EIA Picks up Our NYSUT Story

This is a BIG DEAL because NYSUT not only ran a $24 million deficit in 2011-12, but the largest state union affiliate in the nation has a net worth of negative $303 million. If Revive NYSUT is telling the truth, there ought to be red flags going up from Albany to Washington, DC.

New York State United Teachers budget deficit

-$24,065,575 -$302,863,241.. Educational Intelligence Agency

Is “Revive NYSUT” Viable?

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Is “Revive NYSUT” Viable?

Posted: 17 Jan 2014 10:34 AM PST

Norm Scott alerts us to some internal division and a burgeoning movement within the New York State United Teachers over the direction of the organization. An opposition caucus calling itself Revive NYSUT launched a Facebook page with this call to arms:

It’s Time…
Over the last five years we have taken hit after hit to our profession. We have suffered through budget cuts, layoffs, Race to the Top, APPR, Tier V, Tier VI, a property tax cap, loss of teacher privacy and the botched rollout of the Common Core. While this has been happening, NYSUT has appeared rudderless, indecisive and unable to successfully fight for our members in a meaningful way.

The effort appears to be led by NYSUT executive vice president Andrew Pallotta and Karen Magee, who is challenging incumbent Richard Iannuzzi for the NYSUT presidency.

Norm has all the dirt on this, including the notion that this is a proxy power struggle between Iannuzzi and United Federation of Teachers president Michael Mulgrew.

My first reaction is to get myself a bucket of popcorn and watch the show. Revive NYSUT describes itself as a grassroots group. If it were, it would be either ignored or quickly squashed by the NYSUT leadership. What makes it worth noticing is its apparent inclusion of “local Presidents, members of the NYSUT Board of Directors and even a current NYSUT officer.” Insiders give it heft that a bunch of outside rock-throwers would lack.

There is another thing that makes this particular uprising more significant than past ones:

We are for Transparency. Have you ever seen the NYSUT financials? For nine years, local presidents, NYSUT Task Force and Committee members and even members of the NYSUT Board of Directors have been refused access to NYSUT expenditure information.

This is a BIG DEAL because NYSUT not only ran a $24 million deficit in 2011-12, but the largest state union affiliate in the nation has a net worth of negative $303 million. If Revive NYSUT is telling the truth, there ought to be red flags going up from Albany to Washington, DC.