Adding Fractions Wrong
Everyone knows… (that’s a bad way to start a post)
To add fractions:
- if they have common (same) denominators (bottoms), we add the numerators (tops) and keep the denominators:
and in general
- If they do not have common denominators (bottoms are different), we change the fractions to equivalent fractions (same value, different look, like and ) with common denominators, keep those denominators:
Or, instead of making two separate cases, multiply each numerator by the other denominator, and take the sum (that’s the numerator) and multiply the denominators: 
Adding wrong
I see kids add fractions wrong. Hell, in the US we can see adults add fractions wrong. Numerator plus numerator, denominator plus denominator. Tops with tops, bottoms with bottoms. If you haven’t seen it, you’re not looking.
If we want to add 1/2 a pizza and 1/8 of a pizza (a slice) we don’t get 2/10 of a pizza (less than half). The idea that this is adding is ridiculous.
But tops + tops over bottoms + bottoms DOES produce a result. Let’s name this process – I’ll call it MISADDING – and see what MISADDING actually does.
MISADDING
Being formal, define MISADDING as
A few days ago, Dave Marain published this:
It reminded me of MISADDING. On Saturday I played around with MISADDING with some kids, and talked about it a little bit with a mathematician. Here is some of what we decided:
- MISADDING
is commutative, since the underlying operation is regular addition.
- MISADDING
- Take a fraction, and MISADD
or
and in general
.
- MISADDING
and.
Those answers are equivalent.
But MISADDING? Uhn-uh.
but,
hardly the same thing. - MISADDING
then
. There’s a pretty straightforward proof, if you’d like to try it.
- MISADDING
. Nice, right?
- MISADDING
than if you MISADD with
.
- If we drop the notation, and write the fractions in parentheses with a comma, MISADDING
- MISADDITION
- Combining the vector idea with the in-betweenness idea, we could see the pairs (or the fractions) as an expression of slopes… Rewrite this
as (b,a) + (d,c) = (b+d,a+c), and now think of (b,a) as the line from (0,0) to (b,a) and its slope will be
. Vector addition will give us a point with an associated slopes between the two given slopes, UNLESS the points are on the same line, and then the result will be on the same line (equivalent to MISADDING two equivalent fractions, and getting an equivalent fraction as the result).
Too long, didn’t read version:
When you misadd fractions by adding the tops and adding the bottoms – the result will not be greater than the two originals (which is what you expect for adding positive numbers) but IN BETWEEN them.
And if you came here for a post about Mulgrew… (I’m stopping here)
How small an area?
I sometimes write about mathematics. This is not a post about mathematics. This is a post about Palestine. This is a post mostly written for New Yorkers.
I support an immediate ceasefire, and a permanent ceasefire. But this post is not about a ceasefire. It is about area. It is “geometry” in the sense of “geo” + “metry” or “Earth” + “measurement.” It makes distances and areas in Gaza more understandable by comparing them to distances and areas we (New Yorkers) are familiar with.
The Gaza Strip is small. Everyone knows that. But most people don’t have much of a sense of the size of things. I am writing to help you understand area and distance.
I read somewhere that Gaza is the size of Manhattan. I knew that was not true. Gaza is bigger. And I saw some detailed maps from the BBC. And they had scales of miles… and I knew I could make the numbers more meaningful for readers.
The Gaza Strip is 141 square miles. Brooklyn (70) + Queens (108) are 178 square miles combined. The Gaza Strip is about 80% the area of Brooklyn + Queens.
Those scales are pretty close –
Gaza is 25 miles long (roughly). The distance from Seagate (past Coney Island) to Fort Totten (past Bayside) is a 23 mile walk (according to Google Maps). As the crow flies it’s probably closer to 20. And so on the map, measure the length of the Gaza coastline, and measure the distance from Sea Gate to Fort Totten. Should be close, with Gaza about 25% longer.
So Gaza stretches a little longer than Brooklyn and Queens combined, but only 4/5ths the area. “Narrow.”
Israel limits (before the current conflict) Gaza’s fisherman to 5 miles from shore. The same limit on Brooklyn/Queens boats might get them to the tip of Sandy Hook, but not the Jersey Shore, maybe Great Kills, but definitely not Tottenville, parts of New Rochelle, but not Mamaroneck. (Blue for yes, or maybe. Red for no.)
Brooklyn and Queens have combined about 4.8 million residents. Gaza has 2.3 million. That makes Brooklyn and Queens denser – at about 27,000/square mile – than Gaza – at about 16,000/square mile. On the other hand, Gaza had far less housing (before October 7). Overcrowding was already a real problem.
When the Israeli army ordered Palestinian civilians in Gaza to move south, this was the territory north of Wadi Gaza, about 60 square miles, a little smaller than Brooklyn. That’s about 40% of the area of the Gaza strip. Likewise, Brooklyn is about 40% of Brooklyn and Queens combined. So it’s something like ordering everyone living in Brooklyn to move to Queens in a few days or become a “legitimate target.”
But unlike Queens, the Israeli army has destroyed or made uninhabitable half of all buildings in Gaza. (the red bits on the map below.)
The Israeli army has now ordered most Palestinians in the south of Gaza to evacuate. Where? There is a “Masawi Humanitarian Zone” in the southwest – less than 4 square miles. (see the BBC map, above). This is a bit smaller than Canarsie. 2.3 million people, even with the worst crowding, could not possibly fit.
I can imagine people who have never left Brooklyn or Queens, their whole lives. It definitely happens. But it’s a choice. And even for most of them, there was probably a trip into Nassau, or an occasional foray into Manhattan.
For Palestinians in Gaza? Most have lived where you see, in the maps, and have never left. Never traveled. Never seen “the River.” Not their choice. And as tiny as that world is, imagine losing 40% of it overnight. 50% of the buildings. And now, really, 95% of the space? I can make the numbers real, but it is not just numbers, and what it is, that reality I cannot begin to imagine.
Finding School Survey Results (NYC)
Want to know what teachers think about a school? Best way to find out is to talk to those teachers… but that’s often not an option. And especially for teachers considering transferring, it’s important to get some idea of the mood and relationships – stuff that never appears on the school’s website.
One option is to check what teachers wrote on the school surveys. Now, this is not a perfect option. Many teachers do not fill out the surveys. Many do not trust that they are anonymous, and fill them out to please their administrators (I DO think they are anonymous. I encourage people to fill them out honestly). But this means that the surveys MIGHT reflect more positively than they should. The surveys can give a falsely upbeat view of a school. But a negative result on a survey – that’s a pretty good indication that there may be a problem – certainly I would recommend doing further research before accepting a position at such a school.
A positive result on the surveys might be meaningful, might not. I don’t put much stock in them.
A negative result on the survey is usually a clear warning that there is, or was, a problem. That’s a warning alarm. Do check to see if administration just changed – but otherwise – uhuh. Probably that’s a no.
In the past I published some results from these surveys. That’s years ago. I have time; I should get back to that. Gene Mann publishes abbreviated results for Queens (I think), which is a service.
But let’s say you want to find the results on your own. I am going to look at two neighboring middle schools in District 11 in the Bronx, 180 and 181. How do you we find them?
I generally do not navigate directly to the page, since I do not trust Panorama links to stay stable. I start at: https://www.schools.nyc.gov/about-us/reports/school-quality/nyc-school-survey and click the 2023 Survey Data and Analysis link.
That link brings me to this page: https://infohub.nyced.org/reports/students-and-schools/school-quality/nyc-school-survey and then I click on 2023 results:
Which brings me to the first Panorama page https://secure.panoramaed.com/nycdoe/understand:
Everyone wants to click on the red/orange “3151 Schools” first. I don’t. I start by clicking the blue buildings on the upper left “NYC Public Schools” – and I see a weird table (which I don’t care about):
In the upper left there are some options. “City” is highlighted. Change that. Click “School”
and we move to a massive table, with lots of colors. Adjust your window to fit as much as you can:
Those colors – the deeper greens are for good results, the rustiest red/oranges are the worst. The schools are listed by district, so I’m going to scroll down a bunch to reach District 11, where 180 and 181 are. I put the two schools on one screen:
Wow, that’s a lot of data. What to look at first? I suggest the three columns in the next to last group on the right: Teacher Influence, Teacher-Principal Trust, Teacher-Teacher Trust.
At this point we have our first order answer – teachers at one of the schools trust their principal. At the other, nope.
There’s more we might notice. At the second school, the principal trust box is one of the greenest – in other words – place may not be perfect, but teachers like the administration. At the first school, with lots of poor and mediocre ratings (from kids and parents too) I notice that safety is better than the other ratings (both teachers and kids say so). Probably doesn’t make up for the overall ratings, but something to think about.
