It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing.

He

     Tuesday January 28th, day two of Vergara v California.  The puppet has returned to center stage, prompter at the ready for the entrance of the villain in this farce.  Our fearless and grammar deficient reporter Mark Harris does the (dis)honor still.  It appears he found a proofreader and the spell check.  Curtain up!!

Vergara lawsuit: Deasy testifies on ‘grossly ineffective’ teachers

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Mark Harris

Supt. John Deasy in his second day of testimony

     Under cross-examination today, LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy faced pointed questions from attorneys representing California’s biggest teacher unions and the state in a controversial lawsuit that could turn the practice of teacher tenure on its head.
     At issue in the landmark case,  Vergara vs. California, are five statutes that the nine students bringing the case contend protect ineffective teachers, thereby violating their constitutionally protected right to a quality education.
Under less friendly questioning than earlier in the day, Deasy responded in detail to questions posed by Jim Finberg, attorney for the California Teachers Association (CTA) and the California Federation of Teachers (CFT), who attempted to chip away at the argument that the current tenure and dismissal statutes hurt students, and that removing ineffective teachers is quite possible now.
     WTF to infinity.  Mr. Finberg you're supposed to be supporting teachers.  This line of questioning buys into the BroadDeayGates narrative that there are only ineffective teachers and awesomely wonderful righteous and saintly principals in the LAUSD.  When are you going to get to what is 'ineffective' and what part abuse by principals plays?
Using statistics that showed the number of dismissals in LA Unified rose to 99 in 2011-2012 from 10 in 2009-2010, Deasy’s first full year as superintendent, Finberg suggested that the number of teachers offered tenure during that period decreased, reducing the number of grossly ineffective teachers who receive permanent status.
     WTF to double infinity.  First, why are you agreeing that there are 'grossly ineffective teachers'?  Make JD admit that it's based only upon one person's opinion; the principal.  Second,  UTLA should have offered data showing how many teachers were abused into retirement/resignation in addition during this period. 

Without disputing it, Deasy said the numbers only represented his recommendations to the school board for initiating a dismissal process.

     Now's the time to call bullshit Finberg.  This board does what BroadDeasyGates wants.  ALL OF HIS RECOMMENDATIONS RESULT IN DISMISSAL.  News flash Dear Readers, UTLA has the data on teacher retirement/resignation, teacher jail and the data on us showing selective targeting of senior teachers.  This includes our ages, number of years in service, pay rate (duh), gender, ethnicity etc.  WE WILL WATCH TO SEE IF THEY DO ANYTHING WITH IT.
When Finberg asked Deasy if he agreed that other factors, such as family wealth and poverty, influence the success or failure of a student, Deasy said, “I believe the statistics correlate, but I don’t believe in causality (of poverty).”
     WTF to triple infinity.  Everyone knows that poverty is the main issue not just in the community but in school and community resources.  How could anyone think that correlation and causality are not congruent here?  Anyone such as I, who grew up in a working class lower middle class family and then went to an expensive private college can tell you that as far as education is concerned they are the same.  This is why the Gates,  Broad,  Obama, Rhee and Duncan children go to expensive private schools and then will go on to expensive top tier universities.  Being surrounded by kids from the 'hood is not going to provide them with the intellectual milieu that all parents want for their children.  Setting aside race and class I assert that no parent anywhere wants their kids to be surrounded by other kids whose only exposure to culture is Spongebob and whose travel experience consists of a bus trip to the welfare office.  Will Mr. Deasy's imbecility be allowed to stand without challenge? 

Earlier in the day, under more friendly questioning from Marcellus McRae, representing the students, Deasy told the court that the cost of dismissing a “grossly ineffective teacher” can sometimes reach into the millions of dollars, impacting decisions as to whether to appeal a dismissal or leave a teacher in the classroom.
He also said the time it takes to build a case against an ineffective teacher, however lengthy, results in leaving students with ineffective teachers.

