Sunday, November 22, 2015

Andy Pallotta Has The Sads Over A Blog Post

Yesterday somebody told me that NYSUT leadership is upset about this post from Sullio that succinctly and devastatingly explains how the NYSUT leadership runs things at the union.

The gist of the post is that leadership doesn't care what rights and protections teachers have lost, doesn't care how the rank and file feel about these lost rights and protections, and doesn't care to do anything to rectify these lost rights and protections because membership dues are required by law so why should they care?

Apparently NYSUT Executive Vice President Andy Pallotta, who was never once mentioned in Sullio's post, is upset because he says the post compares him to a gangster - this despite the fact that the mob is never mentioned in the post either.

The only reference to the mob is a brief clip from the film Goodfellas that explains how, when you're paying protection money to the mob, it doesn't matter what happens during the week that might make those payments inconvenient - you've got to come up with the protection money no matter what.

You know, kinda like how teachers have to pony up their union dues every month no matter how many rights and protections disappear because the NYSUT leadership is either complicit with the education reform movement that seeks to destroy the teaching profession or is totally incompetent to stop them (take your pick on which but I lean toward Choice #1.)

Pallotta wants the state attorney general to look into the blog post and filed a discrimination complaint  because, you know, what better things can NYSUT spend time, money and energy on then attacking a blogger who accurately depicts how NYSUT runs its operations.

NYC Educator took on NYSUT leaders over this here.

Sean Crowley did the same here.

Here's my take:

With the Friedrichs case to be heard this year by the Supreme Court and the likelihood coming that the U.S. will be made into a "right-to-work" nation where union dues cannot be compelled from government workers after that case is decided, you'd think NYSUT leadership would be busy re-thinking their "Top-down/Fuck the rank and file cuz' I got mine" way of running things, but given Andy Pallotta's concern over a blog post, that's apparently not the case.

I dunno, perhaps Pallotta has the sads because NYSUT leadership is about to lose a few cars off their union gravy train post-Friedrichs, perhaps he's not a fan of Goodfellas and prefers Casino instead (though I dunno why, since Casino seems so derivative of Goodfellas.)

Either way, Pallotta ought to grow up and worry less about blog posts and more about what's going to happen to NYSUT once the Supreme Court says members no longer are compelled to pay dues.

If I were him, I might be thinking, "Hey, maybe we have to start serving our members and actually protecting their interests," but given the nonsense we've seen from NYSUT so far this year, it doesn't appear that's where the leadership's heading.

Instead they appear to be going down the road of "We'll try and exert even tighter control and destroy any opposition and/or criticism" even as their political House of Cards comes tumbling down around them.

I'm no professional political strategist like Andy Pallotta, but something tells me that strategy will be about as effective as NYSUT's strategy against Andy Cuomo's toxic education reform agenda.

14 comments:

  1. I actually liked Casino a lot, and thought it was underrated. Wish I could say the same about NYSUT leadership. This was incredibly stupid and counterproductive on their part, and speaks volumes about why we're in the shape we are.

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  2. I attended a UFT meeting where the VP Janella Hines explained what the Friedrichs case meant to unions across the country. Then, a member pointed out that the BATs had already raised money and had a top flight lawyer submit an official amicus brief to the Supreme Court case in defense of the dues collection practice. The room burst into spontaneous applause. I was not the only one left wondering why the unions weren't doing more, facing this existential threat.

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  3. I hope Friedrichs is a game changer. We, the rank and file , have treated as shit by Pallorta, Weingarten and Mulgrew.

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  4. "A nicklebag gets sold in the park, i want IN," -Frank White, KING OF NEW YORK

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  5. Pallotta is sad because the analysis is point on 100% on target. The NYSUT leadership are gangsters; Friedrichs will be a game changer.

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  6. It is not about gangster is it about the conflict of interest that has developed between the leadership and the rank and file. It has become obvious that they don't care about us--they are afraid that we will see through to who and what they do care about.

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  7. As Ed Reformer R Weingarten cavorts with E4E, Stand On Children and Hillary. No time for the receivership crisis in Buffalo when there are warm Ed reform beds to be hopping into.

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  8. Sean,

    You are better off without Weingarten. Trust me. I am a Newark teacher.

    Abigail Shure

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  9. I have been a teacher on Long Island for 33 years and I think it's time for Andy Pallotta and every other NYSUT officer to resign. How many tens of millions of dollars has Pallotta wasted endorsing the same politicians that sold us down the river last Spring. Pallotta is inept. Under him we have lost just about every battle, with no end in sight. Andy, please do the right thing. Resign.

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    1. But he got a swell table for the Billy Joel show at Cuomo's birfday party and it only ran him 10K.

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  10. Andy, you are an abysmal failure. Teachers are suffocating. NYSUT has repeatedly sold us out. Doesn't matter who runs the union, they are creeps. I have never seen "leadership" so detached from the members that pay the dues. I hope that SCOTUS rules that I no longer have to pay dues to this crew of incompetents. Only then will NYSUT and local officials start to care about us and start to cater to us instead of themselves.

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  11. Instead of complaining here, go to the NYSUT site- (nysut.org) and click on contact us and send a message. They may not care, but the more they get-- I just did it (again) and told them after the Friedrich's case I'll stop paying dues as well.

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    1. Better yet go to the StrongerTogether Caucus site and join them. http://stcaucus.weebly.com/membership.html

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  12. I just joined Stronger Together. Encouraging my colleagues to do the same.
    Somethinks has to change

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