Sometimes looking at which numbers do not fit the picture raises interesting questions. Kids love the school, adults don’t? What’s going on there. “Instructional Leadership” is much lower than “Teacher-Principal Trust”? Might be a “nice guy, can’t run a school” situation. And the reverse, instructional leadership is well-rate, but teachers don’t trust the principal? Things to think about.
Let’s go back and take a look at the individual schools. Find your way back to the first Panorama screen, but this time pick the red/orange building that says 3151 schools:
When you click on the building, you get a search list. Scroll down to your school, or type in the name:
And then click it. You will see a big set of blue bars.
That is the student results. Look at the top of the screen, and flip to teacher results:
Now, we have lots of options to choose from. This is 180, I’m going straight to Teacher-Principal trust, because that was what concerned me most. (Don’t worry about the blue bars, just find your question)
Turns out, there are a bunch of questions that go into Teacher-Principal trust (near the bottom of the list). Unfortunately, they don’t point to an alternative narrative.
I do notice that the numbers have all fallen a bit from what were already sub-mediocre scores the year before… but I don’t see anything that makes me curious to dig further.
Limitations
I want to be clear – the surveys don’t get everything “right” – they are what staff filled in. Maybe the staff was angry that day. Or maybe they filled in the survey with the principal standing over them. Lots of things could mess up the data.
But when a staff fills in negative information, I think that is at least a signal that you should look more closely.
And when the ratings for a school are consistent (high, medium, mediocre, low) but one or two scores buck those trends, I pay A LOT of attention to those exceptions, and you should too.
State of the Union w/ Arthur and Jonathan Episode 2
This episode is devoted largely to two teachers, chapter leaders, activists, who used to work for the United Federation of Teachers, but who got fired for thinking the wrong thoughts. We also talk about class size and To Kill a Mockingbird. And there’s an interview with a really dynamic math teacher (not me).
By the way, watch that teacher segment closely – it was fun to do – and we would like to do more of those.
Comments, praise, criticism, praise, all are welcome and appreciated.
City Tries to Reimpose Copays on Retirees – Who is Fighting Back?
What’s there to say about copays? I don’t like ’em.
I pay them. They went up and up while I was still working. And they are still here in retirement… because… I am not a Medicare retiree. I get stuck with the same copays as in-service members. Which sucks. There are a lot of them. And they all went up, and up, and up, in the last 2, 5, 10 years. Copays every time I go to any appointment, with very few exceptions. Of course I do pay them… my health care is still good, and mostly covered. But these copays add up to a hidden premium. Hundreds of dollars each year (yes, I know, premiums can be much more).
But if I were a Medicare retiree…
Medicare retirees have no copays. They didn’t used to. But in between something happened.
The City, New York City, the Office of Labor Relations… tried to impose copays on Medicare Retirees. They did. Retirees, Medicare retirees, had to pay copays. They were furious, but of course they paid every time they went to the doctor. And the New York Organization went to court – and the judge found what we thought – the City is not allowed to imposed copays on medicare retirees.
I keep typing “medicare retirees” or “Medicare Retirees” and what that really means is retirees who are 65 and over, who are on medicare. I am a “Non-Medicare Retiree” – a relative youth…
So the judge found that the City was wrong to impose copays, and retirees have struggled to stop paying them since some doctors did not get the message right away, and I know that retirees are due refunds, but honestly, since they are Medicare retirees (and I am not one) I don’t know if they have gotten the money back yet. Their money. Money they deserve. Money the City had them pay, in violation of the law.
So here we are, the ruling is clear, things are straightened out, or getting straightened out. And what happens next? The City appeals. In November 2023. Just a few days ago. The City wants to reimpose copays on our Medicare retirees. And I assume they want to stop copays from being refunded. And presumably they want to bill retirees for copays they have not paid, for service they already received.
OLR Commits Broad Daylight Robbery – How do we respond?
Horrible. The City going to court to rob its own retirees.
Me – I’m getting the word out that this is happening. I can’t do much, but this part I can do.
My union – the UFT….
It happens, the plate slips out of your fingers, you watch it spin and turn, and know what’s about to happen, but still imagine it somehow landing – somehow landing smoothly, intact, not spilling – and then a millisecond later it hits the floor, shatters, and the contents splatter everywhere.
My union – the UFT… I could imagine publicly objecting to the City’s appeal, publicly standing up for retirees, insisting on “No Copays,” filing a friend of the court brief against the City, using those overpriced lawyers FOR the members instead of using those overpriced lawyers AGAINST us… I can imagine for a millisecond.
But sadly, I know. I expect nothing of the sort. I expect Mulgrew and Murphy and the Unity leadership to sit silently on the side, watching the OLR rob our Medicare Retirees, hoping our retirees lose, and are forced to cough up those copays. And when we question why they did nothing – they will claim it was all the City that did this – and try to hide their complicity.
Making Progress in Math in Retirement
I wasn’t positive when I retired (when I retired) what I would be doing. I had plans. They just weren’t firm. And math was going to be some of them, but exactly what and how?
My first chapter leader and my uncle – them, and others, but especially them – carefully explained way back when I was a new teacher that it was a mistake to “retire, full stop” – rather, it is important to retire – to something. And I took the advice to heart.
So I had plans related to hiking, and travel, and time with family. I had plans about reading more, or, really, returning to reading, as I’d lost my way. And I’m still working on all of those things.
But for math? Three ideas:
- Teach in a program that emphasizes reasoning for mostly students of color
- Read math with others. Math reading groups.
- Go to school. Take math classes.
And each one has been playing out.
Teaching in a Program
I stopped working in June 2022. And I wrote to the program I wanted to work for. One day a week, maybe two, would be perfect. I wrote. They answered. I wrote. They answered. I learned that they put their emphasis on their summer programs – a math day camp for rising 7th graders, and a math overnight camp for rising 8th graders. I learned that during the year there is a Saturday program. They asked me about summer work, but I had a big trip planned. Yay! And I thought they would hire me to teach in the fall in the Saturday program, but somehow a “yes” turned into “come in and sub” turned into nothing at all. I was disappointed – good program, good content. But an alum suggested another program that might like me… and I filled out an application. Now it was January, and I really wanted the program my heart was set on – I didn’t ask about the spring – I knew they emphasized the summer – I applied for one of the summer spots. And after a multi-step process that stretched for over two months, I had work for July and August at the math day camp for rising 7th graders.
My alumni will recognize this: I taught logic problems, and problem solving. Yes, yes, we did Ghost the Bunny. I had fun. The kids had fun. The program invited back for this fall – and I am working now – Saturdays. My “classes” are like the lunchtime seminars I ran at the HS of American Studies (¼ credit, lunch time, no tests, completely voluntary), and are actually topics I had done before: Intro to Set Theory, and Abnormal Arithmetic (base 4, instead of 0, 1, 2, 3 we use O, /, ∆, ◊).
Reading Math
I wanted to find math topics I didn’t know, and read a good intro with people at a similar level. Never worked out. Agreed with Sue to read a book that matched up with her third term of calculus. We met a half a dozen times, but some progress, but Sue had to travel, we kept getting interrupted, and it stalled out.
I’m going to give this another try, after the holidays. I’m thinking about an intro to graph theory, or to knots, or mayeb Jacqueline Stedahl’s History of Mathematics.
Studying
Fall 2022 – I took off. But I knew I missed it. And that winter I wrote to Queens College. Turns out, I had matriculated when I was there on sabbatical. That meant that I just needed to update my status, and no application was needed. In the Spring I took Point Set Topology, and enjoyed the level of challenge, and the study sessions with my classmates.
Currently I’m enrolled in two classes. I enjoy “Number Systems” far more than “Functions of a Real Variable” – but I’ll talk more about that another time.
I was surprised to learn that I am not so far from earning a masters. I mean, I have completely no use for an MA in Pure Mathematics – but another nice shiny certificate? Why not.
Surprise
Looks like I may be working with student teachers in the Spring… That was indeed a surprise!
Notes for November 15
I’m drinking ironwort tea from my Goodbye Columbus mug…
The tea is probably mixed with other herbs, and is popular in the Balkans. Or near the Balkans. The Balkans are badly defined, so let’s be careful. In any case, this one is from Croatia. They definitely have it in Greece, Albania, North Macedonia, and Bulgaria. I see it called mountain tea and shepherd’s tea and planinski čaj. It smells – herbal? a little anise-y? a little flowery? In any case, it tastes nice, and makes me think it should have medicinal properties. But the studies I found all seem to start from the conclusion that there should be those properties, so they don’t seem super convincing. They don’t seem super unconvincing either – anti-oxidants? Could be. Anti-inflammatory? Why not. Flavonoids? Sure. Phytochemicals? I’d be easy to convince.
