Those Who Can UNITY Caucus

In this episode of THOSE WHO CAN, Diamond and Greg get a chance to sit down with two of the UFT's Vice Presidents and four of the amazing candidates that are running for High School Executive Board seats with UNITY Caucus.

First, we get to hear from Janella Hinds and Leo Gordon. Janella is the UFT VP for Academic High Schools and Leo is the new UFT VP for Career and Technical Education. Each of these dedicated unionists share their history with teaching, unionism, and the UFT as well as share their vision for education in NYC public schools.

Then we move on to four impressive UNITY candidates running on the slate for High School Executive Board - Michael Solo, Kimberly Felder, Arthur Goldstein, and Marie Baker. Each of these remarkable candidates share their experiences and how their long-standing work with the UFT and with the UNITY leadership has yielded real results in their schools and for their members.

It's a fascinating episode that really gets into the weeds on the struggles that these candidates faced as Chapter Leaders and how only UNITY Caucus can deliver positive outcomes to the challenges  we face in our schools and our city.

With the UFT's current collective bargaining agreements for Public School members ending this fall, this episode of THOSE WHO CAN focuses on the importance of contract negotiations. Your hosts, Diamond and Greg, dive deeply into the subject with UFT VP Anne Goldman as well as school-based members Arthur Goldstein and John Perez.

Anne Goldman, the UFT Vice-President for non-DOE members discusses how the UFT-represented nurses dealt with the strains and struggles being on the front lines of the COVID pandemic. Anne also shares the recent monumental victory that the nurses at NYU Langone had in their contract negotiations that resulted in a fair contract that recognizes their hard work and allowed them to avoid a near-certain strike. The segment ends with Anne giving her insight and sharing her vast experience of what unions and their members need to think about when preparing for and conducting contract negotiations. 

Diamond and Greg are then joined by Arthur Goldstein and John Perez to discuss their experiences as members of the 400-member contract committee from the last round of UFT contract negotiations and their hopes and expectations for the new round starting at the end of March. Arthur, an ENL teacher from Francis Lewis High School shares his thoughts as a 37-year educator and long-time Chapter Leader. John, a Chapter Leader and paraprofessional from MS80 in the Bronx explains how important it was and is for functional chapters to have a voice in contract negotiations that affect them. 

THOSE WHO CAN is a podcast focusing on the issues that matter to all of our rank-and-file UFT members who do the work every day. THOSE WHO CAN is brought to you by the UNITY Caucus of the UFT.

In our first episode, Diamond and Greg discussed the surprises and frustrations of having to work during the Spring Break of 2020 with Leah Lin, the Chapter Leader of PS85 in Queens.

Part 2 of the episode, Repairing A Broken Spring Break, gives UFT members a look at the immense efforts of the UFT to get our members adequate compensation for the loss of the 2020 Spring Break vacation. Diamond and Greg have an in-depth and honest conversation with David Campbell, the Director of the UFT Grievance Department. David discusses how the UFT fought for and achieved compensation for the 2020 Spring Break through the arbitration process after our repeated demands for a cash payout were rejected by the arbitrator. David shares how the UFT had to think outside the box to ensure our members wouldn't be shortchanged by the DOE.

THOSE WHO CAN is a podcast focusing on the issues that matter to all of our rank-and-file UFT members who do the work every day. THOSE WHO CAN is brought to you by the UNITY Caucus of the UFT.

In the first episode of THOSE WHO CAN, your hosts Diamond and Greg discuss the surprises and frustrations of having to work during the Spring Break of 2020. Diamond and Greg welcome Leah Lin, the Chapter Leader of PS85 in Queens who sheds light on her experience with not only having to work during a scheduled vacation but how her UFT chapter in her school felt about this unwelcome demand from Mayor de Blasio. Diamond, Greg, and Leah also share their thoughts about their expectation around appropriate compensation for working during this scheduled time off.

Part 2 of the episode, which will be released separately will include a conversation with David Campbell. David is the Director of the UFT Grievance Department and he will discuss how the UFT fought for and achieved compensation for the 2020 Spring Break through the arbitration process.