     This is just a regular WTF.  Money, no one on this earth has been able to abolish capitalism and teachers need the stuff in order to live. Let's do a little Twilight Zone Math on this argument.  Let's see, spend $250k to $450k (yesterday's testimony) or $1 million (today's testimony) to rid the LAUSD of one teacher multiply by 99 just for the 09-10 school year gives roughly $2.25 to $99mil.  School years 10-11, 11-12, 12-13 and 13-14 saw a huge increase in Sudden Incompetent Teacher Syndrome (SITS) numbers but let's stick with the number 99 and that gives us $225 to $495 mil and we are just coming out of the Greatest Recession since the pleistocene and didn't any one think of maybe offering a buyout?
     Here's the big take away friends,  GatesDeasyBroad's goal is to bankrupt and dismantle the district.  This city and district will naturally cleave into small warring balkanized cantons based upon income and ethnicity and they will generally follow the old 8 subdistricts of the LAUSD.   THIS WILL DESTROY UTLA.  A CAREER TEACHER MIGHT WONDER WHY SO LITTLE IS BEING DONE.
McRae asked Deasy if the high cost of removal has resulted in reaching settlement agreements with ineffective teachers. He answered by saying it’s part of the current cost analysis and sometimes is the most “cost effective way to exit a teacher.”
When questioned whether leaving incompetent teachers in the system harms the morale of the profession, Deasy said: “Morale is absolutely affected,” adding that teachers don’t want to be on teams with incompetent teachers.
     Yes but we just love mean nasty principals!!!  Especially those who don't know how to teach!!!
Deasy also testified that the seniority statute, know as LIFO for “Last in, first out,” which favors seniority when layoffs are required, is harmful to both students and teachers.
He said seniority does not always reflect teacher effectiveness and seniority-based layoffs work against the best interest of students.
“I do not believe it’s in the best interest of students whatsoever,” Deasy said. “I have been very clear at indicating that the decision about who should be in front of students should be the most effective teacher and that this statute prohibits that from being a consideration at all. So by virtue of that, it can’t be good for students.”
When asked whether the seniority statute was necessary to recruit excellent teachers, Deasy said it has, in fact, the opposite effect. This is where it gets good. Teachers find it “unattractive,” he said, to come into a system where job competence is not considered when layoffs are required.  Layoffs in unionized sectors of the economy have always followed LIFO.  Deasy says that teachers don't want to be associated with 'unattractive' people?  Deasy wants a short-term workforce on the one hand and wants to make them think that they are "professionals" who don't want to be associated with the unattractive.  This sounds like the cliques in High School not teaching.   

Deasy returns to the stand tomorrow, presumably to finish his cross-examination. He’ll be followed to the stand by Harvard economist Nadarajan (Raj) Chetty.
  
     Okay dear friends, I got carried away and went through the whole thing but such assholish bloviation has to be challenged somewhere.  The play continues and it may end a tragedy for children, parents and teachers.  



 Do you see this? Look on her, look, her lips, Look there, look there!  King Lear

Places Everyone!! Curtain Up!! 

Daleth

    Monday 1-27,  began the great puppet show that will be forever known as Vergara v. California.  This play, the latest in a tendentious and dangerous series, opens with the surly martinet and over actor, Mr. John Deasy, strutting and fretting his hour upon the stage.  The puppet masters have purchased the most shameless shysters available to be his prompters or does he prompt them?  The text copied from L.A. School Report follows, my commentary is in bold.  LASR employs some lame-ass hacks and I will indulge in snark when I feel like it. 

.-.-.-.

From L.A. School Report
Posted on January 27, 2014 by Mark Harris ...
......
The thrust of the students’ case is that five state statutes make it difficult and expensive to remove ineffective teachers from the classroom. In the opening statement for the students, Ted Boutrous argued that every child has a constitutional right to a quality education — a right that has been violated due to the current teacher employment statues (sic.  The PR shill who wrote this meant statutes.  A Freudian slip perhaps. Statues often get covered in bird shit and that's what the author wants to do to teachers.) that he claimed handcuffs (sic again! statutes handcuff.  This fool was never in my kindergarten - such assaults on grammar were kindly corrected. I daresay that he is incompetent and not his teachers.  The impoverished in spirit need someone to blame.) administrators in weeding ineffective teachers out of the classroom. Those statutes involve tenure, seniority and the dismissal process.

      Huh?  How do we know what is an ineffective teacher?  This determination  is made by one person, the principal.  Of course, school administrators are above reproach in their ability to recognize ineffective teachers and it is very easy for them.  BroadDeasyGates gives them a rubric: choose teachers over forty, especially those with seniority,  high on the salary schedule, and close to vesting in lifetime health benefits, then pick them off starting with those you like the least.  The quota seems to be about one per twenty faculty. 