There was a UFT Delegate Assembly tonight. I should figure out how to sign on and listen. But I did not. I went to them for almost 25 years. I’m taking a break. That’s what I’m claiming. In any case, I read several sets of notes. Highlight was a Gaza resolution – Ryan Bruckenthal tried to amend to add a call for a ceasefire. – Leroy Barr had already laid down the line – “no amendments” – every Unity person heard. And then some debate, and a vote, and the amendment failed. In the room it failed 111 to 153 (42% to 58%), and on the phone it failed 322 to 400 (45% to 55%). Altogether that’s 433 to 553, (44% – 56%) no call for a ceasefire.
It would have been a huge symbolic victory, to have the biggest teachers local in the entire United States call for a ceasefire. For those of you who support an immediate ceasefire (I do) this was a missed opportunity. On the other hand, those vote totals are MUCH higher than they would have been 20 years ago – something has clearly changed. Americans, or at least teachers in New York (but more than that) are far more sympathetic to Palestinians, despite Hamas, than a generation ago. Can you believe 44%? And on the other hand (I know, I already ran out of hands) there is no way we got that many yes votes without a bunch of Unity people voting our way, or as Unity leadership thinks, the wrong way. And that’s after Leroy gave an explicit speech about “no amendments.”
Something else at the DA, I story I am following. A delegate, well, Peter Lamphere, asked if Mulgrew would address the Queens Borough Rep being removed. That’s Amy Arundell. And Mulgrew said “no.” But it is important that the matter stays in front of delegates and chapter leaders. Amy was one of the most responsive UFT reps. Her removal hurts the members in Queens, and the chapters and chapter leaders especially. And, related to the previous point, she was removed after posting (actually retweeting someone else’s words) about war in Gaza on her social media, challenging narratives (that we later learned to be partially false).
Peter Lamphere: do you believe that members in Queens have the right to know why the boro rep was removed? (small applause) A: No. I don’t believe any member has any right to know personal information about any other. (similarly small applause)
This was my first post in November. My writing is inconsistent, and I do get busy, but mostly I have been overwhelmed by the world. And why, if I’m stuck, write today? I was stuck on something else, which is a good moment to try to blog. I was working on a podcast I could not manage to finish. Look for that one soon!
Four years later…
On June 3, 2019 I rose, for what I thought was the last time, to address the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) Executive Board.
I spoke about the use of test scores at LaGuardia to shoe-horn in extra white students and squeeze out students of color. I asked the returning leadership to address the recommendations of the Student Diversity Advisory Group, and to involve high school teachers in those discussions.
And then I quoted a movie line. There’s a line I like, from A Few Good Men (the truth? You can’t handle the truth!) <– not that one. It comes later, after Nicholson has been hauled off, and the two marines have just heard the verdict:
- Downey: [after the verdict was read] I don’t understand… Colonel Jessup said he ordered the Code Red.
- Galloway: I know but…
- Downey: [nervously] Colonel Jessup said he ordered the Code Red! What did we do wrong?
- Galloway: It’s not that simple…
- Downey: [anxiously] What did we do wrong? We did nothing wrong!
- Dawson: Yeah we did. We were supposed to fight for people who couldn’t fight for themselves. We were supposed to fight for Willy.
Look at Dawson’s words. “We were supposed to fight for people who couldn’t fight for themselves.” I turned this to the officers, all members of Unity, and the Executive Board. I did it once before, about standing up for probationers. And I did it again June 4, spoke directly to the officers – I would not be back – but they still had the obligation to stand up for members who could not stand up for themselves. Most of them, unsurprisingly, paid no attention.
One more word here. United Federation of Teachers representatives and staff have come roaring into schools where there is conflict – but this is usually when the chapter is well-organized, and already doing a good job fighting back. It has sadly been their pattern – when a chapter is weak, when a member is vulnerable, when there is a good chance that our side will lose – the officers look the other way. This is their pattern. I think people are basically good – this cowardice is learned, practiced behavior. And so when I challenged Mulgrew on standing up for those who could not stand up for themselves – I was really challenging how Mulgrew conducts himself as a union officer – and I was not at all surprised he did not listen.
As I left that day, before the pandemic, several Unity people stopped me to say goodbye. Two stopped me to ask why I was not going to be on the Executive Board. Unity swept the board in the recent election – and I’d lost my seat. At least one of the Unity reps was confused, valued the contributions I had made. It was sweet, but made no difference. I said goodbye. Thinking it was my last UFT Exec ever.
– – — — —– ——– ————- ——————— ————- ——– —– — — – –
I came back Monday, last week. It had been four years, and a few months. I came back after saying I wouldn’t – but I came back because these officers had removed Amy Arundell from her position as Queens Borough Rep – and Amy stood out as a representative who actually stood up for members and chapter leaders, including those who were having a hard time protecting themselves.
Nick Bacon took notes. Here’s how he recorded my words:
Retired 20 year CL and 11 year member of this committee. On my last day of this committee, I said two things – I won’t come back (long time, but back), but second reason – members of this committee need to be judged by how they help the people least able to help themselves. Not everyone here lives up to that. No one was the equal of Amy Arundell. Someone who serves members and members of other boroughs, replies, helps, that person is a model for what we should be like. Losing that model harms our members who need them most. I have things I might say about the politics – won’t say now. Obligation to our members. Properly and right away must return to the position.
Why don’t UFT staffers have due process. UFT Executive Board meeting 10-23-2023why-dont-uft-staffers-have-due-process-uft-executive-board-meeting10-23-2023/
Other people spoke about Amy. A bunch. One woman, a retired Unity chapter leader, struck a similar not, speaking about how helpful Amy is to individuals on the large facebook group. At least one of the speakers raised the issue of the war in Gaza (Mulgrew’s apparent immediate motivation for removing Amy was that she had advocated for a more balanced resolution on Gaza, and had social media posts that were supportive of Palestinians).
It is obvious to me that Amy Arundell was
- removed for her political beliefs, and for speaking to those beliefs, and
- was one of the most helpful representatives for our members and chapter leaders in Queens, and for members and chapter leaders in other boroughs who reached out to her.
This doesn’t change the things Amy got wrong – I’ve had screaming fights with her. Just in the last two years I have disagreed openly and strongly on health care, and on latest contract. But that’s not relevant here. The UFT’s Unity leadership is trying to purge one of their own – for politics (and she is right and they are wrong) – and without regard to the harm they are doing to members by removing her (real damage). That is why I came back.
There is a petition to reinstate Amy. Please sign, if you have not yet done so.
And me and Arthur discussed Amy on State of the Union with Arthur and Jonathan last week.
– – — — —– ——– ————- ——————— ————- ——– —– — — – –
It was weird coming back. The tables were different. The speaker’s mike is now on the right of the room – I ended sitting dead-facing Mulgrew. Some people came by to say hi. LeRoy came over, said hello. Shook mine and Arthur’s hands – Arthur and me came together. Janella invited us to eat – but we’d just eaten. I thought about walking across the room. Too weird. Something surreal about being there.
After the open mike came the questions (you can read more in Nick’s post, linked above) – questions about health care, and about Amy. And then Mulgrew spoke. He was in some sort of track suit – but nothing nice. Like he was dressing down. And his language – it was a rambly attack on people who disagreed with him. And on Amy, he refused to address the issue, hiding behind his excuse that it was a “personnel matter.” Arthur does quite a rundown here.
I have heard rumors that Mulgrew might not be ready to retire. Certainly he could not find an outside job as easily as, well, someone who might have some appeal to a prospective employer. And a soft landing with something cushy at the AFT? I guess it could happen. Maybe. Not sure. But what I’m getting at is – even though there’s probably consensus that his brand fell badly in value through the last UFT election and especially through the healthcare fiasco, and even though Unity probably wants to buy him a gold watch and push him out the door, he might realize that he’d be left with little.
In any case, that’s the impression I got, as he lashed out at opponents, rambled, repeated himself, talked in circles. I was reading a book, half-ignoring him, but close enough that when he was wild, I looked straight at him – it’s probably my conceit that it bothered him – who am I after all? – but he did seem to have trouble looking away from me. Maybe. Anyhow, we really seemed to be witnessing the raving and flailing of a boxer who’s been finished, refusing to admit that he’s been beat.
I’m going to come back to this Exec Board in a day or two. Leroy Barr said some things that demand closer examination. There’s other stuff, too. But I didn’t stay for the end. Me and Arthur had had enough.
