MyDD, Room 8, The Albany Project, Daily Gotham 10/9/2007

Blog post on the recommended list at MyDD:

Teachers Union Endorses Hillary Clinton
by SteveUFT

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president:

Acting on behalf of its more than 1.4 million members, the AFT executive council on Wednesday endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for president, citing her proven ability to advance our nation's key priorities, and her bold plans for a stronger America.

"Our members have told us that they want a leader they can trust to strengthen public education, increase access to health care, promote commonsense economic priorities and secure America's place in the world," said AFT president Edward J. McElroy. "Hillary Clinton is that leader."

Chris Bowers at Open Left calls it, "the biggest endorsement of the campaign for me so far."

I know AFT people, both the teachers and the organizers. They are friends, family and colleagues. They are smart, extremely hard working, and also very progressive. I trust the decisions they make. If they decide to endorse Hillary Clinton, that means a lot to me . . . The AFT endorsement of Hillary Clinton improves my image of Hillary Clinton.

Here's coverage from TPM Election Central:

The drumbeat of good Hillary news just isn't stopping today: The latest is that she's picking up the endorsement of the American Federation of Teachers.

Garance Franke-Ruta at Tapped offers this analysis:

The move was long expected for three reasons: Clinton's historic commitment to and advocacy work around the education of children have given her deep relationships in the education community; the largest AFT affiliate is based in New York; and more than three-fourths of teachers are female.

Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic reports, "a union source says the vote for Hillary was 'overwhelming.'"

Liz Benjamin at Daily Politics looks at the timing:

The New York contingent, which is the largest state organization in the AFT, lobbied hard on the part of its "favorite daughter" - a status the union conferred on Clinton back in April - while Illinois, the second-largest, did the same on behalf of its designated "favorite son," Barack Obama.

The argument, Ianuzzi said, was less about whether Clinton should be the AFT's candidate, since 45 percent of the union's likely voters favor her, according to a poll conducted by Peter Hart Associates (Obama got 21, John Edwards received 13), and more about whether it would be more appropriate to delay the endorsement altogether to see if some other frontrunner emerges.

The Council isn't scheduled to meet again until February, Ianuzzi noted, by which point, at the rate things are going, the Democratic nomination contest could be good and over.

Additional coverage rounded up at Edwize.

Also on the front page at Room 8, The Albany Project, Daily Gotham.

Room 8, The Albany Project, Daily Gotham 9/20/2007

Front page blog post at Room 8, The Albany Project and Daily Gotham:

NCLB - It's Getting Serious
posted by SteveUFT

[I hope this post about the changes to No Child Left Behind proposed by Congress proves interesting. It was originally posted on Edwize and written by Edwize blogger Maisie.]

Lest you think that the debate over reauthorizing No Child Left Behind is hard-to-follow/wonkish/a tempest-in-a-teapot or anything like that, note that Jonathan Kozol today entered his 76th day of a partial hunger strike over NCLB.

In protest over that law, Kozol, the widely-published, passionate advocate of educational equality, has taken himself into the realm of serious danger.

He's sick of NCLB. Mandating math and reading tests and punishing schools and students who do not meet their targets is "turning thousands of inner-city schools into Dickensian test-preparation factories," Chicago Tribune columnist Clarence Page quoted Kozol as saying. It has "dumbed down" school for poor, urban kids and created "a parallel curriculum that would be rejected out-of-hand" in the suburbs.

. . .

Room 8, The Albany Project, Daily Gotham 9/17/2007

Front page blog post at Room 8, The Albany Project and Daily Gotham:

The NY Times, The Business Roundtable, and NCLB
posted by SteveUFT

[I hope this post about the changes to No Child Left Behind proposed by Congress proves interesting. It was originally posted on Edwize and written by Edwize blogger Jackie Bennett in response to a New York Times editorial.]

Every corner of the educational community has protested the consequences of No Child Left Behind, including that the law has narrowed the curriculum and unfairly penalized schools already making progress.

In spite of that, an editorial in the NY Times defends the status quo. Referring to proposed NCLB revisions, the Times complains that the changes will "allow schools to mask failure in teaching crucial subjects like reading and math by giving them credit for student performance in other subjects."

Yet, just one paragraph earlier the Times has this to say: "Faced with poorly educated workers at home — especially in science — American companies are increasingly looking abroad."

. . .

Room 8, The Albany Project, Daily Gotham, Blogs United 9/12/2007

Front page blog post at Room 8, The Albany Project and Daily Gotham:

Numbers Don't Lie, But . . .
posted by SteveUFT

[I hope this post on the recently-released Learning Environment Survey proves interesting. It was originally posted on Edwize and written by Edwize blogger CitySue.]

. . . those who attempt to explain them often do. The so-called Learning Environment Survey released by the city of New York is a case in point.