Boutrous (the highly paid shyster lawyer) said the statutes also impose a disproportionate harm on poor and minority students, saying these students are more vulnerable to harm from ineffective teachers whom districts cannot dismiss.

      WTF?  Are there no ineffective teachers in richer neighborhoods?  How can he claim that ineffective teachers are concentrated in poorer neighborhoods of color?  What could explain such an uneven distribution?  Stop calling us minority, we are now the majority.  How do you figure that an ineffective teacher harms us more?  

Anticipating defendants’ arguments, he said the case was not attempt to undermine teachers’ due process rights or an attempt to make teachers a scapegoat for problems like racism and poverty.

     Please Mr. Boutrous, do you have a bridge to sell me?  Your powers of persuasion are so magnificent that I want to believe any wild thing you might say.  You have to have a bridge somewhere.  I hear there is one in Brooklyn.

Defense attorneys — Nimrod Ellis (sic!!! His name is Nimrod Elias.) for the state and James Feinberg for the California Federation of Teachers and the California Teachers Association — argued that the statutes aren’t the problem. Rather, they said, the key issue is poor management by school administrators. Ellis (Elias) suggested that well managed schools are fully capable of getting rid of ineffective teachers. 

     Thin ice my brothers.  Very, very thin ice.  Will our heroes allow the shysters to frame the discussion?  Will they accept the shyster argument that there is a "problem?"  Will they be able to cite the fact that over 90% of ineffective teachers in the LAUSD are over 40 and have decades of experience?
     I love the name Nimrod though. 

Additionally, the defendants contended that the students would be unable to show that the teachers they were assigned were grossly ineffective. Feinberg told the court that there are socio-economic factors outside a teacher’s control, which are responsible for the widening achievement gap. He insisted that declaring laws unconstitutional will not close that gap.

     Our heroes may pull it off yet.

The defense lawyers wrapped up their opening remarks by stating that they welcomed the challenge, but the real policy change must come from the legislature in Sacramento -– and that plaintiffs will not be able to prove that these statutes violate their constitutional rights.

     The ice gets thinner.  Is there a problem?  Is it a good idea to imply that there might be something to their argument? 

Deasy, under friendly questioning from a students’ lawyer, Marcellus McRae, walked the court through current state laws governing the hiring and firing of teachers, student performance markers, rules regarding tenure and the impact they have on the school district.
   
     Now, this is the heart of the matter.  What will GatesBroadDeasy try to prove here?  None of my kindergarteners would dare tell a story and leave out important evidence. "Impact on the school district" implies so much.  UTLA hides the data but the majority, 93% of targeted teachers are experienced.  What happened to suddenly make us have such an impact?  Vulcan-mind-meld-left-wing conspiracy perhaps?

A major focus was the so-called “tenure statute,” which in California enables teachers to gain permanent employment — or tenure — after just 18 months on the job. In his answers, Deasy explained that the process for evaluating a teacher for purposes of tenure actually begins after just 13 months of actual teaching, a period of time he dismissed as too short for such a critical decision.
    
“No way this is sufficient amount of time, in my opinion, to make that critical judgement,” he said. “Not even to make it after two years of work.”

    No tenure after two years of teaching?  Can you say 'at will' and 'right-to-work?  This from a man who taught in a classroom for only six years. 

Deasy said the average cost of dismissing an ineffective teacher, which involves as many as 17 administrative steps, is $250,000 to $450,000, with many cases costing the district a lot more.

      This figure gets repeated and repeated.  If they railroad a teacher, write him or her up at every step, and drive him or her to resign/retire then this costs nothing.  If a teacher makes it through this abuse and one year of teacher jail it costs maybe $100,000 (wages and benefits) to pay a teacher to sit while a substitute covers the class.  Do they claim this as part of their cost?  If a teacher then is suspended and appeals to OAH this means that they are spending$250,000 to $450,000 on very expensive outside lawyers to get rid of one ineffective teacher and they are not talking about sexual or physical abuse.  Remember, he's trying to tell us that it costs this to get rid of an "ineffective teacher."  What are these 17 administrative steps?  Will our lawyers make him spell this out?
      Does the district not have lawyers on staff?  I know a teacher who went through this scenario and at his OAH hearing the LAUSD had three highly paid lawyers from O'Melveny and Myers, the most expensive law firm in the city and the most well connected to political power.  My friend's lawyer estimated that the LAUSD's bill for this at about $300k.
   Let's look at this another way.  How many teachers can the LAUSD hire for $250,000?  Somebody send me the numbers but as recall this is enough for three bottom of the salary schedule young, pretty teachers with benefits.  This would reduce class size though Mr. Deasy doesn't believe that class size is ever a factor.  How does the BroadDeasyGates approach help the achievement gap again?
    The district should be made to account for this money.  It seems that this part of it's budget has an endless supply.  Why does UTLA not address this?  What about "our friends" on the school board?
 