– – — — —– ——– ————- ——————— ————- ——– —– — — – –
Actually, after the Open Mic, Arthur suggested leaving. I wanted to stay to hear the questions. Arthur agreed. I kind of wanted to stay for the resolutions, but after Mulgrew reported, he started to leave. Ibeth asked if he would stay for the Reports from Districts – he begged off – had a meeting. Me and Arthur did listen to the Reports from Ristricts, and that was enough.
Fifteen minutes or so after Mulgrew left for his “meeting” me and Arthur walked down the stairs, out the door, and turned uptown towards the IRT. We crossed the alley where Exchange Place should be, and some motion caught my eye, and I glance back. I saw Mulgrew – no entourage – no folder or bag or laptop – moving up the alley towards Broadway.
“Michael!” I caught his attention, he looked up and realized who was speaking. “You hurt the members in Queens! That was a bad move!” Mulgrew from five years ago, from ten years ago, would have yelled back. “Jonathan, you don’t know what you’re talking about!” or “Enough with your nonsense!” or some assertive, aggressive answer. But not today. Mike moved into traffic, crossing Broadway. He put his head down. He said not a word.
That’s a gross image. Can’t end there. Let’s close with our Marines:
The State of the Union with Arthur and Jonathan – Episode 1 – Amy
Arthur and me are doing a podcast. Here’s the first episode, in two pieces, on YouTube:
ps. Arthur blogs on substack. He used to blog at blogspot.
Arthur and me talk
I should write more about me and Arthur. We were chapter leaders at the same time. We blogged at the same time. We never belonged to or supported the same caucus. We served on the UFT Executive Board together. We’ve always been willing to talk.
And so we decided to talk some more. In front of cameras. A podcast. Or video podcast. We could talk about news. Interview guests. Including teachers. Actually talk to teachers about teaching – along with union news and education news and and and….
Great idea – we recorded a pilot (not yet published) but I was dragging my feet. I need to get good at the tech side – and right now I am not. But I’ll learn.
This week there was big news in the UFT. Queens Borough Rep Amy Arundell was removed from her post – and we both thought that Amy served her chapter leaders and members (and members and chapter leaders in other boroughs) well. Arthur said we needed to record. And so we did.
In the future (meaning really soon, I hope) I will add an image, a thumbnail, maybe closing credits, a soundtrack. We will get it uploaded to Apple or Spotify. We will have several shorter segments each episode.
But this first time? Two talking heads on YouTube. You still might like to watch. Oh, oh, the title? “The State of the Union with Arthur and Jonathan.” Enjoy.
ps. Arthur blogs on substack. He used to blog at blogspot.
Is my healthcare safe?
The easy answer might be “no” – New York City (Mayor Adams and the financial people who cut the budget), the Municipal Labor Committee (MLC) (really, representatives of the leadership of the major city unions, with greatest weight for the leaderships of District Council 37 (DC37) and the United Federation of Teachers) and the UFT leadership directly are aiming to cut health care for city employees and retirees.
Medicare
That is the easy answer. But it misses an important detail.
For over two years our retirees have been fighting to stop Mulgrew, the MLC and Adams from forcing Medicare-eligible retirees into “Medicare Advantage” – an inferior, private alternative to traditional Medicare. In the UFT many retirees against Medicare Advantage are organized in Retiree Advocate (RA), which I belong to. Some public action was built by the Cross Union Retirees Organizing Committee (CROC). And effective organizing by the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees has led to multiple successful lawsuits, beating Mulgrew and Adams.
But I am not a Medicare-eligible retiree. I supported this struggle, but it does not affect me, not today, not yet.
In-service Health Care
Mulgrew has announced that he – or the UFT leadership – or the MLC – not sure the distinction is important here – are putting in-service health care out for bid – they’ve issued a “Request for Proposal” – an RFP. The winner gets to replace our in-service members’ health care with a new plan. It is easy to imagine NYC paying less for the new plan than for the current one. It is also easy to point out that chnage in our health care can be disruptive – new doctors, new offices, new rules – but we can also imagine how can changing care mid-treatment might cause issues.
But I am not in-service. I will assist in-service members – if possible – in avoiding this destructive disruption and benefit cut – but I am retired – this does not affect me today.
The Third Group
So what about me, and people like me? Retired from NYC Service. Not yet medicare-eligible. We get City benefits, including health care. I chose GHI (Emblem). That is a pretty popular option.
My health care is ok. Fine. Except the costs have been creeping up. And I resent needing prior authorization for things that should not need prior authorization. But it’s ok, Emblem, for the most part.
Is this what I had when I was working? Yup. But when I retired I changed things up, so that I could drugs through Emblem. I used to get drugs from the UFT Welfare Fund, but they cut teachers off when we retire. Also, Emblem sent me new insurance cards when I retired.
Maybe the In-Service thing, the RFP, will apply to people like me – non-Medicare-eligible retirees? Mulgrew hasn’t mentioned it. We don’t know.
Honestly, the UFT leadership should address us. Tell us what they are planning to do with us. To us.
By the way
There’s something else weird here. The UFT is not my bargaining agent. It was, when I was working, but not today. They don’t sign contracts on my behalf. I no longer vote on contracts. They don’t act to require my employer to honor the terms of my contract. I don’t have an employer. I don’t have a contract.
Look at it this way – if the retired teachers left the UFT, the rest of the UFT would look exactly like a union. But if the Retired Teachers Chapter (RTC) separated from the UFT, the RTC might look like a union support organization – an auxilliary. Or it might look like a benefits club. It would not look like a union.
Oh, something else. That MLC? Unelected. I have zero say over who negotiates on our behalf (Unity chooses). But worse – most NYC retirees – they don’t even have an auxiliary organization. They don’t have someone from their organization on the MLC. And even worse, NYC retirees include managers, who absolutely do not have representation – but who are bound by the agreements the MLC and City come up with.
So…
Is my healthcare safe? No – if they are not coming after today, they will.
They haven’t given up on Medicare Advantage. They are going after in-service health care. No chance they are going to leave us non-Medicare-eligible retirees alone.
But I wish they would tell us what’s going on.
No News Is No News: UFT Leadership announces plans are on hold; keeps all the plan details available on website, ready to roll (right over us)
Today’s Reading October 16, 2023
Fred has an excellent, well-researched piece on how Palestinians have had their water stolen for decades (and sold back to them at high prices), and how Palestinians in Gaza today face not only Israeli bombs, but the complete shut-off of water. I recommend it. Water as Weapon by Fred Klonsky.
UFT members, and especially chapter leaders, were stunned this weekend to learn that Mulgrew / Unity removed Queens Borough Rep Amy Arundell from her position supporting members, chapter leaders, and staff, and running the Queens Office. Rumors are swirling about secret reasons – but Amy stood up for the humanity and dignity of Palestinians in a deeply hostile, vicious environment. Which, by the way, has nothing to do with how well Amy serves her members, and frankly, members and Chapter Leaders from other boroughs. I first met her – maybe I’ll say more another day – as I was learning about SBO transfers, and she walked me through the process to help me make sure my (new) school got it right. Anyhow, I’m not writing today, but Arthur wrote all weekend. Good stuff. Take a look: Amy Arundell Is the Best Unity Has to Offer (October 13) and Michael Mulgrew Looks at Due Process (October 15).
The infuriating New York Times provides “liberals” cover for being racist or supporting war. I read “The Morning” by David Leonhardt (because it is free. I will not send them my money). And this morning, straight out of a deeply racist playbook, he denied the ethnicity of murder victim, killed for being Palestinian. Wadea Al-Fayoume was 6 years old, and Palestinian, born in the US, and murdered, for who he was. Which Leonhardt hides.
No link from me. Not to the Times.
Finally, I am trying to clear my schedule to join this – it feels important.
9/12
I did not want to write about 9/11 on 9/11.
I was in Christopher Columbus High School. Teaching Math. My AP showed me the news, but I assumed that it was a puff of smoke, and not much damage. I remembered the 1993 attack.
In the wake of 9/11 the United States launched two wars – leading to death and suffering – and leading to big profits for Lockheed and Blackwater and their ilk. And those wars? They were not waged against people who had attacked the Trade Towers.
This is MY city. I wasn’t born here, but I’ve lived here almost 40 years. The attacks on the Twin Towers were personal; they hurt.
Tourist on the E Train asks – “is this the right way to 9/11?” – A New Yorker responds “This train goes to the World Trade Center – that’s where you want to go” – “No,” says the tourist, ” I want to go to 9/11!” – and continues “You New Yorkers are so rude!”
Every time I have to take off my frigging shoes at the airport – I’m reminded of 9/11.
Everyone treats first responders like heroes when they are responding. And we sanctify the names of those who perished. But after? Firefighters and others – digging through that disaster zone – breathing that poison – developing serious illness down the road? Why don’t we think of them FIRST on the anniversary?
