Do They Trust You?

“Do they know you? Do they like you? Do they trust you?”

I have been going to Retired Teachers Chapter (RTC) meetings since I retired (officially in January 2023). And then I was elected Assistant Secretary of the Chapter, (there’s only one Assistant Secretary) as part of Retiree Advocate. And since then I have been going to every RTC meeting. And sitting up front.

So there was a meeting today. It ran well. Bennett Fischer, our Chapter Leader, gave a good report. A cleverly reworked agenda made things move more smoothly (agendas have been a work in progress. Sometimes there’s addition by subtraction). We now have a “Good & Welfare” section that we actually reach (it had been aspirational). And there were four resolutions on the agenda. We debated and voted on all four.

The Fourth Resolution

Resolution in support of the New York Civil Rights Act

Resolved, that the Retired Teachers Chapter (RTC) of the United Federation of Teachers supports Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposed New York Civil Rights Act to institute state civil penalties against ICE agents who violate the civil rights of New Yorkers; and

Be it further resolved, that the RTC supports amending the proposal to prohibit the use of face coverings and plainclothes by ICE and other federal agents during civilian immigration actions in New York State, ensuring agents can be identified for the enforcement of this legislation.

I planned to vote for this resolution. I’ll write more about ICE one day. I think I will. Maybe more than once. I am deeply committed to the support of people against this terror that has been unleashed. On principal. And personally. For the past nine months I have been supporting immigrants as they faced arbitrary detention in immigration hearings. Again, one day I will write much more about this – not today. But I have seen these thugs, hiding behind masks, scaring, terrifying, abducting New Yorkers. (lots of stress – but I am not the target. I get to go home.)

Trust me, I would support much more than is in this resolution. But this resolution is a strong starting point. And since the first point is based on legislation proposed by the governor, it is a first step that might be passed in the very near future. And the second paragraph addresses the masks, which are an immediate point of terror/power. Take them off. And again, I’d go further, and get ICE off our streets, out of our city. And further. But today? I supported the resolution.

Retirees can make mistakes. Well-meaning retirees can make mistakes. A retiree today, who believes in abolishing ICE, read the second paragraph, and decided that it meant not abolishing ICE. I don’t think that makes sense. She offered an amendment to remove the entire second paragraph. Her intentions were good. I too would like to see ICE abolished. But less than that is also progress. Taking the masks off ICE will be a good thing. It is a “step on the way” to more. The maker of the amendment, she made a mistake.

In RTC meetings, voting is almost an innovation. It rarely (really rarely) ever happened when Unity was in charge. But we bring resolutions, allow others to bring resolutions, and vote. Still, voting is new. And we have noticed, lots of things get bigger yes votes than we would have expected; our membership that turns out, some of them vote “yes” as a habit. The size of the vote changes. A motion might not get two-thirds (and sometimes two-thirds is required). But over 50%? Almost all the time. So there was a real danger, with this motion proposed, it might get to the floor, and be passed.

But an amazing thing happened. There was no second. Over two hundred retirees in the room, and we all realized – this was a mistake, but without a second, we could move on safely. Silence. Bennett looked for a second (for a few seconds), and seeing none was ready to move on… and then someone put up a hand. A confused retiree? No. An elected member of the RTC’s exec board. And a leader of “ABC.” Because he likes to talk, to be recognized, to get attention – he seconded this mistake. But a sophisticated political person? This was not a small mistake. The amendment was about to die. He put the amendment on the floor. The chapter was going to say No! to ICE’s masks, and he said yes. He stopped us.

The resolution was amended. That’s what happens with our votes that require 50%. And then the resolution passed. And we do have the RTC on record saying we want the New York Civil Rights Act passed – that is the current legislation to let people sue ICE. That’s good.

But the RTC was also poised to say that we wanted ICE’s masks removed. That’s what could have happened. That’s what should have happened.