He also testified that the current tenure statute doesn’t allow school administers (sic, Markie it's called spellcheck.  Try it sometime.) to adequately assess a teacher’s performance or growth potential. He went on to say that he believes the tenure rules allow for “grossly ineffective teachers” to remain in the classroom.
    
     Huh?  What does belief have to do with this?   Will there be any evidence presented?  Will they try to define "adequately assess a teacher's performance or growth potential?  Such an outstanding opinion making thought leader should have no trouble with this.
 
   Okay let's break this down.

     BroadGates wants Deasy and his minions to be able to tell if a teacher is effective based upon what exactly?   Since most new teachers leave after five years then what is "growth potential?"  
      In "The Takeover Artist," Los Angeles Magazine, posted online 5-12, JD  said of recent college graduates “We have the hottest job pool that you could imagine, and we’re laying people off rather than dipping into it.” This was 2011.  Huh?  WTF?  Did no one at UTLA see this coming?  In 2010-2011 there were 969 rifs then more in 11-12 until by September '13 there were 3900 rif'd teachers who lost their seniority.  UTLA hasn't said much about this. How many of these rif'd teachers are still unemployed?  700 Great White Hope TFAs were hired 13-14 and JD wants to hire 1300 teachers 14-15. UTLA president Warren Fletcher reported that student population served by our members is down 21,000 which translates to 800 fewer teachers this year.  This is Twilight Zone Math, it doesn't add up and we don't hear anything about it from UTLA. 
       Someone help me with this question.  Did Trygstad et al. defend rifd teachers at no charge to them?  If they did, then UTLA must have picked up the tab because TTS don't work for free. At this point did UTLA not think that legal insurance might be a good idea for the rest of us?  So, UTLA through lack of leadership and intelligence left us vulnerable and now has no money to defend Unjustly Jailed Teachers.  This gives insight into UTLA reps' message to all unjustly jailed teachers that we'll never work again and that UTLA has no obligation to defend us.  I'll examine this in a later post. Does this not sound planned?  The kicker is that Warren Fletcher ignores us and quotes Sun Tzu's, The Art of War. Maybe it's actually The Art of Capitulation that he's reading. 
     Can Deasy refer to reliable statistics that show what percentage of teachers are ineffective?  Can someone define this using a reasoned argument?  I mean peer reviewed scientific studies of teacher effectiveness not predetermined pieces such as Gates buys.  Monica Garcia and Vivian Ekchian (head of Personnel) using the Gates stack approach say that one third of teachers are incompetent.  Btw Microsoft dropped this approach recently because they were losing too many valuable people.  This is also straight out of the Nazi play book.  Keep repeating something and people will start to believe it.  What about people who teach for awhile and go into administration?  Are one third of them incompetents?  I find the percentage much higher. 

Ghimel
     Here's more of the conversation with Alex Caputo-Pearl.  Again, these hard questions must be answered by all candidates for union office and indeed all teachers who expect to make this a career must think about them too.

• .-.-.-.

   Alex Caputo-Pearl

  • Another great day of dialoguing with teachers and HHS professionals about the Union Power program of building power through a public campaign for quality schools, organizing, coalition-building, pro-active PR, strategic research, and the taking back of our expert role in education. Great discussion at East Valley High School, followed by a wonderful happy hour...

     

     

    John Paul Cabrera Very interested in hearing how exactly our union will insure that there will be NO RIFS while LAUSD CURRENTLY has prop 30 funds and LCFF which last 7 years.