Not to make too much of it – but those towers were pretty ugly.
Our elections are not the fairest in the world. They are rigged against regular people. Corporations and the rich, and in NYC especially, big real estate, wield crazy influence. But at least we have elections, and count on them. Except that one time Rudy Giuliani almost got away with canceling ours – because of 9/11.
That stink, it crept over all of New York City. I was at the grad center, 34th Street, weeks later, and it hung in the air.
In this morning’s The Morning, the Times discusses separating the coup in Chile that overturned the elected government from the terror and torture that came after. The neutral statement of the possibility is disgusting. There’s no mention of CIA involvement, nor any of war criminal Henry Kissinger. Those of you who read the Times and call it “news” – you should really think about that a little more. Oh, and the Times doesn’t bother mentioning the date of the coup – It was in September 1973 – the 11th.
I didn’t know the little electronic shops that the WTC wiped out – but we had “redevelopment” in New Haven where I’m from – and no one I knew ever said anything good about wiping out small businesses. Why did city governments do that? Here’s “Radio Row”, left, and after it was razed, right.
“A noun, a verb, and 9/11” – I’m no Joe Biden fan. And he’s not much of a speaker. But gotta give it to him on that one. Summed up Giuliani pretty completely.
I’m not much for patriotism. It’s usually a screen for the government to build support for war, or corporate profits, or both. But in the fall of 2001, regular folks looking for survivors, helping us dig out, recover – I don’t know what to call it, but I felt pride in my city and in my fellow New Yorkers.
There used to be limits on government surveillance. We lost a lot of those limits in the aftermath of 9/11. The terrorists scared us, attacked us in our home. But it was our government, the US government, and Homeland Security, not the hijackers, that stole our liberty.
NYC Newcomers: Manufactured Crisis
Mayor Eric Adams is threatening budget cuts. That could have been a headline four months ago. Or a year before that.
This is what Adams tries to do – give more money to big real estate interests, give more money to the police force, give 6-figure jobs to friends/relatives/donors – and cut everywhere else.
“Migrant Crisis” is just a new opportunity for Mayor Adams. It’s just another chance to misdirect municipal dollars.
On one thing he’s almost right: there may be great harm done to New York City. But it’s his response to the arrival of migrants that will do the harm. There’s the cuts – his choice. But there’s also the nature of his response – all temporary, interim measures. No actual solutions. Short term stopgaps with long term costs. And can’t blame that entirely on Eric Adams – we need permanent dwellings – not “tent cities” – but where are the voices for real housing?
There’s nothing in the pipeline. Kathy Hochul (remember, New York State has a governor) botched an under-ambitious housing proposal this past winter/spring. And not all her fault either – suburbs went ballistic and stopped any housing from getting through the state budget. I guess you might say that some suburbanites are anti-housing – but we’d be closer to the mark by calling out their racism.
There’s another aspect of New York State response – distributing newcomers in a way that makes sense. New York City is the logical municipality to host most immigrants – but most is not the same as all. New York State has other major cities (Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany). And the NYC metropolitan area extends beyond the five boroughs – Westchester, Rockland, Nassau and Suffolk should be involved. That does not mean even distribution across the state – a few migrants in every county – rural areas and small towns will not have social services that can be ramped up – and will have far too few opportunities for new New Yorkers.
Immigrants are coming to the United States – not specifically to New York. DeSantis sent migrants to NYC to make a point, and to increase pressure on NY. He demonstrated at Guantamo callous disregard for people’s lives, and he displays it again here.
The United States government should have responsibility for migrants to the United States – pushing problems, including funding problems, onto the states reveals fundamental issues with federalism. The lack of meaningful assistance from Biden… the media says he’s unpopular – I just think he’s useless.
Much has been made of immigrants not having the right to work. I think migrants should be able to work – but I don’t know if there is legislation, or what the other implications are. I do know that NYPD probably has better things to do then take away migrants’ property.
This manufactured crisis is an opportunity for those with a racist agenda in New York. We are just removed from Lee Zeldin’s racist campaign for governor – that over-performed on Long Island, parts of Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. And perhaps more troubling, the New York Times hasn’t stopped it’s liberal hand-wringing over “crime.” And the Post. Jeez. Over the summer there was an incident involving a migrant (person unknown). The Post ran a story about the crime – with a photo of ordinary migrants – people – plain people. When a white person does something wrong – the Post does not run a photo of random white people.
Do we need to find $12billion? I don’t know the number. But there will be a cost of helping newly arrived people with food and shelter. Restrictions on work have to be thoughtfully removed. And solutions need to be permanent – not quick fixes. A fairer national funding system needs to be in place – including restoring taxes on the wealthy and large corporations – and we should not be considering cuts to schools or sanitation or transportation – or on a federal level to social security or Medicaid or Medicare.
New York City has ever been a city of immigrants. We have welcomed newcomers – or at least provided opportunity. Rather than being a burden or causing a crisis, migrants from other countries have built New York – both physically – and contributed to the rich diverse culture we have here.
New York City today must continue this tradition. People are coming here for a better life – and we should eagerly allow them to build that life here.
What is Math? (Questions, not answers)
It seems obvious, right? We all know what math is. But let me try to ask some tricky questions.
Numbers/Arithmetic
First, anything with numbers is math, right? Counting? I think so. Adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing? Good. Exponents. Fractions! What about the theory that describes these numbers? Probably, right?
Geometry? Surveying? Construction? Drafting?
Then there’s geometry. The word comes from roots which mean “earth measuring”. That’s not really counting or adding. But not surveying – that’s something different? Seems like a fine line (haha) to be drawing. And construction of figures with pencil and straightedge counts – but drafting does not? That’s a little arbitrary. Really, why would any of it get grouped with arithmetic? And if some of it, why not all of it?
Algebra
Algebra seems an easier fit. It’s like arithmetic, but with a symbol taking the place of a number. And then there’s the stuff that flows out of and beyond algebra… functions, trigonometry, graphing, even calculus.
Other Stuff
What about logic? Some logic is math? And some is not? But none has numbers or anything like them? And Set Theory? And Graph Theory? And Knot Theory?
I’ve heard that Game Theory is more Economics than Math. I’m not sure.
Programming?
Programming and coding are often taught in math departments. I guess they have numbers in them, but is that enough to make them math? Sometimes math teachers teach them, right? But is that enough?
Physics
Clearly Physics is a science, and not math. But a lot of math and a lot of physics look a lot alike. Math is physics without things? And physics is math with things added? How close do circuits come to the line between them? How is there a field called Mathematical Physics?
Statistics?
Is statistics a branch of mathematics? Or a science that studies data (and makes use of a lot of math)?
I should end by giving credit to a book – Jacqueline Stedall’s The History of Mathematics – A Very Short Introduction which poses and answers some of these questions.
It turns out that there is some logic (no pun) to what we include and what we don’t include in mathematics today.
There’s also a lot of history, and tradition. Stedall discusses topics that USED to be part of mathematics – including artillery and astrology (not a typo). Her book is really worth a read (and just 100 pages)
Learning Loss
I’ve got no problem with you reading anti-public school propaganda – as long as you know that’s what you’re reading.
You want to say you read The NY Times for the crossword? Ok, I guess. Sports? Don’t pretend. News? Come on. It’s not news. It’s consistent hard centrist propaganda. Including when it comes to schools.
Best option? Stop reading it. There’s better news sources. But if you insist, at least identify the anti-progressive propaganda. and that includes the anti-public school slant. Like them pretending “learning loss” is a thing. Like that hack David Leonhardt did, again, this morning.
Learning loss, right? Most of you reading this are teachers, or were teachers. Think about it. A kid comes into your class in September, and they leave in June. And during the time they are with you, they “lose learning.” What’s that? They know less in June then they did in September. Seriously? They actually “lose learning”? I know that doesn’t happen. You know that doesn’t happen, except in some rare, pathological conditions. everyone knows that doesn’t happen.
A kid sits in your class for 10 months and knows less coming out than they did coming in. They “lost learning”. Has that happened to any of your students? Not mine.
And over the summer? The kids forget things over the summer? Sure. But those are generally not things that the kids really knew. I mean, they forget some stuff, but they are more likely to forget test prep material that they never really knew than things that they had actually learned. And when schools closed during the pandemic, did this happen? Sure. But not so much. And that’s not what the Times means by “learning loss.”
No, the New York Times writes “learning loss,” and they mean that a fourth grader in June during the 2020-21 pandemic year knew less than a fourth grader – not the same kid, they’re comparing him to some other kid – that he knew less than some other fourth grader from the previous year did at the end of the previous year.
