JNJT

Name of Event: Special Meeting/Workshop with Justice-Not-Just-Tests on the functioning and ideology of the UFT
Organizer & Location: Justice-Not-Just-Tests @ CUNY Grad Center, Rm 5414
Hours: 5:30-7:30
Reflection:

The purpose of this special meeting was to educate those interested about the UFT. Norm, a member of JNJT, gave a tutorial and spoke on the basic history of UFT/AFT/NEA, how power is actually distributed throughout the union, how Unity (the majority caucus within UFT) operates, the ideology that drives the current leadership, and what change would look like.

I walked into the room knowing nothing about the UFT. To be honest, I wasn’t even 100% sure what UFT stood for. This made the whole 2-hour tutorial workshop really interesting to me. I think this workshop would have been very beneficial to everyone because it definitely relates to us directly. I was made aware of all the politics that happens within the UFT. I was shocked. This tutorial helped me to realize how one-sided things are within the UFT. Mostly everything is run according to what the president of UFT, Randi Weingarten, believes and says. It’s not really supposed to be like that, but that’s just how it is. If I recall correctly, Norm or some other member was saying how AFT/UFT are one of the last few political machines still around. The UFT, after making a strong statement opposing excessive testing, then decided to endorse merit pay and rating teachers according to student test scores. And unless teachers and other workers decide to join together to fight what UFT is been doing or hasn’t been doing enough, things will never change.

Being aware of what actually goes on affects me in many ways as a teacher, especially if I want to be teacher of change. If I want change to happen, I can’t just wait around for it. We all have a responsibility to be active and push for what we believe is right. I’m sure many teacher have no idea what actually goes on. To them, the UFT is simply a way for them to guarantee their health benefits and such. They probably don’t really know how much of a influence they could have on the education system if they were more active about it. In our course, we’ve talked a lot about social justice issues. Being aware and a part of the UFT gives teachers an opportunity to make real changes happen not just in the classroom but in classrooms all over the city.