    
    

    Michael P Dominguez I am disappointed to see and hear nothing from Alex and UP about Unjustly Jailed Teachers and working to create schools where abuse of teachers is not allowed. Will you be another Warren Fletcher on this matter? Should career teachers count on you to ignore our rights and run a union that exists only to collect dues? A UNION THAT DOES NOT PROTECT WORKERS RIGHTS IS LITTLE MORE THAN A SCAM!!!
  • 
    

    Christine Ferreira From what I have read, part of the problem is that our dues are low in comparison to other large districts, which means that we simply don't have a bunch of money to pay for attorneys. Alex, are you willing to fight for a dues increase so that we can pay those attorneys?

    
    
  • 
    

    John Paul Cabrera Christine a LARGE percentage of our UTLA dues go to CTA, NEA and AFT. Ask what exactly are they doing to support us (UTLA members)???

    
    
  • 
    

    Christine Ferreira I don't think it is necessarily their job to protect us as individual members from our district. It is their job to do the organizing and political work on a statewide and nationwide level. And that's not really relevant. If a large percentage of our dues goes to NEA, CTA and AFT, then perhaps we need to be taking better care of ourselves, and our co-workers by increasing our dues so that we have a larger budget to work with.

    
    
  • 
    

    John Paul Cabrera Christine, while I agree about the dues part most other members will not. I also believe that since a LARGE percentage of our dues monies is being directly sent to CTA, NEA, etc they need to provide more effective assistance to us needs to be fully reviewed. Tell me, since you seem to know, what exactly have they helped UTLA members with lately? I can tell you that there are many members like myself who are angry that our money is being sent to these partners and nothing seems to improve.

    
    
  • 
    

    Christine Ferreira The passage of Proposition 30 comes immediately to mind. I am not arguing that it's a good thing that our money goes to them, although I do think it's good to have strong unions on a national level. I just think that we, as teachers, are the first to argue that if we as a society want appropriate services, ie. education, that we as a society have to tax ourselves to pay for it. I think the same goes for us as a union. If we want better services from our union, to defend us if we are accused of something and sent to teacher jail, then we might need to be prepared to increase our dues. I don't think most of us would miss $10 a month in our paychecks, and that would give UTLA $300,000 more to pay lawyers. That sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

    
    
  • 
    

    Michael P Dominguez "organizing and political work on a statewide and nationwide level." is part of protecting us, "as individual members from our district." A dues increase might help if it is used for protecting teachers but our union won't even back a $5 increase per month to go for member defence for those teachers who will be falsely accused.

    
    
  • 
    

    Christine Ferreira Which part of "our union" won't back the increase? The leadership? The house of reps? The membership? My personal feeling is that the house of reps is out of touch with reality, and has been for years.

    
    
  • 
    

    John Paul Cabrera Christine, I am not a teacher, I am a UTLA member and HHS member. We have been treated like second class union members by our union and LAUSD. I have worked for other government/union jobs and all I have to say is God help you if something goes wrong because grievances have been terrible for the majority of UTLA members I have spoken to.

    
    
  • 
    

    Christine Ferreira I know. I know someone who just retired from teacher jail and a couple of others who returned but were never the same. That's why I think we need to be supporting an increase in dues to fight this.

    
    
  • 
    

    Michael P Dominguez Leadership. Maybe the HOR is out of touch but leading requires that one lay out clear goals and a plan of action to advance a cause. I haven't even mentioned AFT or NEA. Randi Weingarten is all starry-eyed about Broad Academy, CCSS and getting rid of bad teachers and Van Roekel is mising in action. During this election we have to decide who needs whom. Do we need them as much as they need our dues?

    
    
  • 
    

    Michael P Dominguez Christine, please get these people in touch with me. I am collecting stories and will publicize what is going on on my blog, "Mean as a Snake." I'm not mean, I refer to LAUSD all of the time and UTLA when it doesn't support us. I'll keep everything confidential.

     .-.-.-.-

     

    One more issue, some teachers are being sent back to school from teacher jail but they have targets on their backs.  Tell me what you know about anyone in this situation and have them contact me.  There are others that are being targeted at the school site with false charges but are left in the classroom.  The teacher is hit with a suspension near the end of the semester or the school year.  This of course means that teachers that the district says are dangerous to children are left in classrooms with children.  Huh?  We need the info on this too.

  
  

Beth

     Here is the dialogue that I had yesterday with Alex Caputo-Pearl on Face Book.  I'm not picking on him, I just want to ask the hard questions of all the candidates for UTLA president.  I see this as a pivotal election in the history of the labor movement in the U.S.  Will we elect officers that will lead a militant movement to guarantee workers rights or will we have more of the same head-in-the-sand aimlessness and appeasement that we now suffer under?