The kid didn’t “lose learning” – he learned less than a kid who went to school when there was no COVID.
And actually, that’s not what the Times is saying. We – I assume you, dear reader, are a teacher – know that kids learned less during the shutdowns and remote instruction. But the Times did not ask us, would not trust us. The Times thinks that test scores (or their equivalent) fell. The Times thinks learning (at least for poor peoples kids) is equivalent to test scores.
This dialogue which would not make any sense to anyone with half a brain: “What did you learn in school today, dear little son of mine?” “Nothing – we didn’t have a test today” – this nonsense dialogue would make perfect sense to the Times editorial board.
They write “ there has been learning loss“ but they mean “the test scores in fourth grade this year are lower than the test scores were for the previous group of fourth graders.“
The ideas – the core of the Times propaganda in this instance – is not drawn from education. The “loss of potential or predicted learning” does not come from the vocabulary that includes “ level of cognitive development” or “reasoning ability”. Rather, it is economics imposed on education, profit and loss, expected earnings, Emily Oster, monetization of each child’s “value,” scores, units, commodities.
“Learning loss” isn’t a thing. Lower test scores might be. But the Times knows drama. They know propaganda. They lead with the lie that grabs attention.
UFT High School Vice Presidents
George Altomare, who just passed, was the first United Federation of Teachers HS Vice President. The list of those who came after is not too long…
Let’s start with the list. The high schools have ever been a rowdy division, and the heart of the non-Unity votes in the UFT. That’s worth some digging, some discussion, finding and recovering some of our own history. But for now, the list:
UFT HS VPs
| George Altomare | 1960-1985 | |
| Michael Shulman | 1985-1987 | Only New Action (non-Unity) top elected position in all UFT history |
| John Soldini | 1987-1989 | Last HS VP elected directly by members in the high schools |
Michael Shulman represented an opposition caucus – New Action. In 1985 he beat George Altomare head to head for HS VP, fair and square. But the union’s leadership grouping, called Unity, sued to overturn the election (that they had conducted!) A second election was held. Shulman won again. George retired the day the result was confirmed. Shulman is the only Vice President in the UFT’s history not to come from Unity Caucus. More on that below. Shulman served one term, and was narrowly defeated by John Soldini. Mike returned to the classroom, I believe at Fort Hamilton High School.
UFT VPs at large for High Schools
John Soldini (Unity), Shulman and Altomare were the only three HS VPs to be elected directly by the members in the high schools. Unity, desperate never again to lose the position, converted all the VPs to Vice Presidents at Large. Up to that point, high school teachers elected the high school vice president. After two amendments, all UFT members – teachers, paras, secretaries, retirees – from high school, from middle school, from elementary school, from everywhere else the UFT represents people – all of them voted for the “Vice President at Large for High Schools.”
| John Soldini | 1989-2003 | In most elections the majority of high school members voted for New Action – but as this was converted to an at-large (not just high school) election, Soldini retained the position. |
| Frank Volpicella | 2003-2007 | |
| Leo Casey | 2007-2012 | |
| Janella Hinds | 2012-2023 | Won the majority of high school votes in 2013 and 2019, but not in 2016 or 2022. In 2016 James Eterno (MORE/New Action) won high school votes 51-46%, and in 2022 I won high school votes 56-44%. See the note next to John Soldini, above. |
The Battle Over Medicare Advantage is Not Over
United Federation of Teachers retirees this week received an email from Retired Teachers Chapter Chapter Leader Tom Murphy. The email warned retirees that a City Council bill was actually an attack on collective bargaining rights.
The bill in question is Charles Barron’s intro 1099:
There has been a struggle going on for over two years in New York City – the City administration and the municipal unions want to move retirees off of traditional Medicare onto Medicare Advantage, and groups of retirees have been resisting. The Federal Government rewards municipalities (with cash) for making this move, but many do not want an Advantage plan – they cite doctors who won’t take it – and prior authorizations. The courts have stopped the latest iteration from being enacted. We are at a pause.
In this moment the City is preparing to appeal the court decision. The retirees are for their part pushing this City Council legislation, which would prevent the City from using the Medicare Advantage option in the future. The bill looked stalled, but just picked up a few new sponsors; they are up to 17 – but need 26.
In reaction to the letter signed by Tom Murphy, UFT retirees who generally oppose were furious: “Dreadful email from Tom Murphy,” “this is a betrayal,” etc.
Let’s step back for a second.
Not Personal
I don’t think the letter is personal. I doubt that Tom Murphy himself wrote it (he is certainly capable of writing an actual letter, but this has the tone of the anonymous hive that runs the 14th floor at 52 Broadway). This is a political battle between forces that are opposed. An individual’s name below an email does not change that.
Unity has not given up
There is a court decision. Medicare Advantage won’t be imposed September 1. We are done? Nope.
Unity, in sending this email, is reminding its troops that they are still fighting. They will struggle to defeat the Charles Barron bill. They will back the City appeal of Judge Frank’s ruling. They will continue to scheme up new ways to get our retirees into Medicare Advantage.
Unity’s message when Judge Frank’s decision came down was a neutral-tone “there will be no change as of September 1.” Seasoned Unity leaders probably realized that this was a pause, not a surrender. But other Unity members may not have. This message may be for them.
This fight is about Medicare Advantage
Opposition folks can write about “betrayal” and Unity can pretend this is about collective bargaining. In fact, we’ve been in a fight for over two years, and it really has not changed. Unity wants the City to collect the money the Feds will provide for moving retirees to Medicare Advantage. The City has made funding the Stabilization Fund partially dependent on the UFT (as part of the MLC) delivering a Medicare Advantage deal.
Every showdown in this fight has taken some odd form – Administrative Code 12-126, Intro 1099, the copays case, arguing about “rollout,” the City making it confusing to “opt out.” All of these details are important. But fundamentally all of this has actually been about whether or not our retirees were going to be moved into Medicare Advantage.
Unity Might be Concerned About 1099
There are now 17 sponsors, and other City Council Members may be thinking about signing on. Perhaps Unity is worried that its ability to get some Medicare Advantage plan adopted in the future – an MA plan that forces many retirees out of traditional Medicare – is being endangered by the bill.
I don’t know about that. 17 sponsors. 51 council members. Need 9 more. Not so easy. But maybe Unity knows more than me. Or maybe they know less – and not having a good handle on city politics, including the City Council – are getting nervous?
Unity not Confident Retirees Would Lobby Against 1099
I think this is clear. They got massively out mobilized last winter on 12-126. They were not going to embarrass themselves by going head to head with retirees on phone calls to city council. The letter does not include a call to action – that’s not an oversight.
Enough
I have written enough. The letter is unremarkable.
- It’s just about Medicare Advantage, no matter what it claims
- It’s from Unity – even if one guy’s name is at the bottom
- They might be worried about the Baron bill
- They might be reminding their folks that they have not given up
Neither Retired Fish nor Retired Fowl
What exactly IS the Retired Teachers Chapter (UFT)?
Let’s start here: I joined the RTC the day I retired. I think it is good to join – I encourage others to. I’m not asking my questions to undermine the existence of the RTC. Join the RTC when you are eligible – it’s the right thing to do, and it’ll be good for you.
But what is it? It’s certainly part of the United Federation of Teachers – but it’s different from the other parts.
The UFT is a union, with several chapters. And you can see that, right in the name of RTC – Retired Teachers Chapter – the word “Chapter” – but is it actually a chapter?
Some things the RTC does, some of the ways it is structured, would make you think yes.
- UFT members pay dues, from every chapter, including the RTC.
- UFT chapters have a Chapter Leader, including the RTC.
- UFT functional chapters have exec boards, including the RTC.
- UFT chapters vote in general UFT elections, including the RTC.
Here’s an odd note though: the RTC votes are “capped” – there is a maximum number of retiree votes allowed, and if the total goes over that cap, then each vote still counts, but for a part of a vote. I think in 2022 the cap was 23,500 and each retiree vote counted for 0.86 of a vote.
But there are ways the RTC looks different from all the other chapters:
- The UFT is a union. It is the sole bargaining agent for each of its chapters. Except the RTC.
- Each chapter has a contract (or a section of a contract). Except the RTC.
- In each chapter, when the contract is violated, the member files a grievance. Except the RTC.
- All of our chapters have regularly scheduled consultation with the principal (or administrator in charge) – except the RTC.
Here’s an exception – the DoE was late paying me my termination pay (CAR days, vacation days) – so me, retiree, filed a grievance for the interest owed – but that was based on a violation of the Teachers Contract at my transition to my new status. In fact, and this is interesting, my ability to file that grievance had nothing to do with being in the RTC. If I never joined the RTC (but I did, and you should), still, if I never joined, I still could have filed that grievance.