For teachers the results were gratifying. Nobody -- not even Mike the Master of Spin -- could do anything to diminish a statistically astounding 90 percent approval rate!

Curiously, although the DOE apparently wanted to know what parents thought about "the quality" of their child's teacher, it didn't ask parents what they thought of the school principal. Though maybe it's not so surprising considering the fact that Klein is betting the farm on them to bail him out of the first and second reorganizations.

. . .

Also, a front page quick hit at Blogs United

Room 8, The Albany Project, Daily Gotham, Blogs United 8/29/2007

Front page blog post at Room 8 and Daily Gotham:

New Orleans and the Future of American Education
posted by SteveUFT

[I hope this post by UFT President Randi Weingarten on Hurricane Katrina and its continuing impact on New Orleans schools proves interesting. It's crossposted from Edwize and Eduwonk, where it originally appeared.]

Today we mark the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The images of widespread destruction and needless suffering and death that flashed across our television screens two years ago remain fresh in our collective memory, if only because they were so stark and terrible. For a moment, the reality of the "other America," living in poverty and shut out of the American dream, became real for all Americans. We were shamed by the knowledge that thousands of people, many of them poor or of color, were left for days and days without essential food, water, shelter, medicine and health care as a result of the catastrophic failure of our government. In the wealthiest and most powerful nation of the world, such a failure was a monumental travesty.

. . . .

Also, front page quick hits at The Albany Project and Blogs United

The Albany Project, Daily Gotham, Working Life 8/28/2007

Front page blog post at The Albany Project, Daily Gotham and Working Life:

NYC Rallies for a Child's First Teachers
by: SteveUFT

Mark your calendars: tonight at 7pm is the next step toward bringing New York City's home child care providers into the same union as New York City's public school teachers.

For many New York City families, their child's first teacher is one of the 28,000 home child care providers caring for kids today. Home child care providers take care of kids from low-income families in pre-school and after-school settings, helping them with reading and learning colors and numbers.

But home child care providers aren't protected by a union. Their average salary is $19,000 a year in New York City with no pension, no health insurance and no paid sick days. That makes home child care providers among the lowest-paid workers in the region. Something needs to be done to make sure they get the respect and wages they deserve.

You can help. The UFT, which represents New York City teachers, is launching the largest organizing drive New York has seen in decades to unionize home child care providers. We're holding a kickoff rally tonight, August 28th, and we want to fill the room with 500 supporters. Can you come?

When: Tuesday, August 28th, at 7pm
Where: Alhambra Ballroom at 126th and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd (directions)

We have the opportunity to work with a child's first teachers. Home child care providers work with kids before they come into the school system. Early grade teachers are familiar with the skills and background experiences that will give these kids the best preparation possible when they do start school. Let's work to bring providers and public school teachers together so we can create a seamless transition for kids that starts them off on the right foot.

Room 8, The Albany Project, Daily Gotham 8/24/2007

Front page blog post at Room 8, The Albany Project, and Daily Gotham:

The Teacher Voice in Data-Driven Accountability
by SteveUFT

[This post was written by UFT President Randi Weingarten and crossposted from Edwize and Eduwonk, where it originally appeared.]

We hear a lot these days about what I call "3-D reform," — data-driven decision making and about using tests to improve teaching and learning. Sadly, in this respect, too often, testing has replaced instruction; data has replaced professional judgment; compliance has replaced excellence; and so-called leadership has replaced teacher professionalism.

. . . .

Daily Politics, The Albany Project, Daily Gotham 8/21/2007

From the Daily Politics:

Odds and Ends

The UFT explains why it supports the Khalil Gibran International Academy.

Also, front page quick hits at The Albany Project and Daily Gotham

The Albany Project, Daily Gotham, Blogs United 8/14/2007

Front page quick hits at Daily Gotham, The Albany Project and Blogs United:

UFT Hails New Middle School Initiative
Submitted by SteveUFT on 14 August 2007 - 4:05pm.

UFT President Randi Weingarten joined City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Mayor Bloomberg to unveil a new initiative to improve academic performance and provide more resources to middle schools.

Room 8, The Albany Project, Daily Gotham and Blogs United 8/1/2007

Front page blog post at Room 8 and The Albany Project:

Major Union Drive in NYC
by: SteveUFT

(The story of these home health care workers has been one of the most inspiring stories in recent memory. Great diary. - promoted by phillip anderson)

28,000 home day care workers in New York City are one step closer to joining the United Federation of Teachers.

Home day care workers in New York receive government subsidies to watch, care for, and educate children from low-income families in pre-school and after-school settings. They provide meals and snacks, direct safe play, and change diapers. They also play a role in educating the children in their care, helping with reading and helping young kids learn colors and numbers and older kids with homework.

Pretty important work, right?

In New York City, home day care workers make an average salary of less than $19,000 a year with no pension, health insurance or paid sick days. That makes them among the lowest-paid workers in the region.