Here he begins.

Alex C-P
Please share widely! An organizing union, like the one the Union Power team will build with members, goes on the offense. Two issues ripe for going on the offense are PE and Special Education. In the era of rising childhood obesity, we can build powerful coalitions demanding more and better PE. In the era of corporate charters excluding Special Education students, and LAUSD marginalizing Special Education students through reconstitutions, etc., we can build powerful coalitions demanding justice for our most vulnerable students.

• Michael P Dominguez I am disappointed to see and hear nothing from Alex and UP about Unjustly Jailed Teachers and working to create schools where abuse of teachers is not allowed. Will you be another Warren Fletcher on this matter? Should career teachers count on you to ignore our rights and run a union that exists only to collect dues? A UNION THAT DOES NOT PROTECT WORKERS RIGHTS IS LITTLE MORE THAN A SCAM!!!
• 
  

  John Fernandez Teacher Jail or the housing of teachers is a critical issue tin this UTLA election. Every teacher is at risk. The denial of due process and UTLA representation at every step of the adjudication process must be provided. UTLA has indeed dropped the ball on this issue. The protection of students is the number one priority, in the instructional environment, but housing teachers based only on allegations is wrong. UTLA negotiators must get rid of teacher jails in the contract. UTLA must also initiate law suits, and propose legislation to give teachers a quicker adjudication process that is fair. I remember when UTLA used to sponsor bills through their governmental relations office...or was that cut?

  
  
• 
  

  Michael P Dominguez Fletcher has referred to "our friends in Sacramento." Perhaps they're like my imaginary friend Darnell. I can count on D but I don't think you would want to.

  
  
• 
  

  Christine Ferreira If the police have investigated and have said that there is nothing to an allegation the district should have a limited amount of time beyond that (maybe a month) to complete an investigation and prove that something really happened, or the teacher should be reinstated. Principals should not be responsible for doing the investigation because they do not have the time.

  
  
• 
  

  Michael P Dominguez Time? Who needs time when the outcome is predetermined? For that matter who needs an investigation when the principal needs to make space for a younger prettier, cheaper teacher? The question is not what the principal might need time for (abusing teachers perhaps?) but why does UTLA have neither the time nor the desire to defend teachers? Unjustly Jailed Teachers are greeted by UTLA Representatives with "You'll never teach again." This of course before they even ask the teacher what happened.

  
  
• 
  

  Alex Caputo-Pearl Hi Michael, and all of us who know that teacher jail is a critical issue to confront. Union Power has been in the lead of fighting against teacher jail in the past and currently, and it is a large part of our platform. Union Power candidates, particularly our 3 candidates who are current area chairs, played a critical role in initiating the December protests. We have direct experience in representing many who are in teacher jail, and we've helped people win some big victories in getting released. We have gone to the teacher jails and met with housed teachers, getting valuable insights on strategy. Here's the bottom line. We have to fight for student safety and due process for educators simultaneously. We have to publicly call out that the LAUSD teacher jail strategy is one to break the union and our profession. We have to build coalitions with communities that have wanted to organize against teacher jailings, because they have destabilized their schools and been an affront to due process. There are huge opportunities to build coalitions with many opinion leaders who are sceptical of LAUSD's motives around this issue, and opportunities to expose discrimination that is occurring as certain educators are placed disproportionately in teacher jail. It's because we have done the work, and have a clear platform on how to organize against teacher jail, that Union Power has the support of many leaders among the housed teachers.

  
  
• 
  

  Christine Ferreira Michael P Dominguez, I agree with you that UTLA should be much stronger on this issue. I think the union is trying to walk a fine line between supporting teachers and not looking like it backs teachers like the guy at Miramonte at the expense of kids. I think that we, as members of UTLA need to remember that we are all hurt when that happens. I am simply making a suggestion for a system that might make sense. I certainly don't buy that principals are holding out for "younger, prettier teachers" since so many of the principals that I have worked for have been women who had not interested in young, pretty teachers.