So Which Is It?
Is the RTC really a UFT chapter? Or is it something else? I included one iffy argument on each side. Let’s dig in to each a little more.
I wrote that the UFT does not bargain for the RTC. But everyone knows that Mulgrew has been bargaining our retirees’ health care, right? Actually, no. I normally don’t advocate paying attention to the details of what he says (partly because when he speaks he generally doesn’t use sentences, transcribe him once, and you’ll see. Painful.) – but you can look in writing. The MLC, not the UFT, is in charge of the health care negotiations – and that’s not really a union negotiation at all. Many of the people they are negotiating for (or against, if you think the move to privatize Medicare is a bad move) are not members of any union. The UFT has an RTC – most city unions do not have the equivalent. And the MLC is negotiating for (or against) managerial retirees, who were never in a union. This MLC Medicare thing is a special case.
I pointed out that retirees vote in UFT elections. Which is true. But the conduct of a union election is not core to the mission of a union, the way filing grievances and negotiating contracts is. In fact, retirees voting in the UFT is a result of them being a loyal bloc of votes for the leadership – Unity which is willing to cheat to win – is certainly willing to make some unusual rules that are not cheating to hold onto power – and letting the retirees vote was such a move. Of course, if Unity starts losing the retiree vote, or even if it gets really close, they could amend the constitution and remove retirees’ right to vote.
Membership
In schools and in the regular chapters, when you got your job/assignment, years ago, you joined the union (or could pay an “agency fee” which was essentially a penalty for not joining the union – but in fact was the amount of service the free-loader was getting). Today, post-Janus, it is easier not to join, but we are doing a good job of getting most people into the Union.
It never worked that way among retirees. You get pitched the RTC at retirement, and at that point you join, or you don’t. That simple. Janus did not change things in the RTC (except retirees working hard while the case was being heard to try to get a better outcome. Alas.)
So, What Is It?
The United Federation of Teachers Retired Teachers Chapter is an “auxiliary organization” – which organizes people who are not part of a bargaining unit, but previously were. It collects dues, supports the UFT’s political projects, provides services – but it is not a chapter. It has no contract. There is no contract enforcement. There is no consultation. There is no bargaining over a contract.
Auxilliaries are good. They enable a union to keep active allies nearby, and informed. In our case, the auxilliary provides those who pay to join some valuable services. But it’s not the same as being in an actual union chapter.
And finally, so what? Not much – just nice to understand what things actually are – especially since RTC has the word chapter, misleadingly, right in the middle of its name.
A Different Auxiliary
not a good song – but hey – Woody Guthrie – and almost on topic
Fallible Friends
Years ago on the Compuserve SciMat SIG, Bertie Taylor used to publish puzzles. One was “fallible friends” and I loved it. And as a teacher I made some of my own. This summer I taught in a math camp, and I made up some of my own Fallible Friends Puzzles.
These are logic puzzles. Look at each pair of statements about the secret number – one statement is true, one is false, but you don’t which is which. And it is your job to figure out what the secret number is.
Give these a try:
Cat and Dog
I ask two friends about a number. Each friend shares two facts – but each friend gets one “fact” right and one wrong.
Cat: The number is 1-digit.
Cat: The number is a perfect square.
Dog: The number is less than 50.
Dog: The number is less than 40.
Can you find the number?
Koala, Lemur and Meerkat
I have three fallible friends who get one thing right and one thing wrong. They see a number…
Koala says: “The number is odd. And it is a 2-digit number.”
Lemur says: “The number does not contain a 6. It does contain a 2.”
Meerkat says: “It is a power of 2. It is one more than a power of 3.”
What is the number?
Fox, Goat and Horse
[clumsy edit Fox/Goat/Horse permit multiple answers. So I’ve changed the question from “Help me figure out what the number is.” to “Help me figure out what the number might be (more than one possible answer.)”]
So I have 3 friends – each gets one thing right and one thing wrong. They see a number:
Fox : It is a 3-digit number
It is a multiple of 3.
Goat: It is a 1-digit number
It is 1 more than a 5th power
Horse: It is a multiple of 6.
It is a 2-digit number.
Help me figure out what the number might be (more than one possible answer.)
Writing
In retirement I wanted to walk more.
And now I’m walking at the same level as a few years ago.
And more each month.
In retirement I wanted to take classes.
I took Point Set Topology in the spring
I’m registered for Number Systems and Functions of Real Variables for this term.
In the future the classes may not be math classes – but there will be classes.
In retirement I wanted to read more – or kind of restart reading.
Not super impressive, but I’ve read a few books this year. Metabolical: The Lure and Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine. The Battle Nearer to Home; The Persistence of School Segregation in New York City. The King of Fish – The Thousand-Year Run of Salmon. Child Prisoner in American Concentration Camps, The History of Mathematics – a Very Short Introduction. A Brighter Choice – Building a Just School in an Unequal City. Draft #4 – on the Writing Process. The Last Witnesses – An Oral History of the Children of World War II. I’ve also read parts of The Counterrevolution of 1776. Up in the Old Hotel. Math Girls. Hitler’s Empire. Postwar. I’m probably missing a few. And I’m 3/4s done with The Tarim Mummies.
This is becoming once again a habit…
In retirement I wanted to get involved with Retiree Advocate.
So I did.
And I’ll keep it up.
In retirement I wanted to hike more.
Big hikes have been steady, maybe rose a little. Foot problems in the fall slowed me, but I’m trying to put some distance between me and tendinitis. And little hikes… I’ve now been to both Van Cortlandt Park and the NY Botanical Gardens a gajillion times each as a retiree.
And I will keep that up.
In retirement I wanted to travel.
It’s been more road trips (Maine, Virginia, North Country of New York) than airplane things (plus two cruises. Seriously). But it’s a start.
And it’s definitely increasing.
In retirement I wanted to continue to do math with kids.
I just finished a math summer camp (Yay!) with rising 7th graders (Yay! Exhausting! Yay!) –
And I have a line on once a week work for the fall. I’ll keep this going.
In retirement I wanted to get healthier.
Hiking and walking I mentioned. BP down. Weight, too. Eating much better.
Definitely going to keep this up.
But…
But if I have enough control to make this set of adjustments and changes, why can’t I write more regularly on this blog? Fred just kind of asked me this… And I ask myself constantly. And Fred also answered for himself. Each morning he goes downstairs to his studio, makes some art, and bangs out a post. Why can’t I do the same thing?
And I am not. I am inconsistent. And July I only posted once.
I do have material, and I have some wide-ranging choices. I do mostly NYC schools/ and union. I do teaching. Math puzzles. Some of my personal stuff. Some politics. So if one area gets jammed up, instead of not writing, I should just switch to another.
So here goes. Regular posts. Starting today.
I just started.
I will commit to keeping it up.
Notes on Ruling on Medicare Advantage
The switch was going to happen September 1. Now it is on hold. As of today, no NYC retirees are being switched from Medicare (Senior Care) to Medicare Advantage.
Judge Frank came down on the side of the retirees, and against the City/Office of Labor Relations. The decision is at the bottom of this post.
“Waive City Benefits” – on hold (nothing for you to do)
Retirees who filed to “waive city benefits” – those forms are not being processed – nothing extra for you to do at this time.
New Medigap Plan? You’ll need to call
Retirees who arranged for a medigap plan to start on September 1 – you do have work to do. I don’t know how to do this, but Marianne wrote: “If you already signed up for a new medigap plan to begin September 1, you need to call the company to find out how to withdraw your application or pause it.” In a better world you would be able to call the union for help – you waived city benefits – you did not waive union membership – but today, I don’t know if they will be in a mood to help
Not a Temporary Restraining Order – Better
There’s something that was going around, I’ll post it at the bottom of this section. It points out the decision is a preliminary injunction. The author claims this is much tougher to overturn than a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO). You can read, and evaluate for yourself:
The Court issued a preliminary injunction (not a much weaker temporary restraining order) preventing the City from moving its retirees to an Aetna Medicare Advantage plan (with the only option being to waive all City health benefits). He ruled that the plaintiffs — the retirees — had a strong case that they were promised cost-free coverage under Medicare, and that reneging on that promise would be likely to cause “irreparable harm”. The injunction can be lifted, but only if the City can show there will not be irreparable harm. (That won’t be easy, since there are many retirees across the country who are currently in treatment with physicians who do not take any Medicare Advantage plan.)”
Favorable Language in the Ruling
The judge seems to agree with the plaintiffs (retirees) and disagree with the City (and the MLC, Aetna, and the UFT) on every single point.
NYC/MLC/Aetna/UFT?
