as he was beginning to fight Cuomo. Since the Mulgarten putsch, it's been pretty quiet out of NYSUT - exactly what Cuomo wanted.
DeleteThe whole thing is so entirely predictable it is nauseating. All the more reason for there to be an opposition caucus to Unity at the state level.
DeleteThe thing that drove me most crazy, Brian, was the lying about this during the NYSUT election. These Revive jivesters would claim how Iannuzzi wasn't fighting Cuomo, wasn't protecting members, when he was STARTING to do just that and you knew when the Revive Jivesters completely their putsch, they would go back to covertly helping Cuomo and the corporatists.
DeleteAnd of course that's exactly what has happened.
Oh for sure. What was funny is that immediately following the election they pulled their website down so that nobody could see their campaign promises anymore. Fortunately James Eterno saved them... http://iceuftblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/revive-nysut-disappears.html
DeleteThe NYSUT leadership has publicly very quiet since the election. As if we are all supposed to kick back now and say, "Oh thanks god NYSUT has been revived! Now I can go back to watching reality TV and not pay attention to my union." But behind the scenes all signs point to them being at the beck and call of Mulgarten.
They are quick to claim that there is "no chance" of a NYSUT endorsement of Cuomo... and they are right... they aren't stupid enough to try and pull that off. But there are many ways to support a candidate without official endorsement... actions that don't require a voice from your membership, like the endorsement conference would. They could refuse to support rallies against Cuomo. Check. Refuse to publish pictures that are anti-Cuomo. Check. Contribute money to him anyway. Check. Ignore the teachers who actually did meet with Cuomo to represent the rank and file. Check. Work to get him the WFP endorsement. Check. Next will be to see how they likely work to get Cuomo the AFL-CIO endorsement. They may not vote Yes, but if they abstain rather than voting No it still helps Cuomo. They take plebians such as myself as fools, thinking only they are smart enough to think of stuff like this.
I think the biggest way for the Revive Jivesters and Mulgarten Crew to support Cuomo was to help ensure WFP didn't nominate anybody other than Cuomo. It looks like that mission has been accomplished and I am sure Cuomo will understand when they sit out an endorsement and publicly say they can't support him when behind the scenes and in all things that matter that are supporting.
DeleteOrwellian to the core, these Revive Jivesters and the Mulgarten Crew.
It is officially time I completely withdrew from COPE. The UFT makes awful political decisions and I will not support them.
ReplyDeleteWithdraw from COPE. The only thing worse than the UFT selling out like this is UFT members voluntarily providing the funding for it. Save that COPE money and put it into something useful. Or just light it on fire. Either way, you would be better off than providing it to the UFT to fund their political sellouts.
DeletePuny earthlings, you dare to question the governance of your Reptilian Overlords?
ReplyDeleteResistance is futile, puny earthlings !
Assist and support your Overlords in ruling over the dumb, shapeless masses, lest you share their fate!
Negotiating the terms of our exploitation, that's what our union leaders have been engaging in this week,
DeleteIn short, business as usual.
Indeed, selling us out is what they do.
DeleteIn fact, it's the only thing they do competently.
They say you should always do what is most important to you most competently.
DeleteWhat could more important to our UFT leaders than protecting their privilege, power and access?
After all, isn't that why one gets involved in the union?
DeleteI got involved in my union so that Randi Weingarten could make ever more money, hold ever more power, enjoy ever more privilege and, of course, have a seat at the table with the oligarchs.
DeleteWeingarten for Secretary of Education! She can screw us better than Duncan any day.
DeleteReported to be her dream job, though I suspect even she knows it's beyond her. Hard to see either Cuomo or Clinton putting her there. Can't imagine any other viable candidate for president would either.
Delete