  
  
• 
  

  Michael P Dominguez Christine, the LAUSD has done a devilishly masterful job of framing the discussion in terms of sexual abuse. A frame worthy of Goebbels and that's why you went straight to Miramonte. Here's what I wrote in response to Alex's response:
  
  Michael P Dominguez One vigil is not enough. Find a way to spell out what you've done without
  naming for whom if the teacher does not want to go public. It certainly was not for me or anyone at ESC South and since I refuse to be shamed
  for what I have not done, I am willing to be as public as legally advisable about my situation. Make this
  clear or it sounds like so much hot air because none of the Unjustly
  Jailed Teachers that I know have said anything of the kind. The Dec.
  vigils did not make it onto TV as far as I can determine and none of my
  family or friends are aware that they took place or that I spoke. Too
  little and for many teachers too late. 1000s of teachers have lost
  their livelihoods over the last three years. When you say "fight for
  student safety" do you mean that teachers are generally dangerous all of a sudden and we need to get rid of the bad ones? What about bad
  administrators? If student safety (Miramonte) has not been foremost in
  the LAUSD then whose fault is that? To answer my own rhetorical question it is the fault of the administration and this has to be shouted as
  loudly as possible. Here's an inconvenient fact: LAUSD had a program
  that taught primary age children what is "bad touching" and what they
  are supposed to do if it happens. This program which trained teachers
  to talk to kids about abuse both sexual and physical was eliminated
  about 1989 due to "budget cuts." This was even before arts education
  began circling the drain. No teacher who has dedicated his or her life
  to educating young people fears the idea of letting them know what
  dangers they might confront in their lives and this necessarily includes physical and sexual abuse by any and all adults but that is not the
  issue. Why did the LAUSD ignore the child victims over the last 24
  years? Did the district purposely sit on the information to use later? How did the district administration make it clear to principals that
  they could go after senior teachers that they don't like? What about
  the quotas that principals are expected to fulfil? Why can UTLA not
  recruit chapter chairs that will confront teacher abuse at the school
  site and why do teachers have no recourse?
  
  The reference to "younger prettier" teachers is personal. Two better looking rifd teachers were brought back in my place. Where are the good principals to which you refer? They certainly are quiet on the subject of teacher abuse. If they are too scared to go public, have them get in touch with me confidentially and I will sing hosanna to their righteousness. I promise that they will remain anonymous.

  
  
• 
  

  Nancy Grzybowski I am sure that before the Miramonte scandal, any teacher who reported what was going on in that perv's classroom was either threatened or punished.

  
  
• 
  

  Nancy Grzybowski Michael, the current UTLA leadership is not doing their job. Vigils and protests do not work. Why isn't UTLA using the attorneys we pay for to fight this?

  
  
• 
  

  Michael P Dominguez Excellent question Nancy and one I'm confronted with whenever the topic comes up. Let's put it to Warren Fletcher. When asked a similar question at a Valley North area meeting he walked away silently.

  
  
• 
  

  Nancy Grzybowski Fletcher is good at walking away. We need to make sure it's for good!

  
  

  ..-..-..-..-..-..-

  
  

  
  

  Alex again;

  Great meetings today with teachers and HHS professionals at Southeast Middle School in South Gate and Hawaiian Avenue Elementary in Wilmington (with some folks from Harry Bridges Span School there as well!). Amazing testimonies from both schools on how educators want to build a powerful movement for what they, and our schools, need and deserve.

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  • Michael P Dominguez My peeps! I worked at Hawaiian Ave. under the most abusive principal in the LAUSD and of course she has been promoted. I am disappointed to see and hear nothing from Alex and UP about Unjustly Jailed Teachers and working to create schools where abuse of teachers is not allowed. Will you be another Warren Fletcher on this matter? Should career teachers count on you to ignore our rights and run a union that exists only to collect dues? A UNION THAT DOES NOT PROTECT WORKERS RIGHTS IS LITTLE MORE THAN A SCAM!!!

    
    

    Mary Tello Michael you have not heard Alex speak yet have you? Talk to anyone from Hawaiian and ask them what they thought and how he addressed that one issue. We can talk more at the area meeting this Wednesday. See you soon and take care.

    
    
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    Michael P Dominguez I have heard Alex speak and I have spoken with him. The issue has been ignored by UTLA for more than two years and I must do all that I can to inform teachers about their precarious situation. No candidate that is unwilling to remake UTLA deserves the support of Unjustly Jailed Teachers nor can we allow any teacher to continue to think that UTLA will support or defend them when they are attacked and abused. Teachers must know that they cannot rely on UTLA now and every candidate must clearly explain what he sees as UTLA's purpose going forward. Teachers must know that area reps will not support teachers abused by principals though we pay their salaries. We Unjustly Jailed Teachers have heard "we're working behind the scenes," for years and yet teachers continue to lose their jobs. I'm interested in hearing what Alex said about this at Hawaiian. If he does plan to make a difference why does he hide his light under a basket?