It does seem like our union leaders and the insurance company and City officials are in VERYCLOSECOLLABORATION. Just before the decision, Aetna and the MLC tried to get themselves added to the case. And while I wrote “MLC” since the UFT and DC37 combined control over half the votes, I am writing “MLC” but meaning “MLC with UFT leading the charge, or at least concurring.” Oh, the judge refused to add MLC/Aetna to the case.
Next?
Since this is a preliminary injunction, the UFT leadership will not have an easy time finding a path to overturn it. But they will try something. They want the extra cash into the stabilization fund, and will fight hard for it, and will not quit.
An interesting, while unrelated, note
Mulgrew and his associates are behind closed doors, probably brainstorming ways to overturn this decision. They also have managed not to release results of the contract ratification vote. Maybe the vote count is slow or is having some technical issues. (I’d go there as my first guess). Maybe there is really a problem with the results, and they are brainstorming a press release on that, as well.
The ruling:
Year Two, Day One
That’s today. The first day of the second year. Of my retirement. Some thoughts…
Housekeeping. My retirement date was this January 3rd. And I stopped working for the DoE around the second week of July last summer. That was programming, scheduling for the school in my absence. But the day after that day last June, that’s when I stopped having regular teacher responsibilities. So yeah, today was the beginning of my second lap without time cards.
For years I have warned retirees “The day after Labor Day, make a plan not to be in New York City. It’s too weird to be around when school starts.” And last September, sure enough, I was in the Adirondacks for Labor Day, and on a pond in Maine the day after… And that was a good thing to do. But the day wasn’t really that weird. It was just like summer vacation, extended a bit.
On the other hand, no one warned me about June 26 or 27. The close of the school year – that had always been my time. Finals and Regents. The UFT luncheon at my school. Transcript work. Creating new schedules. Doing intake on the lists of new students. Graduation. Yearbooks. Goodbyes. I missed the last day of my first retirement year much more than I missed the first. Nostalgic. Wistful. Melancholy. It hit hardest yesterday, and lingered today.
Honestly, this year has felt strange. At first it was like a long vacation. But I need a routine, or routines. I have been making progress. I knew this was coming.
I’ve started taking math classes. I like being a student. I’ll take more in the fall. I tried to get a math reading group started. Rough start, but I’ll try to restart it. And probably start a second group. I also have a job – a few weeks this summer – problem solving. And I’m hoping to get a once a week during the year. See that – teach one day a week, take classes twice a week – there’s my workweek – all three partial days…
I’m reading again. Not enough, but so much more than while I was working. Fits and starts, getting through books here and there. I’m actually reading my magazines, most of them, now. The New Yorker. The Economist. I still barely dip into the Scientific American. But progress is progress.
Walking all the time. I have the local streets. And the NY Botanical Garden. And Van Cortlandt Park – huge, wonderful – watching the seasons shift. I was there on my birthday, sub-zero windchill, and many, many more days. And hikes – we have lovely woods and hills close to New York City – so many beautiful places to explore. And I am healthier. And less stressed. (I hate data, but I have data). It’s real, the less stress, the health.
And I’ve kept up, to some degree, blogging. And I’ve been working with Retiree Advocate.
And Now
These last few days – I’m not working yet – and my classes ended over a month ago – so there was nothing to occupy me – and it gave me a lot of time to dwell on, well, my melancholy. Like I said, May and June, especially June, that was my season. I missed it.
Also, for context, I made a lot of space, set a lot of distance, pretty much cut off, my school. And I needed that distance – but maybe not so much, maybe not in June. So that nostalgia was bad, and there was no ready relief.
And then I heard from a former colleague. And another. And a few more. And a heard from an alum. And another. And a just graduated student. And I’m sure there were more, the last few days kind of blur together. But whoever, however many, it helped.
Also, the days themselves, mostly nice. Today I had a nice meet up with some like-minded folks, one a teacher from not so far away. Yesterday some easy appointments, a walk across a park, ran into a few colleagues. Sunday I saw some of the parade periphery, and a bunch of family at a cousin’s graduation from a highly specialized program. Saturday me and a friend picked a stupidly busy day to visit the Metropolitan Museum, but someone decided they liked how we looked, and we got treated like honored guests. Friday I met up with some teachers, including from far away. And Thursday… you get the picture… I’ve been busy with nice things. (And Thursday was the tail end of a Juneteenth trip, I’ll write about it and post some pictures. Another day).
In any case, Year One of Retirement is in the books.
And Next?
Well, summer job. Maybe a regular 3 day schedule from the fall. And keep making progress on walking and reading and studying and learning and teaching and visiting family, and struggling for what’s right. And maybe a trip.
Intimidation during the vote – 37½ minutes
Unity is desperate to get this contract to pass. One line they are using claims that there will be no modifications to school schedules unless the contract passes: “If the contract is not ratified the default schedule is 37.5 minutes of student engagement…”
What gives?
Unity allowed SBOs and flexibility so they wouldn’t be blamed for creating the extra time in the first place
Every year schools pick a schedule option. They pick “preapproved” options – or they write their own School Based Option (SBO) – principal and chapter leader must agree – then it goes to a vote of the membership. There is always a default – to be sure – but many many schools SBO their way to their own schedule.
The 150 minutes (or is it 155?) has been floating around since the UFT leadership sold it to us in a bad contract two decades ago. And for the twenty years since those 37½ minutes (that’s 150 divided by four – Monday through Thursday) have been mostly a nuisance for most teachers in the system.
What came before? We used to have a shorter workday. Mulgrew, Barr, your borough reps, most of your officers – they all supported lengthening the day – they pushed for the original 37½ minutes.
And for two decades the UFT leadership has tried to find new ways to slice up those 150 minutes – to make them palatable. And they don’t want to take the blame (though they fully deserve it) – so they create lots of options, and allow schools to create their own options.
This year Unity says 37½ will be the only choice – unless the contract is passed
It’s not the DoE saying this. It’s Unity.
That is the actual language Unity wants Chapter Leaders to share with members – during the SBO vote – and during the contract vote.
Who approves SBOs? The DoE and the UFT leadership. Who is saying no? The UFT leadership. Unity. Why? They are trying to lean on members to vote yes.
Will Unity really stop approving individual SBOs?
Probably not. But they are trying to make their threat credible right now – because winning the vote is important to them. DRs are telling at least some schools that only preapproved schedules will be considered. I could see them causing a year of chaos, trying to blame teachers who voted no on the contract (which is really not related).
Would the DoE approve time SBOs?
Sure.
But Unity says it will deny them.
Is the Unity leadership really planning to make members’ schedules worse if their contract isn’t approved?
That’s one hell of a question, isn’t it?
Are there health care cuts in this contract?
Several groups and blogs have made health care a primary reason for opposing this contract. They include Nick Bacon writing for New Action (my former caucus), Arthur Goldstein aka NYC Educator – Arthur was the long-term chapter leader at Francis Lewis HS, and the MORE Caucus – another left-leaning teachers group.
UFT reps, even officers, have been running around telling everyone they can that there are no health care cuts in this contract.
So let’s look.
1. There is no language about health care cuts in the MOA (memorandum of agreement). That’s true.
2. There was no language about health care cuts in the 2018 contract – but there actually were cuts – big cuts – added copays – and this whole move to dump retirees into privatized Aetna Medicare Advantage
3. The 2018 health care cuts were hidden in a side agreement, called at the time “Appendix B” – which the leadership did not share with the members.
4. There was a health care section in the 2014 UFT fact sheet, but the MOA was vague, and the actual cuts were more serious. I now have prior authorizations for cancer screening (necessitated by my genes) that I did not previously have. For example.
5. In 2018 Mulgrew specifically said “no new copays” – later he clarified that he meant that existing copays could go up (which they did
6. – but that there would be no brand new copays. Which was a lie. Those of you who use Montefiore know that we now face copays on every visit, and that just started in October
7. The Appendix B from 2018 set up health care cuts of $600million, that need to be repeated annually – we have no idea what additional cuts the UFT is planning to meet next year’s goals – or the year after.
8. Appendix B also sets up a Labor-Management-Management committee to recommend future cuts. To my knowledge that committee (The Tripartite Committee) still meets, and still has the power to recommend more cuts.
Short version – UFT leadership has not been forthcoming about health care cuts. They have not told us what cuts are in store. They are perfectly capable of hiding cuts in the contract without telling us (they did that in 2018). And even if there are no new provisions, they have not shared what cuts they have already agreed to that have not yet taken effect.
I’d say this stuff is a big deal. I would not trust the leadership’s answers. And on a contract that is otherwise just barely okay – this makes my recommendation to vote No.
JD2718 