Read more to find out what we're doing about it.

The UFT and the community group ACORN have been working together to unionize home day care workers for about two years. Why is this significant? It's the largest organizing drive in New York in decades. Why the United Federation of Teachers? I'll let UFT Vice President Michelle Bodden explain, in this quote from a guest post at Firedoglake:

"What does this mean for the UFT? Our union undertook the drive to unionize home child care providers for two main reasons - educationally, this is an extraordinary opportunity to work with children's first teachers. Providers see children before they come into the public school system, and many of them want to prepare those children for success. Early grade teachers have a good sense of the skills and background experiences that make the most difference with young children. It is a natural mesh to combine the providers with the public school teachers and create a seamless transition for youngsters with the best preparation possible.

The UFT Teachers Center offers free classes for providers on infant/toddler development through preschoolers. The classes are extremely popular because providers want to learn more about creating high quality educational environments — they want their youngsters to succeed. Eventually, we can create a real leveling of the playing field — making a pathway for low-income students to gain the kind of rich vocabulary and other prerequisites that bode for success in school and in life.

The other reason is exactly the same as the reason why this is a great event for the union movement in general: It is our mission to improve the lives of working people, not just the members we have now, but all working people. Many of the gains of labor, from the minimum wage to a defined workweek, extend to millions of workers who are not in unions."

After counting union cards from more than 12,000 home day care workers, the New York State Employment Relations Board has certified that the UFT and ACORN have surpassed the margin required for the workers to hold an election to join a union. In the words of UFT President Randi Weingarten, "This is a critical milestone in the journey to get New York City's 28,000 home day care providers the respect and wages they need and give the children in their watch the care they deserve."

The next step is for the State Employment Relations Board to schedule an election; we expect that election to take place in late August.

The key to this election will be getting the word out so people know when they need to vote. Rallies, phonebanking and door-to-door campaigning will all play a part, but sites like The Albany Project can help by talking about the election to raise its profile and get more people talking. So let's get the word out!

Also, front page quick hits at Daily Gotham and Blogs United

Daily Gotham 6/5/2007

From the Daily Gotham:

A Shortage of Time, but Not of Ideas

Elana from DMI has a great post over at The Albany Project, pointing out that while New York's legislators are debating ticket scalping and whether sweet corn should be the official state vegetable, quite a few more weighty concerns -- from welfare policy to predatory lending to to family leave (see also Steve WFP's excellent report from the Family Leave Roundtable in Schenectady) -- are waiting to be addressed. She also puts in a plug for DMI's new report:

Some of the issues New York is struggling to handle -- subsidy reform, what to do with criminals when they are released from prison, providing universal access to preschool and the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs -- are real challenges but they aren't insurmountable. In fact four localities around the country did tackle these battles with great success. Want to know more?

Our new report "Lessons from the Marketplace: Four Proven Progressive Policies from DMI’s Marketplace of Ideas
(And how New York can do them even better)" reveals how it all was achieved.

This should be a fruitful time for New York's progressives, with the political wind at our backs. But that means we have more responsibility than ever to stay informed about innovative new policy ideas and opportunities to address longstanding problems. If you haven't already, you should also read the Fiscal Policy Institute's "One New York: An Agenda for Shared Prosperity," which offers a comprehensive analysis of how to make New York's economy fairer and more productive.

We're already late in the 2007 session and there will be a lot of bills competing for attention as the window closes. All the more reason to get our priorities in order -- and also to come back with a clear wish list in the next session.

Daily Gotham 5/20/2007

From the Daily Gotham:

Affordable Housing Rally; Wednesday, May 23, 5-7PM

The punch line of this post is that you should attend the rally and demonstration on Wednesday May 23, 2007 which begins in front of Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village (1th Ave. & 14th St.) at 5PM and is scheduled to last till 7PM (but as you know, the events sometimes run longer.) If you can stand reading post-jump part of the post, I ask you to send Governor Spitzer a letter. If you can't weave your way through the twists, flip to the end and send the letter without reading it.

The demonstration, called to kick off a campaign to protect and extend rent regulation in NYC has been called by a broad coalition of labor unions, community organizations, churches and political groups including the Working Families Party and many Democratic clubs including the one to which I belong. The full, huge, list of coalition members is at the New York Is Our Home website.

The demonstration focuses on six demands on state government:
End Vacancy Decontrol
Home rule for NYC rent regulation
Preserve Mitchell Lama & Section 8 Housing
End unfair rent increase & harassment
State funding for NYC public housing
Limit rental payments for indigent people with HIV/AIDS to 30% of income.
The issues around affordable housing are so complex, it makes me wilt to try to write about them. At the same time, they are extremely simple. Affordable housing is disappearing in NYC. Burning hot real estate values prompt owners seeking windfall profits to deregulate rental units.

[post edited for length; read the rest here]