    
    
  • Alex Caputo-PearlAlex Caputo-Pearl Michael, I haven't hidden anything under a basket -- I don't know what you're talking about. On all of Union Power literature and our website, we talk about fighting teacher jail. I've represented a teacher jail teacher in one of the most high-profile cases we've seen, and we won. I'm supported by many teacher jail organizers. At every speaking engagement I do at schools, I talk about the issue. I have talked to hundreds of chapter chairs about the issue. Union Power is about re-making UTLA, to actually have the power we need to win around teacher jail and a bunch of other issues. We're about building a contract campaign, an organizing department, a coalition-building arm, strategic research, pro-active PR, smart legal approaches, and ways that educators take our professional role back. We're going to personalize the teacher jail issue by showing the faces of people ripped away from classrooms, we're going to do PR, we're going to bring new legal approaches, and we're going to support organizing behind a campaign to end teacher jail. I have no idea what you are talking about regarding hiding lights under baskets. Call me so we can talk -- 310-xxx-xxx

    
    
  • Jonathan Turner Smith Number one issue remains Salary. I read recently UTLA is asking for 17.6% increase. Good place to start if it is true. 7 years without even a cost of living raise is nearly criminal.

    
    
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    Michael P Dominguez Salary is nice. I remember salary. It was nice. A raise gives the district that much more reason to fire teachers at will. I remember democracy and rule of law. It was nice.

    
    
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    Michael P Dominguez Re legal approaches:

     
    1. Contact Lenny Isenberg at www.perdaily.com. Lenny has been fighting this fight all by himself at his expense for years. As a suspended LAUSD teacher he receives no salary. He has a legal background. Legal approaches involving teacher defence must take into account the conflict of interest outlined in number 2 below. Jailed teachers have no trust in TST to have our best interest at heart.
    
    2. Trygstad et al. principally represent UTLA as an organization. This includes representing UTLA against teachers that feel UTLA has abandoned them and has not lived up to its commitment to represent and defend us. Teachers that retain them to defend against false charges, put themselves in the most vulnerable position. This is a great conflict of interest and teachers are unaware of this. TST win no matter the outcome because they get 40% of anything. Tell us how you will be able to put teachers' interests first. Arlene Inouye has a good idea about establishing an insurance fund for teachers that would defend them if they find themselves in our position. It would be voluntary and of course would not be available to those of us currently fighting dismissal or those who've already been forced out. We would remain s.o.l.
    
    3. Which high profile case is that and what was won? What effect does this win have on the remaining cases? Why is this secret?
    
    4. Will you be able to get Denise Rockwell-Woods on board with any new approaches? If not, what is the plan for her position?
     

    5. Light under a basket means that I haven't heard anything about it. No one that I know has heard anything about it.
    
    6. I am available to be the human face. Such a campaign must include a plan to restructure school governance so that it is no longer a plantation system where we, the highly educated field hands are not allowed to have an opinion. Put another way, teachers must be in charge of all aspects of school governance. The position of principal must become one that requires at least a decade of classroom experience and it must be paid on the same schedule as a teacher so that it is not a "career move." We must attack the idea that administration is an aristocracy that knows best. The current plantation-principal-as-overseer model must be overturned. Promoting principals based upon number of teachers eliminated must be confronted. Name names as John Segure used to do. We must also attack Eli Broad's plan of changing the administration of the
    LAUSD by donating money to be used to hire specific people in positions
    this creates. Insist that this be audited. If EB donated the money for the benefit of a particular person, then it is not deductible. It's worth a look.
    
    All of my questions must be answered by anyone contending for the position of president of UTLA. Feel free to pass them on to anyone running for the position if I don't do it first. I prefer to discuss
    online in this manner because this way no question can be forgotten and refusal to answer can be memorialised and publicized. This discussion concerns all teachers not just in Los Angeles, but nationwide. Otherwise, we are doomed to fight the same battles over and over and to pay for the same outcomes again and again.
    

    
    

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